The Progressive News
The news you want - the way you want it
Wednesday, November 21, 1917
You are a muckraker, an investigative journalist; who uses words and pictures to expose a problem that needed to be
fixed.
You have been asked by your newspaper to create a series of pictures with captions, highlighting what is was like before
and after the problems of Big Business, Immigration and Urbanization were exposed and fixed. President Theodore
Roosevelt is a non-negotiable person that must be reported. After your piece on the present PICK 1 other person to write
about.
Before the Fix:
- Workers did not wear gloves or hair nets which was
unsanitary
- When food fell on the floor, workers would pick it up
and still package it to sell.
- Rats and insects ran around the factories and often
made it into the meat supply
After the Fix:
- Workers now wear gloves and hair nets to protect the
food from contamination.
- Any meat that falls on the floor goes into the trash.
- Factories are inspected to make sure they are clean
and safe.
Upton Sinclair
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Unhealthy conditions in
meatpacking industry.
Solution:
He wrote then published a
book called, The Jungle
describing the horrible
conditions and how
dangerous the meat
packing industry was.
People were outraged and
soon laws were passed by
the government to fix the
problem.
President Theodore Roosevelt
Before the Fix:
-Companies like Northern Security Company
controlled rail lines
-Monopolies ran smaller comapnies out of
business
After the Fix:
-Northern Security Company and other monopolies
were broken down into smaller companies
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: The unfair monopolies and
trusts.
Solution:
Roosevelt used the
Sherman Anti-Trust
Act to sue
companies to break
down monopolies
and trusts.
Before the Fix:
-There were tenements in the cities
-Sanitation and living conditions were terrible
-Garbage and horse manure lined the streets
Jacob Riis
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Slums and terrible conditions
in tenements
Solution:
He took pictures of the
tenements to bring
attention to the terrible
slums and published a
book called "How the
Other Half Lives."
After the Fix:
-Housing codes were established
-Parks and playgrounds were set up for people to use
Before the Fix:
-Captains like Rockefeller had driven competitors
out of business
-After companies went bankrupt, he'd raise prices to
get more money
After the Fix:
-Standard Oil and other major trusts were broken
into multiple companies
Before the Fix:
-Workers had 10-12 hour work days
-People could be fired at random
-There were low wages and long
hours
-Factories were unsafe, unhealthy,
and noisy
After the Fix:
-Skilled workers gained the right to bargain collectively,
or have representatives fight for benefits for all
-There were better working conditions for laborers
Ida Tarbell
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Unfair monopoly business
practices of Standard Oil
Solution:
Tarbell told journalists
about the secret deals
that Rockefeller made
with railroads to ship oil
at lower prices.
Samuel Gompers
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Working conditions in
factories
Solution:
Gompers created the
American Federation
of Labor, a strong labor
union, to press for
better wages and
working conditions for
skilled labor.
Before the Fix:
-Alcohol abuse caused violence, poverty, and
unemployment.
Carrie Nation
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Stop the sale and Solution:
consumption of alcohol
Solution:
Solution:
Nation went from praying
outside taverns to
destroying them with a
hatchet to protest alcohol
use.
After the Fix:
-The 18th Amendment made it illegal to make,
transport, or sell alcohol.
Before the Fix:
-Women did not have equal educational opportunities
-Women did not have voting rights
Susan B. Anthony
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Women not having the
right to vote.
Solution:
Anthony traveled from
town to town, speaking
for women's rights. She
helped to cofound the
group NAWSA to fight
for women's rights.
After the Fix:
--Women eventually had more educational rights
-The passing of the 19th Amendment gave
women the right to vote
Before the Fix:
-There was a lot of political corruption
-Political bosses, like Boss Tweed,
controlled political machines
-These political machines controlled
police, courts, newspapers, etc.
-They illegally took money
After the Fix:
-Boss Tweed was convicted of many of crimes and
sent to prison
Thomas Nast
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Slums and terrible
conditions in tenements
Solution:
Nast used cartoons to
expose Boss Tweed in
Harper's Weekly.
Before the Fix:
-Children were working in factories for low pay
-They were operating heavy machinery
-Some were abused at their jobs
-They could easily be injured or killed
Lewis Hines
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Child Labor in factories and
in the coal mines.
Solution:
Lewis used the power
of photography to
educate people about
the cruelties of child
labor.
After the Fix:
The NCLC (National Committee on Child Labor)
presented its case to federal government officials
-They created stricter child labor laws
Before the Fix:
Jane Addams
Exposed and Wanted to Fix: Problems facing immigrants
-Immigrants did not speak English
-They could not find/keep jobs
-They lived in slums and tenements
-They did not have an education
Solution:
Addams set up Hull
House, a settlement
house used to help
immigrants in
Chicago.
After the Fix:
-Immigrants had employment services, day care,
kindergarten, art classes, etc.
Before the fix:
-There was a lot of racism in America, particularly in the
South
-Jim Crow laws segregated schools, trains, parks, and
other public places
-African Americans were barred from voting in many
states
After the fix:
-The NAACP remained a force in the efforts to gain legal
and economic equality for African Americans
W.E.B. DuBois
Exposed and wanted to fix: Problems facing African
Americans
Solution:
He was an activist who encouraged agitation and
protest. He created the NAACP (National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People) to help fight
for equal rights.