Analysis Of Upton Sinclair 's ' The Flivver King '

Before Henry Ford adapted the automobile production, they had developed an assembly line. It worked more like a disassembly line because there were 80 separate jobs in one line in the whole process of getting the meat ready. The immigrants did the most dangerous jobs, they worked in cold weather in the winter and the hot dark room in the summer (Willie).”

By the end of the 19th Century, most Americans saw labor unions as comprised of radical communists and anarchists. The problem started with the idea that labor unions and collective bargaining was seen as un-American. With the American focus on individual freedoms, the idea that a group of people should get together to demand what they want was communistic. This fear can be directly shown in one of Thomas Nast’s political cartoons from 1878, which shows labor unions killing capitalism in order to appease communism (Source C). It also didn’t help that this group of people were workers, who controlled the means of industry in a communist state. The people who supported labor unions often were socialists or communists themselves as well. Eugene Debs, for example, was a well-known socialist and proponent of worker’s rights. His beliefs that the US should work within its political system in order to gradually give way to a socialist state didn’t sit well with Americans. Neither did Daniel DeLeon’s ideas, for that matter, who believed that workers should lead the way in a revolution to overthrow the

One of the reasons was that they were not use to anyone thinking the way Upton did he was more worried about how the people were living instead of being happy then him having a job. At the time of the creation of the book people were scared of labor unions because they did not want change. The reason why they didn't want change was because they wanted to have a job, so they called a great book from a great author a socialist because he had a different opinion. Upton Sinclair was pretty radical though with is the only reason why I can see them being pretty offended about him talking about the unsafe and unhealthy workplace. The description in the book are so disgusting that it is very hard to eat meat. “Jurgis could not hear it often enough; he could not ask with enough variations. Yes, they had bought the house, they had really bought it. It belonged to them, they had only to pay the money and it would be all right. Then Jurgis covered his face with his hands, for there were tears in his eyes, and he felt like a fool. But he had had such a horrible fright; strong man as he was, it left him almost too weak to stand up.” reading that quote from the Jungle really turns my stomach on how much they did not care about there employees. “Here were groups of cattle being driven to the chutes, which were roadways about fifteen feet wide, raised high above the

ne thing about Upton Sinclair is he himself has disillusion. He writes about whatever that seems to come to his mind. If he sees something he doesn't like, he’l go to his bedroom and write away for hours. As critics criticize him, he simply chooses to ignore and goes away with writing. It does not bother him at all. His books received many bad reviews. It did not come to his mind , not even once that he even considered it. Upton Sinclair through pain wrote his books. He is one of the best authors , not only because he writes about the muckraking situations during the progressive era but he shows his true identity ( Dembo). His characters though didn't go along with his stories. They didn’t enhance his message that he was depicting through his

Despite being able to cause a small improvement in workers’ pay and hours, labor unions ultimately died out by the 1900s due to their methods. Unable to truly focus on the plight of skilled workers, most labor unions instead focused on that of unskilled workers, pushing aside the skilled workers. (Doc D). The actions of labor unions ended up being counterproductive, forcing companies to wage war against the labor unions. These stricter contracts such as that of Western Union Telegraph Company, forced workers to affiliate themselves against labor unions. (Doc E) One important thing to note is that the workers’ rights advocates were never able to coincide on one factor. As evidenced in an illustration in 1887, labor unions had to compete with other movements such as socialism, anarchism, and other labor unions. (Doc F). Because of this, the media, although recognizing the labor union movement, began viewing the labor unions as dangerous entities. Although the initial strikes such as the Wabash strike were successful, the ones that followed proved detrimental to the movement, and caused the steady decline of the labor unions. Because some of the strikes were dangerous, many strikes resulted in the deaths of those involved, such as the Homestead Crisis, and Pinkerton (Doc G). Combined with events such as the Wildcat strike, Haymarket strike, the Pullman Strike, the public began to associate a negative

In the period immediately following World War I, American workers struggled to earn a living as prices rose and wages stagnated, forcing them to seek union support. Labor unions endeavored to represent the working class against their employers and corporations, who refused to increase wages or improve working conditions. In order to combat the capitalist’s immense political clout, unions made their voice heard through strikes. After the war, capitalists linked unions to the mounting communist threat, stressing that strikes undermined capitalism and threatened a republican form of government. As a result, government sided with capital against labor unions and the struggle of the American workers, who had no voice against corporations. This struggle can be exemplified in a correspondence between union leader, Samuel Gompers and bishop William Quayle, published in “The Twenties in Contemporary Commentary: Labor & Capital”. The letters demonstrate that in the 1920’s, labor unions were necessary as a means to overcome capitalist greed and enhanced the ideals of democracy by empowering the working class.

