During the Progressive Era, muckraking journalists wrote articles attacking urban political bosses for corruption. The bosses defended themselves as public servants who had accomplished tremendous good for their constituents. In this lesson, students examine a political cartoon, a muckraker text, and the defense of a political boss to decide for themselves whether political bosses were corrupt.
Image: 1915 Political cartoon showing political boss conducting anti-suffragette, sweat shop owner, child labor employer, and others. From the Library of Congress.