Ida M Tarbell : the historian
Author(s)
Advisor
Date
2010Publisher
Bilkent University
Language
English
Type
ThesisItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
This thesis focuses on Ida M. Tarbell, one of the most influential literary
figures of the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States. She has been
recognized as the pioneer of investigative journalism and generally referred to as a
muckraker. This study, however, will argue that she was primarily a historian. By
putting her two significant historical works, Life of Lincoln and The History of the
Standard Oil Company, into the center of analysis and by exploring her career in
general, it will try to demonstrate Tarbell’s qualities as a historian and her
contribution to the history discipline. In general terms, it aspires to explore Tarbell’s
position in American literary, social and economic history.
Keywords
Investigative JournalismMuckraker
Life of Lincoln
History of the Standard Oil Company
19th and 20th Century United States
McClure’s Magazine