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The Daily Insight

What are muckrakers quizlet

Author

Mia Kelly

Published May 04, 2026

Who were muckrakers? They were journalists (writers for newspapers and magazines) who exposed the dirt, corruption, and ills of American society.

What is a muckraker?

A muckraker was any of a group of American writers identified with pre-World War I reform and exposé writing. The muckrakers provided detailed, accurate journalistic accounts of the political and economic corruption and social hardships caused by the power of big business in a rapidly industrializing United States.

What are muckrakers US history?

The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s–1920s) who crafted narratives that established their contemporary institutions and leaders as corrupt or immoral.

What is a muckraker in US history quizlet?

Who are the Muckrakers? Crusading journalists, photographers and authors who published their work in order to raise awareness, of awareness of social issues and injustices. … Raise awareness of social injustices, inequality, corruption.

What were the muckrakers goals quizlet?

The term muckraker was used in the Progressive Era to characterize reform-minded American journalists who wrote largely for all popular magazines. … The main goal of the Muckrakers was to raise awareness of social injustices, inequality, corruption and the abuse of political power in order to bring about reform.

What is another word for muckraker?

gossipmongerscandalmongertattlergossipcalumniatorbusybodyquidnunctattletalebabblernewsmonger

What is an example of a muckraker?

Another example of a prominent muckraker was Ida Tarbell. Much of her work focused on the practices of the Standard Oil Company. … Finally, Jacob Riis was a very important muckraker. He used his pen and his camera to show the realities of many people who lived in America.

What is an initiative quizlet?

Initiative: people have the right to propose a new law. … These all made elected officials more responsible and sensitive to the needs of the people, and part of the movement to make government more efficient and scientific.

What did muckrakers investigate and report upon?

a. The muckrakers were journalists who investigated and exposed the corruption in politics, business, and society.

Was Jacob Riis a muckraker?

Barre, Massachusetts, U.S. Jacob August Riis (/riːs/; May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, “muckraking” journalist and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in America at the turn of the twentieth century.

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Who were the muckrakers Where did the name originate?

Where did the name originate? Muckrakers were the many Progressive writers who practiced yellow journalism, grossly distorting the facts in order to sell their writing or to promote radical ideas. The name originated from the book Pilgrim’s Progress. How did Roosevelt handle the Coal Strike?

What was the focus of Ida Tarbell's articles?

The McClure’s magazine journalist was an investigative reporting pioneer; Tarbell exposed unfair practices of the Standard Oil Company, leading to a U.S. Supreme Court decision to break its monopoly.

What did the muckrakers consider their primary objective?

The muckrakers saw their primary objective as exposing social problems to the public.

Who was the most famous muckraker?

One of the best-known muckraking journalists of the early 20th century was Lincoln Steffens. Steffens began his career as a newspaper writer in New York City, where he specialized in writing about corruption and bribery in politics.

Who was the best muckraker?

Muckrakers were a group of writers, including the likes of Upton Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, and Ida Tarbell, during the Progressive era who tried to expose the problems that existed in American society as a result of the rise of big business, urbanization, and immigration.

What is meant by yellow journalism?

Yellow journalism was a style of newspaper reporting that emphasized sensationalism over facts. … The term originated in the competition over the New York City newspaper market between major newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst.

What is the opposite of a muckraker?

▲ Opposite of a person who belittles the worth of another person or cause. proponent. supporter. Noun.

How do you use muckraker in a sentence?

  1. Although the journalist likes to think of himself as a do-gooder, he is actually a muckraker who writes false stories about politicians.
  2. The candidate doesn’t ever respond to attacks made on his character by the political muckraker.

What is the synonym of tenement?

rental. apartment complex. high-rise apartment building. living quarters.

Was Upton Sinclair a muckraker?

Sinclair thought of himself as a novelist, not as a muckraker who investigated and wrote about economic and social injustices. But The Jungle took on a life of its own as one of the great muckraking works of the Progressive Era. Sinclair became an “accidental muckraker.”

What does an initiative do?

The ballot initiative process gives California citizens a way to propose laws and constitutional amendments without the support of the Governor or the Legislature.

What is government initiative definition?

In political terminology, the initiative is a process that enables citizens to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes and, in some states, constitutional amendments on the ballot.

What is the 17th Amendment quizlet?

17th Amendment. Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures.

What did Lincoln Steffens do as a muckraker?

He launched a series of articles in McClure’s, called “Tweed Days in St. Louis”, that would later be published together in a book titled The Shame of the Cities. He is remembered for investigating corruption in municipal government in American cities and for his leftist values.

Why was Jacob Riis considered a muckraker?

Each of the muckrakers was best-known for a particular target: Jacob Riis documented the desperate living conditions of people in New York City’s Lower East Side slums. Upton Sinclair used fiction as his vehicle to attack social ills.

Was Ida Tarbell a muckraker?

She was among a group of so-called muckrakers who helped establish the field of investigative journalism. Tarbell was educated at Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania) and taught briefly before becoming an editor for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (1883–91).

What is the difference between yellow journalism and muckraking?

The investigative techniques of the muckrakers included poring over documents, conducting countless interviews, and going undercover. This differed from yellow journalism, where some leading newspapers sensationalized stories using imagination rather than facts.

Is muckraker a negative word?

Immediately after Roosevelt’s speech, muckraker took on the sense of “one who searches out and publicly exposes real or apparent misconduct of a prominent individual or business.” In modern parlance the word is of rather fluid applicability and meaning, and may, depending on the context in which it is employed, carry

What were Ida Tarbell's accomplishments?

As the most famous woman journalist of her time, Tarbell founded the American Magazine in 1906. She authored biographies of several important businessmen and wrote a series of articles about an extremely controversial issue of her day, the tariff imposed on goods imported from foreign countries.

What methods did Ida Tarbell use to improve American life?

Ida Tarbell charged that Standard Oil was using illegal methods to hurt or destroy smaller oil companies. She investigated these illegal business dealings and wrote about them for a magazine called McClure’s. The reports she wrote led to legal cases that continued all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.

How did the muckrakers help initiate the Progressive Era?

The muckrakers played a pivotal role in initiating the Progressive Era, because they spurred everyday Americans to action. Unlike earlier sensationalist journalists, the muckrakers told their stories with the explicit goal of galvanizing their readers and encouraging them to take steps to address the issues.