Jacob A. Riis
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Never Give Up!
BY MARTIN FARQUHAR TUPPER
Never give up! its wiser and better
Always to hope than once to despair:
Fling off the load of Doubt’s cankering fetter,
And break the dark spell of tyrannical care:
Never give up! or the burthen may sink you-
Providence kindly has mingled the cup,
And in all the trials or troubles, bethink you,
The watchword of life must be, Never Give Up!
Never give up! there are chances and changes
Helping the hopeful a hundred to one,
And, through the chaos, High Wisdom arranges
Every success-if you’ll only hope on:
Never give up! for the wisest, is boldest,
Knowing that Providence mingles the cup,
And of all maxims the best as the oldest,
Is the true watchword of Never give up.
Never give up! though the grape shot may rattle,
Or the full thunder cloud over you burst,
Stand like a rock, and the storm or the battle
Little shall harm you though doing their worst:
Never give up! if adversity presses
Providence wisely has mingled the cup,
And the best counsel, in all your distresses,
Is the stout watchword of Never give up.
Jacob August Riis never gave up his fight for basic human rights to all people rich and poor. Pasted to the inside of his diary was the poem above, giving him inspiration. An immigrant from Denmark, Jacob moved to America in 1870. After finding his place as a police reporter, Jacob used photography to expose the retched housing conditions in the slums. He shaped the way Americans lived and continues to make an impact after his death through the Jacob Riis Settlement.
Other Interesting Sites
Images of Spirit and Struggle
Jacob Riis’ Photography
Photos of Jacob
Links to full text books by Jacob Riis
Life Hero of the Week Profile
Sources
Ambrose, Stephen and Douglas Brinkley. Witness to America: An Illustrated
Documentary History of the United States from the Revolution to Today. New York: Harper Collins Publishers,1999.
Caraballo, Mario and Lam Duong. Jacob Riis Settlement. 2001. 17, Jun. 2002. http://riissettlement.org/.
Jacob A. Riis: A Sketch of His Life and Work. New York: The Macmillian Company, 1914.
Lane, James. Jacob A. Riis and the American City. Port Washington: National University Publications, 1974.
This website was produced for a history 105 class at Parkland College.
Copyright, 2002, Ashley Zimmerman.
