Muckraking During The Progressive Era

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Muckraking is the action of searching out and publicizing scandalous information about famous people or news in an underhanded way. During the Progressive Era, muckrakers hoped to influence the public to address certain political and social problems. Muckrakers would use journalism to combat social evils and made calls for reform. Journalists who investigated issues wrote intense, opinionated articles. During the Progressive Era, the term "muckraking" came about when president Theodore Roosevelt when he used a phrase from John Bunyun. Muckraking journalists exposed all of America's problems such as rapid industrialization and growth of cities. Ray Stannard Baker and Upton Sinclair were two among the many muckrakers who helped spread the gossip

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