The decades just before and after the turn of the 20th century-sometimes referred to as the "golden age of American journalism"-were years when women first made significant inroads into the male-dominated magazine and newspaper fields. Among them were two pioneers whose early work in investigative or crusading journalism paved the way for major governmental and social changes still in effect a century later. They were Ida M. Tarbell, a white northerner, and Ida B. Wells, a black southerner. Working at about the same time in the vastly different worlds of white and black journalism, each woman used the power of the press to raise awareness and bring about social and political change in ways that had never been tried before. Tarbell, using the magazine medium, brought before the bar of public opinion the predatory and destructive business practices of the Standard Oil Company, as personified by one of the most powerful industrial titans in the country's history, John D. Rockefeller. Tarbell's groundbreaking work, based on exhaustively thorough research, led to legal and legislative action affecting the way America would-and could-do business throughout the 20th century. Wells, who was born into slavery, struggled against racial inequality in the post-Reconstruction South to become the editor and part-owner of a Memphis, Tennessee newspaper. Her lifelong crusade against lynching was a demonstration of the power of the press and one person's determination to raise awareness and bring about social change. This thesis compares and contrasts the social and cultural factors that shaped the formative years of the two Idas. It also examines the similarities and differences in their professional activities as reporters and writers with respect to their most famous works. It concludes that, while Wells and Tarbell were products of their own unique upbringings, both women were risk-takers who were willing to defy conventional norms and stick to the courage of their convictions.