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Social Reform In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

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Recommended: Reform in the u.s. 1820-1850

Muckrakers was a term coined by Theodore Roosevelt for journalists or novelists who sought out controversial allegations and misconduct among businesses and politics; bringing awareness and causing reform within America. A fluctuation of muckrakers began to sweep America during the early 1900s; as its citizens questioned the very framework of the contentious country they reside in. Later, becoming a powerful force, where a single column of text had the ability to influence millions of Americans. Pioneering the path for thousands of journalists to follow in their footsteps, subsequently, finding answers to questions often overlooked by the general population. America’s government has always eluded from sharing inside information to both foreign …show more content…

At the forefront of this reform were the muckrakers, who brought light upon the corruption embedded within America’s collective ideologies. During this time the idealistic ‘American dream’ was prevalent, that all Americans should have freedom, money, and the ability to prosper. Implanted at the front of this visionary ideology was the large belief Americans should take extreme measures to gain money, ignoring the many inadequate standards the majority of these industries contain. Upton Sinclair was a primary example of a muckraker emphasizing the need for social reform within America, as he published many novels depicting the extortion that was occurring unknowingly to the general population. Sinclair’s novel The Jungle, speaks of a fictional family who have immigrated to Chicago, the protagonist later ends up working in the meatpacking industry. Sinclair speaks of the way meats are packed and processed, large companies corrupt ideologies, along with the dire conditions that their workers undergo daily. He wrote of the sickening events, depicting them in detail “men fell into the vats; and when …show more content…

Many allegations speaking of the misconduct within politics were getting made by muckrakers as time progressed, along with an increase in conversation about politics. A fluctuation of articles began to get written speaking of the much needed regulations to create a sufficient government. David Phillips wrote the Treason of the Senate, a series of articles published in Cosmopolitan magazine. It spoke of the corruption within America’s politics through David Phillip’s depiction of current events. He spoke of the ways large companies would get their concerns brought up to the senate prior to average citizens of America, through corruption and payouts. As Well, as the larger say said companies had in the election process of senators. A passage from one of the articles writes; “Bribery is a weapon forbidden those who stand for right and justice—who "fights the devil with fire" gives him choice of weapons, and must lose to him, though seeming to win. A few thousand dollars put in the experienced hands of the heelers, and the senatorial general agent of "the interests" is secure for another six years.” (Treason of the Senate, Phillips)This series had an immediate impact, resonating within the group of reformers already developed. This caused Americans to confront

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Muckrakers and unions helped by protesting against the dangerous conditions, unfair treatment, and dishonest dealings during the Progressive Era. These ordinary citizens often used writing or pictures to show the corruption of businesses and cruelty toward workers to the public. A prime example of this is Ida M. Tarbell, whose articles lead to the breaking up of Rockefeller’s oil monopoly. Tarbell wrote about social issues for McClure’s magazine, and in 1902, she published “The History of the Standard Oil Company”, which criticized corruption in the dominant oil corporation. Her writings made the public both aware of the issue and angry about it, and the growing outrage lead to the government disbanding the Standard Oil Company on the idea that it was a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

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“The same endless vista of ugly and dirty little wooden buildings. Here and there would be a bridge crossing a filthy creek.” This was Upton Sinclair’s description of the city of Chicago in the early 20th century in his book The Jungle, and it was not flattering. The things that went on inside the city was even uglier, and it was done by one corporate, capitalism. Capitalism became a major problem in America as it bred horrible working and living conditions for the working class, and there was many reasons for why this happened (i.e. greed).

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In the comic it shows that the “bosses of the senate” were the politicians which were backed up by big business and corporations. This relationship between politicians and businessmen consisted of businessmen supporting the politicians financially and in return the politicians

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In The Jungle Upton Sinclair tried to expose how cruel slaughterhouses were to the animals and how poor the quality of the meat was. Sinclair investigated a slaughter house with the eye witness of two immigrants. The slaughterhouse they went to was willing to and made a great effort of showing visitors their facility. The immigrant Jokubas had a suspicion that the slaughterhouse would limit what the visitors see and tries to make the slaughterhouse seem ethical. The slaughterhouse has to filter what they showed to visitors, especially after when Sinclair tried to expose them.

