Lincoln Steffens A definition of a muckraker is “a person who intentionally seeks out and publishes the misdeeds, such as criminal acts or corruption, of a public individual for profit or gain. Sometimes this information is linked to powerful businessmen. Muckraker is often applied specifically to journalists” (muckraker). Lincoln Steffens exposed the power of corporations and new big businesses that were packing their pockets.
In the speech “The Man with the Muck-rake” presented by Theodore Roosevelt the topics of investigative journalism, and speaking the truth are discussed. His point was made through a variety of rhetorical techniques including the use of analogy, anaphora, and ethos. The use of these three devices allowed him to convince the audience that investigative journalism, if done by lying, is one of the worst possible evils. When starting the speech Roosevelt compared the present (1906) to the time of George Washington in the late 18th century. His use of analogy illustrates the similarities and differences between the two times, this allows the audience to understand that the problems that exist now have been overcome before.
The definition of a muckraker is someone who points out unpleasant truths, exposed businesses, and governments or wrongdoings or injustices. During the 1890's to the 1920's there was a period of eliminating corruption in government. How people lived, their workplace, and unsafe products. These people were dying because of unsanitary food and workplaces. Someone needs to expose how the government treats these people who work hard but get low wages.
Muckraker was a name given to describe campaign journalist, some targeted big business others corruption. On June 4, 1906 a Neill Reynolds report described how meat packing conditions are insufficient to be clean (Doc. B). Others who focused on corruption in city government affecting city services like police and sanitation
What is a muckraker? Muckrakers were investigative journalists who wrote exposés about corruption in politics and business. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt made a speech called “The Man with the Muck Rake”, about investigative journalists. “To assail the great and admitted evils of our political and industrial life with such crude and sweeping generalizations as to include decent men in the general condemnation means the searing of the public conscience”. He began calling these types of writers muckrakers.
Chapter 9: Theodore Roosevelt: The Conservative as Progressive Theodore Roosevelt believed in heroes. During his time, politics were frowned upon because the rich ran the government corruptly. Roosevelt was determined to join politics to fight the corruption. An ardent fighter, Roosevelt was aggressive. He loved being around aggressive people; furthermore, he loved wars, having been a hero in the Spanish-American War.
Muckrakers would expose the filth of 19th-century American society using rumors and accounts from victims and witnesses. This has not changed in the 21st century. Journalists today still get eyewitness accounts, use rumors, and other methods to expose corruption. In modern times we see this all the time with CEOs being exposed for fraud, or embezzlement, celebrities doing illegal
Lincoln Steffens and Theodore Roosevelt both have views on the political corruption. Their point of views are similar and different. Political corruption is when politicians mess up and destroy the political system. This all took place during the gilded age. The gilded age was a time period that was also known as the golden age.
During the Progressive Era (1890 – 1920) the pen was used to combat social ills and evils and made calls for reform. Progressivism depended upon newspapers and magazines to inform the public about political corruption and social problems. During this period, there was a popular group of Americans known as the Muckrakers. They were the first investigative journalist who sought to expose evils of modern, industrial and urban capitalist society. The muckrakers got their nickname from Theodore Roosevelt, who said that crusading journalists were “often indispensable to... society, but only if they know when to stop raking the muck” (America: A Narrative History, 780).
Progressives were a group of well educated people in the late 1800s and early 1900s that were from a city that tried to help solve social and political problems. They all debated on how to fix problems until they came to a decision. They thought it was important to launch a reform because of the problems in civil rights,conservation,healthcare and medicine,and many more problems.
The Progressive reformers were a group a people who sought to improve the overall standing of the United States through reformation. The Progressive group was made up of mostly college educated, middle class people born in the United States. Due to the middle class being such a big group of people, not all the Progressive reformers believed in the same issues. The main belief of the Progressive reformers was that the foundation for this group was that they all believed that the government must be involved with trying to solve the issues within American Society.
This issue helped bring about constitutional change and the Nineteenth Amendment, which was passed in 1919. Investigative journalism was extremely important during the Progressive Era. Investigative journalists during this era were called “muckrakers.” The term was used to characterize
During the 20th century There were various social and profitable changes that the American society had underwent. These changes included modifications in technology and science, government roles, gender roles, health and wellbeing, and the conceptions of freedom. Progressive reformers desired to cast out corruption that was in the government, adjust some of the business forms, approach health threats, and boost the working conditions. Reformers also made a stand to provide the public with better direct control to be over the government through straightforward primaries that proposed candidates for the public office, absolute elections of senators, women’s suffrage, and recall. By the opening of the 20th century, libeling journalists were beginning to cause an uproar of the mishandling of child labor laws, fraudulency in the city’s
The Progressive Era was a time period of American history beginning with efforts at reform lasting from the 1890’s through the 1920’s, during World War I. Those years after the war marked the era of political transformation where progressive concepts of effectiveness and knowledge guided the government’s decision making. This brought many people and crowds to address politics with contradicting ambitions. By the end of World War I, political concerns changed and many leaders of the progressive era passed from the political stage by mid-1920. The Hepburn Act is the United States federal law giving Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) power to set max railroad rates and extended it jurisdictions.
The progressives of the late 1800s and early 1900s may not have been a society or a union, but they were united under a common cause. That common cause was the need for change, and not just small changes; but the need for changes at the local, state, and national level. As they are now, things were far from perfect during the Progressive Era, and progressives sought to improve social welfare, worker rights, conservation of the country’s resources, and more. Of all of the issues with the United States’ social welfare in the early 1900s, the circumstances of child labor were arguably the worst.
