Upton Sinclair

Upton Beall Sinclair (September 20, 1878 - November 25, 1968) was a prolific (90 books) American author who wrote in many genres, often advocating Socialist views, and achieved considerable popularity in the first half of the twentieth century. He gained particular fame for his novel, The Jungle (1906), which dealt with conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry and caused a public uproar that ultimately led to the passage of the Meat Inspection Act in 1906. However the main point of the novel, The Jungle, was lost on the public. He wrote to demonstrate the inhuman conditions of the workers and the exploitation of the wage earner under capitalism. But, at least the fame and fortune he gained from publishing The Jungle enabled him to write books on almost every issue of social justice in the 20th century.

Political and social activism

An early success was the Civil War novel Manassas, written in 1903 and published a year later. Originally projected as the opening book of a trilogy, the success of The Jungle caused him to drop such plans, although he did revise Manassas decades later by "moderating some of the exuberance of the earlier version"; a description - in Sinclair's case - very much of a relative kind.

Related Topics:
Manassas - 1903 - The Jungle

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Sinclair established a socialist commune called Helicon Hall Colony in 1906 with proceeds from his novel The Jungle. One of those who joined was the novelist and playwright Sinclair Lewis, who worked there as a janitor. The colony burned down in 1907 apparantly from arson.

Related Topics:
1906 - Sinclair Lewis - 1907

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He ran for Governor of California twice. The first time he ran as a Socialist candidate and garnered few votes. The second time, in 1934, as a Democrat. This time around, during the depths of the Great Depression, he began a political movement that he hoped to both combat the effects of the Depression and use as a springboard to the governorship. That plan, known as EPIC (End Poverty in California), galvanized the support of the Democratic Party, and Sinclair gained its nomination. Conservatives in California were themselves galvanized by this, as they saw it as an attempted Communist takeover of their state and used massive political propaganda portraying Sinclair as a Communist, even as he was being portrayed by American and Soviet Communists as a rank capitalist following the Que Viva Mexico! debacle. Sinclair was defeated in the election and largely abandoned EPIC and politics to return to writing. However, the race of 1934, would become known as the first race to use modern campaign techniques, such as motion picture propaganda.

Related Topics:
Governor of California - Socialist - 1934 - Democrat - Great Depression - EPIC - Conservative - Communist - Capitalist

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