1906 Upton Sinclair's The Jungle

The industrial revolution of the 1800's had a dramatic effect on economic and social life around the world. The industrialization economy shifted from agricultural to manufacturing as the logical corollary of technological advancements and efficient energy production. Factories could produce rapidly, which meant prices greatly decreased. Immigrants came in large numbers in hopes of starting new lives, but most encountered harsh working conditions accompanied by a few rights. In 1906 Upton Sinclair published The Jungle, a novel about the meat packing industry; this novel describes the horrors of a young immigrant named Jurgis Rudkus who came to America seeking freedom and opportunity, yet he was met with poverty and dangerous working environments …show more content…
Not only were the working conditions intolerable, but the processed meats were full of rat feces, rat poison, and dead rats. Sinclair described how workers ignored the conditions of the produce and the meats were still processed even though they were full of diseased fecal matter and poisons. This statement alone proves that factories had no standards and thus strengthens my argument that immigrants were not valued during industrialization. The following quote from Sinclair's novel, The jungle, shows that society of the late 1800's/ early 1900's conformed to social status. The rich became richer and the poor became poorer, this statement is supported by the following quote ": the rich people not only had all the money, they had all the chance to get more; they had all the know-ledge and the power, and so the poor man was down, and he had to stay …show more content…
During the late 1800's immigrants came to the U.S. with hopes for better opportunities and lives, but were often met with poverty and brutal conditions. Immigrants had few rights and eventually unions were put in place to resolve some of their issues. Nevertheless, the unions ultimate goals were to resolve social issues, since the rich seemed unbothered by working conditions. The rich were powerful, influential, and had the power to the things that affected them; poverty did not affect them but the conditions in which their food was prepared in did, so laws were put in place to provide sanitary conditions for food, not workers. From all the evidence provided it can be concluded that immigrant workers were disregarded and treated inhumanely during the industrial revolution. Harsh labor had been occurring years before any actions were pursued. The sudden actions of unions could have been the result of different political factors such as presidential elections; Immigration caused a major population growth in that time period. This could have been the cause of tax