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The Muckrakers, were investigative journalist who succeeded to exposed the social ills of citizens and corruption of both corporation and politics, and they had a huge impact on the success of the Progressive movement. Without the muckrakers the progressive movement would have not achieved the well-known status they had. These crusading journalists exposed bribery and corruption at city and state level, as well as in Congress. They called attention to the exploitation of child labor, the revulsion truth of lynching, and the cruel business practices employed by capitalists. The muckraker’s journalism resulted in legislations and reforms that had long-lasting effects.

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In the speech “The Man with the Muck-rake” presented by Theodore Roosevelt the topics of investigative journalism, and speaking the truth are discussed. His point was made through a variety of rhetorical techniques including the use of analogy, anaphora, and ethos. The use of these three devices allowed him to convince the audience that investigative journalism, if done by lying, is one of the worst possible evils. When starting the speech Roosevelt compared the present (1906) to the time of George Washington in the late 18th century. His use of analogy illustrates the similarities and differences between the two times, this allows the audience to understand that the problems that exist now have been overcome before.

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In addition, Sinclair took many of his ideas for the plot of The Jungle from real-life events such as the 1904 meat-packing strike in Chicago, and from information he collected from firsthand experience in the stockyards. This personal touch to his writing, coupled with his ability to emotionally move the human heart, made his book a major success across the United States and all over the world. Still, as his writing style is considered to be simple, many literary critics disapprove of the abundant acclaim this novel has received. Sinclair himself also disapproved of his novel’s reception, as it led to changes in the sanitation of the food industry instead of in worker’s rights. Still, no one can doubt the impact Sinclair had on the state of American industry.

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INTRO In the Book, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, we are taught that capitalism is evil and that socialism is the right way. This book is an political fiction that was written in 1906 which was just under 60 years after socialism, the enemy of the capitalism, was created but 11 years before the USSR was created. Due to this no one would know the evils that were to come from socialism. Sinclair uses the book, especially the the first twenty to thirty chapters, to display his thoughts and believes.

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This was the Progressive Era in real action and Sinclair was telling a story that people still aren 't completely hearing today. Sinclair was a devout socialist and while his perceived cure may not have been the answer for all the world 's woes, his belief in watching the effects of unregulated capitalism is still a struggle in today 's world where so many live in greed, excess and without a care for their common man. What would he have written about the financial collapse in 2008? Or the oil spills over the last few decades? The biggest question to answer is why we don 't have more journalists or authors

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A well known socialist, Sinclair used his royalties from The Jungle to build a utopian, socialist society, known as Helicon Hall, in Englewood, New Jersey. The co-op was burned down and disbanded within a year. However, Sinclair’s success and fame continued to grow with the publication of famous works such as The Metropolis and King Cole. The next decade of Sinclair’s life was riddled with small political achievements such as founding the California Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the End Poverty In California movement during the depression, but was far more successful as a novelist. His novel Oil!

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Today, much like in the Gilded Age, political corruption is evidently clear. As a new President was elected in 2016, the promises of “draining the swamp of corruption in Washington” and fixing “a rigged system in which political insiders can break the

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This provided Sinclair with an advantage when comparing himself to other novelist during this time, because he didn’t only see how this mass production was at play, but he was also able to hear first-hand accounts of the emotional and physical sturggles that the workers were facing. Furthermore, Barrett explains how Sinclair refused to sugar-coat or dust over any areas of great disturbance within this industry. Barrett adds, “Sinclair’s real genius, clearly displayed in The Jungle, was an unrelenting realism in describing the grittier details of life among common people” (xv). This is a very important aspect of this novel, because despite the stomach-churring details and scenes that one may have experienced, instead of masking it and creating something that is less significant, Sinclair dove deep into the depths of the packing industry, and uncovered every hidden corner of the packing industry. However, Barret explains that because of Sinclair’s extensive detail within the pages of The Jungle, the overall goal that Sinclair initially wanted to achieve was partially skewed, by ‘accidently hitting the public in the stomach rather than their hearts’

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Even other senators can be subject to punishment for immorality. Unlike other magistracies, censors hold office for five years at a time. In our committee, a censor may initiate a vote to remove any of the other magistrates from office. When the censor moves to impeach, he or she will first need to declare the accused’s moral crimes to the dais.

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