What Are The Muckrakers Of The Progressive Era

Without some of the most famous muckrakers of the progressive era pushing the envelope of investigative journalism, legislation within the workplace would be dangerously underutilized. Fiscally committed and morally selective industrialists thought very little of the welfare of their workers, unless it happened to interfere with the progression of monopolies. Muckrakers of the early twentieth century sought to impact the common man, which is the heart of all production. The passion and sincerity of their writings spoke to society on both an intellectual, and emotional level. Without the support of customers, an industry is without money, or power. Their most fundamental, and essential tactic for turning their customers against them, is to expose
dishonest behaviour, that affects the lives of people who either buy their products, or work for them. Although, before discussing the historical significance of muckrakers, one must understand the meaning of the word, and the history of it. "Muckraking" is a word coined by President Theodore Roosevelt in a 1906 speech, meaning "a reform-minded journalists who wrote largely for all popular magazines and continued a tradition of investigative journalism reporting; muckrakers often worked to expose social ills and corporate and political corruption" as stated on Wikipedia. They played an essential role in the Progressive Era, by bringing light to issues that slipped underneath the public radar. They used education as their main weapon against unjust industrialists, and it actually (for the most part) worked. The question of honesty is inherent in the discussion of the Progressive Era.
The Progressive Era changed government legislation, through means of public understanding, and manipulating the concerns of the people. By allowing the problems of loose and unfair safety regulations to emerge into public consciousness, people had little choice but to discuss them, and decide what's most ethical and economical for their country to flourish without the common man being treated dishonorably. While, "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair was only pragmatically a critique of the meat-packing industry, it was, at heart, a call to socialism. His critique brought light upon a problem hidden underneath a camouflage of public focus. That is to say that society at the time thought so little of the meat-packing industry that very few would question the asepsis of it's production. Sinclair was the only one who had both written of this topic, and had his writings widely read, which is why "The Jungle" eventually became one of the most well-known muckrakes of the twentieth century. It's partially-unintentional effect on government legislation will be looked back on for decades to
come. Since the Progressive Era, investigative journalism has dawned the level of respect it deserves, which has caused it to become far more common, and less ground-breaking.
This is partially due to the fact that since "The Jungle" brought sanitation to a higher degree of importance to the general public, scientists, and journalists have since been trying much harder to educate people of what is and is not healthy. Contradicting information has also caused most people to be slightly more suspicious, and more likely to question what they're told. A recent example of this could be Subway putting a chemical in their bread, which is often found in yoga mats. Azodicarbonamide is used to make Subway's bread fluffier, and has been banned in both Europe, and Australia. After it had been brought to the public's attention, most people reacted quite unfavorably, for Subway. One customer created a petition to get rid of the azodicarbonamide, which accumulated over 50,000 signatures alone. Subway then responded to these complaints, by removing the chemical from the bread, making it significantly healthier than it was prior to the petition. Although, a spokesperson for Subway later stated that they were planning to do that
anyway. Though, Subway's story required very little effort on the journalist's end, because it was dealing with a topic that most of society is already concerned with. Ida Tarbell, a muckraker with a level of fame just under that of Upton Sinclair, once wrote a nineteen-part piece in McClure's Magazine, dealing with John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company, and his unjust practices that lead him to own over eighty percent of Cleveland's oil refineries. That was not only an interesting story to investigate, but one that was necessary for the U.S. to grow and develop into a fair government, with educated, and competent citizens. Rockefeller's impact on her own father's business, is what motivated her to write such a detailed article. This article displays the importance of personal investment, and passion in the field of investigative journalism. Tarbell not only believed that these truths needed to be heard, but was angry as well. She was a woman who demanded attention, and action to take place to prevent this type of unfairness to be repeated in the future.