Progressive Era- The Jungle Questions

The Jungle:

What qualities did Sinclair believe a person must have to succeed in "Packingtown"?

  - Sinclair believes that a person must be a liar, and have deceitful and meddlesome qualities in order to succeed in "Packingtown", for the hardworking, "get-the-job-done" kinds of people would only be thrown out and replaced.

According to the passage, what is the plant owner's main goal?

 - The plant owner's main goal is to become successful, however way he can, in the business industry.

What does Sinclair mean when he says, "...there was no place in it where a man counted for anything against a dollar....?"

  - I believe it means that the workers in the meat production factories were rated so poorly by their power-hungry business bosses, that they stood to be of less value than a real dollar bill.


   The U.S. government regulates the environment in many ways. Called the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), it effectively manages clean drinking water in cities and on airplanes. EPA controls how much fluids go through the sewer systems, as there are strict guidelines that the sewer systems have to meet in order to ensure the environment does not get polluted. They also work with companies to make sure that toxin levels in the air don't get out of control.

Industrialization in the U.S.

   Industrialization was the expansion of the United States' industry, spurred by new advances in mechanical technology during the mid-to-late 1800s. This brought the construction of railroads that were needed to transport these fascinating, incredible inventions to and fro, as well as a huge influx of workers (some of whom were immigrants, others hopeful Americans who dreamed of finding work and starting better lives for themselves). However, rough and dismal working conditions, unfairly low salaries, and long working hours continued to stare these poor and determined people in the face. And if life wasn't fair enough for them, an unequal distribution of wealth between business owners and their workers arose in this era, as well.

    One man named Henry George, weighs both the pros and cons of industrialism and stresses the hardships it has taken on the poor, even though sudden invention production was suspected to improve the lives of everyone . He is as quoted in American Vision: Modern Times, "...where population is densest, wealth greatest, and the machinery of production and exchange most highly developed - we find the deepest poverty, the sharpest struggle for existence, and the most of enforced idleness." Another man, David Wells, describes how the introduction of factories has changed the stereotypical American Dream of hard work and dedication has changed as workers have transformed into "robots" and "...the individualism or independence of the producer in manufacturing has been in a great degree been destroyed the pride which the workman formally took in his work..." Andrew Carnegie, however, has a more lively approach to the development of industrialism. He believes that the spread of goods to different states is helpful to the economy of the U.S. and that "Among the rural communities, the change in the conditions is mainly seen in the presence of labor-saving devices, lessening the work in house and field" and adding to higher productivity and improved transportation costs.

   There's no doubt about it that industrial workers had it rough. Absolutely no sympathy was given to them, if someone lost their finger in a sewing machine- "Oh well." A ten-year-old can't push the cart filled to the brim with coal- "Tough luck." Haughty business owners only cared about one thing: making a high profit. Eventually, many fed-up workers would rebel against the unjust treatment inflicted upon them. I believe that workers should have been paid as closely as possible to the business owners, because technically, the workers were the ones doing most of the work.

Sources:   http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/ModernWorldHistoryTextbook/IndustrialRevolution/IREffects.html
http://wathatcher.iweb.bsu.edu/childlabor/

The Invention of the Lightbulb

Jamie McNeil
Per. 5
US History
October 22, 2013


     Although it looks small and its design is relatively simple on the exterior, the interior of a light bulb is a working piece of art. A prevalent invention in the United States, it has changed significantly along with history. The first light bulb was called the "arc bulb" and it developed during pre-Industrial Revolution time. It was impressive compared to a lighted candle for light sources, but it proved to be large and difficult to move and manage in the common household. New improvements started being made and from then on, there was a constant battle to find good balance of heat and electricity flow. Glass blowing around the burner of the bulb (known as the vacuum) created a more steady balance between these components. Although the  glass blowing technique improved light withstanding, it still was not as long-lasting as it could have been.

   Many, many inventors; most notably, Thomas Edison, (whose bright ideas failed many times in improving the light bulb before he ever succeeded!) worked on improving this continued problem. Over time, eventually vacuums of bulbs were altered and Japanese bamboo would serve as the main working part of the light bulb. It wrapped around the newly-altered vacuum and finally created the LASTING light that we so depend on.

Sources:
http://www.unmuseum.org/lightbulb.htm
http://invsee.asu.edu/Modules/lightbulb/meathist.htm

"Let's Look at an Owner" Summary

Jamie McNeil
October 14, 2013
US History Per. 5  

   In the 19th century, Californian Leland Stanford was a successful shopkeeper, but also the elected governor of Sacramento's Republican party, who voted for him themselves. Stanford's mission was to start to build the Transcontinental Railroad farther towards the central states, and he allowed Mormon workers, as well, to work on the railroad. But he was fairly unpopular because he made many mistakes over treaties and lands, plus he was unmotivated and often made rash decisions that he made by himself alone. Despite this, his efforts did have an impact on railroad growth to the east of California.

   I think the pros of business owners in the 1800s were that they were driven and very motivated to have successful businesses, which meant they were willing to hire workers. That would expand the business area. The cons would be that they were abrupt, impatient (and sometimes greedy)! This led to poor treatment of their business workers.

   Source:
   "Let's Look at an Owner"

Battlefield Health Care: Civil War Times

Jamie McNeil
Period 5 US History
9-27-13                      

    As one might expect, the United States medical field during the civil war was close to disastrous. Bloody, gruesome, and horrid effects were dawned on the soldiers and even more gruesome were the treatments that the wounded received. Compared to the medical services that were offered in Europe, medics were poorly trained, used inadequate materials, and often would operate just to get the job done, not really thinking about the effects their actions would cause on the wounded.  Plus, there was always the chance that the patients could catch disease from he operations, which probably resulted in almost as many deaths as those who had died on the battlefield. Although the amount of doctors was in much less quantities in the Confederate than the Union states, there was still very little doctor influence. What might have been a more positive involvement during the Civil War was the involvement of women. Before the war began, women had typical roles in American society that included managing the household and taking care of the family, but once it began, women served as nurses and aided the to battlefield healthcare tremendously.

     More rare diseases, such as bacteria outbreaks, to less rare ones, like pneumonia and chicken pox occurred among all this action. Because of poor nutrition (caused by many people all in one place and filthy conditions), bacteria started to spread on the food, and was one of the causes of very negative effects on the soldiers at the battleground camp. Today, in hospitals, we can appreciate all the medical gadgets, supplies, and care we are given that now in today's standards, we take for granted.

Sources:
Medical Care During the Civil War

Medical Care, Battle Wounds, and Disease