Which statement best describes Jacob Riis?

• A. A muckraker who wrote How the Other Half Lives
• B. A muckraker who wrote The Jungle
• C. A settlement house founder
• D. An immigrant labor organizer

Answer: (A)

Jacob Riis is best understood as a muckraking journalist who used photography and vivid writing to reveal the harsh living conditions of New York City’s tenements. His book How the Other Half Lives exposed overcrowding, poor sanitation, and poverty, aiming to shock the public and spur reforms in housing, sanitation, and urban policy during the Progressive Era. This combination of investigative reporting and photojournalism is what defines his impact.

The other descriptions don’t fit as well. The Jungle, for example, is a muckraking work by Upton Sinclair about the meatpacking industry, not Riis. Riis did not found a settlement house—that distinction belongs to reformers like Jane Addams. And he wasn’t primarily an immigrant labor organizer; his work focused on documenting conditions to inspire public action and policy change rather than organizing workers.