How the other Half Lives Jacob Riis How the other Half Lives

The “Other Half” Who were the other half?

Who is Jacob Riis Immigrant himself Familiar with living in poverty Worked as a police photographer In 1888 Riis was employed as a photo-journalist by the New York Evening Sun. Riis was among the first photographers to use flash powder, which enabled him to photograph interiors and exteriors of the slums at night. He also became associated with what later became known as muckraking journalism.

His Work December, 1889, an account of city life, illustrated by photographs, appeared in Scribner's Magazine. This created a great deal of interest and the following year, a full-length version, How the Other Half Lives, was published. The book was seen by Theodore Roosevelt, the New York Police Commissioner, and he had the city police lodging houses that were featured in the book closed down. Over the next twenty-five years Riis wrote and lectured on the problems of the poor. This included magic lantern shows and one observer noted that "his viewers moaned, shuddered, fainted and even talked to the photographs he projected, reacting to the slides not as images but as a virtual reality that transported the new York slum world directly into the lecture hall." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZl4KXsaKVE

Bohemian Cigar Makers at Work in their Tenament

Your Assignment… What do the pictures of Jacob Riis show us? Historians use pictures in their job to understand the past. In this assignment I am going to teach you how to look at pictures just like a historian would.

Take a minute to study the image Take a minute to study the image. Just look and see what you notice, but don’t write anything down.

Upper Left Quadrant. As you study each part of the image, jot down your notes in the corresponding square on your sheet. What do you notice about setting? What do you notice about the people? Are there any actions or activities? MOST important what questions do you have as you look at this part of the image?

Lower Left Quadrant. As you study each part of the image, jot down your notes in the corresponding square on your sheet. What do you notice about setting? What do you notice about the people? Are there any actions or activities? MOST important what questions do you have as you look at this part of the image?

Upper Right Quadrant. As you study each part of the image, jot down your notes in the corresponding square on your sheet. What do you notice about setting? What do you notice about the people? Are there any actions or activities? MOST important what questions do you have as you look at this part of the image?

Lower Left Quadrant. As you study each part of the image, jot down your notes in the corresponding square on your sheet. What do you notice about setting? What do you notice about the people? Are there any actions or activities? MOST important what questions do you have as you look at this part of the image?

As you view the whole image again what other details do you see?