How did muckrakers contribute to the reforms of this era?
Muckrakers & Reformers IntroductionThe period from the last years of the Gilded Age in the 1890s and early 1900s to the late 1920s is called the "Progressive Era." Show
That was because most Americans were looking at problems like women's rights, workers' rights, unsafe and unsanitary cities, obscenely rich millionaires with poorly paid servants, racial inequality, environmental destruction, and alcoholism, and were like, "This is America, yo, let's do something about it." Most people wanted to see progress happen, even though they didn't all agree on what it should look like. For most of American history, folks had been avoiding some of the biggest problems in American society. You know how most houses have a broken stair or a leaking faucet somewhere? And everyone in the house comes up with ridiculous workarounds like jumping over the stair or keeping water bottles under the sink? And then everyone gets so used to it that people who want to actually fix the stairs or faucets just sound like complainers? Well, issues like income inequality, women's rights, alcoholism, and environmental destruction were America's broken stair issues in the early-20th century. Because of this, early activists came off as complainers and nitpickers. A common term was "muckraking" because they were bringing ugly truths up to the surface. However, instead of shutting up, muckrakers just kept getting louder and louder. Eventually, politicians listened and became reformers who dramatically changed American society. However, these changes weren't always wise or generous. An ugly undercurrent of racism and classism—being prejudiced against people of a certain class—had infected the Progressive movement, and even as they advocated on behalf of the white working poor, many Progressives still wanted to attack or remove non-white people and non-white culture. Plus, they sometimes "advocated" for the poor in a way that sounded more like insulting the poor. What is Muckrakers & Reformers About and Why Should I Care?A New York Times editorial decried the "Biggest Beef Recall Ever." It reported on a "nauseating video" of diseased cows in filthy conditions at a Westland/Hallmark Meat Company plant, "stumbling on their way to a California slaughterhouse." The Humane Society of the United States, which randomly selected the plant for videotaping, took the footage and then distributed it nationwide via news stations and the internet. That controversial footage clearly indicated that Americans were being sold meat processed from sick animals that never, according to government food safety standards, should have become part of the food supply. In response to the resulting public outcry, the Westland/Hallmark Meat Company issued a full recall of more than 143 million pounds of beef produced over two years. This included—as the Times article noted—"37 million pounds that went to school-lunch programs."blank">The Jungle, which sparked the first national scandal over the meatpacking industry. Many of the issues first introduced during that Progressive-Era scandal remain live wires in today's political and social climate.
Just as Upton Sinclair himself learned through bitter experience, reforms could produce results that differed considerably from the original intent of the reformer. The Humane Society sought to dramatize the plight of sick cows to win better treatment of animals, but early reaction to the scandal focused almost entirely on tightening standards over which animals should be blocked from entering the human food supply. And no fundamental restructuring of the American beef industry today appears imminent. The economic pressures of the capitalist marketplace—the cost of land, the push to maximize output, the competition from foreign beef importers, the expense of new facilities, and the costs of removing diseased cattle from production—all work against the reformers' cause. A century ago, Progressive reformers encountered similar setbacks. They tackled food safety along with a host of other issues: alcohol abuse, women's rights, economic concentration, corporate power, political corruption, and poverty. But they didn't solve them. Tellingly, every one of these issues remains problematic in our own time. How do we, as a society, address these social challenges? Can the successes and failures of the Progressive reformers of a century ago provide us with guidance, or should they serve as a cautionary tale? Muckrakers & Reformers ResourcesBooksAlan Dawley, Changing the World: American Progressives in War and Revolution (2003) Benjamin P. DeWitt, The Progressive Movement (1915) Henry Demarest Lloyd, Wealth Against Commonwealth (1894) John Moody, The Truth About the Trusts (1904) Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives (1890) Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of the Cities (1904) MusicVarious Artists, 1915: "They'd Sooner Sleep on Thistles" (2007) Various Artists, Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry, 1891–1922 (2005) Various Artists, 1916: "The Country Found Them Ready" (2005) Various Artists, 1908: "Take Me Out with the Crowd" (2004) Various Artists, Stomp and Swerve: American Music Gets Hot (2003) ImagesBoss Tweed Votes for Women Campaigning, Even Without the Vote Speaking a Thousand Words Tight Accommodations Carrying a Nation to Temperance Movies & TV There Will Be Blood (2007) Iron Jawed Angels (2004) Bowling for Columbine (2002) New York: A Documentary Film (1999) Backstairs at the White House (1979) Up in Central Park
(1948) WebsitesWindy City Progressivism Tour a Tenement Prohibition Amendments 19th Amendment Probing Prohibition Historical DocumentsThe "Other" Half Muckrakers Drinking and Degeneracy Singing Out Against Alcohol A Black Suffragette Speaks Out What role did muckrakers play in the Progressive Era?Muckrakers were journalists and novelists of the Progressive Era who sought to expose corruption in big business and government. Their work influenced the passage of key legislation that strengthened protections for workers and consumers.
What was the most important reform that came from the muckrakers?Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1905 to expose labor abuses in the meat packing industry. But it was food, not labor, that most concerned the public. Sinclair's horrific descriptions of the industry led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, not to labor legislation.
How did muckrakers influence improvement for economic reforms during the Progressive Era?They pushed for better treatment of workers. Journalists called muckrakers wrote stories about corruption and unfair practices in business. To help make businesses more efficient and profitable, some reformers promoted the idea of scientific management. The idea was to apply scientific ideas to make each task simpler.
How did muckrakers pave the way for reforms in American society?How did muckrakers pave the way for political reforms? They exposed corruption and wrote about it.
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