Friday, July 10, 2026

250 to 250: 43. Jacob Riis, Narrated by Alex Edgar

 

Heather Cox Richardson and 250 to 250: Jacob Riis, Narrated by Alex Edgar

Alex Edgar is the Youth Engagement Manager at Made By Us, where he leads Youth250, the national effort to include youth voices in America’s past, present and future story. Edgar profiles Jacob Riis, the immigrant journalist and photographer whose unflinching images of New York's tenements pioneered the use of photography for social reform.

Jacob Riis was born in Denmark in 1849.
  • He came to the United States in 1870.
  • Riis became a journalist, photographer, and social reformer.
  • He wrote about poor neighborhoods in New York City.
  • Many people living there were immigrants.
  • Riis used photographs to show difficult living conditions.
  • His famous book is How the Other Half Lives.
  • The book helped Americans understand the lives of poor immigrant families.
  • Riis wanted better housing and safer living conditions.
  • His work inspired many people to support reforms.
  • Theodore Roosevelt admired Jacob Riis and his work.
  • Today, Jacob Riis is remembered for helping improve the lives of many immigrants and poor families.


POP Interview and Civics Quiz:
  • N-400 Part 10:01. Is your income less than or equal to 400% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines?
  • USCIS 100:11. / 128.12. What is the economic system of the United States?
  • USCIS 100:58. / 128.73. What is one reason colonists came to America?


Family Fun:

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