David Graham Phillips facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Graham Phillips
Phillips in 1908
Born	(1867-10-31)October 31, 1867 Madison, Indiana, U.S.
Died	January 24, 1911(1911-01-24) (aged 43) New York City, U.S.
Cause of death	Murdered by shooting
Resting place	Kensico Cemetery
Education	DePauw University Princeton University
Occupation	Novelist Journalist
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David Graham Phillips (October 31, 1867 – January 24, 1911) was an American writer and journalist. He was known for his investigative reporting. He wrote about important social issues of his time. Phillips was part of a group called "muckrakers." These journalists worked to expose corruption and problems in society.

Early Life and Education

David Graham Phillips was born in Madison, Indiana. After finishing high school, he went to Asbury College. This school is now known as DePauw University. Later, he earned a degree from Princeton University in 1887.

Journalism and Writing Career

After college, Phillips started working as a newspaper reporter. He first worked in Cincinnati, Ohio. Then he moved to New York City. In New York, he reported for The Sun from 1890 to 1893. After that, he became a columnist and editor for the New York World until 1902.

In his free time, Phillips wrote a novel. It was called The Great God Success. This book was published in 1901. The money he earned from the book allowed him to work as a freelance journalist. This meant he could write for different magazines. He also kept writing fiction.

Phillips became known as a skilled investigative journalist. His novels often talked about social issues. They were sometimes based on his real-life experiences as a reporter. He was seen as a "Progressive." This was a movement that wanted to improve society. He was called a "muckraker" for showing corruption in the government.

Exposing Corruption in the Senate

In March 1906, Phillips wrote an important article. It was for Cosmopolitan magazine. The article was titled "The Treason of the Senate." It showed how some members of the U. S. Senate were rewarding people who gave money to their campaigns. The article strongly criticized Senator Nelson W. Aldrich from Rhode Island. This made Phillips very well-known across the country.

This article and others like it helped lead to a big change. It helped pass the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This amendment changed how U. S. senators were chosen. Before, state lawmakers picked them. After the amendment, people voted for their senators directly.

David Graham Phillips is famous for his work exposing corruption. He showed how big businesses, like the Standard Oil Company, influenced the Senate. He was one of several writers who helped President Theodore Roosevelt use the term "Muckrakers."

Photograph of "David Graham Phillips at work" in the March 1911 issue of The Bookman

Phillips's article inspired another journalist, Charles Edward Russell. Russell convinced his boss, William Randolph Hearst, to investigate Senate corruption too. Hearst had just bought Cosmopolitan magazine. Phillips was asked to find more information about this corruption. His goal was to share it with the public. Phillips's brother Harrison and Gustavus Myers helped him with research.

Hearst told his readers that Phillips's articles would reveal so much corruption that many senators would resign. This turned out to be true for some senators. For example, New York Senators Chauncey M. Depew and Thomas Collier Platt left office. Phillips showed that Depew had received a lot of money from several companies. He also taught the public how senators were chosen. He explained that a few powerful people controlled the selection process. This made corruption easier.

Because of these articles, only four of the twenty-one senators Phillips wrote about stayed in office. Phillips had great success as a muckraker. He helped change the U.S. Constitution. The 17th Amendment, which allowed people to vote for senators, was a direct result of his work.

Phillips was also known for his unique style. He often wore a white suit with a large chrysanthemum flower in his lapel.

Later Life and Death

Sadly, Phillips's reputation as an investigative journalist cost him his life. In January 1911, he was shot outside the Princeton Club in New York City. The person who shot him was Fitzhugh Coyle Goldsborough. He was a musician who believed Phillips's novel The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig had insulted his family. Phillips was taken to Bellevue Hospital. He died the next day.

After Phillips's death, his sister Carolyn helped publish his last manuscript. It was called Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise. In 1931, this book was made into a movie. The movie starred Greta Garbo and Clark Gable.

David Graham Phillips is buried in the Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.

Novels

• George Helm
• Light-Fingered Gentry
• Old Wives for New
• Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise
• The Conflict
• The Cost
• The Deluge
• The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig
• The Grain of Dust
• The Hungry Heart
• The Husband's Story
• The Plum Tree
• The Price She Paid
• The Second Generation. Reissued as Daily Mail sixpenny novel No. 161 in 1912, with illustrations by G. H. Evison.
• The Social Secretary (1905)
• The Treason of the Senate
• White Magic
• Woman Ventures