In the United States, muckrakers were the name for writers whose aim was to expose corruption: i.e., to search for and expose misconduct in public life.
In chronological order:
- 1908 - Ray Stannard Baker "Following the Color Line," written to expose racial discrimination.
- 1906 - David Graham Phillips "The Treason and the Senate, " exposing child labor.
- 1905 - Ida Tarbell and Thomas Lawson, "Frenzied Finance", a report about stock fraud.
- 1905 - Charles Edward Russell. He wrote about social dislocation.
Biographical Facts About each of these four figures.
(1) Ray Stannard Baker (1870–1946) — Following the Color Line (1908)
Pen name / alternative persona: Baker published essays and rural life sketches under the pseudonym David Grayson. (Encyclopedia.com)
Origins & early life: Although born in Lansing, Michigan, his family moved when he was young to Wisconsin (St. Croix Falls), where his boyhood experiences shaped much of his later pastoral writing. (Wisconsin Historical Society)
Career shift from law to journalism: Baker briefly attended law school at the University of Michigan but left after a semester to begin work in journalism (starting in Chicago). (EBSCO)
Muckraker / Progressive journalist: He joined McClure’s Magazine in 1898 and contributed to muckraking investigations (e.g., railroads, corporate abuses) before cofounding The American Magazine in 1906. (Encyclopedia.com)
Wilson biographer & award: Later in life, Baker became the authorized biographer of President Woodrow Wilson; his eight-volume Woodrow Wilson: Life and Letters (1927–1939) earned the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 (for its final volumes). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Context of Following the Color Line (1908): In 1908, Baker published Following the Color Line: An Account of Negro Citizenship in the American Democracy, one of the first major journalistic probes into racial conditions in the United States, exploring segregation, disenfranchisement, and social obstacles faced by African Americans. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
(2) David Graham Phillips (1867–1911) — The Treason of the Senate (1906)
Early life & education: Phillips was born in Madison, Indiana, and graduated from Princeton University in 1887. (archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu)
Journalistic beginnings: He worked as a reporter in Cincinnati and then in New York (for The Sun and New York World) before turning to independent journalism and fiction. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Novelist & journalist hybrid: Phillips published The Great God Success (1901), which enabled him to fund his investigative journalism full-time; he blended narrative techniques with reportage in many of his works. (Wikipedia)
“Treason of the Senate” series and impact: Beginning in March 1906, Phillips published a nine-part series, “The Treason of the Senate” in Cosmopolitan, charging that many U.S. Senators were beholden to corporate interests rather than the people. This series helped fuel public pressure that contributed to the eventual adoption of the 17th Amendment (popular election of senators). (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Tragic death: On January 23, 1911, Phillips was walking in Gramercy Park, New York, when he was shot six times by a man (Fitzhugh Coyle Goldsborough) who claimed Phillips had libeled his family in a novel. He died the next day. (Wikipedia)
(3) Ida Tarbell (1857–1944) & Thomas W. Lawson — Frenzied Finance (1904/1905)
Since this entry involves two collaborators (Tarbell and Lawson), I’ll offer a few facts about each (combined enough to total ~5), but with emphasis on their collaborative or contemporaneous roles.
