
The Progressive Era after the Industrial Revolution left American society with several problems, especially in cities such as New York and Philadelphia. Families were living in unsanitary conditions, people were working for terrible wages, women were bound to the house as housewives and thousands of immigrants were coming over to the US. Newspapers gave the US an outlet to fight for change. Nellie Bly exposed something most Americans had no clue about through the newspaper media: that women were thrown into insane asylums rather than getting the mental help they needed. Bly would not have been as successful if she hadn’t been published in a popular newspaper that reached all audiences. The controversial topic of women’s rights gave Nellie Bly the idea to explore and expose this issue, while newspapers gave her the means to successfully distribute the information. 

Laurie Collier Hillstrom’s chapter, “The Role of Journalism in America” in her book, The Muckrakers and The Progressive Era, identifies how the Industrial Revolution reformed the newspaper business in 1830.  Modern machinery, and advances in technology helped production of newspapers grow from 1,000 different papers in 1830 to 3,000 in 1860. The industry continued to grow after the use of color in newspapers from 7,000 continuous papers in 1800 to 12,000 in 1890. The cheaper it became to produce the newspapers, the more affordable they were to the public. Yearly subscriptions to newspapers dropped from $8 to a dollar or two. This gave all social classes accessibility to a weekly, or even daily source of information and news. New editors and affordable prices made newspapers the most popular way to gossip, read about secrets and scandals, as well as stay informed on social, and political issues. A newspaper Hillstrom specifically mentions, The New York World, was printed with the goal of reaching a broad audience to reform society. Joseph Pulitzer purchased the paper in 1883, just before Nellie Bly published her piece on the Women’s Lunatic Aslyum on Blackwell’s Island. With the New York World, Pulitzer made it his intention to keep no secrets from the public, and bring to light the terrible truths of how Americans were living. The New York World became one of the most well-known and sought-after papers in New York, and was the first paper to have full-time reporters in Washington D.C. Pulitzer knew that if the articles in his paper were ferociously exposing and reached New York’s working class, tax payers and elites in society, reform would not be far behind. The revolution of print news in the 19th century created an influential media capable of transforming culture in New York City, as well as the United States. 

Nellie Bly’s excavating series about her time in the Women’s Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island, was a piece that needed to be heard, and eventually acted on. The late 1800’s, was booming with advances from the Industrial Revolution, and made her exposition possible and rewarding. Newspaper production was growing rapidly, creating a fast and effective flow of stories. Journalism and newspapers at the time focused on telling the truth of how Americans were living. Articles in newspapers uncovered political corruption, unsanitary living conditions and unjust wages and child labor, in attempt to grab government attention. Americans wanted reform, and newspapers were how they got it. After Nellie Bly’s experience and research, she had a choice to make; where should she publish her expose? With her information, she knew she could change the entire world of mental health, and insane asylums, all over New York, if she published it correctly. The New York World newspaper had just been purchased by Joseph Pulitzer, with the goal to “expose all fraud and sham, fight all public evils and abuses [and] battle for the people with the earnest sincerity” (qt.d in Hillstrom, 26). Not only did this paper have the means for the scandal to be uncovered, it was also one of the most successful papers in New York at the time. The paper gave itself an edge with countless sources, which made this the perfect outlet for Bly’s story. The newspaper industry is what gave Nellie Bly the opportunity to change society. Without the constant buzz of communication created by newspapers, her story would have never been brought to light, or read by such a vast audience. Had she chosen a less bold newspaper, her series could have been censored and the entire truth would not have been told. The trend of mass media and journalism, during this time in history, influenced how Nellie Bly unmasked the terrors of the Women’s Lunatic Insane Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. 

In a Rollins Third Eye Insight article, Jean Charles explains the view on women in the 1800’s and how they would end up in an insane asylum. Women in the mid and late 1800’s were bound to their jobs as a housewife. Wives were supposed to cook and clean the house, as well as take care of the children and their husbands. Women’s role in society left them no choice but to mold to their husband’s desires. Some wives quietly did as they were told and never argued with them or the rigidness of current society. Other wives had the guts to speak their minds and at times disobey the man of the household. In this time, divorce was extremely uncommon which left husbands no choice but to claim their wives as insane. To keep their pride and display their strength in the household, they would send their disobedient wives to an insane asylum rather than deal with their attitude and lack of cooperation. Often times, women with complete sanity and no mental health problems were forced into these places. Women were often starved and their mental health continued to worsen as they endured the treatments. The inhumane conditions they lived in made them long for their unfair lives back at home, and once again empowering the men in society. Insane asylums, were no place to be treated for a disorder, but rather a place rebel wives would be held until they died or developed an actual mental disorder. The threat of being sent, was another way men kept control of their wives, leaving them no choice but to comply with societal roles. 

The controversy regarding women’s rights and roles in society increased in the late 1800s. It was one of the most popular topics in print newspapers and an extremely large problem in the household. Women were slowly stepping up to voice their opinions and fight for their rights. Nellie Bly used the relevance of women’s rights to her advantage when she decided to expose the terrors of insane asylums. Most women during this time had little power in society and their opinions were not heard. In the household women had a specific role as a “housewife” which gave them no freedom to explore their own interests. It was not typical for women to have jobs which made them dependent on their husbands, which was another way their lives were controlled. Over time, women started to want independence and a voice in society so they began to bring the problem to attention. Newspapers became an outlet for women to express their opinions and spread awareness of the unjust. Nellie Bly was one of the first pioneers to use the newspaper as an outlet to spread awareness. This was successful by making women acknowledge that they should be treated better and stand up for themselves. It was important to have women start talking about the issue instead of keeping it hidden and continuing to be submissive. Nellie Bly decided to take a stand on women’s role in society by going to the insane asylum and writing about it. She could fight for women’s place in society. The importance of the controversy influenced Nellie’s decision and since it was such a pertinent topic she had more reason to address it.    

The combination of the rise in women’s rights activism, and the increased use of newspapers, gave Nellie Bly the ideal time for an expose. Women slowly began to stand up for themselves and wanted to break free from the rigidness of society. The growth and affordability of newspapers created a new media available to almost all of New York. The new, broad audience made print news one of the most popular ways to spread information. Bly used the influence of newspapers to expose yet another unfair treatment women had to overcome. She was successful in this because it reached such a large audience that brought attention to the matter of women in insane asylums. The emphasis on women’s rights, and people’s desire for change at the time made her writing that much more relevant, especially among the female community. 
