The Jungle: Chapters 23-26

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

In the previous lesson, found under Related Lessons in the right-hand sidebar, you read about Jurgis's life as a vagrant, or hobo, for one summer.

Briefly recount the events that led to Jurgis's decision to leave work behind and wander the countryside. In this lesson, however, Jurgis returns to Chicago and becomes involved with the politics and union organizations within the city.

Chicago, like many other early twentieth-century American cities, harbored many corrupt politicians. There were a lot of abuses in the American political system in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, due to the power and wealth of industry. Businesses were able to bribe politicians in many cities because many politicians had their own financial interest in the success of industry, and the American government was reluctant to stifle the economic growth of industry, which was enriching the country as a whole. The political cartoon above refers to the scandal of the meat-packing industry that Sinclair's novel exposed, and President Theodore Roosevelt's decision to take action and start reforming the industry with his Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

To learn more about corruption in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century politics, read the following article. As you read, answer the questions listed below on a separate sheet of paper:

• How were many Senate seats obtained in the late nineteenth century?
• What was the most pressing concern for political parties in the late 1800s?
• Why were political parties afraid to take strong stances on any issues in this era?
• On what issue did both Republicans and Democrats agree in the late nineteenth century?
• How did political machines secure voters for their parties?
• How did President Rutherford B. Hayes attempt to fight political corruption?
• Why did President Chester A. Arthur push for reform of the civil service?
• Why was the passage of the Sherman Antitrust Act important in American politics?
• What were the three main political issues of the late nineteenth century?
• Why did farmers support the Populist movement?

Read Politics in the Gilded Age: The Age of Political Machines, from Sage American History. Once you've read the article and answered the questions, share your answers with your parent or teacher. Then, read Chapters 23–26 in the novel. As you read, take notes on Upton Sinclair's version of the political machine and political abuses in Chicago's political system. Write down at least eight examples or direct quotations that show corruption in Chicago's political system. You can read your own print copy of the novel or you can read an online version of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, from Project Gutenberg.

After reading Chapters 23–26 and taking your notes, move on to the Got It? section to explore the darker side of Chicago's politics in The Jungle.