Worker’s Rights in Upton Sinclair’s the Jungle

Upton Sinclair’s work as a muckraking journalist in the early twentieth century led him to investigate and expose the dangerous conditions that immigrants and minority workers faced in manufacturing plants and factories. His novel, which cast these real-world conditions within a fictional setting, was so shocking that five major publishers refused to print his work until 1906. Its eventual publication has an enormous effect on social consciousness, with lawmakers and citizens calling for regulation, safety laws, and worker’s rights and protections. This compelling book offers readers a collection of twenty-three essays on the topic of worker’s rights as they relate to The Jungle, featuring selections from Winston Churchill, Eric Schlosser, and Christopher Hitchens. The book also covers Sinclair’s life and work, initial criticisms of and support for The Jungle, and a discussion of contemporary immigrant and working conditions as they relate to issues within the novel.