Ford wasn’t a good leader and workers were killed and let go all of the time. Protests were created and Ford gave no mercy to them. They were protesting in front of his corporation one day and he had some purposely killed because of it. Eventually people caught on and formed Unions. The author emphasizes how this real life example can still happen today. Leaders today have changed and are not the best for the job. Sinclair uses this book to get others to join him in his movement to create the United Automobile Worker’s Drive. He opened the eyes of Americans and showed them how a good company like Ford can change so quickly if the main head makes poor

Upton Sinclair’s views differed greatly from those of affluent leaders in the nineteenth century. In fact, Sinclair was one of few people who

Thesis Statement: Upton Sinclair was a muckraker who wrote, “The Jungle”, which exposed the problems of the meatpacking industry.

Most famous people inspire authors to write books written about their achievements, however Upton Sinclair Junior did it backwards. Some of his ninety novels including an autobiography, and in particular The Jungle, changed America forever by using fictitious stories to depict the present issues at that time. Upton Sinclair was an author and activist in the early to mid 1900’s who was passionate about issues involving women 's rights, working conditions, and the unemployed. He wrote over ninety books in his lifetime, as well as countless articles and other works of journalism. As Sinclair grew up, he was exposed to both a lifestyle of poverty and wealth that shaped his world as well as his political views as a socialist, or someone who advocates the vesting of the control of the means of production and distribution, of capital or land in the community as a whole. Upton Sinclair was a controversial author who took a stand in history by vastly impacting the food industry, becoming politically active, and forecasting solutions to social problems.

Have you ever heard of the book called The Jungle? This book was written by Upton Sinclair, a muckraker. Harry Sinclair Lewis was a janitor at Upton Sinclair's socialist colony and he was influenced by Sinclair’s idea of socialism. Therefore, their ideas are very much alike even though their childhood backgrounds were completely different. Upton Sinclair had a great impact on society by addressing social issues in the early 1900’s, so what is the significance of Lewis’s works? Some of his major representative works are Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith (“Assignment Five -- Sinclair Lewis Babbitt”). These books played a big role on muckraking the social corruptions in his time period.

During the Progressive Era of the Gilded Age, many laborers were being mistreated by the companies that they worked for. Because of this, workers started forming labor unions or organized association of workers, formed to protect and further their rights and interests. Many of these labor unions failed, while few of them achieved their goals and still exist today. Many factors contributed to the failure of these labor unions. The labor unions were given a bad image, the reason for this was the media, and they did this by publishing articles depicting the unions as violent, communist groups. The government supported big business during this time, since the government had a lot of power; this was a huge setback in the labor unions’ battles.

While organized labor’s storied history demonstrates remarkable achievements, there has been a downside for the American economy. By way of example, the formerly dominant U.S. steel industry serves to remind of an time when poor management, global competition, and union excess were necessary causes of a dramatic and rapid industry decline.

This article talked about the general things of the National Labor Union back in the 1800’s. It mostly talked about the negative effects of the NLU such as exclusion of women, racial prejudice, and failing to enforce the eight-hour labor law. The article did mention about groups of skilled, unskilled, and farmers were unable to share and participate in united political views unless they were intensely focused on labor union. After William Sylvis death in 1869, the NLU suffered politically and dealt with the Depression of 1873, where the NLU finally collapsed.

Since the beginnings of industrialization in the United States, a struggle between the rights of individuals working in industry and manufacturing and the desire of the ownership of these endeavors to maximize profits has raged. As various eras in history passed, labor movements in the United States met with varying degrees of success. The fortunes of labor movements in the United States has ebbed and flowed along with other key factors in American society. In times when human rights and the rights of the individual were national priorities, the labor movement prospered, in times where businesses and profitability were the priority, the labor movement faltered.