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During the 1890's we saw the rise of a period of time known as the Progressive Era. There was a social consciousness surrounding everything from environmental concerns to worker's rights, from women's suffrage, to the rise of communism and socialism. People were concerned about the well-being of society as a whole, with the understanding that if we protect and help the least among us, the rest will benefit as well. This wasn't without horrifying racism and sexism which were still very much alive and well, which I could write an entirely different article on that hypocrisy, but not right now. Muckrakers, who were writers and journalists working undercover, typically, wrote scathing treatises