How The Jungle Influenced Social Reform And Socialism

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How The Jungle Influenced Social Reform and Socialism

Beginning in the late 19th century, many people became concerned with many social problems resulting from the industrialization period of the United States. People began to demand reform. The writing of the book The Jungleby Upton Sinclair was one of the most influential tools used to reform many American industries. In this book, Sinclair focuses on the unsanitary conditions and corruption that was involved in the Chicago meat packing industry. This book exposed so much information to the public that it even caused new legislation to be passed concerning the matter. This book also indicted slave wages and the poor treatment of immigrant workers. …show more content…

The real story is about Lithuanian immigrants who move to the stockyards of Chicago in hopes of a better life. Unfortunately, their hopes are quickly dashed. Like thousands of other untrained immigrants their need for money forces them into horrible work in order to make ends meet. In the story, he is being shown the different factories and rooms in which the animals are killed and made into the meat which "fed America". The book uses vivid descriptions and makes the atmosphere seem really quite nauseating. The people who read it were so appalled by the disgusting filth, and the actual ingredients of the processed meat.The book provided the final drive for way for the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act and truth in labeling all passed by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Also in the story, Sinclair concerns the readers with the abuse of immigrant workers, both men and women. This is partially why he uses the story of the man moving from Lithuania to America. He moved here to the "land of opportunity", when in fact that so called "opportunity" actually brings sadness, misery, and even death. For many of the immigrants of the time the American dream became

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