Background "There is work that profits children, and there is work that brings profit only to employers. The object of employing children is not to train them, but to get high profits from their work." -- Lewis Hine, 1908

Based on his own experiences as an immigrant and his knowledge of the slums as a police reporter, Riis advocated for practical solutions to a wide array of social problems. Through lectures, newspaper and magazine articles, and books like <em>How the Other Half Lives</em> (1890) and <em>The Children of the Poor</em> (1892), Riis worked tirelessly to influence public opinion.