Muckrakers for kids: The Main Goal of the Muckrakers
The main goal of the Muckrakers
was to raise awareness of social injustices, inequality, corruption
and the abuse of political power in order to bring about reform. For
additional facts refer to the article detailing
Progressive Reforms at city,
state and federal levels.
Problems exposed by
Muckrakers
The problems exposed by Muckrakers
included: ●
Child Labor
● Poor education and
Illiteracy
● The effects of alcohol
abuse and the rise in crime and
● The rights of women and
the fight for
Women's
suffrage
● The bribery and corruption
of politicians and the political machines
● The rights of workers and
their working conditions
●
The negative effects of
Urbanization
and the squalid living conditions of the poor in the towns and
cities
● The ruthless
Robber Barons
and the unethical practices of
Big Business and Corporations
Famous
Muckrakers
The names of the most
famous Muckrakers and the problems they exposed are detailed
in the following table.
Famous
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era: 1890 - 1920
Famous
Muckrakers 1: Jacob Riis
- Jacob Riis (1849 –1914), the
city editor of the New York Tribune, author and
photographer publishes "How the Other Half Lives"
in 1890
graphically describing the squalor of the New York slums.
Famous
Muckrakers 2: Winston Churchil
(American Novelist) - 'A Modern Chronicle' was a
best-selling novel by American writer Winston Churchill
in 1910 exploring "the problem of the modern woman" and
the effects of divorce, in a world driven by
industrialization and business competition.
Famous
Muckrakers 3:
David Graham Philips -
David Graham Philips exposed political issues in his
book 'The Plum Tree' and showed the corrupting power of
money in 'The Second Generation' and wrote "The Treason
of the State" articles in Cosmopolitan
Famous
Muckrakers 4:
John Dewey -
1896: Educator and social reformer
John Dewey (1859 – 1952) establishes a “progressive”
school in Chicago.
Famous
Muckrakers 5: Ida Tarbell
- Journalist Ida Tarbell wrote the
"History of the Standard Oil Company" that was published
in McClure's Magazine.
Famous
Muckrakers 6:
Florence Kelley -
1899: The National Consumers’ League
was established by social and political reformer
Florence Kelley (1859 – 1932) fighting against
'sweatshops'.
Famous
Muckrakers 7: Lincoln Stephens
- Lincoln Stephens wrote "The Shame of
the Cities" in 1902 linking Big Business with crooked
politicians
Famous
Muckrakers 8:
Frank Norris -
1901: Frank Norris (1870 – 1902)
publishes 'The Octopus: A Story of California' in 1901 . Writing
in the naturalist genre about the conflict between the
California wheat farmers and the Southern Pacific
Railroad.
Famous
Muckrakers 9: Robert Herrick
- Robert Herrick wrote a muckraking
novel about about the ethics in the Meat packing
industry in 'The Memoirs of an American Citizen.
Famous
Muckrakers 10: Theodore Dreiser
- Theodore Dreiser wrote a muckraking
novel on the lifestyle of a Chicago magnate
Famous
Muckrakers 11: William Allen White
- Muckraker William Allen White
attacked wealth in 'A Certain Rich Man'
Famous
Muckrakers 12: William Henry Irwin
- William Henry "Will" Irwin
(1873–1948) was an American author, journalist and
managing editor of McClure's Magazine
Famous
Muckrakers 13: William English
Walling - William English Walling (1877–1936)
was an American labor reformer who wrote the article,
"The Race War in the North," for The Independent.
Famous
Muckrakers 14: Samuel Hopkins Adams
- Samuel Hopkins Adams wrote 'The Great
American Fraud' exposing fraudulent claims and
endorsements of patent medicines in America.
Famous
Muckrakers 15:
Upton Sinclair -
Upton Sinclair (1878 – 1968),
published his muckraking novel The Jungle in 1906 about labor
exploitation and appalling conditions in meatpacking
plants. Another book by Upton Sinclair, the 'Money
Changers', dealt with Wall Street and the
'Metropolis' exposed the antics of the "gilded rich" in
New York.
