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| (above) A portrait of Upton Sinclair. source: Wikimedia Commons |
For a sum of $500 the newspaper, Appeal to Reason, paid writer Upton Sinclair to write about his
observations of the stockyard workers in Chicago (Streitmatter, 100). Sinclair
spent seven weeks with meatpacking workers and interviewed with a series of
individuals associated with the meatpacking industry, including managers,
doctors and lawyers (Streitmatter, 100). What he found was shocking and his observations were later
published in a series titled, "The Jungle" in 1906. One of the most
striking reports was Sinclair's revelation that workers were falling into meat-canning
vats due to exhaustion, and consumers were consuming the tainted meat (Streitmatter, 100). After these findings reached President Roosevelt, he sent agents to Chicago to
confirm the allegations. Following these actions, Sinclair wrote a letter to
Roosevelt. In it, he stated:
"I am glad to learn that the Department of Agriculture
has taken up the matter of inspection, or lack of it, but I am exceedingly
dubious as to what it will discover [...] A man has to be something of a
detective, or else intimate with the working men, as I was, before he can
really see what is going on (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration).
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| (above) An excerpt of a letter from Upton Sinclair to President Roosevelt. source: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration |
