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Evan Malachosky Upton Sinclair Progressivism Debate 1/29/12  __ Upton Sinclair: A Man of Investigation __ Upton Sinclair, born in 1878 in Baltimore, Maryland, was an American author and Socialist party activist. The American author published his most famous novel, //The Jungle//, in 1906 and aimed at promoting the Socialist party and exposing the meat packing industry (Upton Sinclair). “The condemned meat industry”, as described by Upton himself, was a disgusting and harsh place for employees and recipients of the goods made in the industry. Upton Sinclair was an active supporter of the Socialist and the often-overlooked main goal of //The Jungle// was to attract more supporters of the party. Upton took a two-month trip to Chicago and did investigation of the meat packing factories that were the base of the industry (The Jungle, 1906). The factories were home to mistreated employees, disgusting conditions, and the fowl handling of meat goods (Upton Sinclair). Upton released the vivid descriptions of what he saw in his 1906 novel, //The Jungle,// and the public took to it very quickly. The rapid spread of the investigations and research into the previously overlooked industry began. The disgusting environments in which most of America’s meat products were made were the cold hard truth Upton uncovered. The employees were mistreated and deserved better from the big businesses. Upton quoted, “It was stuff such as this that made the “embalmed beef” that had killed several times as many United States soldiers as all the bullets of the Spaniards; only the army beef, besides, was not fresh canned, it was old stuff that had been lying for years in the cellars.” –//The Jungle,// 1906. Upton introduced the idea of investigating the depths of the industries and became the driving force behind the creation of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (Upton Sinclair). Upton’s publication of //The Jungle// was the clear solution to problem he had at hand. The audiences read into and were disgusted by what they heard and immediately stepped into action. The graphic descriptions Upton wrote made Americans realize that they food they loved to eat may come at a price, disease. Upton wrote to President Theodore Roosevelt and explained of his accounts and the contacting of himself made by employees offering to show him deeper and even more repulsive secrets of the meat packing industry (Sinclair, Upton).

__ Works Cited __

Sinclair, Upton. "The Jungle Publishing Co." Letter to President Theodore Roosevelt. 10 Mar. 1906. //The National Archives//. The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. "Upton Sinclair." //Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia//. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2012 "Upton Sinclair Hits His Readers in the Stomach." //History// // Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web //. History Matters. Web. 29 Jan. 2012