Scientific training & method: As a young woman, Tarbell was drawn to the sciences (especially geology and botany); she applied scientific rigor and method to her investigative journalism. (PBS)
Pioneer of investigative journalism: Her History of the Standard Oil Company (1904) is considered a landmark in the muckraking tradition, exposing John D. Rockefeller’s business methods and influencing antitrust litigation. (PBS)
Constraints as a woman journalist: In a time when women had limited professional outlets, Tarbell’s success in magazine journalism (e.g., McClure’s) was especially notable and paved the way for female investigative writers. (PBS)
Long career in writing and biography: Beyond Standard Oil, Tarbell wrote biographies (e.g. of Abraham Lincoln) and continued in journalism and lecturing. (PBS)
(3a) Thomas W. Lawson
Insider turned exposer: Lawson was a Boston financier and stock speculator who used his knowledge of the markets to publish a sensational series titled “Frenzied Finance” (in Everybody’s Magazine, 1904–05) that revealed manipulation, speculation abuses, and corrupt financial practices. (Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias)
(Bonus) Role in muckraking movement: His financial exposés complemented those of journalistic muckrakers by revealing fraud from within finance, lending insider credibility to critiques of Wall Street. (Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias)
Context of Frenzied Finance: In Frenzied Finance, Lawson exposed shady practices in the stock and insurance markets, speculative bubbles, stock manipulations, and conflicts of interest in financial houses—thus helping to popularize public skepticism of unregulated markets. (AcademicDictionaries and Encyclopedias)
(4) Charles Edward Russell (1860–1941) — social dislocation/exposures (circa 1905)
Editorial lineage & early work: Russell was born in Davenport, Iowa (Sept. 25, 1860), son of the editor of the Davenport Gazette; he learned newspaper work under his father. (Encyclopedia.com)
Muckraker reputation / major exposé: In 1905, he published The Greatest Trust in the World, a scathing exposé of the beef (meatpacking) trust (Chicago) that was influential in Progressive Era reforms. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Diverse reform interests: Russell’s writings spanned a wide range of social concerns—slum housing (including exposing church owned slums in New York), prison conditions in the South, railroad abuses, and inequality. (Encyclopedia.com)
Political activism & socialism: He joined the Socialist Party in 1908, saw socialism (despite his limited theoretical grounding) as a challenge to concentrated corporate power. (EBSCO)
Later career and public roles: Russell wrote biographies, novels, poetry, and diplomatic commentary. He ran (unsuccessfully) for New York political office (governor, senator, mayor) on the Socialist ticket, and during WWI supported U.S. entry (leading to his expulsion from the Socialist Party). (Encyclopedia.com)
On “social dislocation” themes: Russell’s journalism often focused on the dislocations caused by industrial capitalism—how workers, farmers, and urban dwellers were uprooted, exploited, or marginalized by corporate consolidation and monopolies. His exposition of the Beef Trust and his critiques of institutional corruption speak directly to those social stresses. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
“Ray Stannard Baker.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“Ray Stannard Baker.” PBS — American Experience: Wilson feature. (PBS)
“Baker, Ray Stannard (1870–1946).” Encyclopedia.com. (Encyclopedia.com)
“Ray Stannard Baker” entry, Wisconsin Historical Society. (Wisconsin Historical Society)
“David Graham Phillips.” Wikipedia. (Wikipedia)
“David Graham Phillips.” Britannica. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“Phillips, David Graham (1867–1911).” American National Biography abstract. (anb.org)
“David Graham Phillips Manuscripts, 1902-1950.” Princeton (finding aid). (Finding Aids)
“Madame Muckraker: Ida Tarbell.” PBS article. (PBS)
“Muckrakers.” Universalium. (entry on Thomas W. Lawson & others) (Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias)
“Muckrakers.” The Free Library (on Frenzied Finance) (The Free Library)
“Charles Edward Russell.” Wikipedia. (Wikipedia)
“Charles Edward Russell.” Britannica. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
“Charles Edward Russell.” Encyclopedia.com. (Encyclopedia.com)
“Charles Edward Russell papers, 1864–1941.” Library of Congress finding aid. (Finding Aids)
“The Davenport Writers Project: Charles Edward Russell.” (Augustana College). (Augustana College)
“Muckrakers: 10 Tales …” HistoryCollection.com (on Russell) (History Collection)
Worthy of honorable mention:
- Ida Minvera Tarbell (1857 - 1944), U.S. journalist, known for "muckraking" exposés of political and corporate corruption; also a biographer, notably of Abraham Lincoln; and the only lady in the bunch!
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More Presidential Trivia:
- American presidents, (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt, were Nobel Prize winners. In 1906, Roosevelt received the award for being a mediator and arbitrating an end to the Russo-Japanese conflict; there was a dispute over Manchuria and Korea. Wilson received the prize in 1919 for establishing the League of Nations after World War I (1914 - 1918).
The "teddy bear" is named after Roosevelt's nickname Teddy because he went hunting and didn't want to shoot a baby cub. Many people think a teddy bear with roses is an irresistible gift for Valentines Day?
Kindle eBooks - Biographies & Memoirs of Presidents & Heads of State
In Opinion— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 3, 2019
Mark Schmitt writes, "When corruption is perceived as universal, those in power can use investigations and allegations of corruption as a weapon. This has been the pattern in Brazil, for example, and Trump has followed the playbook as well."https://t.co/YFUOqYcuQA
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What the USA needs right now is some good "#muckrakers". https://t.co/ov3ZjHu3qj— My Fox Nooze (aka Joie de Vivre Magazine) (@FoxMarks_ATX) September 3, 2019
