muckraker biographies

Questions

• 1) In your own words, describe what a party boss is and what a party boss does

• 2) How did Boss Tweed manipulate elections?

• 3) How was Boss Tweed able to steal millions of dollars from the city of New York?

The MuckrakersThe Muckrakers

• Who?Who?

• What?What?

• Why?Why?

• Where?Where?

• When?When?

• (picture)(picture)

Lincoln Steffens & Thomas NastLincoln Steffens & Thomas Nast

Municipal CorruptionMunicipal Corruption

Who?

• Thomas Nast, cartoonist (1840-1902)

What?

• Nast’s cartoons helped to remove the Tweed Ring & Tammany Hall from power in New York City

Why is this important?

• The Tweed Ring controlled NYC politics for years and stole millions of taxpayer dollars

• Nast’s cartoons brought the Tweed ring down

• When Tweed fled to Spain, he was caught because people recognized him thanks to Nast’s cartoons

Where?

When?

• The Tweed Ring lost in the election of 1871.

Who? Lincoln Steffens

• Born, San Francisco 1866, died 1936

What?• Through his articles and books, such as

The Shame of the Cities and The Struggle for Self-Government; Steffens exposed corrupt political machines in St. Louis, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York.

The Shame of the Cities

Why?

• Steffen’s work paved the way for the break-up of these political machines as well as important municipal legislation.

Where?

When?

• 1902-1911 editor of McClure’s Magazine

Municipal Corruption; Nast & Steffens

• (Draw a simple picture to represent the ideas we discussed)

Question

• How many specific problems can you recall from our earlier lessons on urban poverty at the turn of the century?

Urban Problems

• Crowded tenements

• Homelessness

• Orphans

• Soul-crushing poverty

• Crime

• Pollution

• Fires

Who?

• Jacob Riis; 1849-1914

What?

• Riis’ book How the Other Half Lives and accompanying pictures exposed urban poverty.

Why?• 1889 his pictures and articles seen by N.Y. Governor T. Roosevelt

• The tenements he exposed were shut down

• His book led to efforts to help the urban poor

Where?

When?

• 1890

Jacob Riis & Urban Poverty

• (Draw a simple picture to represent the ideas we discussed)

Turn to someone and tell them what you can

remember about The Standard Oil Company using as few words as

possible

Who?Who?

• Ida Ida Tarbell; Tarbell; 1857-19441857-1944

What?What?

• Tarbell published "The History of Tarbell published "The History of the Standard Oil Company" in the Standard Oil Company" in McClure’s magazineMcClure’s magazine

• Her articles were extremely well-Her articles were extremely well-researched, detailed, and easy to researched, detailed, and easy to read.read.

• They became very popularThey became very popular

Why?Why?

• Her articles raised public Her articles raised public awareness of Rockefeller’s awareness of Rockefeller’s ruthless monopoly.ruthless monopoly.

• Tarbell’s efforts led to the Tarbell’s efforts led to the eventual breakup of the eventual breakup of the Standard Oil monopoly in 1911.Standard Oil monopoly in 1911.

Where?Where?

• Her articles Her articles were read were read across the across the countrycountry

When?When?• Standard Oil was broken up by Standard Oil was broken up by

the government in 1911the government in 1911

Ida Tarbell & monopoliesIda Tarbell & monopolies

• (Draw a simple picture to represent the (Draw a simple picture to represent the ideas we discussed)ideas we discussed)

How dangerous is food?How dangerous is food?What isn’t safe to eat?What isn’t safe to eat?

• How do you know?

Read the article and answer the following questions:

• 1) What is the name of the corporation distributing the salmonella peanut butter?

• 2) How many people died from the tainted peanut butter?

• 3) What are 3 reasons the article suggests for the contamination?

• 4) What are some reasons this company was able to sell tainted peanut butter?

Upton Sinclair & Food SafetyUpton Sinclair & Food Safety

Who?

• Upton Sinclair: Born in Baltimore 1878, died 1968

What?

• Wrote a “novel” about immigrants working the Chicago stockyards in 1905 called: The Jungle

The JungleThe Jungle • There would be meat stored in There would be meat stored in great piles in rooms; and the great piles in rooms; and the water from leaky roofs would water from leaky roofs would drip over it, and thousands of drip over it, and thousands of rats would race about on it. It rats would race about on it. It was too dark in these storage was too dark in these storage places to see well, but a man places to see well, but a man could run his hand over these could run his hand over these piles of meat and sweep off piles of meat and sweep off handfuls of the dried dung of handfuls of the dried dung of rats. These rats were rats. These rats were nuisances, and the packers nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers would go into the hoppers together. together.

The JungleThe Jungle

• This is no fairy This is no fairy story and no joke; story and no joke; the meat would be the meat would be shoveled into carts, shoveled into carts, and the man who and the man who did the shoveling did the shoveling would not trouble to would not trouble to lift out a rat even lift out a rat even when he saw one – when he saw one – there were things there were things that went into the that went into the sausage in sausage in comparison with comparison with which a poisoned which a poisoned rat was a tidbit.rat was a tidbit.

Why?

• President Theodore Roosevelt read the book and was horrified.

Why? continued

• As a result of As a result of Sinclair’s book and Sinclair’s book and the President’s the President’s reaction, Congress reaction, Congress passed both the passed both the Pure Food and Pure Food and Drugs Act and the Drugs Act and the Meat Inspection Act Meat Inspection Act in 1906 in 1906 (when).(when).

Chicago, IL & entire USA

Where?

Why Pure Food & Why Pure Food & Drug Drug Act?Act?• Patent medicinesPatent medicines

• Medicines claiming Medicines claiming to cure every to cure every illness were sold illness were sold by unlicensed by unlicensed traveling salesmen.traveling salesmen.

• The medicines The medicines often contained often contained dangerous dangerous amounts of alcohol amounts of alcohol or drugsor drugs

Influence of patent medicinesInfluence of patent medicines

• Coca-Cola Coca-Cola & 7up were & 7up were created by created by pharmacistpharmacists and used s and used to contain to contain cocaine cocaine and lithium and lithium

Upton Sinclair & Food Safety

• (Draw a simple picture to (Draw a simple picture to represent the ideas we represent the ideas we discussed)discussed)

Quick ReviewQuick Review

• When I say Tarbell, You say…When I say Tarbell, You say…

Broke up Standard Oil!

Quick ReviewQuick Review

• When I say Riis, You say…When I say Riis, You say…

Urban Poverty!

Quick Quick ReviewReview

• When When I say I say Nast, Nast, You You say…say…

Municipal Corruption!

Boss Tweed!

Quick Review

• When I say Sinclair, You say…

FDA!Food Safety!

Quick ReviewQuick Review

• When I say Steffens, You say…When I say Steffens, You say…

Municipal Corruption!

Homework:• In a well-written paragraph, please

explain which muckraker you think had the most impact on American society & why?

• Give two reasons to support your opinion and one reason why the muckraker you chose was more important than a different muckraker (counter-argument)