ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by party bosses,

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the kings of festivity and merriment.

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Now which of the following people would be most likely to expose

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the problems shown in the image right here?

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And here are your potential answers.

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Well, much of the Progressive Era was focused on cleaning up

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problems caused by the excesses of the Gilded Age,

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such as the huge disparities of wealth

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portrayed in the cartoon right here.

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Would the type of person most likely to

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expose these problems have been

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A - a political party boss?

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Unfortunately, party bosses, as well as wealthy philanthropists,

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often acted like they were more concerned than they

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really were. So you shouldn't count on A or D

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to be your friend there.

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Would these issues have been a major focus for C -

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a local legislator?

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Well, though local legislators might jump in to help,

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they usually weren't the first ones to expose the problems.

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So that covers up C, as well.

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Which means the person most likely to expose

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the problems shown in the image would have been B -

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a muckraking journalist.

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Well, muckraking journalists known for stirring up trouble

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devoted to their careers to exposing corruption

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and exploitation in various facets of society.

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So B is the right answer.

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The efforts of these journalists led to all kinds of reforms

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including safer workplaces, higher wages,

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and lower rent for the working class.

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Talk about some great news for the people.

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[ pouring liquid ]

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