Mark Sullivan

Born in 1874, Mark Sullivan was destined to be an influential and important journalist, helping to shape the political landscape while providing a good resource for American history with his catalogs and volumes.

Sullivan began his career as a reporting student for the newspaper Village Record, located in his town of West Chester, Pennsylvania. This job sparked interest in the young Sullivan, encouraging him to continue to pursue a career in the field of journalism.

He attended Harvard Law School for the next years of his life, discovering his political leanings while continuing to practice and perfect the craft of his writing. He decided to write journalistic articles with a left leaning. These articles were known as “muckraking-articles”, most about political corruption and medicinal scandals. These articles often were published in works like Atlantic Monthly, McClure’s, and Collier’s Weekly.

Sullivan soon received a column of his own, entitled “Comment on Congress”. This column attacked conservatives and encouraged readers to back President Theodore Roosevelt. Most of his career involved political debates and arguments like the ones that occurred in his column.

He would report on World War I, but none of his achievements have the lasting effect that his catalogs have had. He meticulously kept all records of American politics, culture, music, literature, etc. from the years 1900-1925. These works have greatly helped historians to understand the climate of American culture.

With his political works he helped to shape the idea of what political journalism can be, and with his detailing of American culture we have a great insight into that time period. Mark Sullivan’s legacy lives on in his works, just as he would have wanted. 

http://www.inforefuge.com/muckrakers-journalism-for-liberal-reform

Ritchie, Donald A. American Journalists: Getting the Story. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.