Conditions in meatpacking plants 1906, by upton sinclair. Conditions in meatpacking plants 1906, by upton sinclairthe explosive growth of american industry in the late nineteenth century caused a similar expansion in the work force. The emergence of modern america 18901930 national archives. Below is a quote from the book talking about the sanitary conditions.
Panorama of the beef industry in 1900 by a chicagobased photographer. But because roosevelt distrusted its close ties to the meatpacking industry, he secretly. Harvey washington wiley, named chief chemist of the u. Public reaction to the book was a major factor in the passage of the 1907 meat inspection act, which established a system of meat inspection that endured for nearly a century. Theodore roosevelt on june 30, 1906, that prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded livestock and derived products as food and ensured that livestock were slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. Like harriet beecher stowes uncle toms cabin, the jungle proved the power of fiction to move a nation.
The law reformed the meat packing industry, mandating that the u. A man by the name of upton sinclair wrote a novel called the jungle. The jungle exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry. Book by upton sinclair which exposed the abuses of the meat packing industry. It is true that the main character of the book at one point goes to work in a meat packing plant, and its disgusting, and when the book was published apparently. It depicts corruption in the american meat packing industry in the 1900s. By the early 1900s, four major meatpacking corporations had bought out the. The jungle paperback chicago public library bibliocommons. The only thing these competitive companies cared about was making meat and selling it for a profit. Smallscale usda inspected meat processing duration. Upton sinclair, whose muckraking changed the meat industry.
Jan 16, 2012 men standing on wooden beams between the cattle yards in chicago, c. During the very late 1890s and early 1900s some of the major meat packing companies of the midwest swift, armour and cudahy established some distribution points branch houses at various locations along the mississippi river as well as near some towns served by the railroads. Once germans, who loved spareribs, moved to the city, the meat processors had a market for the ribs. Nov 30, 2010 the meatpacking industry during the early 1900 s was unsanitary, unregulated and incredibly dangerous work.
Mar 11, 2009 a man by the name of upton sinclair wrote a novel called the jungle. A history of the meat industry ansc 3404 published by the american meat science association. Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the united states in chicago and similar industrialized cities. What were the working conditions like of the meat packers in. Political cartoon, the meat market, page 1 of 2 title the. Employers squashed unionization efforts in 19191920, but in the 1930s. A campaign to correct the purported abuses resulted in the passage of the meat inspection act of 1906 and inspired the formation of the american meat packers association 1906, now known as the american meat institute, the main trade organization for the meat packing industry. This greater part of the entire meat industry is primarily focused on producing meat for human consumption, but it also yields a variety of byproducts including hides, feathers, dried blood, and. What were the working conditions like of the meat packers. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in the jungle, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. American meat packing in the 1900s was corrupted largely by capitalism without regulations. Upton sinclair and the chicago meatpacking industry. May 12, 2016 the jungle exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry. Public awareness dramatically increased and led to the passage of the pure food and drug act 1.
The meatpacking industry during the early 1900s blogger. Moreover, chicago packers were preserving meat in tin cans, manufacturing an inexpensive butter substitute called oleomargarine, and, with the help of chemists, turning previously discarded. May 20, 2012 the early 1900s in america were years of change, growth and prosperity for the relatively young country that had recently gone through an industrial revolution. Sinclairs book was so moving and troubling that it inspired the establishment of the food and drug administration, a federal agency that is to this day responsible for regulating. In 1906, upton sinclairs novel the jungle uncovered harrowing conditions inside americas meat packing plants and initiated a period of transformation in the nations meat industry. Initially, the meat packing industry was extremely wary of federal. In 1906, upton sinclair described in his novel the jungle the unwholesome working environment in the chicago meat packing industry and the unsanitary conditions under which food was produced. A new report by the human rights watch entitled blood, sweat, and fear workers rights in u. Packingtown is a section in chicago where the packing houses are located.
