The Portrayal Of Chicago In The Gilded Age

In The Jungle, the amount of crime and corruption happening around Chicago in the early 1900s seems questionable. In my history class, I have never heard of how “tens of thousands of votes were [being bought] for cash”, just so a certain politician could win an election (Sinclair 303). Sinclair then went on to accuse the meat packing industries’ rampant corruption by invoking pity for Jurgis’s father, Dede Antanas. A feeble old man who could not find a job against the multitude of competition in Chicago, he found a poorly paying job as long as he was “willing to pay one-third of his wages for it” (Sinclair 73). Furthermore, Sinclair’s portrayal of Chicago in the late 19th century at times seems exaggerated. The idea of a corrupt meat packing industry is

The Gilded Age was specifically known for its rampant corruption and burgeoning crime rates. Certain individuals would “[supply] the necessary votes on election day to keep their systems operating”, whether it be from buying votes or deceiving naïve immigrants (City and State Reforms). The police force’s role in stopping crime was not very apparent either, as “underpaid policemen could expect to supplement their pay with bribes” (City and State Reforms). Because of the lack of police intervention and the federal government’s strong “laissez faire” policy, actions that would have been considered felonies today were overlooked. At one point during the Gilded Age, a House of Representative member Oakes Ames was involved in a huge scandal. As a major shareholder, he distributed cheap shares to other representative members and even the vice president. Due to some misshapes with an acquaintance, letters were released about the scheme and an investigation pursued. Ames was later guilty of “[taking] more than $23 million … for their personal use, including sharing the stolen funds with congressional members” (Pickens, Donald