Muckrakers in the 20th Century
Muckraking, or investigative journalism, as it was called, brought along a new Era of writing. Famous writer's like, Ida tarbell; Lincoln Steffens; and Upton Sinclair, "raked" in articles and books that changed history and the way people looked at society and politics. These Americans brought the people the real truth, the truth that needed to be revieled in order to make nessecary reforms that Americans take for granted today. The Oxford Dictionary states: a "muckraker" is one who is drawn to depraved interest in what is morally 'unsavory' or scandalous. Investigative reporting began almost unconsciously with Ida Tarbell's, "History of the Standard Oil Company published in "McClure's magazine during the early 1900's. This article depicted the illegal means by with John D. Rockefeller used to monopolize Oil companies all over the United States. Lincoln Steffen's, another notable muckraker of that time period, followed in Ida Tarbell's footsteps with the publication of The Shame of the Cities. There were mixed reactions across the nation following these exposes. George Washington Plunkitt, a prominent political leader and involved in scandulous activities, claims that Steffens "...gets mixed up! He'll make a fatal mistake...He
"Everybody's", and "Collier's were able to provide the nessecary funds for invesitigations and aquired a large enough audience to arouse nationwide concern (Electronic Library, online). This was a major breakthrough to the people who worked in packingtowns and overall, improved the health of the populace. The large municipal reaction to The Jungle lead to the Food and Drug Act passed by President Theodore Roosevelt after he read the novel. This provided that all meat was to be inspected and monitoring of the processing was manditory. Another remarkable writer, Upton Sinclair, changed history as it was known in the 1900's by his famous novel, The Jungle. " Breakthroughs in technology allowed for the mass production of magazine's, newspapers, and novels. Other laws that became the reuslt of mukrakers were the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Railroad Regulation Act. (Brittanica 412) Teddy Roosevelt was the first to use the word, and invented it during one of his speeches at the whitehouse in 1906. Steffens saw through the improvements and realized that some areas of the government were not reparable. Tarbell "rejected being labled a 'mukraker' (despite it's popularity), because she was convinced that in the long run the public they were trying to stir would weary of vituperation tgar uf you were tryung to sear permanent results the mind must be convinced" (Lowrie, online). " Tarbell and Steffens caused a stir in the country that made other journalists and ordinary people question the government's trustworthiness. "McClure's" magaizine was only one of the many periodicals that published expose articles. Most people during this time most likley did not want reform, frankly, because "bad" government beniffited some. These politions were not totally immune to the journalits' persuit of truth, however (Smith 79). It is most primarily a group of early 20th century American journalists who wrote detailed, factual accounts of the political and economic corruption caused by the power of big business in the United States.
Common topics in this essay:
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Acceptance Essays