Chicago, 1900 the nightmare of the chicago meatpacking industry was described as follows. The book caused quite the uproar and helped lead to the passing of the pure food and drug act along with the meat inspection act. Meatpacking definition of meatpacking by merriamwebster. History of the meat industry1 texas tech university. In 1865 when the union stock yard opened, the meat packers began to build large plants near the stockyards. Enforcing simple things like hand washing and requiring the use of hairnets were unheard of. The cattle yards that seems to go on forever, and a view of the packing plants in the distance. File photo from art fishbeck historical collection decker meat packing plant 1900.
Upton sinclairs book the jungle remains an inspiration to journalists. The book ends with another socialist rally, which follows some political victories. Feb 15, 2014 the meat packing plants that jurgis works in are in packingtown, chicago. Upton sinclair and the chicago meat packing industry in 1900, there were over 1. Workers like jurgis had to work in dirty, gross conditions. Note part of an ad for armour, one of the big packers, on a building to the right. The salt opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. The themetracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of the horrors of the meatpacking industry appears in each chapter of the jungle. The words of the late pulitzer prize winning author upton sinclair only begin to tell the story of the beginning of the chicago meatpacking business. No one thought of washing their hands, or their themselves for that matter. The early 1900s in america were years of change, growth and prosperity for the relatively young country that had recently gone through an industrial revolution.
The jungle may have led to some reforms, but working conditions in meatpacking plants remained dangerous and often wretched, though they improved for a few decades. Upton sinclair and the chicago meatpacking industry 1072 words 5 pages. Why was meat packing an issue in the 1900s answers. Men standing on wooden beams between the cattle yards in chicago, c. Constitutional rights foundation bill of rights in action fall 2008 volume 24, no. By 1900 this dressed beef trade was as important as pork packing, and mechanical refrigeration increased the efficiency of both pork and beef operations. Becoming a meat packing worker does not require any particular level of education, and necessary skills can be attained through onthejob training.
The jungle is a 1906 novel by the american journalist and novelist upton sinclair 18781968. People still read the jungle for its realistic picture of conditions in the meat packing industry at the turn of the 20th century. The meatpacking industry also resulted in tremendous amounts of pollution. In the early 1900s meat packing factories were not interested in the health and welfare of others. The meatpacking industry during the early 1900s was unsanitary, unregulated and incredibly dangerous work. Probably thinking of a very clean working environment. Political cartoon, the meat market, page 1 of 2 title. Sinclair wanted to aim for peoples hearts to explain what actually happened in the meat packaging industry. Parts of the butchered animals that business owners could not sell, they simply dumped into the ohio river, hoping the current would wash the waste away. So powerful was its effect on the american imagination, so evocative its use of the forces of nature in its plots, so charming its invitation to children of all ages to look for the element of wonder in the world around them that author l. His novel, the jungle 1906, a shocking expose of the unsanitary and dangerous conditions in the plants, was an. Meat and poultry plants reveals that these conditions still exist within united states meat packing industry. Meat packing industry 1920s by grace smavik on prezi. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for.
Chicago was the worst and biggest meat packing industry in the early 1900s. Cure pumps, slicing machines and conveyerized tables are developed. Upton sinclairs the jungle constitutional rights foundation. Utterly disturbing, centuryold photos of meatpacking. The meat packing industry started in the early 1900s. Chicago,1900 the nightmare of the chicago meatpacking industry was described as follows.
