The Jungle:by Upton Sinclair- "A cultural revolution ignited"
             In the late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century the country was experiencing a boom time in the economy, but it came at the expense of the average poor immigrant. As long as business men were making a buck they didn't care or who what they exploited in order to do so. Also, there were no limitations on what any industry can and can not do. The United States Government had a laissez-faire policy at the time, and the economy was let be. This proved harmful to the everyday American because they had no protection under the laws in there workplace's. In the novel The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, he exposes the wrongs of our society at the time by using literary muckraking, to "dig the dirt" of our economic system.
             Society needed a red flag in order for humanitarians of societies middle and upper classes to take affirmative action against inhumane acts involving the workplace. The Jungle was one of the key factors in the progressive movement because of it's popularity. Also it is a perfect example of muckraking, and even the graphicness of the book told the horrid tale of the meat packing plants of Chicago. It gave such a realistic image of how life was like for most of the population. This novel sparked a great number of political reforms, the meat packing plants were inspected thoroughly and child labor was outlawed in many states and enforced successfully. The reason why action wasn't taken sooner was because the people who controlled the government were of the upper classes of society, even after these atrocities were exposed many politicians were reluctant to take action because business' involved their peers and that is "bad business" as a politician. The majority of the people of greater means were distraught and took any action they could. For
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