The term muckraker<span> was used in the </span>Progressive Era<span> to characterize reform-minded American journalists who attacked established institutions and leaders as corrupt. They typically had large audiences in some popular magazines. In the US, the modern term is </span>investigative journalism<span> — it has different and more pejorative connotations in British English
</span><span>The muckrakers played a highly visible role during the Progressive Era period, 1890s–1920s</span>
The hessians main goal for winning the war was to "get paid by the British"--since they were hired mercenaries who had no real interest in American independence.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland<span> and its </span>empire<span> remained officially neutral throughout the </span>American Civil War<span> (1861–65). It legally recognised the belligerent status of </span>the Confederacy<span>, but never recognized it as a nation and never signed a treaty or exchanged ambassadors. However, the top British officials debated intervention in the first 18 months. Elite opinion tended to favour the Confederacy, while public opinion tended to favour the United States. </span>
<span>It was when he was Secretary of State. He is renowned for his comment, written in a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt, describing the Spanish-American War as a "splendid little war." </span>
