Muckrakers and the Progressive Era: Reform and Social Change

Introduction: Reform From Within the System

When writing about the muckrakers and other progressives who sought to effect social change at the turn of the twentieth century, it is important to understand the nature of that change. Most progressives actually believed in the United States social system and its extensions into areas of finance, industrialization, sanitation, and more. They simply wanted to fix these things rather than completely overhaul them or establish entirely new social systems and institutions. To that end, muckrakers and other progressives effectively wrought social change by working within and alongside the current system.

They created action at the federal, state, and local levels by disseminating information and motivating people toward causes that sought to help the weaker elements of the country — those exploited by big business and industry, and by many of the other developments created by the Industrial Revolution. Muckrakers viewed social responsibility as a means of correcting problems in society. As members of one of the newly industrialized nations on the planet, muckrakers felt an obligation to create a society in which the ideals of justice, equality, and liberty enshrined in documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were actually practiced.

Muckraking Writers and Their Social Themes

It is important to note that during this period in the country's history, a large wave of immigrants was still arriving in America daily. The vast majority of these immigrants, unlike those involved in immigration today, came from European countries. Muckrakers therefore felt a need to uphold the country's ideals for its newest members as well as for those in society who were less fortunate. It is also worth noting that race was never a central priority in Progressivism. For the most part, however, Progressives believed it was both necessary and appropriate — given America's level of social advancement — to improve the daily living conditions of all citizens, rather than only those of the wealthy elite.

Several important writers belonged to the muckraker category during the Progressive Era, and they addressed a variety of social issues that were both relevant and pressing for the time. Upton Sinclair was one such writer. He produced several novels, all featuring strong social themes. He is most widely known for The Jungle, which many historians have characterized as a portrayal of the meat-packing industry. However, a closer analysis of the work reveals that it is actually a call to socialism and a drastic redistribution of the nation's — and ultimately the world's — wealth. The novel also depicts the difficult plight of immigrants during this period; additional works detail the ills of the coal and oil industries as well as inner-city slums.

Jacob Riis wrote How the Other Half Lives in the declining years of the nineteenth century, an exposé about urban poverty that brought widespread public attention to the conditions endured by the poor. Other muckrakers worked in newspapers and print media, which gained large followings thanks to the investigative journalism that became a hallmark of the Progressive Era. The most prominent of these were William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. They reported real-life accounts of crime, finance, politics, and scandal that engaged readers and helped move them to action. Muckrakers generally targeted large business corporations and the ubiquitous trusts that emerged during this period, using the power of the press to expose abuses of power and demand accountability.

Progressive Politicians at the State Level

A number of politicians made substantial contributions to the Progressive movement. Not surprisingly, many were located in the Western states — the last to be settled on the continent — which seemed, in some ways, to tolerate less corruption than the more established cities of the Midwest and the East. Robert La Follette, who became governor of Wisconsin, was a particularly notable figure during this time. The political climate was considered somewhat bipartisan during the era, with Progressives occupying the liberal wing. La Follette used his election to clean up the political scene in Wisconsin and inspired several other states to follow his example.

Specifically, La Follette created a direct primary system and passed a corrupt practices act, both of which were useful for reducing the influx of corruption into state-level politics. To further reform the political environment in Wisconsin, the governor weakened the hold of lobbyists by enacting limits on campaign spending. Although illustrated here through the example of Wisconsin, these issues were prevalent across the country and were concerns that Progressives everywhere sought to address.