Muckraker Essay

The work of investigative journalists shines throughout the history of American journalism from the earliest of newspapers to today’s modern news outlets. From the work of Neil Sheehan publishing the Pentagon Papers to the Watergate scandal, uncovered by Woodward and Bernstein, hard-hitting, investigative journalists have recorded the annals of American society, politics and corruption. However, before the Sheehans and the Woodwards of the world came the muckrakers.
Muckrakers, a term coined by President Theodore Roosevelt, refers to the investigative journalists who “rake to himself the filth of the floor” (Weinberg, 1961). These so-called muckrakers were reporters that focused on long-form, investigative journalism that were published in
The concept of muckraking cannot be fully comprehended without understanding the relationship between the muckraking phenomenon and the reforms occurring in the early 1900s. The Progressive Era and muckraking, for the most part, go hand in hand. These whistleblowers such as Ida Tarbell or Lincoln Steffens helped expose the injustice and corruption that was occurring in the nation where all men were created equal. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle highlighted the underbelly of the Chicago meatpacking industry both in regards to the work conditions as well as the quality of meat provided to the public. His exposé led to the passing of the Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1907, which increased sanitation methods for meatpacking as well as regulated the branding of meats (Greenberg, 2016). Another muckraker, David Graham Phillips, uncovered the corruption present in the Senate in the early 1900s when wealthy businessmen used their connections to help campaign for Senators and ultimately influence legislature. Phillips’ The Treason of the Senate precipitated the passing of the 17th amendment, which radically changed the way senators are elected to their position (Sarasohn, 2012). While many muckrakers hoped to influence policy, their main goal was to uncover the seedier sides of America, after all, they attempted to “expose, not solve” the
It is of no surprise then that the cultural values of the American people greatly influenced the inception of muckraking journalism. During the Progressive Era, citizens believed in working together to make progress in their lifestyles and in the government (Bausum, 2007). News outlets such as McClure’s had to do their part in propelling the country forward in the realm of progress. The muckrakers were different from the writers of old literary magazines in that they catered to a larger more middle class audience. This need for mass-circulation was brought about greatly by the increase in immigration to the United States in the early part of the century. With the opening of Ellis Island in 1892, more people from across the world were able to try their hand at a better life in the prosperous United States. As a result, the nation became a melting pot of cultures and identities, making a mass-circulated magazine necessary to reach them