Era of the Muckrakers

    The Civil War, Reconstruction, and race relations led to a great deal of social unrest in the 19^th century, and much of the negative aspects of society were overlooked. Also, a slow, unstable economy left Americans unwilling to experiment with new ideas. So when writers such as Henry George, Edward Bellamy, and Henry Demarest Lloyd spoke of the ills of modern society in the late 1800’s, it is no surprise they were ignored. The fact that they were all associated with unorthodox political movements led most Americans to write them off as socialists, further limiting their appeal.

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