Jacob Riis was a Danish-American muckraking journalist, wrote How the Other Half Lives. The book exposed the terrible conditions of the slums of New York to the upper and middle class. Because of the recent invention of flash photography, Jacob Riis' book contained many pictures and drawings based off of pictures. Becuase of flash photography, Riis was able to take pictures of dark workplaces and streets not seen by the average middle class New Yorker. The book also talked about sweatshops with poor conditions for women and children, as he beleived that focusing on the women and children would have more of an effect. By exposing the filth, overcrowding in the slums, the public became much more aware of the conditions, and lead to many reforms such as the New Law Tenement. Yet the book was not without its problems. Riis' protestant views showed through heavily, as did his dislike for the CHinese, Jews, Italians and Irish of the district. Overall, the book had a large impact on all Muckraking to follow.
