How The Other Half Lives Summary

Riis overcame many obstacles to produce his book How the Other Half Lives which contains the struggles of poor people living in New York. Through his book Riis wanted to bring to life the suffering of these people. He wanted the upper classmen or someone with power to do something about the poverty in this great city. Riis knew of the poverty and wanted everyone to be aware of it. He did so through articles, newspapers, and his book which contained pictures and stories about mothers who were forced to murder or abandon their babies. This essay will describe American life during the late nineteenth century; the harsh decisions mothers had to face, and how immigration affected New York.

In the mid nineteenth century poverty overcame the cities

Unemployment and poverty increased, there were not enough jobs for everyone so many slumped into the slums and were forced to live among others facing the same conditions. Riis was successful in showing how immigration affected New York as well as life during the mid-nineteenth century. Riis provided his book How the Other Half Lives which showed “a view of poverty that revealed modern America’s vison of progress.” (pg. 8 How the Other Half Lives). Riis showed how poverty developed thorough time it was said that his book gave his readers a glimpse of America’s future. Riis was successful in selling more than two thousand copies of his book. In his book Riis successfully showed how those in poverty lived he was praised by many, and he opened the eyes of his readers. One of the readers Dr. A.T Schauffler commented “no book that has ever appeared in this land pours such light.” (pg. 6 How the Other Half Lives). Schauffler is commenting that Riis nailed the lives of those living in poverty. No other book till that day showed or described the suffrage of the underclass such How The Other Half Lives. Another one of Riis readers Elbridge Gerry the president of the New York Society commented that Riis book was “one of the most valuable contributions to the history of child saving work in this great city.” (pg.6 How the Other Half Lives). Thanks to Riis book many of its readers became aware of the poverty situation in New York. If it weren’t for the pictures and words within the books no one would have really noticed the poor and would have gone about their days. As more people read the book more opportunity came for the underclass and more homes were built to accommodate their