Summary Of How The Other Half Lives By Jacob Riis

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The book "How The Other Half Lives" written by Jacob Riis, sheds light on the living conditions in N.Y. city of the poor throughout the Progressive Era in tenement housing. Jacobs publication was meant to show the "other half" or "upper class" how bad it really was. Between 1869 and 1890, tenement housing almost tripled to 37,000 tenements in use. This over population was caused by the uproar of immigrants moving to America to start a new and better life, and almost all of the time starting at the bottom. Starting from the bottom usually meant having very little to no personal items. Many immigrants worked low wage jobs and could only afford the least expensive shelter. The horrible conditions depicted throughout Riis novel describe

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