Teaching Topics in Social Studies
Labeled by PRESIDENT THEODORE ROOSEVELT as a MUCKRAKER, Upton Sinclair and his colleagues in journalism worked to uncover the social and economic injustices in the AMERICAN CITY at the turn of the century.

Timeline

His support for a plan to end poverty brought him respect and prominence; he narrowly lost a tight race for Governor of California in 1934. He was active in the SOCIALIST party and dedicated to SOCIAL REFORM throughout his life. His novel, THE JUNGLE led to the passage of the PURE FOOD AND DRUG ACT (1906) and the MEAT INSPECTION ACT (1906).
 
Teaching Topics in Language Arts
He used HISTORICAL FICTION to illustrate and condemn the atrocities he discovered through INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING.

Scavenger Hunt Where did the term "muckraker" originate? . . . answer . . .

Other prominent JOURNALISTS of the time also focused on these injustices, but he used first hand observations to DETAIL his criticisms. His work as well as that of fellow INTELLECTUALS was printed in various SOCIALIST MAGAZINES and JOURNALS, which captured the public eye. Some of his WORKS attracted a mainstream audience and he went on to receive the PULITZER PRIZE for the book Dragon's Teeth.

Facts About Upton Sinclair and The Jungle His father was an alcoholic and his immediate family was poor so as an only child, he would often stay with his wealthy grandparents in New York, which allowed him to see extremes in American society At age 15 he began to write jokes and fiction for magazines and newspapers, which allowed him to pay his way through college He first attended New York City College and attended Columbia for graduate school He invested all of the nearly $30,000 he made from The Jungle into Helicon Home Colony, which was a utopian colony in New Jersey, but four months later it burned down He ran for Governor of California twice, but lost both times, although gained votes in the second election when his plan to end poverty gained support