Jacob Riis and Upton Sinclair - Muckrakers

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stoves and breathing the terrible air. Like Upton Sinclair, Jacob Riis’ used writing as a way to expose the problems facing American citizens living in the city during the Progressive Era. He fully explained the bad things people suffered life in tenements. Jacob Riis’ novel , “How The Other Half Lives”. This novel described in scary details the horrible conditions people were forced to suffer and live with in tenements. Jacob Riis’ story of horrible conditions, immigrants and the poor endured was his way of attempting to solve the problem and achieve his goals of reform. His goal was to expose the truths by showing the world the horrifying treatment people had in New York City tenements. Jacob Riis not only wrote about it, but he provided evidence by taking photos of these horrible conditions, he took these photos because he knew it had a greater advantage than his mouth or pen. He knew that taking the pictures was proof of how gross the overcrowded, meant for one person but housed 7 or more, sometimes even multiple families in one room. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. The exposure Jacob Riis’ helped bring to the problems with housing, immigrant ghettos and more helped change laws such as, in 1900 in New York, they created The New York State Tenement House Commission, which created a separate Tenement House Department for the City of New York. These housings were built safer and better for all.

Upton Sinclair, Jacob Riis, The Muckrakers and so many others stood up for what they knew what was right even when not many in power believed in them or just didn’t care. They brought important issues to the attention of the government and together they successfully led reforms that would make the United States of America a healthier, safer and all together better place then and for the future.

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