During the 19th century, the republican party focused on the "American System". The main idea was that the nation would use it's resources (i.e. humans for labor) to help form America into an industrial leader, while not being affected but foreign interruptions. Many new immigrants were flocking to America looking to form a new life for themselves. They worked in terrible working conditions and lived in conditions just as bad.
"...a society dominated by a few gluttonously rich robber barons who feasted on life's pleasures while the teeming masses struggled to stave off starvation" (Streitmatter 94).
How come the rich always seem to get richer while the poor seem to get poorer? Especially today, the middle class is diminishing at an extremely rapid rate.
When the population needed it the most, the fourth estate began fighting against the corruption of the nation. The term "Muckraking" became popular after President Theodore Roosevelt referred to the investigative journalists as "raking muck."
Lincoln Steffens was the first recognized muckraker. He dedicated himself to investigating the inner workings of the municipal government of the United States. Steffens traveled from city to city, exposing the corruption in each one as he went.
The lead muckraking magazine was founded by S.S. McClure. McClure used his magazine to expose the corruption in the oil industry; Standard Oil in particular. He also chose Ida Tarbell as the reporter on the matter. This was Tarbell's big break. She quickly became a household favorite based on her style of writing, and the way she presented her topics.
"These articles are the Uncle Tom's Cabin of to-day, revealing the criminalities and outrages of the trust system" (Streitmatter 99).
Muckrakers began to see the fruits of their labor in 1906 with the passing of the Hepburn Act. This act made penalties extremely severe for railroads that had arranged deals with large companies.
Exposing the horrid conditions of the meatpacking industry and patent medicines were other focuses of the muckrakers. Upton Sinclair wrote "The Jungle" giving his audience a look into the meatpacking industry, and the lack of regard for the product. "...exhausted workers sometimes fell into the huge vats where meat was being canned - which meant that consumers were unknowingly eating human flesh" (Streitmatter 101). Many critics reported Sinclair's series was actually fiction as opposed to investigative journalism.
There were many issues with patent medicines being advertised and sold all over the country. Many of the "remedies actually contained morphine, or some other ingredients not mentioned (i.e. alcohol), esentially causing its users to become addicted to drugs. From these different revelations spawned the Pure Food and Drug Act.
Consumer driven industries were not the only things that had corruption within them; government was another major outlet of corruption, especially the senate. David Graham Phillips debuted a series in 1906 that began seeking out the corrupt officials and having them removed from office. By 1912 Phillips had exposed 75 different senators, all of whom left office.
Because of Muckraking the population is aware of what is going all around them. It opens their eyes to things that they may not have seen before. The general public does not get to see behind the closed doors of the government and other industries, and muckraking broke down the wall between the two.
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