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Upton Sinclair (1878-1968) was a prolific American author and social activist who made many unsuccessful bids for election to public office. He is best known for his early work The Jungle (1906), which exposed many abuses and scandals in the meat-packing industry and was instrumental in bringing about the Pure Food and Drug Act of the same year and greatly raised public interest in the industry.

Sinclair was motivated through his life by socialist ideals, which he wished to bring to fruition in American politics. However, his success in this regard was very limited as vested establishment interests mobilized strong media campaigns to label him a communist and his policies fanciful or dangerous. The closest he came to winning office was after moving from New York to California following his abandonment by his first wife and his campaign for election to the governorship of that state in 1934 in a race notable for its early use of media technology. Sinclair gained support from the Democrat Party for his campaign to end poverty in the state, which was then an issue of considerable importance. His other campaigns were run under the aegis of the Socialist Party. Having been defeated in 1934, he retired from the political arena and devoted himself to writing and promoting the various ideas he supported.

Not having an elected position, he was able to explore certain eccentric or nonstandard opinions in areas such as the use of psychic abilities and the benefits of prohibition. However, the majority of the approximately 90 books he wrote concern the need to promote the social welfare of the working people of America. These needs were explored through a variety of perspectives, notably in the case of the extensive Lanny Budd series of 11 novels, the third of which (Dragon‘s Teeth) won the 1943 Pulitzer Prize.

However, his work is largely disregarded in modern times, with the exception of The Jungle. This novel featured the tragic lot of the working people of the industry but the humanitarian element was lost in the public hubbub over food preparation conditions. Sinclair looked upon this book, therefore, as something of a failure. It is comparable to Robert Tressell’s The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists in its depiction of the lowering of human dignity and the debasing of the work ethic among skilled and motivated workers caused by uncaring and unethical management.

Sinclair is generally portrayed as something of a holy fool, with passionate feelings and a desire to do good, but lacking awareness of human frailty that would have informed more successful political attempts. While this is somewhat unfair, his enthusiasms and his energy in describing them in print have led to his taking an iconic and not entirely flattering role in 20th century American history.

Bibliography:

Anthony Arthu, Radical Innocent: Upton Sinclair (Random House, 2006);
Upton Sinclair, Dragon’s Teeth (Simon Publications, 2001);
Upton Sinclair, The Jungle: The Uncensored Original Edition (See Sharp Press, 2003);
Robert Tressell, The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists (Hard Press, 2006).