Introduction

The United States experienced an impressive wave of economic and industrial expansion during the last half the 19th century (Streitmatter, 93). Political sentiment revolved around the success of American business and traded in its previous notions of equality to focus on the importance of private gain (Streitmatter, 94). As a result, corruption bled into the hands of business executives and government officials. There was never a greater need for muckraking journalists to step-in, investigate and inform. These journalists were progressive, and with reform in mind, investigated to expose the actions of industrialists and politicians, alike (Streitmatter, 94). Early pioneers of this form of journalism aimed to provoke change in the realm of politics, industry and social order, and often accomplished this change through their detailed stories — often featured in magazines.

While this blog cannot highlight all of the many earnest-muckraking journalists, it aims to illustrate this form of journalism and its emergence in the United States. This blog highlights three of the journalists who pioneered the movement toward investigation, accountability and exposure. 

The Definition

Merriam-Webster defines a muckrake as someone who investigates to expose the misconduct if a prominent person or business (Merriam-Webster, online).

The Term

A portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt.
source: Wikimedia Commons

The term muckraker was captured by President Theodore Roosevelt, in his 1906 speech titled, The Man with the Muck Rake, where he stated:

"Muck Rake, the man who could look no way by downward, with the muck rake in his hand; who was offered a celestial crown for his muck rake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake to himself the filth of the floor, (Public Broadcasting Service, "The Man with the Muck Rake)."

Lincoln Steffens

(above) A portrait of Lincoln Steffens.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

In October 1902, Lincoln Steffens, along with Claude H. Wetmore, published their article Tweed Days in St. Louis in McClure's Magazine (unz.org, archive). He worked for McClure's, which was known for its hard-hitting and investigative journalism. The 1902 article demonstrates the type of work and investigation Steffens put into a single story as it shed light on the corruption of the St. Louis government. In the article, Steffens accused the city government of being corrupt and said business was filled with greed. Steffens ended his examination of the St. Louis government on an open-ended note, and gave readers the incentive to take action and become aware:

"The point is, that what went on in St. Louis is going on in most of our cities, towns, and villages. The problem of municipal government in America has not been solved. The people may be tired of it, but they cannot give it up - not yet, (unz.org, archive). "

Quite often, Steffens rummaged through public records and interviews to expose the true nature behind government. He traveled city-to-city with this intention. Steffens is credited as being one of the first muckrakers and his work remains an important part of history to this day. 

(above) A snapshot of Steffens' introduction to
Tweed Days in St. Louis.
Source: unz.org archive

Ida Tarbell

(Above) A portrait of Ida Tarbell.
source: ESL Notepad, blog.

Ida Tarbell was born in 1857 in the heart of oil region in Northwestern Pennsylvania and later established a lasting career as a muckraking journalist. Tarbell's most noteworthy pieces of journalism was produced after she took on the oldest, and largest, oil company in the United States, Standard Oil. Standard Oil provided 90 percent of the oil to all business and home in the United States (Streitmatter, 97). Tarbell's investigative work was published in 1902 in McClure's Magazine. In a series of 18 installments, Tarbell exposed some of the ruthless and competitive actions taken by Standard Oil, behind the scenes, (Streitmatter, 99). In one of Tarbell's installments, she said:

"The great human tragedies of the Oil Regions lie in the individual compromises which followed the public settlement of 1880. For then it was the man after man, from hopelessness, from disgust, from ambition, from love of money, gave up the fight for principle which he had waged for seven years, (Public Broadcasting Service, "A Journalistic Masterpiece)"

Her work altered public sentiment, and later attracted a large audience, which resulted in policy change, including the Hepburn Act. The Supreme Court also ruled Standard Oil violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, and the company was then forced to divide into 38 smaller companies throughout the U.S. (Streitmatter). 

Ida's investigation landed in the public sphere because it was riveting to read, and applied to all in the U.S. benefiting from the use of oil. Her work made an impressive impact on a large company dominating the industry.

(above) A snapshot of the front page of Ida's
first 18-series installment regarding the
Standard Oil Company.
source: The Power of the Front Cover, blog

Upton Sinclair

(above) A portrait of Upton Sinclair.
source: Wikimedia Commons

For a sum of $500 the newspaper, Appeal to Reason, paid writer Upton Sinclair to write about his observations of the stockyard workers in Chicago (Streitmatter, 100). Sinclair spent seven weeks with meatpacking workers and interviewed with a series of individuals associated with the meatpacking industry, including managers, doctors and lawyers (Streitmatter, 100). What he found was shocking and his observations were later published in a series titled, "The Jungle" in 1906. One of the most striking reports was Sinclair's revelation that workers were falling into meat-canning vats due to exhaustion, and consumers were consuming the tainted meat (Streitmatter, 100). After these findings reached President Roosevelt, he sent agents to Chicago to confirm the allegations. Following these actions, Sinclair wrote a letter to Roosevelt. In it, he stated:

"I am glad to learn that the Department of Agriculture has taken up the matter of inspection, or lack of it, but I am exceedingly dubious as to what it will discover [...] A man has to be something of a detective, or else intimate with the working men, as I was, before he can really see what is going on (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration).

(above) An excerpt of a letter from Upton Sinclair
to President Roosevelt.
source: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Sinclair had a clear support for investigation and his work ultimately led to the passing of the Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Meat Inspection Act, in 1906, (Library of Congress).

Bibliography

Claude H. Wetmore and Lincoln Steffens, Tweed Days in St. Louis: Joseph W. Folk's Single-handed Exposure of Corruption, High and Low (McClure's Magazine: 1902). http://www.unz.org/Pub/McClures-1902oct-00577

Encyclopedia Britannica."Lincoln Steffens."         http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/564894/Lincoln-Steffens. (Image).

ESL Note Pad. "'Ida Tarbell' The Reporter who Took on Standard Oil and Won! From VOA."             Last modified April 24, 2010. http://eslnotepad.blogspot.com/2010/04/ida-tarbell-reporter-who-took-on.html. (Image).

Library of Congress. "Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, 1902-1933."             http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/photos-chicago/langarts3.html

"muckrake." Merriam-Webster.com. 2014. http://www.merriam-  webster.com/dictionary/muckrake.

Public Broadcasting Service, "A Journalistic Masterpiece."              http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/rockefellers-mcclures/.

Public Broadcasting Service, "The Man with the Muck Rake."             http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/tr-muckrake/.

Rodger Streitmatter, Mightier Than the Sword: How the News Media Have Shaped American   History, (Colorado: Westview Press, 2008). 93-100. 

The Power of the Front Cover. "1902: History of Standard Oil (McClure's Magazine)."             http://thepowerofthefrontcover.wordpress.com/1902/10/01/1902-history-of-standard-oil-mcclures-magazine/. (Image).

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, "Letter from Upton Sinclair to President Theodore Roosevelt," 1906. http://media.nara.gov/Public_Vaults/04574_001.pdf. 

Wikimedia Commons. "Upton Sinclair."             http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Upton_Sinclair_cph.3c32336.jpg. (Image).

Wikimedia Commons. "T. Roosevelt." http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:T_Roosevelt.jpg. (Image).