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 . . ."
- Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man with the Muck Rake” Speech, 19061
In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt coined the term “muckrakers” to refer to the journalists who exposed corruption in politics and big business. It was a reference to a character in John Bunyan’s novel, Pilgrim’s Progress, who was so focused on the mud and dirt below him that he failed to see the heavens above him. Roosevelt believed that the journalists were falling victim to the same phenomenon; he held that they were only seeing the bad aspects of society rather than the good. They were like the "muckrackers" described in the book. Roosevelt could not, however, discount the "muckrakers'" ability to enact positive change.
Muckrakers Definition
Muckrakers were the investigative journalists of the Progressive Era. They worked to expose corruption and unethical practices at all levels of government, as well as in big business. Although united by name, muckrakers focused on a wide variety of societal ills and were not necessarily aligned in their causes. Causes varied from improving conditions in the slums to imposing food and drug regulations.
The Progressive Era
A period in the late 18th and early 19th century defined by activism and reform.
Muckrakers History
The history of muckrakers has its roots in the yellow journalism of the mid to late 19th century. The goal of yellow journalism was to increase circulation and sales, but not necessarily to report actual facts. This meant that publications preferred to cover stories with a certain level of sensationalism. And stories of corruption and scandal definitely caught readers’ attention. Muckrakers used this to their advantage to advocate for change.
What caused society's problems at that time? Put simply: industrialization. Residents of rural areas flooded into cities, looking for new factory jobs, while at the same time immigrants were coming from Europe to improve their livelihoods and situations. As a result, cities became overpopulated and impoverished. Factories were unregulated, meaning that the work conditions were sometimes dangerous and the employees had little guarantees of being properly compensated.
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era Examples
Now, let's take a look at several "muckrakers" of the Progressive Era to get a better idea of the key figures and causes.
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era Examples: Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair is among the most famous of the muckrakers, known for his explosive expose of the meatpacking industry in The Jungle. He wrote of the exploitative, long hours as well as the dangers workers faced such as losing fingers and limbs in the machinery or falling victim to disease in the cold, cramped conditions.
The great packing machine ground on remorselessly, without thinking of green fields; and the men and women and children who were part of it never saw any green thing, not even a flower. Four or five miles to the east of them lay the blue waters of Lake Michigan; but for all the good it did them it might have been as far away as the Pacific Ocean. They had only Sundays, and then they were too tired to walk. They were tied to the great packing machine, and tied to it for life.” - Upton Sinclair, The Jungle, 19062
Fig. 1 - Upton Sinclair
His goal was to aid the plight of workers, but middle and upper-class readers found issue with another subject in his book: the lack of food quality and safety regulation. The plight of workers they could ignore, but the image of rats running over their meat was simply too much to cast aside. As a result of Upton Sinclair’s work, the federal government passed both the Pure Food and Drug Act (which created the FDA) and Meat Inspection Act.
Upton Sinclair was unique in his vocal support for socialism.
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era Examples: Lincoln Steffens
Lincoln Steffens began his muckraking career writing articles for McClure’s Magazine, a magazine dedicated to the work of muckrakers. He focused on the corruption in cities and spoke out against political machines. In 1904, he published the articles in a single collection, The Shame of Cities. His work was important in gaining support for the concept of a city commission and city manager not involved with political parties
Political machines
Political organizations that work to keep a certain individual or group in power.
Fig. 2 - Lincoln Steffens
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era Examples: Ida Tarbell
Similar to Lincoln Steffens, Ida Tarbell published a series of articles in McClure’s Magazine before publishing them in a book. The History of the Standard Oil Company chronicled the rise of John Rockefeller and the corrupt and unethical practices he used to get there. Ida Tarbell’s work was important in getting the Standard Oil Company dissolved under the Sherman Antitrust Act in 1911.
The Standard Oil Company had forced Ida Tarbell’s father out of business.
Fig. 3 - Ida Tarbell
Our present law-makers, as a body, are ignorant, corrupt and unprincipled…the majority of them are, directly or indirectly, under the control of the very monopolies against whose acts we have been seeking relief...”
- Ida Tarbell, The History of the Standard Oil Company, 19043
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era Examples: Ida B. Wells
Ida B. Wells was another prominent female muckraker. She had been born into slavery in 1862 and became an anti-lynching advocate in the 1880s. In 1892, she published Southern Horrors: Lynch Laws in all its Phases, which combatted the notion that black crime led to lynchings. She also spoke against the systemic disenfranchisement of black citizens (and poor white citizens) in the South. Unfortunately, she did not find the same success as her peers.
In 1909, Ida B. Wells helped found the prominent civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Fig. 4 - Ida B. Wells
Muckrakers of the Progressive Era Examples: Jacob Riis
Our last example, Jacob Riis, shows that not all muckrakers were writers. Jacob Riis used photographs to expose the overcrowded, unsafe, and unsanitary conditions in New York City slums. His book, How the Other Half Lives, helped gain support for the regulation of tenement housing which would materialize in the Tenement House Act of 1901.
Fig. 5 - Jacob RIis
The Significance of Muckrakers
The work of muckrakers was essential in the growth and success of Progressivism. Muckrakers exposed the problems so that their middle and upper-class readers could band together to fix them. The Progressives were successful in forcing many reforms including the legislation we discussed above, but it is important to note that the early civil rights movement did not see the same victories.
The Progressives
Activists of the Progressive Era
Muckrakers - Key Takeaways
- Muckrakers were the investigative journalists of the Progressive Era, working to expose corruption and other societal ills.
- They often focused their work on a specific subject. Not all muckrakers were unified in causes.
- Notable muckrakers and their subjects include:
- Upton Sinclair: the meatpacking industry
- Lincoln Steffen: political corruption in cities
- Ida Tarbell: corruption and unethical practices in big business
- Ida B. Wells: disenfranchisement and lynching
- Jacob Riis: conditions in tenement houses and slums
- Muckrakers were crucial to the growth and success of Progressivism.
References
- Theodor Roosevelt, 'The Man with the Muck Rake', Washinton D.C. (April 15, 1906)
- Upton Sinclair, The Jungle (1906)
- Ida Tarbell, The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904)
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