Upton Sinclair

Upton Sinclair
Paola Torres
 

   Upton Sinclair was a writer that was born on September 20, 1978. He started writing to make a living at the young age of 15. His writing career consisted of works that talked about poor economic and social conditions, as well as injustices against the work force. When he was in his mid- to late 20’s, he started working undercover in the meatpacking industry in Chicago. After, he wrote a fictional book about his the observations he made while he was there called “The Jungle”. When he was finally done with his book he went to a publishing house, but his book was rejected; they thought it was too shocking for the public. He went to total of 5 different publishers before he gave up and decided to publish the book on his own. The people had a very strong reaction to Sinclair’s book; they were shocked and infuriated. Many people were disgusted with the news and even became vegetarians after that. After reading it, Roosevelt, along with congress, decided the Meat Inspection Act (1906). This act meant that federal inspection of meat sold through interstate commerce would be required and that the Agriculture department had to set cleanliness standards for meat packing companies. It also led to the Pure Food and Drug act which outlawed the sale, shipment, or production of any food or drugs that were contaminated or falsely labeled.