Jacob Riis
Explore the life of Jacob Riis (1849–1914), Danish-American journalist, photographer, and social reformer. Discover his work How the Other Half Lives, his influence on urban reform and journalism, key quotes, and enduring lessons.
Introduction
Jacob August Riis (born May 3, 1849 – died May 26, 1914) was a pioneering journalist, social reformer, and photographer whose exposés of slum conditions in New York City in the late 19th century helped awaken public consciousness to urban poverty and pushed for housing reform.
Though born in Denmark, Riis spent most of his life in the United States. His work is often considered an early example of muckraking journalism—using vivid description, data, and photography to expose social ills and provoke change.
His photographs of tenement interiors, streets, alleys, and the lives of immigrants were not mere illustrations—they were part of a moral argument: the deplorable conditions in which the poor lived were not inevitable, but rather socially and politically avoidable.
This article dives deep into his life, his journalistic and photographic methods, his impact, his philosophies and quotes, and lessons for our times.
Early Life and Family
Jacob Riis was born in Ribe, Denmark, the third of fifteen children (one of whom was a foster child) to Niels Edward Riis, a schoolteacher and local newspaper writer, and Carolina Riis (née Lundholm).
His childhood was not without hardship. Only three of those children (Jacob, one sister, and the foster sister) survived into the 20th century.
Riis was influenced by his father’s literary leanings; his father encouraged him to read—in English as well—especially Dickens’s magazine All the Year Round and adventure novels.
He apprenticed as a carpenter in Denmark, and had hopes of settling there, but lack of economic opportunity and other personal disappointments (including romantic setbacks) led him to emigrate to the United States in 1870.
That decision would set the stage for his transformation into a chronicler of the urban poor.
Youth, Immigration, and Early Struggles
After arriving in New York in 1870, Riis carried little with him—some accounts mention he had just $40 and a medallion of sentimental significance.
He took various odd jobs—manual labor, carpentry, working in factories, and so on—learning firsthand the precarious existence many immigrants faced.
His early years in New York exposed him to the overcrowded tenements, unsanitary conditions, and the daily struggle for survival in the Lower East Side. These first-hand experiences shaped his empathy for the urban poor and provided material for his later reporting and photography.
In the mid-1870s, Riis became a police reporter for the New-York Tribune, with an assignment to cover crime and emergencies around the slums and tenement districts.
Working nights and mixing with immigrant communities, he gained intimate access to many of the hidden conditions of life that wealthier New Yorkers seldom saw.
Career and Achievements
Journalism and the Tribune Years
In his role as a police reporter, Riis occupied one of the least glamorous corners of urban reporting. He wrote hard, fact-laden dispatches about fires, deaths, child labor, crime, and slum conditions. His writing was stark, urgent, and often moralistic, designed to shock middle-class readers into seeing the social consequences of neglect.
He recognized early that words alone would not suffice; to move people, visual evidence was needed. Around the late 1880s, he began experimenting with flash photography (using magnesium flash powder) to capture interiors and exteriors of tenements in darkness, thus making visible what was otherwise hidden.
Thus Riis’s journalism evolved into photojournalism, combining text, statistics, narrative, and images to create a powerful mandate for reform.
How the Other Half Lives and Reform Impact
In 1890, Riis published How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York. This book compiled his writings and photographs, exposing readers to cramped, dark, dangerous tenement life.
He had already begun giving lecture-illustrations (projecting photographs in churches, community halls, etc.) termed “The Other Half Lecture”, to bring his images and stories alive before audiences.
The book was widely read and became an important catalyst for housing reform. For instance, New York passed a Tenement House Act (1894) and later the more sweeping Tenement House Act of 1901, which mandated better light, ventilation, fire safety, and space standards in tenement buildings.
The book also influenced Theodore Roosevelt, who as New York City Police Commissioner took interest in the reforms Riis called for. Roosevelt reportedly told Riis, “I have read your book, and I have come to help.”
Beyond How the Other Half Lives, Riis published works such as The Children of the Poor (1892), Out of Mulberry Street (1896), The Battle with the Slums (1901), and his autobiography The Making of an American (1901).
Later Life and Legacy
In his later years, Riis relocated to a farm in Barre, Massachusetts, after remarrying in 1907.
He continued writing and advocating until his death on May 26, 1914.
Though his grave is marked simply by an uninscribed granite boulder in Riverside Cemetery, Barre, his influence on journalism, photography, and social reform endures.
