Legislative impact of Muckraking

This exhibit will explore the ways in which muckraking influenced policy-making and legislative reforms in America during the early 19th century. There will be a specific emphasis on Upton Sinclair insofar as he was a prominent muckraker who produced many influential works during this time. I hypothesize through my exhibit that the legislative impact from muckraking was direct insofar as bringing horrendous conditions to light prompted public outrage, and our represented democracy has to reflect the will of the people and their desires. By raising social awareness, muckraking helped the public identify issues in order to clarify their preferences. This process of discovery and clarification is essential to our representative democracy. As a result, it can be proved that muckraking played a significant role in shaping the legislation of its era.