Sinclair, Upton

Upton Sinclair (1878–1968) was an author, poet, political activist, and political candidate in his illustrious career. Sinclair is perhaps best known for his report of the meatpacking industry, The Jungle, published when he was 26 years old. The muckraking work brought attention to poor working conditions and spurred political action. Sinclair wrote over 90 books in his lifetime as well as countless articles and essays. In 1934, in the hope of remedying Depression era issues in California, he became the Democratic candidate for governor of the state. Sinclair won the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for his book Dragon's Teeth.

Upton Sinclair was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on September 20, 1878. He moved to New York with his family at an early age and stayed with relatives throughout his adolescent years. Sinclair graduated from the City College of New York in 1897 and took courses at Columbia College prior to his full-time commitment to writing.

Despite the commercial failure of Sinclair's first novel, Springtime and Harvest (1900), the author remained vigilant in his efforts to be a success. Sinclair's conversion to socialism and his commitment to social justice provided the background for his 1906 book, The Jungle, which turned out to be his most lasting work. The author spent 7 weeks working and traveling among employees of the Chicago stockyards to research the novel. The intention of The Jungle was to provide an exposé of working conditions in the stockyards. Those who read the novel, however, received it as a detailed account of meatpacking gone wrong. The [Page 719]result of the book was the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, which Theodore Roosevelt felt was the first step in remedying the abysmal nature of meatpacking and processing.

Sinclair was actively involved in politics following the success of The Jungle. When issues facing the economy during the Depression inspired Sinclair to run for governor of California in 1934, he registered as a Democrat and established the End Poverty in California (EPIC) platform. EPIC promised to create jobs and improve the national economy by taxing unused land and creating industrial and agricultural cooperatives. The EPIC movement and the rhetoric used during Sinclair's campaign became national news. Nevertheless, despite this prominence and the success of the Democratic Party in the 1934 midterm elections, Sinclair was not able to win the gubernatorial election.

Following Sinclair's loss in 1934, he returned to writing and settled into a steady publishing career. The novel Dragon's Teeth, for which Sinclair received the Pulitzer Prize in 1943, is part of his Lanny Budd series, which follows the character Lanny Budd through 20th-century American historical events like the First World War and the Great Depression. Sinclair wrote prolifically until his death on November 25, 1968, at the age of 90.