Historical Milestones & Context
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1870: Emigrates from Denmark to New York City.
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Mid-1870s: Becomes police reporter for New-York Tribune, focusing on tenement neighborhoods.
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Late 1880s: Begins using flash photography to document slums.
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1890: Publishes How the Other Half Lives, bringing wide attention to urban poverty.
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1894 & 1901: New York tenement laws passed to improve housing conditions.
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1901: Publishes autobiography The Making of an American.
These milestones map onto a broader Progressive Era in the United States, when the urbanization, immigration, industrialization, and social inequality of the Gilded Age built pressure for reform across housing, labor, public health, and urban policy.
Legacy and Influence
Jacob Riis’s legacy is multifaceted:
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Founding figure in photojournalism and social documentary photography
His use of photography to expose social conditions became a model for later reformist journalism and documentary work. -
Catalyst for housing and urban reforms
The visibility he gave to slum conditions forced political and public responses, influencing laws, building standards, and urban planning. -
Precursor to the muckraking tradition
His style—combining data, narrative, moral urgency, and imagery—anticipated the investigative journalism of the early 20th century. -
Voice for marginalized communities
By speaking for immigrant, low-income, and overlooked populations, he helped shift the public narrative about poverty—from moral failure to systemic condition. -
Complex thinker with acknowledged blind spots
While Riis was progressive in many ways, later critiques point to his occasional ethnic stereotyping (especially of Chinese and other immigrant groups) and paternalistic tone.
His work continues to appear in curricula on journalism, urban studies, photography, social justice, and American history.
Personality, Philosophy, and Talents
Riis combined several strengths:
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Empathy rooted in lived experience: Having experienced immigrant life and hardship himself, he carried a perspective beyond distant observation.
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Moral conviction: He viewed social problems not just as reportage topics but as moral calls to action.
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Narrative clarity: His writing was vivid and direct, often framed to provoke concern in middle- and upper-class readers.
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Innovative use of technology: His adoption of flash photography in dark tenements was novel and risky, but effective.
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Bridge builder between worlds: He communicated with both reform-minded elites and grassroots organizations, mobilizing alliances.
One remark attributed to him:
“The more I live, the more I think that humor is the saving sense.”
Another often quoted idea is about perseverance:
“If not us, who? If not now, when?” (This is attributed in reformist contexts, though exact citation to Riis is less certain in authoritative sources.)
His life and work also illustrate the paradox that he both uplifted and judged the communities he photographed — a tension present in many social reformers’ legacies.
Famous Quotes of Jacob Riis
Here are several quotes commonly attributed to Jacob Riis that reflect his worldview and enduring influence:
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“The more I live, the more I think that humor is the saving sense.”
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“Where nothing is, nothing can be.”
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“To the very end of my life I would rather know where I am going than precisely how I am to get there.”
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“No one has ever become poor by giving.” (Often ascribed to Riis though attribution is debated.)
When quoting Riis, one should check their source, as some attributions blur through time and secondary collections.
Lessons from Jacob Riis
From Riis’s life and work, we can draw several lessons:
1. Tell stories that cannot be ignored
Riis recognized that to move people, one must pair data with visual, emotional, and narrative force.
2. Be in proximity to your subject
Coming from immigrant and working-class experience himself, Riis didn’t write purely as outsider; proximity brings depth and urgency.
3. Use innovation to serve purpose
His adoption of flash photography in dark tenements demonstrates how technological tools, when used thoughtfully, can amplify voice.
4. Reform requires political as well as moral energy
Riis didn’t just show the problem — he pressured for legislation, collaborated with officials (like Roosevelt), and persistently advocated for change.
5. Be aware of one’s own biases
Even reformers are fallible; Riis’s occasional stereotypes remind us to engage communities with humility and self-reflection.
6. Change is incremental but cumulative
Riis did not single-handedly eradicate slums, but his work contributed to structural improvements, showing that well-directed efforts can tip the scales over time.
Conclusion
Jacob Riis’s journey—from a Danish carpenter-apprentice immigrant to one of America’s most influential social documentarians—shows the transformational potential of combining lived experience, journalistic integrity, and moral commitment.
His iconic work, How the Other Half Lives, remains a landmark not just in American social history, but in the global trajectory of documentary photography, investigative reporting, and urban reform. His example asks us not only to see the suffering of others, but to act in the spaces between visibility and policy.
If you’d like, I can send you a curated reading list of Riis’s major works (with links), or deeper analyses of his photographs and their impact. Would you like me to share that?