Famous
Muckrakers 16: Frances Kellor
- Frances Kellor (1873–1952) wrote the
book 'Out of Work' in 1904 about the devastation of
unemployment
Famous
Muckrakers 17: Gustavus Myers
- Gustavus Myers (1872–1942) wrote
about corruption in his book "The History of Tammany
Hall"
Famous
Muckrakers 18:
John Spargo -
John Spargo (1876–1966)
published 'The Bitter Cry of the Children' in 1907 about child
labor conditions in the coal mines and the plight of the
"breaker boys".
Famous
Muckrakers 19: Walter Rauschenbusch
- Theologian Walter Rauschenbusch
(1861–1918) the primary theologian of the “Social
Gospel” movement published his book 'Christianity and
the Social Crisis' in 1907.
Famous
Muckrakers 20:
Ida B.Wells -
1909: Ida B.Wells (1862 – 1931) an
African-American journalist, suffragist and Progressive
is instrumental in founding the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to challenge
racial discrimination.
Famous
Muckrakers 21: Edwin Markham
- In 1914 Edwin Markham (1852–1940)
published a book about of child labor in Children in
Bondage
Famous
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era: 1890 - 1920
The Origin of the Term
Muckrakers: President Theodore Roosevelt
The origin of the term
'Muckrakers' derives by a speech made in Washington
D.C. by President Theodore Roosevelt on April 14,
1906.
"Now, it is
very necessary that we should not flinch from seeing
what is vile and debasing. There is filth on the
floor
and it must be scraped up with the muck-rake; and
there are times and places where this service
is the most needed, of all the services that can be
performed..."
In his speech President Theodore
Roosevelt was referring to a character, with a
Muckrake in his hand, who was as described as a "man
who seeks worldly gain by raking filth" in the
'Pilgrim's Progress' written by John Bunyan. The
term 'Muckraker' was then used as a highly
derogatory term to describe sensational and
irresponsible journalists, novelists, and critics
who attempted to expose corruption in politics, the
abuses of business and social injustices. President Theodore Roosevelt both
needed and applauded the journalists, but at the
same time feared the excess of their over zealous,
truth-telling passion. His view was expressed in the
in "Cincinnati Enquirer" April 15, 1906 when
Roosevelt was quoted as saying,
"The men with the muck-rakes
are often indispensable to the well-being of
society, but only if they know when to stop raking
the muck".
Muckrakers for kids: Yellow Journalism
The Muckrakers were
then closely associated with 'Yellow Journalism' the
term that encapsulated the lurid articles that
appeared in the circulation battles of the newspaper
magnates between Joseph Pulitzer's New York World
and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal. Both
papers used 'Yellow
Journalism' and produced shocking, eye-catching
headlines and sensationalism in order to drive up
circulation. The scandalous elements and the crude
exaggeration of 'Yellow Journalism' were also a
feature of the popular 10 and 15 cent magazines such
as Collier's Weekly, Everybody’s Magazine, Munsey's
Magazine and McClure's Magazine
which entered mass production in 1900. The
term 'Yellow
Journalism' was coined by Erwin Wardman, the
editor of the New York Press following the
publication of a yellow cartoon as an experiment in
color printing designed to attract customers.
Muckrakers for kids
The serious, crusading
'Muckrakers' articulated Progressive ideas
investigating and reporting on social conditions and
political corruption in America but were tainted by
the emergence and practice of 'Yellow Journalism' .
Muckrakers for kids - President Theodore Roosevelt Video
The article on the Muckrakers provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 26th American President whose presidency spanned from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909.
Muckrakers
●
Facts about the Muckrakers for kids and schools
●
Summary of the Muckrakers in US history
●
The Muckrakers, a major
event in US history
●
Theodore Roosevelt, Muckrakers and Yellow Journalism
●
Fast, fun facts about the Muckrakers
●
Foreign & Domestic
policies of President Theodore Roosevelt
● Theodore Roosevelt Presidency and
Muckrakers for schools,
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