The publication of Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel The Jungle produced an immediate and powerful effect on Americans and on federal policy, but Sinclair had hoped to achieve a very different result. At the time he began working on the novel, he had completed his studies at Columbia University and was trying to develop a career as an author. He had been born in Baltimore in 1878, but his family had moved to the Bronx in 1888. Though he came from a prominent family, his own parents had little money, and he paid for his university studies by writing dime novels and short stories. While at Columbia, he also became a convert to socialism.
Description:An article written by historian Robert Cherny for quarterly online teaching publication History Now about the impact of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" on American politics and the progressive movement.
Rights: Access to online material.