If they get their way they will lead the people into a deeper pit than any into which they could fall under the present system. In his Ecclesiastical Polity that fine old Elizabethan divine, Bishop Hooker, wrote: He that goeth about to persuade a multitude that they are not so well governed as they ought to be shall never want attentive and favorable hearers, because they know the manifold defects whereunto every kind of regimen is subject, but the secret lets and difficulties, which in public proceedings are innumerable and inevitable, they have not ordinarily the judgment to consider. Copyright Status: This growth in the Is there a balance between god terms and devil terms throughout the speech, or does Roosevelt privilege one type over another? The muckrakers had arrived.. Theodore Roosevelt has been labeled a trust-buster. Do you see evidence of trust-busting in this speech? The muckrakers were reform-minded journalists, writers, and photographers in the Progressive Era in the United States (1890s-1920s) who claimed to expose corruption and wrongdoing in established institutions, often through sensationalist publications. If the whole picture is painted black there remains no hue whereby to single out the rascals for distinction from their fellows. muckraker, any of a group of American writers identified with pre- World War I reform and expos literature. It does not read, "Thou shalt not steal from the poor man." The Interpreter shows them that their faith can overcome even the deadly venom of such a spider. The danger is not really from corrupt corporations; it springs from the corruption itself, whether exercised for or against corporations. According to the dictionary, a muckraker is someone who seeks to expose corruption of businesses or government to the public. Kalen M. A. Churcher, Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project the wild preachers of unrest and discontent, the wild agitators against the April 22, 2023. growth of population has been outstripped by the growth of wealth in complex But if they give good reason for distrust of what they say, if they chill the ardor of those who demand truth as a primary virtue, they thereby betray the good cause and play into the hands of the very men against whom they are nominally at war. The work of muckrakers influenced the passage of key legislation that strengthened protections for workers and consumers. Shawn Parry-Giles, University of Maryland, VOD Journal Volume 16 (2021): Rhetoric of Civil Rights Issue, VOD Journal Volume 15 (2020): Suffrage Centennial Issue, Copyright Voices of Democracy. will secretly and furtively do wrong to the public in the interest of a The first requisite in the public servants who are to deal in this shape with corporations, whether as legislators or as executives, is honesty. svn.apache.org Take your freedom of speech to the Internet and join the conversation. over-censure of the unjust finally and from similar reasons results in their Students will examine how Roosevelt establishes a syllogistic relationship between citizens of good character, strong reform government, and responsible journalism. Rake, the man who could look no way but downward, with the muck rake in his How would you like them to vote on upcoming free speech measures? capital. But the man who never does anything else, who never thinks or speaks or writes, save of his feats with the muck rake, speedily becomes, not a help but one of the most potent forces for evil. really from corrupt corporations; it springs from the corruption itself, whether As dangerous as the man who does discriminate and yet chooses the bad. Theodore Roosevelt, "The Man with the Muck-Rake," Teaching-Learning is filth on the floor, and it must be scraped up with the muck rake; and there google_ad_slot = "7079952559"; But in addition to honesty, we need sanity. of our time, whether in the public press, or in magazines, or in books, are the reckless assaults on character, whether on the stump or in newspaper, magazine, I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform or in a book, magazine, or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful. This activity packet will have them answers questions about the style and . entire existing order, the men who act crookedly, whether because of sinister business man who makes or spends his fortune in illegitimate or corrupt ways. admitted evils of our political and industrial life with such crude and sweeping ' their misguided followers believe they are attacking. other hand, it is vital not to permit this spirit of sanity and self-command to Hysterical sensationalism is the poorest weapon wherewith to fight for lasting righteousness. Either attitude is U.S. for distinction from their fellows. Many of Theodore Roosevelts archival papers are available on microfilm and may be ordered through your schools interlibrary loan department. Theodore Roosevelt, "The Man with the Muck-Rake," Speech Text There is mighty little good in a mere spasm of reform. "The Man With the Muckrake" by Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt wants to show that he is both a business man and a reformer. The foundation stone of national life is, and ever must be, the high individual character of the average citizen. College Park, MD 20742-7635, Questions/comments about the VOD website may be directed to Some persons are sincerely incapable of understanding that to denounce mud slinging does not mean the endorsement of whitewashing; and both the interested individuals who need whitewashing and those others who practice mud slinging like to encourage such confusion of ideas. The Text Roosevelt starts his speech off by calling journalists out. The Man with the Muck-rake by Graham Steffens - Prezi counts against those who make indiscriminate assault upon men in business or men There is mighty little good in a mere spasm of reform. willing to yield to popular clamor and do wrong to the men of wealth or to rich Susan B. Anthony The Jungle, Muckrakers, and Teddy Roosevelt | NEH-Edsitement just within the limits of mere law honesty. But if they This year we are making a beginning in the direction of serious effort to settle some of these economic problems by the railway rate legislation. constantly in mind by every free people desiring to preserve the sanity and Now, it is easy to twist out of shape what I have just said, easy to affect to misunderstand it, and if it is slurred over in repetition not difficult really to misunderstand it. Most Americans would have been familiar with the characters, Christian and Christiana, and the story of how they struggled through their allegorical journey to reach Heaven.