Upton Sinclair, publisher of The Jungle, was born on September 20, 1878, and died on November 25, 1968. (Time Toast)
Upton Sinclair was in an American writer for socialism, worker rights, health, etc. In 1904, Sinclair was sent by the Appeal to Reason magazine to look into the working conditions of the Chicago stockyards. Sinclair spend seven weeks investigating the stockyards and produced unsettling results. Sinclair then went on the write The Jungle, in which he intended to discuss mainly about the awful working conditions that the workers (immigrants) had to face. However, Sinclair also brought light to the terrible meatpacking practices that took place in the packinghouses (which is what the novel is more widely known for.) Some things that he exposed (and wrote about in vivid descriptions) about the meatpacking practices were of the contamination issues, sanitation issues, and overall uncleanliness while processing meat. The Jungle was published in 1905 (and became more popular in 1906 when it was revised and published as a book) and caused outrage amongst the public towards the poor quality and practices of the meat industry.
Images 1 & 2: The meat-packing industry was unsanitary, and the meat was inedible due to its contamination. (Let's Teach History)
Prior to the release of Upton Sinclair's novel, President Theodore Roosevelt had declared his support for federal food safety law. Sinclair and Roosevelt shared a similar goal regarding food safety, but Sinclair doubted that Roosevelt wanted to expose the meat industry. Roosevelt sent Charles Neill and James Reynolds to investigate the same stockyards that Sinclair had previously investigated. Both men discovered the same conditions that Sinclair had described in his novel (however their findings were not publicized.) It was not until Sinclair became impatient due to Roosevelt's inaction, and began leaking the investigators' findings, that Roosevelt did begin taking action. Roosevelt revealed eight pages of the investigators' report to the public, which further revolted the public.
A political cartoon of President Roosevelt taking care of the meat scandal. (Britannica)
On June 30th, 1906, Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. The Meat Inspection Act set requirements for meat to be processed and shipped under sanitary conditions and banned the sale of adulterated and misbranded meat. The Pure Food and Drug Act prohibited the manufacture and sale of misbranded and adulterated meat and drugs in interstate commerce.
Source: American Experience. (2020, February 13). How “the jungle” changed American food | the poison squad | american experience | PBS. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuukM9OY-is&t=154s++%E2%80%8C
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Anderson, L. (2021, March 4). Video and Assignment Ideas for Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Let’s Teach History. https://letsteachhistory.com/video-and-assignment-ideas-covering-upton-sinclairs-the-jungle/
Roosevelt, T. Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Upton Sinclair (1906). Teaching American History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/to-upton-sinclair/
Klein, C. (2023, May 10). How Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” Led to US Food Safety Reforms. History; A&E Television Networks. https://www.history.com/news/upton-sinclair-the-jungle-us-food-safety-reforms
Petruzzello, M. (2019). Pure Food and Drug Act | United States [1906] | Britannica. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pure-Food-and-Drug-Act
Rouse, K. L. (2018). Meat Inspection Act of 1906 | History, Summary, & Facts. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Meat-Inspection-Act
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