Who Is The Meatpacking Industry Exposed In The Jungle By Upton Sinclair

Low wages, long hours, and no concern for the public mean more money in anyone’s pocket. The early 1900’s was a story of mistreatment in meatpacking companies all across Chicago. The secrets held by means of the owners of these companies were outrageous and deadly. Until a hero of sorts had the guts to spill all the dark secrets held inside the walls of all those companies, the consumers knew what they were eating. Upton Sinclair, author of The Jungle, brought to light all the wrongdoings of the meatpacking industry’s secrets and lies. The details in the novel revealed all that the industry had hidden from the general public. Upton Sinclair wrote The Jungle in order to exploit the cruelty with reference to factory workers and open the door

had a firsthand knowledge on the struggle in the work industry and how often workers were abused by the employers. Born in a Baltimore row house on North Charles Street on September 20th, 1878, young Sinclair experienced how the lower social class lived. With an alcoholic father who moved his family to New York City while Sinclair was still a young child, did not sway Sinclair from his path to socialism. Having wealthy maternal grandparents and then losing the family fortune that they had acquired from generations all the way up until the Civil War, persuaded more to his socialism outcome. Sinclair had developed his love for reading and rebellious attitude toward police society in Baltimore. In spite of the fact that after moving from Baltimore, his education continued in New York’s east side. Later attending City College of New York to further his education and ending in Columbia University. His writing only progressed as the years went by; he wrote some fiction works, ethnic jokes and dime novels to pay for all his education. He had two main influences growing up and in his adult life, William Shakespeare and poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley’s work inspired perseverance for a social reform that remained with Sinclair all his life. When Sinclair found his place with the Socialist group after finishing school, everything after that was vital to his encounter with the meat packing

Sinclair recruited his friend Jack London, also a fellow writer, to help him market his novel and get out to the public faster. He needed help getting his message across to all the masses. It was received by great shock from the public. With Sinclair’s illustrative words, he changed the way Americans shopped for their food and the way they ate. Upton Sinclair was critiqued across the board, from the President of the United States to the daily meat consumer. The President called Sinclair a “muckraker” because of his exposure towards the meatpacking business. It is still uncertain if whether the name a “muckraker” is a compliment or an insult, due to Sinclair being labeled that. Although President Roosevelt did not completely agree with what Sinclair did, he still invited him to the White House to ask Sinclair’s advice on how to improve inspections and make them safer. After his visit to the White House, Sinclair credited with the upbringing of the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act, both introduced in 1906. The outcry of the people changed the way the meatpacking industry had to change their entire work