At that time, a certain group of journalists called muckrakers wrote to magazines to expose unregulated business, injustices of corporate power and unsafe working conditions. For example, The Jungle written by Upton Sinclair disclosed injustices of meatpacking and other industries. Based on these exposures, the Progressives believed that the government should protect the rights of vulnerable groups such as workers, women, and consumers. In fact, the 1895 New York Bakeshop Act which placed limit on working hours for bakers intended to protect the rights of workers. In 1903, Joseph Lochner, the owner of a bakery, was accused of violating this law and then he appealed to the Supreme Court. Finally, the Supreme Court invalidated the law because it was unconstitutional. The Muller case had a lot in common with the Lochner case, however, only after three years, the Supreme Court gave the opposite decision. Even if the outcome of the Muller case was comparatively fair because the limit on women's working hours could indeed protect women's health, the way the court argued was unjust.
The issue in the Muller case is more about gender, not the workers, which makes the Muller verdict unjust. Unlike the Lochner case where the advocates for the working law mostly stressed the material danger to health of employees, the Justice emphasized more on the limited role and disadvantaged position of women in the Muller case. The dominant ideology was that the primary role of women was merely to produce babies and keep the health of the offspring instead of working. Also, justices argued that "woman's physical structure, and the functions she performs in consequence thereof, justify special legislation restricting or qualifying the conditions under which she should be permitted to toil." (Muller 83). By stating the differences between women and men's physical structure, the court's decision was in favor of scientific sexism.
Arthur Miller, winner of many literary and dramatic awards, is an incredibly influential force in American drama. His plays deal with issues common to every society. He makes the audience face fault, weakness, and ignorance; subjects we would typical hide from. At the same time he emphasizes strengt...