The Muckraker's Impact On The Progressive Movement

The Muckrakers, were investigative journalist who succeeded to exposed the social ills of citizens and corruption of both corporation and politics, and they had a huge impact on the success of the Progressive movement. Without the muckrakers the progressive movement would have not achieved the well-known status they had. These crusading journalists exposed bribery and corruption at city and state level, as well as in Congress. They called attention to the exploitation of child labor, the revulsion truth of lynching, and the cruel business practices employed by capitalists. The muckraker’s journalism resulted in legislations and reforms that had long-lasting effects. Magazines were the leading channels for muckraking. Samuel S. McClure and John Sanborn Phillips started the bestselling McClure's Magazine in May 1893, which stood up against corporate monopolies and crooked politicians, while exposing the terrible working and living

He intended to show the public the horrifying effects capitalism had on workers in the Chicago meatpacking industry. He hoped his exposing would cause reforms. In his book, Sinclair described how workers labored long hours in cold, and cramped conditions. How they caught diseases, lost fingers, nails, and even limbs by acid, and unsanitary locations. However the public’s outcry was more focused on Sinclair uncovering of the products being sold to the general public, rather than workers plight. The reason for this is because The Jungle described how the meat packing industry produced spoiled meat that they covered with chemicals, had rats inside their warehouses that left piles of excrement everywhere, and skin, hair, stomach, ears, and nose were ground up and packaged as cheese. Within months of Sinclair’s book being published, Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act to stop these shocking and appalling