Muckraker’s Mission: Progressivism
Assignment Links
Read through the INTRODUCTION below, then use the ASSIGNMENT LINKS above to complete the assignment
Muckrakers: Exposing the Problems of Society
To bring about change, reformers first had to ignite public anger. A major weapon was the Press. Newspaper reporters visited the slums and described the horrible conditions that existed there. They photographed shocking images of slum life. They wrote novels revealing gruesome details of the meatpacking industry. Muckrakers worked to change public opinion with the hope that the public would force the government to take action against the ills of society.
Muckrakers - A summary of Muckrakers and their activities
Tenement Life- History and photographs dealing with the tenement experience.
How the Other Half Lived - History channel video about how Jacob Riis’ photojournalism changed America’s views of urban living conditions in tenement apartments.
Muckrakers in the Progressive Era - Read essays written by the muckrakers themselves: Upton Sinclair (meatpacking industry), Ida Tarbell (big business), Jacob Riis (tenement life), John Spargo (child labor).
Food and Drug Administration - Read about how the FDA monitors food and drug production today.
Legal Patent Medicines - Read about legalized drugs (patent medicines) before the Pure Food and Drug Act
The War Against Patent Medicines - More information on Muckraker’s efforts to delegalize dangerous patent medicines and poisons.
Child Labor - Investigative photos of children working in factories, in mines, selling newspapers, and much more from The History Place.
Child Labor in the World Today- Find out how to join other kids around the world in the fight against child labor.
Monopoly Busting- from the past to the present - Read about America's history of monopoly busting- with information on current monopolies.
Suffragettes: The Women’s Rights Movement
The struggle for women's rights goes back many years. Prior to the American Civil War, women began to organize protests, marches, and conventions in an attempt to promote women's rights. At the turn of the century, women made some progress for their cause but many Americans were still unprepared to recognize women as equals.
Women’s Suffrage Primary Sources - provides a number of pdf documents related to women’s suffrage
Women's Influence- Explains how women claimed more public and leadership roles for themselves during the Progressive Era.
Suffrage- An introduction to the issues and arguments for and against suffrage.
Women's Movement Timeline- A timeline of key events in the Women's Rights Movement (1848-1994).
Women in the Progressive Era - Focuses on the contributions of women to the American Progressive Movement and women's suffrage in particular.
Votes for Women: Suffrage Pictures and Cartoons - Find political cartoons that focus on the Women's Rights Movement. To use: click on SEARCH by Keyword, type cartoon in the search box and click on SEARCH, click on the title of the cartoon you want to view, click on the cartoon to enlarge it.
Woman's Sphere Cartoon - Find a political cartoon focused on the Women's Rights Movement.
Woman Suffrage in Political Cartoons - View political cartoons related to the suffrage movement.
Fight for your Right! - Primary sources on women’s suffrage
Night of Terror: Women’s March on Washington video - A short documentary on women’s march on Washington in 1917
Battling Jim Crow: The Fight for Equality
After the end of Reconstruction, African Americans in the South lost their own hard won political rights through Jim Crow laws. These laws led to segregation in schools, on trains, and in other public places.
In the 1880's, life became progressively worse for African-Americans. The Depression of 1893 caused many people to lose their jobs. Consequently, in some areas (mainly the South), unemployed whites took their anger out on blacks. In the 1890's, white lynch mobs were responsible for the murders of more than 1,000 blacks.
National Civil Rights Museum - The 'INTERACTIVE TOUR' highlights the Civil Rights Movement from its beginning until the present, with information on Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois - Read about how W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington disagreed on strategies for black progress.
W.E.B. Du Bois - Read about W.E.B. Du Bois and his views on Booker T. Washington's leadership in the fight for equality.
Booker T. Washington - Read some biographical information about Booker T. Washington
The African American Experience in Ohio- political cartoons - Access political cartoons by clicking on this link. Find 'SEARCH for KEYWORD' and click on this. In the search box type in 'political cartoons,' click SEARCH and then browse through the collection offered.
NAACP Timeline - A timeline tracking the NAACP's role in the fight for equality. Note: The NAACP is also a product of the progressive movement.
Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois videos - Some short documentaries about Washington’s and DuBois’ activism
The Temperance Movement: Prohibition of Alcohol
The Temperance Movement was formed in opposition to the consumption of alcoholic beverages. It began in the early 1800's. By the end of that century, the Temperance Movement was gaining strength. Women, in particular, recognized alcohol as a threat to their families. Drinking was a frequent cause of violence and added to economic hardships within the home. As our nation grew in population and cities swelled with impoverished people, alcohol surfaced as the root of society's evils. Before long, political leaders would be pressured to debate the prohibition of alcohol in the country.
Anti-Saloon League 1893-1933 - A digital archive of the Anti-Saloon League, which formed in favor of Prohibition.
Temperance Movement - Background information about the Temperance Movement in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Temperance Movement Political Cartoons - Look at political cartoons from the Temperance Movement.
National Temperance and Prohibition Movement - This article summarizes the Temperance and Prohibition Movement, but also provides links at the bottom of the page for further research.
Tenements, Working Conditions, Child Labor, and Government Corruption
The Tenement Act of 1901 - Act that helped clean up the Tenements in New York
Tenement Sanitary Conditions - Yuck.
History of Child Labor in the US - Information about child labor in America and efforts to end these labor practices
Ending Child Labor Through Education and School Systems
Working Conditions in Industrial America
Efforts by the Federal Government to Improve Working Conditions
What is OSHA? — Article about how the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
to improve the conditions of workers.
How the Gilded Age’s Top 1 Percent Thrived on Corruption - Vast corporate wealth and a fee-based governance structure fueled widespread corruption during America's Gilded Age.