Effects of muckraking
Nellie Bly's galvanizing writing brought awareness to social issues, sparking reforms by the Progressive public.
Scroll over each picture to see a short term effect.
Led to heightened prosecution of corrupt doctors.
The Tenement House Committee of 1895 was formed for the purpose of making "a careful examination into the tenement houses of the city of New York" to investigate conditions, safety, and more.
Reformatory prisons were created that had requirements such as well-selected libraries, abundant sources of natural and artificial light, modern gymnasiums, and more.
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Baby-Buying Industry 1889: "Nellie Bly Buys a Baby" The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children sparked 300 more non-governmental child protection societies. Bly's article made baby trafficking a national issue. Tenement Reforms 1894- "In Trinity's Tenements" "The Trinity corporation is rich beyond the dreams of avarice. It was within its power to solve the tenement-house question, to use its vast wealth to benefit the poor, but what has it done? I will tell you." -Nellie Bly Prison Reforms 1889- "With the Prison Matrons" The reformatory era (1870-1910) was a period of progress for prisons that had previously been guilty of maltreatment. With the introduction of new regulations, prisons became more humane. |
Images from top to bottom: [Florida Memory (1890)], [E. A. Schwartz (1974)], [History Place (1909)]