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Muckrakers

The pen is sometimes mightier than the sword.

“It may be a cliché, but it was all too true for journalists at the turn of the century. The print revolution enabled publications to increase their subscriptions dramatically. What appeared in print was now more powerful than ever. Writing to Congress in hopes of correcting abuses was slow and often produced zero results. Publishing a series of articles had a much more immediate impact. Collectively called MUCKRAKERS, a brave cadre of reporters exposed injustices so grave they made the blood of the average American run cold.”

Muckrakers Text

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So this is interesting…

Our next topic will be immigration. I came across this short video on Ellis Island – it is riddled with “fun facts.” Additionally, an article is entitled, “The Messy Fight to Feed Immigrants at Ellis Island.” Feel free to expand your knowledge!

Excerpt: “When Joseph Haas landed on Ellis Island, he was overwhelmed. The undernourished 14-year-old had been on a boat from Germany for weeks. He was alone. As he entered the Great Hall, he heard a cacophony of languages. The day was a blur—but almost 70 years later, he still remembered eating his first meal in America, a boxed lunch that cost two of the ten dollars he carried in his pocket….”

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Women at Work in Maine

In class we have been studying the Gilded Age and industrialism in America at the turn of the century. As a Mainer, I love to see the role the hard working men, women, and children of Maine played in shaping our country’s history. Below is an excerpt from the Maine Memory Network, along with a link to the article and images.

Working Women of the Old Port

“By the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, increasing numbers of women worked outside the home for pay, in jobs that ranged from dirty, hot, and dangerous factory work, to teaching school or owning one’s own business.”

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Why Do Americans Celebrate Labor Day?

“According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the holiday is “a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.” Labor Day is a “yearly national tribute” to the “contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and wellbeing of our country.”

Read the article: WHAT IS LABOR DAY AND WHY DO AMERICANS CELEBRATE IT?