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