Lincoln Steffens : the Shame of the Cities

1904: Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of the Cities U.S. History Resources 1904 Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of the Cities perhaps the most influential of the muckrakers was Lincoln Steffens. Steffenss articles were published in McClures cartridge h emerituser in 1902 and 1903 and then collected in The Shame of the Cities. The hobby excerpt is taken from the introduction to the 1904 volume. Now, the typical American citizen is the short letter homo. The typical backingman is a bad citizen; he is busy. If he is a big business man and really busy, he does non neglect, he is busy with politics, oh, very busy and very business comparable. I found him buying boodlers in St. Louis, defending grafters in Minneapolis, originating corruption in Pittsburg, sharing with bosses in Philadelphia, deploring reform in Chicago, and beating good presidential term with corruption funds in New York. He is a self-righteous fraud, this big business man. He is the chief source of corruption, and it were a boon if he would neglect politics. But he is not the business man that neglects politics; that worthy is the good citizen, the typical business man. He too is busy, he is the one that has no use and therefrom no time for politics.

When his neglect has permitted bad government to go so far that he can be stirred up to action, he is unhappy, and he looks around for a cure that shall be quick, so that he may hurry back to the shop. Naturally, too, when he talks politics, he talks shop. His patent remedy is emit; it is business. Give us a business man, he says (like me, he means). Let him introduce business methods into politics and government; then I shall be left alone to dish out to my business. There is hardly an office from United States Senator down to Alderman in any part of the country to which the business man has not been elected; yet politics remains corrupt, government bewitching bad, and the selfish citizen has to hold himself in readiness like the old volunteer firemen to rush forth at any... If you want to discombobulate a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

Ordercustompaper.com is a professional essay writing service at which you can buy essays on any topics and disciplines! All custom essays are written by professional writers!