Explain Topic#2- Urban Immigrant Life Introduction: Written in 1906, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle “provided a voice to the great masses of immigrants who came to America yearning to be free and comfortable and who found instead the wage slavery and misery of mill, factory, sweatshop, and slum. Sinclair highlighted the factory workers’ conditions- “physical danger, insecurity, fear, exploitation, corruption and faith.” The Jungle gives us a glimpse into immigrant life in US cities between 1880 and 1920. Directions: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Go to the following website: http://www.online-literature.com/upton_sinclair/jungle/1/ Read the first chapter and answer the following 1) What country are the main characters in “The Jungle”
Using the documents and your knowledge of the period, (a) explain the reasons for agrarian discontent and (b) evaluate the validity of the farmers' complaints. Document A Source: The platform of the People's (Populist) party (1892) The conditions which surround us best justify our cooperation; we meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political, and material ruin. Corruption dominates the ballot-box, the legislatures, the Congress, and even touches the ermine of the bench. The people are demoralized .... The newspapers are largely subsidized or muzzled, public opinion silenced, business prostrated, homes covered with mortgages, labor impoverished, and the land concentrating in the hands of the capitalists.
Although Sinclair’s investigation tells a story of the toll the meatpacking industry took on families nearly a hundred years ago, he still offers insight into the deceiving side of America’s food corruptions. Both writers brilliantly offer realization and awareness in their books that will benefit anyone who reads them to make better decisions daily. The description of the factory farming slaughterhouses in both books is enough to send chills down almost anyone’s spine; The Jungle opens with the cruel tactics, yet Fast Food Nation did not mention the slaughterhouses until midway. As Jurgis and his family tour the packinghouse where he will be working as a shoveler,(shoveling blood and guts) they first see what seems to be millions of cows. There are rail yards that carry the cattle to the slaughterhouse where the mechanics of the process are awe-inspiring.
“Many Americans held the president personally to blame for the crisis and began calling the shantytowns that unemployed people established on the outskirts of cities “Hoovervilles” (B, 676; CD) The 1930’s also show examples of our continuing inequality in America. As the white males began to lose their jobs and some African Americans continued to work, people believed in this crisis white males had first priority when it came to jobs and started replacing the African Americans. (B, 665; CD) Mexicans during the depression were rounded up and were forced to
Laura Masteller H106 Block 8 Critical Book Review The Jungle is a novel that focuses its story on a family of immigrants who came to America looking for a better life. It was written by Upton Sinclair, who went into Chicago and the stockyards to investigate what life was like for the people who lived and worked there. The book was originally written with the intent of showing Socialism as a better option than Capitalism for the society. The main arguments in this novel are the horrible conditions in the meat packing industry, and the treatment to the immigrants. The annihilation of Jurgis’s family at the hands of the economic and social system demonstrates the effect of capitalism on the working class as a whole.
The Gilded Age • “Gilded Age” by Mark Twain • New technology • Breaker boys: sat in coal refineries and picked out impurities in the coal • Corruption of every political office • Boss Tweed: one of the most corrupt figures of this time • Income disparity – extremely wealthy and extremely poor people • People are getting into debt • Government only cares about their own agendas • Social issues: immigration, international interventions, and new technology • Rise of industries leads to urbanization: the transition from rural to urban living to take advantage of new technology 80% in farms to 80% in cities • Rush of people to cities fills jobs but creates social problem: living conditions near all time low for most • Immigration to
What started off as a local labor revolt against harsh conditions for workers of the Pullman Palace Car Company turned into a cataclysmic nationwide showdown between labor and capital. Workers in conjunction with the American Railway Union vociferously protested against abusive labor practices and policies. Eugene Debs, the zealous leader of the American Railway Union, strategically strengthened the strike that soon mushroomed into a boycott. The railroad strike and boycott paralyzed half the nation and ultimately interfered with the United States mail delivery. President Grover Cleveland stated, “if it takes every dollar in the Treasury and every soldier in the United States Army to deliver a postal card in Chicago, that postal card shall be delivered” (Papke, Pg.
Shadow of Hate Assignment Explain which story or section in the documentary was the most powerful/ shocking and why. Japanese American arrived in the early 1900’s. They did a lot for the country by transforming American agriculture in the west. They worked hard to become successful farmers and businessmen. Envy against these innocent women and men was degrading they were given a week to sell properties and businesses. They were sent to internment camps over 100,000 were ordered by government custody and were announced as disloyal.
McMath, Jr., Edward C. American Populism: A Social history 1877-1898. Hill and Wang, 1992, 211 I believe that McMath wrote the book because he wanted the reader to understand the hardships of the lower classes back in the populism era. He gave us key area’s to look at such as New York and Texas. It shows how the workers and farmers were treated unfairly as well as looked down upon by the upper class. He captures the populism of that time from the strikes all the way to the farmer’s debt.
Dylan Holt Per.2 4/27/2011 Huckleberry Finn Essay Since its release in 1885, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been the center of a major controversy. When this book was written the slave trade was a huge part of everyday life and little did the society of that time know, this book is a major step towards relieving our world of the pains of slavery. Huck Finn shows not only the major conflicts that an African American would have faced but also extreme prejudice that they faced with the use of the “n-word” over two hundred times. Used mostly as a derogatory term, the “n-word” referred to the thousands of black slaves in general but has slowly become acceptable in some societal bounds as a reference to a “distinguished” man that