Lincoln Steffens

Lincoln Steffens
Steffens in 1894. Photo by Rockwood.
Born	Lincoln Joseph Steffens April 6, 1866 San Francisco, California, US
Died	August 9, 1936 (aged 70) Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, US
Cause of death	Heart Attack
Alma mater	University of California
Occupation	Muckraker
Employer	New York Evening Post (until 1905) McClure's Magazine (until 1906) The American Magazine (1906 onward)
Known for	Part of the muckraking trio at the turn of the century. Having his articles written into books. See Works.

New York Evening Post (until 1905)

McClure's Magazine (until 1906)

Part of the muckraking trio at the turn of the century.

Lincoln Joseph Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was a New York reporter who launched a series of articles in McClure's, called Tweed Days in St. Louis, that would later be published together in a book titled The Shame of the Cities. He is remembered for investigating corruption in municipal government in American cities and for his early support for the Soviet Union.

Steffens was born on April 6, 1866, in San Francisco to Elizabeth Louisa (Symes) Steffens and Joseph Steffens and raised in Sacramento, California. He was the first-born, and only son with three sisters coming later. His family's opulent home in the state capital later became the governor's mansion.

Steffens began his career as a journalist at the New York Evening Post. He later became an editor of McClure's magazine, where he became part of a celebrated muckraking trio with Ida Tarbell and Ray Stannard Baker. He specialized in investigating government and political corruption, and two collections of his articles were published as The Shame of the Cities (1904) and The Struggle for Self-Government (1906). He also wrote The Traitor State (1905), which criticized New Jersey for patronizing incorporation. In 1906, he left McClure's, along with Tarbell and Baker, to form The American Magazine. In The Shame of the Cities, Steffens sought to bring about political reform in urban America by appealing to the emotions of Americans. He tried to provoke outrage with examples of corrupt governments throughout urban America.