Muckrackers in the Progressive Era

Muckrakers

Popular magazine writers that exposed the corruption and scandal that the public loved to hate in the 1900's.

"The Shame of the Cities"

The Shame of the Cities was a work published in 1904 by Lincoln Steffens that sought to expose public corruption in many major cities throughout the United States. The work consists of articles written for the magazine McClure's in one collection. His goal was to provoke public outcry and thus promote reform. It showed the suffering and hardships of those who immigrated to America.

"The Treason of the Senate"

The Treason of the Senate was a series of articles in Cosomoplitan magazine by David Graham Phillips in 1906. Phillips exposed the corruption of the United States Senate, particularly the corporate magnate-turned-Senator Nelson Aldrich from Rhode Island. During the composition of the articles Phillips received help from newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, who then desired to publish sensationalist stories to attract more readership of his publications.

"The Bitter Cry of Children"

The Bitter Cry of Children is a book by socialist writer John Spargo. Published in 1906, it is an expose of the horrific working conditions of child laborers.

Essential Question

What does it mean to have power? For these Muckrackers power was in the press. As much info and "dirt" they could bring up on any particular person allowed them to influence societies views. Much of their power to do so led to reforms in industry and helped the working class of america.

Connection

Previous Area of Study
The  during pre-revolution times, Radical Whigs were a group of British political commentators who feared the British monarchy and Parliment was posing a threat on their liberty. They warned the people of the colonies of corruption. Through the use of press they were able to gain power against the British much like the working class of America was able to gain power to obtain regulations and standards to make working conditions better.
Contemporary Topic
Julian Assange has brought muckraking into the 21st century. His creation of the website Wikileaks allows people to share classified documents under his editorship. Assange himself has uncovered secrets of the Church of Scientology and the wars in Iraq and Afgahnistan. With his skills in muckraking he has been able to expose the truth on important topics that have changed the way people think.

What if these brave men and women never exposed the truth? Would industry be diffrent today?

Labor Unions

 

 

As smoke stacks rose and silos died, the ne Industrial revolution was changing America. Although, the standard of living had rose sharply , and well fed american workers enjoyed more physical comforts, the hard working men and women of America strived for more.

 

 

National Labor Union

Organized in 1866 as one of the first national-scale unions. They aimed to unify workers across locales and trades challenge their bosses. The NLU included skilled, unskilled, and farmers in is 600,000 members. the National Labor Union agitates the arbitration of industrial disputes anf the eight-hour workday. The depression of the 1870's knocked back labor including wage reductions which touched off strikes on the railroads.

 

 

Knights of Labor

A new organization that picked up where the National Labor Union left off. Began as a secret society, with private rituals, passwords, and handshakes in 1869. The Knights included skilled and unskilled workers but barred liquor dealers, proffesional gamblers, lawyers, bankers, and stockbrokers. Known infamously for the bombing at Haymarket Square. As Chicago police advanced on a protest against alleged brutalities by the aouthorities, a dynamite bomb was thrown killing and injuring many. Forever known as anarchists.

 

American Federation of Labor

The American Federation of Labor was founded in 1886 and was led by Samuel Gompers. The federation consisted of an association of self-governing national unions, each of which kept its own independence. It sought for better wages, hours, and working conditions. The federation's main weapons were the walkout and the boycott. The greatest weakness of organized labor was that it still embraced only a small minority of all working people.

Connections

The use of unions is still strong today. The activity of includes collective bargaining over wages, benefits, and working conditions. The two major unions in America are the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Federation. These unions are much like the labor unions in the past by lobbying for its people and the tactics of stikes and protests.

The main weapon used by labor unions are strikes and protests. This was much like the Boston Tea Party. The Sons of Liberty in the British coloney of Massachusetts dumped the tea imports from the East India company in the Boston Harbor. This was a huge protest against British authority. This protest was sparked by the idea of "No taxation without representation"

Essential Question

What responsibility does the government or the "wealthy" have to care for the poor?

The government and the wealthy have little to none responsibility for the poor. The use of labor unions is a good example of a legal and responsible way for the poor to come together and fight for themselves.

Evaluation

The use of labor unions was a succesful way for the "poor" to gain in society and the economy. The AFL using protests, stikes, and boycotts succeeded in gaining rights for the members of its union and better working conditions, wages, and hours for the workers in america.

What if the labor unions had not succeeded in gaining better wages, hours, and working conditions for its members? How would the industrial workers of today be affected?