Muckrakers and New Jersey Politics
Central issue, problem, or question: How did New Jersey’s economic and
political institutions facilitate the rise of political bosses and machines? How did
journalists like Lincoln Steffens attempt to combat political corruption?
Significance: This lesson explores muckrakers’ attempts to expose corruption
and foster political reform by focusing on Lincoln Steffens’ writings on New
Jersey politics.
New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Social Studies:
Standard 6.4 (United States and New Jersey history). High School: I-2
(Discuss the rise of the Progressive Movement).
Objectives: After learning about muckrakers and analyzing primary source
documents, students will be able to:
• Describe political corruption and the rise of machine politics in New
Jersey.
• Explain how muckrakers like Lincoln Steffens sought to expose
political corruption and encourage reform.
• Compare and contrast the goals and methods of political bosses and
political reformers.
Abstract: Middle school students will learn about the gerrymander in Jersey City
and about Jersey City’s reform mayor, Mark Fagan. They will compare the goals
and methods of political bosses and political reformers and draw a cartoon
depicting a confrontation between the two types of politician. High school
students will learn about the Pennsylvania Railroad’s role in New Jersey politics
and of Lincoln Steffens’ exposé, which described New Jersey as a “traitor state.”
In the role of political reformer or party boss, students will write a letter to
McClure’s Magazine responding to Steffens’ accusations.
Duration: Two 45-minute class periods.
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Sources
Secondary Sources
David Cohen online lecture: “Muckraking in the Garden: Lincoln Steffens
and New Jersey during the Progressive Era,” July 2004; available in the
“Muckrakers” section of the New Jersey History Partnership Project
website, http://nj-history.org.
Patrick Palermo, Lincoln Steffens (Boston, 1978).
Primary Sources
Railroad Map of New Jersey, 1887.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc1.pdf
Lincoln Steffens on the Gerrymander in Jersey City, 1905.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc2.pdf
Lincoln Steffens on Jersey City Mayor Mark Fagan, 1906.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc3.pdf
Lincoln Steffens on the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1905.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc4.pdf
Materials: Teachers will need copies of worksheets and the primary source
documents listed above.
Background: Muckrakers, a term coined by Theodore Roosevelt, were
Progressive Era investigative reporters who sought to expose corruption in
government and business. Several muckrakers criticized the alliance of business
and politics and the resulting political corruption in New Jersey. Lincoln Steffens
was the most famous; in a 1905 article for McClure’s Magazine, he charged that
New Jersey was a “traitor state.”
According to Steffens, New Jersey’s general incorporation laws were largely
responsible for the corruption. The state’s relatively lax laws allowed trusts to
flourish and produced significant revenue for the state. They also created
conditions under which votes could be bought. In 1871, for example, the
Pennsylvania Railroad effectively bought control of the New Jersey legislature.
In 1906, Steffens took a different tack. Rather than expose muck, he sought to
promote what was good by profiling Mark Fagan, the reform mayor of Jersey
City. Despite the opposition of Jersey City’s Democratic machine, Fagan was
elected mayor in 1901 on the strength of his promise to serve “honestly and
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faithfully.” As mayor, Fagan took on the corporations, seeking to improve city
services by regulating public utilities and by ensuring that corporations paid their
fair share of property taxes. A leader among the progressive “New Idea”
Republicans, Fagan was twice re-elected but was defeated in 1907. Six years
later in 1913, Fagan would again be elected mayor, but the newly adopted
commission form of government allowed future Jersey City boss Frank Hague
and his cronies to dominate city government.
Key Words:
Muckraker
Gerrymander
Graft
Political Machine
Party Boss
Monopoly
Trust
Holding Corporation
“New Idea” Movement
Middle School Procedures
For homework the night before this lesson, students should read the section of
their textbook on muckrakers and the rise of urban political machines. The
teacher should begin this lesson by handing out copies of Lincoln Steffens’
description of gerrymandering in Jersey City.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc2.pdf
The teacher should read the document aloud with the students, stopping where
necessary to define difficult terms or to explain difficult concepts. Afterwards the
teacher should lead a discussion based on the following questions:
• What is a gerrymander?
• How did the Jersey City gerrymander work?
• How did the Pennsylvania Railroad foster political corruption?
• What was Lincoln Steffens’ attitude toward the gerrymander and other
forms of political corruption?
• Why do you think he wrote this article?
The teacher should then hand out copies of Lincoln Steffens’ profile of Jersey
City mayor Mark Fagan.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc3.pdf
Students will read the article and fill out the related worksheet for homework.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersMSWS1.pdf
On the following day, the teacher should lead a discussion based on students’
answers to the worksheet questions. The teacher should then distribute a
graphic organizer which asks students to compare political bosses and political
reformers.
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http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersMSWS2.pdf
Students may work in pairs to fill in the graphic organizer. Alternately students
may act out the differences between the two types of politicians.
For homework, students will draw a political cartoon depicting a confrontation
between reformers and political bosses in Jersey City. On the following day, the
teacher should invite students to display and explain their cartoons to the class.
High School Procedures
For homework the night before this lesson, students should read the section of
their textbook on muckrakers and the rise of urban political machines. The
teacher should begin the lesson by projecting a 1887 railroad map of New
Jersey.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc1.pdf
The teacher should ask students describe the state as it appears on the map and
to think about how the state’s role as a corridor between the major cities of New
York and Philadelphia might have fostered political corruption. Here is a list of
possible discussion questions:
• How old is this map? Does it look any different from a modern roadmap?
• Where do all of the railroads terminate?
• Do you see any bridges or tunnels?
• How do you think goods were transported from New Jersey to New York?
• How do you think Jersey City’s and Hoboken’s location at the terminus of
the railway lines affected their development?
The teacher should show a video segment on muckrakers and New Jersey’s
business-friendly laws from the New Jersey Legacy television series, available in
the “Muckrakers” section of the New Jersey History Partnership Project website,
http://nj-history.org. Afterwards, the teacher should lead a discussion of the
video based on the following questions:
• To whom did the term “muckraker” refer?
• Who was Lincoln Steffens?
• Why did he describe New Jersey as a “traitor state”?
• How did New Jersey’s incorporation laws foster political corruption?
• How did political reformers like Mark Fagan and George Record attempt to
reform New Jersey politics?
• What was the “New Idea” movement?
The teacher should then distribute copies of Lincoln Steffens’ description of the
Pennsylvania Railroad’s influence on New Jersey politics.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersDoc4.pdf
For homework students should read this document and fill out the related
worksheet.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/muckrakers/pdf/muckrakersHSWS.pdf
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On the following day, the teacher should lead a discussion of the worksheet
questions, muckraking, and the Pennsylvania Railroad’s role in New Jersey
politics. Afterwards, students will write a letter to the editor of McClure’s
Magazine, in which Steffens’ article was first published, responding to the
article’s content and tone. The letter should be written from the perspective of a
machine politician like William Sewell or of a political reformer like Mark Fagan.
Connections: In combination with the New Jersey History Partnership
Project lesson on “Woodrow Wilson as Governor of New Jersey,” this lesson
might be part of a larger unit on Progressive Era political reforms.
http://nj-history.org/proRef/wilson/pdf/wilsonLesson.pdf
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