Which two muckrakers are best known for investigative journalism into industry and urban life during the Progressive Era?

• A. Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair
• B. Upton Sinclair and Lincoln Steffens
• C. Ida Tarbell and Lincoln Steffens
• D. Jacob Riis and Upton Sinclair

Answer: (A)

The question asks which two muckrakers are best known for exposing problems in both industry and urban life during the Progressive Era. Ida Tarbell is famous for her in-depth investigation of the Standard Oil monopoly, revealing how big trusts manipulated markets and crushed competitors. That work is the quintessential example of muckraking into industry. Upton Sinclair, on the other hand, exposed the grim realities of the meatpacking industry and the harsh working conditions in urban industrial life through powerful investigative writing like The Jungle. Together, Tarbell’s focus on corporate power in industry and Sinclair’s spotlight on industrial labor and urban life capture the two major threads muckraking aimed to illuminate and reform. The other figures highlighted urban poverty or political corruption more than industrial power, so Tarbell and Sinclair form the clearest pairing for these themes.