During the 1800s, the United States progressed at a remarkable
rate. Commerce gave rise to regional specialization and contributed
to the growth of cities. By 1860 the nation had prospered to the
extent that it no longer depended on Europe to purchase its goods.
Innovations in technology helped increase production, especially in
textiles, and transportation projects helped reduce costs of
certain products. As the country progressed, so did its citizenry
and their attention to certain interests: movements on issues like
women's rights, capital punishment, workers' rights, education, and
mental health swept across the country. As these groups advanced
their causes, a kind of journalism began to capture readers'
attention: the expose. Although examples similar to it had appeared
occasionally in various publications years before, it became more
prevalent at the turn of the century. In the spring of 1906,
President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech in which he
compared certain crusading journalists to a character in John
Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress: "There is filth on the floor, and it
must be scraped up with the muckrake; and there are times and
places where this service is the most needed of all the services
that can be performed." In Muckrakers: A Biographical Dictionary of
Writers and Editors, Professor Edd Applegate profiles the men and
women who either wrote muckraking journalism or edited publications
that featured muckraking articles. Some of the most important
figures of journalism are here, including Nellie Bly, Upton
Sinclair, Lincoln Steffens, George Kennan, Jack London, Frank
Norris, Rachel Carson, George Seldes, and I.F. Stone. The book
contains more than fifty entries, each discussing the subject's
professional career and major works. In some cases, comments about
the subject's work by others have been included, as well as
suggestions for further reading. As a resource guide, Muckrakers
will be of interest to professors, scholars, and students
interested in learning more
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