Pros And Cons Of Muckrakers

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In one of President Theodore Roosevelt’s speeches, he identified investigative journalists that reveal the details of unknown and potentially harmful ideas or situations as muckrakers. In the past, muckrakers have exposed and helped society deal with some serious issues. Without those dedicated journalists, there would be no Pure Food and Drug Act, no Environmental Protection Agency, nor many other important methods of protection in America today. In her book, Poison Penmanship: The Gentle Art of Muckraking, Investigative journalist Jessica Mitford states that being titled as a muckraker is something to take pride in. Although they are disliked by certain people that are negatively affected by their work, those who are titled as muckrakers are honorable and appreciated by people they assist in society. …show more content…

Around that time period, the number of traffic accidents ending in death were growing, and most people blamed uneducated drivers. Along with others, Nader hypothesized that the vehicles themselves were likely to blame. Six years later, Nader published Unsafe at Any Speed, a book that made America realize that those people were correct. The automobile company General Motors was one of the main sources of faulty automobile production that Nader cited. The company tried to work themselves out of it, but failed, as they were accused of unfairly hiring private investigators to get information on Nader in order to decrease his potential influence in Washington, DC. Although General Motors found themselves losing a lot of money and business opportunities because of the book, Unsafe at Any Speed was published for the greater good of the nation’s drivers, and likely saved many lives as a result. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act was established in 1966 because of Nader’s work, and automobiles have been produced with safety as a priority ever

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