Photograph by Jacob Riis of homeless children in Five Points (NYC)
Reading the introduction of Tyler Anbinder’s Five Points you get a good sense of what life was like in the infamous Five Points of New York. Even though this area housed and produced many horrible things it was a key component in New York’s urban and political history. I present to you three primary sources (term used to describe material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied) that the author used in constructing his work.
- Author: Joel H. Ross, What I Saw in New-York (1851) – I would consider this a trust worthy yet slightly bias primary source. This is a person’s experience while in Five Points. Since the narrator was not a Five Points native, I fear they might have over exaggerated events they saw/experienced or maybe had prejudices toward some of the inhabitants of the area.
- Photographer: Jacob Riis, photographs of the Five Points slum in New York- I would consider any of his photographs of Five Points a trustworthy primary source, since photographs were very difficult to fake or alter. Photography also allows the viewer to judge the “frozen moment” for them self, therefore making it a more objective source.
- Publisher: Methodist Mission, Date published: 1861, The Monthly Record of the Five Points House of Industry, 1854-1860– this was a collection of records of the Methodist Mission at Worth Street, New York, from the year 1854 to 1860. I would also consider this a trust worthy primary source because not only are there many records that you can cross check with each other, the mission was present at the location while the records were being compiled which makes for a more accurate document.