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Uptown Sinclair's The Jungle

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Recommended: History of the meatpacking industry

Uptown Sinclair’s book The Jungle was originally written to expose the working conditions within the meat packing industry. Sinclair shocked millions as he bore what it was really like behind the scenes. Employees worked with contaminated and rotting meat, which was not a health violation at the time. This eventually led to new food and federal safety laws.
Most of the labor force was an immigrant, who moved to the United States with hopes of the “American Dream.” Most would say that they did not find what they were looking for. The work was harsh, dirty and hard to survive in since it was such a cruel environment.
To start, there was severe corruption within the working authority; most meatpacking bosses were criminals and had a known reputation …show more content…

The second segment forbids any drug or food that has been contaminated or mislabeled. The third section allows the federal government’s permission to create consistent rules and regulations for the Food and Drug Act. Section four states when the substance would be tested. Next, fifth portion selects the attorney general to take into account and punish any organization that does not follow the rules and regulations. Division six identifies what will be considered as a drug. After, sections seven and eight specify food and drug adulteration and misbranding. Section nine arranges safety from trial for food and drugs that have been impure or mislabeled and do not meet foreign countries requirements. Section 10 decides where a case of adulteration or misbranding will be put on trial if the alleged product has been shipped to other countries or across state lines. Section 11 assembles random inspections of drugs and food being brought into or shipped out of the United States. Lastly, section 12 clarifies the liabilities, as 13 states the effective date.
The scandal and pure embarrassment of the manifestation of the meatpacking industry was one of the worst historical events in the United States history. Human rights and responsibilities were blatantly ignored but the industry to generate as much profit as possible. The meatpackers were …show more content…

An article by PBS stated, “Today, America 's meat industry is the nation 's largest agricultural sector and sales of meat and poultry exceed $100 billion a year in the U.S.” This astounding statistics is one of many reasons why we should be more careful. A different article by UFCW identified that a whopping 20% of work injuries in the United States of America resulted within the meatpacking industry. As a country, we must strive to make this a safe environment to work in by reporting injures and hazards.
It seems as if the motive to the industry has not changed since federal laws were passed in 1906; that is, they look for a quick processing line. The pressure to be quick has not stopped, causing many to become sick and injured. An article from Mint Press in 2014 stated “The U.S. Department of Agriculture that would raise top processing speeds by nearly 25 percent.” At the least, they are trying to attack the bacteria within the meat by zapping it with x-ray and gamma ray

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Revealing the harsh treatment of meatpacking workers and showing the reality of the disgusting conditions found in butchery shops to the public, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle became an enduring classic by American readers throughout the early twentieth century the prompted the later creation of the Federal Drug Administration. In the early 1900s, America was explosively transitioning from an agricultural society to a thriving manufacturing-based nation. As production demand in factories grew throughout the country, the work force needed to run those factories also expanded. A new type of demanding and dangerous work became prevalent throughout the nation, as immigrants coming into the “Land of Opportunity” found themselves desperate

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Upton Sinclair portrays the economic tension in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries through his novel “The Jungle”. He used the story of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, to show the harsh situation that immigrants had to face in the United States, the unsanitary and unsafe working conditions in the meatpacking plants, as well as the tension between the capitalism and socialism in the United States during the early 1900s. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, there were massive immigrants move into the United States, and most of them were from Europe. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, like many other immigrants, have the “America Dream” which they believe America is heaven to them, where they can

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In 1906, American writer Upton Sinclair published The Jungle which highlighted the harsh conditions Chicago’s immigrant meatpackers faced in meatpacking industries. Working undercover, Sinclair investigated how these industries exploited their workers by not providing basic sanitary conditions and regulating any safety precautions which often contaminated the meat supplies going out to the public. Per an excerpt from The Jungle, the men faced serious injuries such as sliced fingers and toxic inhalations which caused deadly diseases to upraise. Such conditions were inhumane which called for reform on the meatpacking industry from the public during the Progressive Era. Upton Sinclair was a muckraker who only wanted nothing but equality from corrupt industries.

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Working Conditions In The Jungle

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During the 1900’s working conditions were undeniably horrible. In Packingtown everyday got more difficult as the days went on. In the meat packing business things were supposed to be done quick. Inside the factories packing, chopping, inspecting and people actions didn’t mix. Not only did the people in the factories suffered, the people outside of the factory also suffered.

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The American Dream In Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

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It wasn't just the conditions that they worked at that was the main issue, but rather the fact that the meat itself was unhealthy and possibly coated in bacteria due to the little care it received to stay clean. Neil Reynolds gave a summary of the conditions : "In a word, we saw meat shoveled from filthy wooden floors, piled on tables rarely washed, pushed from room to room in rotten box carts, in all of which processes it was in the way of gathering dirt, splinters, floor filth, and the expectoration of tuberculosis and other diseased workers," (Document B). The condition of the meat packing brought about an issue of welfare for the nation. So, in return to this matter, the Pure Food and Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act were created to prevent further contamination of the meat.

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Upton Sinclair The Jungle Themes

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A quote from the book describes the meatpacking, “This is no fairy story and no joke; the meat will be shoveled into carts and the man who did the shoveling will not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one." (Sinclair 146). This shows that government regulation is absent in businesses, even in bigger companies that release food in large quantities into the public. Sinclair calls attention to laissez faire, or the lack of government regulation in businesses especially ones that produce directly to the people of the

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