The jungle is a novel by upton sinclair, published serially in 1905 and as a book in 1906. In 1900, 250 slaughterhouses and packing plants filled the district. The jungle, a 1906 novel by upton sinclair, is full of graphic descriptions of the poor conditions workers and cattle endured in the chicago meatpacking industry. The year before, the journalist charles edward russells book the greatest trust in the world had detailed the greed and exploitation of a packing industry that. Recent examples on the web nearly 4,200 workers at 115 meatpacking plants have been infected with the coronavirus, and 20 of those workers have died, according to a report released friday by the u. Dec 15, 2011 meat packing industry 1900 dingdonglu. The relatively warm temperatures in southern ohio caused meat to spoil quickly, resulting in a horrendous odor. The wonderful wizard of oz, published in 1900, is the first fantasy written by an american to enjoy an immediate success upon publication. The city, eager to retain the immediate supply of fresh meat and jobs, subsidized the industry throughout the early 20th century. Dec 03, 2015 how chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat. Photographs from chicagos meatpacking industry, circa 1900. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat. The meatpacking industry in the 1900s was very dangerous and very unsanitary. The packing plants were located in packingtown, on the outskirts of chicago.
The objective of this paper is to examine changes in employment and wage patterns, industrial restructuring, and foreign competition that affect job opportunities of recent immigrants to the nonmetropolitan midwest, especially to iowa. Working conditions in the new urban industrial zones were wretched, and a progressive reform movement soon grew out of the need to address the health and welfare of the american worker. The meatpacking district is a neighborhood in the new york city borough of manhattan that runs roughly from west 14th street south to gansevoort street, and from the hudson river east to hudson street. An expose of the american meatpacking industry and the horrors. Packingtown was notorious for their awful living conditions and working conditions. Five meatpacking companies still operate in the district. Meat packing blues a book examines when chicago was the king of. I think about only 18 pages were used to describe the sanitary conditions.
Children as young as three were often employed and forced to work long hours sometimes 1215 hour days for very little. One of the most important events of the early twentieth century was. Railroads made possible the transport of stock to central points for processing, and the transport of products. The salt opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest. The meat packing industry was completely repulsive. In july 1996, the federal government announced new rules requiring more scientifically advanced methods of meat inspection. Most immigrants came to the united states with little or no money at all, in hope of making a. Researching the book in 1904, upton sinclair interviewed fellow socialists. In this time, meat was a big part of the country, mainly in chicago where all. In the early 1900s meat packing factories were not interested in the health and welfare of others, not their employees nor their customers.
By 1900 the stock yard had expanded to include five thousand pens. Deborah blums new book, the poison squad, is a true story about how dr. Upton sinclair and the chicago meatpacking industry in 1900, there were over 1. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to. Children as young as three were often employed and forced to work long hours sometimes 1215 hour days for very little pay. She remembers her childhood love of books and reading, how she got her start and the. Almost the whole of the novel was about working conditions about plight of workers in the meat packing industry. Kate gibson, cbs news, major grocery chains rationing meat purchases to curb hoarding, 4. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big. Meatpacking definition is the wholesale meat industry. Many of cincinnatis most prominent people enhanced their wealth through the meatpacking industry. Although meatpacking was hard work and many people did not prosper from it, some people certainly did benefit. The meat packing industry grew with the construction of the railroads and methods of refrigeration for meat preservation.
It was a time where investigative journalism was flourishing, uncovering great scandals that would transform these very industries. The meatpacking industry in the 1900 s was very dangerous and very unsanitary. The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of meat from animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock. Jurgis rudkus finds a job at a meatpacking district where the work is. As a result, the government would step in and pass legislation that protected consumers from consuming unsafe food. The meatpacking business improvement district extends further north to west 17th street, east to eighth avenue, and south to horatio street. In 1906 upton sinclairs novel the jungle focused attention on unsavory conditions in the packing plants and led to the federal meat inspection act of 1906. Upton sinclair and the chicago meat packing industry 1072 words 5 pages. Essay about upton sinclair and the chicago meatpacking. Since this book was released you would think that the conditions people worked under would have changed. May 07, 2019 the year before, the journalist charles edward russells book the greatest trust in the world had detailed the greed and exploitation of a packing industry that came to the american dining table. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the united states. His description of diseased, rotten, and contaminated meat shocked the public and led to new federal food safety laws. In 1906, upton sinclair described in his novel the jungle the unwholesome working environment in the chicago meatpacking industry and the unsanitary conditions under which food was produced.