February 12, 1909
Upton Sinclair
311 Ellington Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21228
Admissions Committee
Progressive Hall of Fame
555 Hall Street
Washington, DC 20515
Dear committee members:
I am delighted to see that the United States Congress has finally decided to devote room
in a museum to the leaders of the Progressive Movement. There has been a multitude of
Progressive Movement leaders, and this movement tremendously impacted American
History. Among the many notable leaders of the Progressive Movement I am the most
prominent, as my qualifications will show you.
The true meaning to success and prosper in this vast society of America is socialism. It is
the driving force and the true path towards living a better life in a place where everyone
is equal and everything is fair. Ever since my childhood I have seen the woes capitalism
has presented and the negative effect it is having upon society. Growing up in Chicago, I
was exposed to a meat-packing plant nearby but simply could not stand the sight of what
was actually going on inside this factory. This was the main topic of my novel The Jungle
which I wrote in 1906. Because of my novel, the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food
and Drug Act were created.
In addition to just writing books and novels portraying my political stances, I also took
my political ideologies to the next level and ran for Congress through the Socialist party,
unfortunately not making it though. Capitalism was in the for-front at the time, but I
persevered to make it Socialism. I never gave up and continued on to strive for what I
believed was right for America, which shows my persistent personality. I feel like I
should be in the Progressive Hall of Fame because I worked very hard to get to where I
am today and feel like I successfully contributed to the progression of America. Without
me, the United States would simply not be the same.
I would like to refer you to the enclosed resume for more information on my experience
and skills. I am very interested in interviewing for this position and am available at any
time. I would like to thank you for you time and look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
311 Ellington Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21128
Goal
To represent Progressive Movements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries through my
inclusion in the Progressives Hall of Fame.
Beliefs
I believe in the ending of capitalism in America and replacing it with socialism.
Socialism is what will make America a better place in the present as well as the future
because I am very religious and a moral person. I believe in the fact that people should all
have equal benefits and equal chance, regardless of their economic stature in society. No
one group should ever have all the power.
Education
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Entered New York City College at age 14
Went to Columbia University to study law, but became interested in politics
Work Experience
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Newspaper publisher (1895)
 Wrote and published stories for newspapers and magazines and was already
making enough money to live alone
Full-time Arthur (1901-1968)
 Published over 90 books in my lifetime
 Wrote about topics such as war, politics, and government
 Became famous nation-wide
 Influenced many to come to an agreement that socialism is the way to go
Member of the Socialist Party (1906 and 1926)
 Ran for Congress of New Jersey in 1906 but did not get enough votes
 Ran for governor of California in 1926 and 1934, losing my narrow margins
Accomplishments
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Wrote several influential books
 I have published many heart-felt and passionate books by this time, for example
some being The Jungle, The Metropolis, Oil, and The Moneychangers
Promoted Socialism in several ways
 Analyzed the positives of Socialism in several books, one being The Jungle of
course
 Joined the Socialist party and was the candidate for Congress in New Jersey, but
I did not get the necessary votes but at least got an idea of what politics truly is
and at the same time promoted socialism
 Established Helicon Home Colony which was a Socialist community in New
Jersey which would get all the followers together

Legislation Influenced
 Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)- It came as a response to my novel The Jungle
and from now on, all the food will be checked for cleanliness and safeness before
it is eaten by millions throughout America
 Meat Inspection Act (1906)- Also a consequence from The Jungle and also an act
that Roosevelt decided to pass after hearing me out. There is no way I would
stand around and not say something about the horrid conditions I experienced at
the meat plant in Chicago
 EPIC program (1933)- In other words, “end poverty in California” program. I
mentioned this in one of my novels and the necessity that I felt for it. Poverty
should not exist and I worked to make that an actual reality
Skills
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Express opinion successfully both through verbal and written word
Great speaking and communication skills
Know how to show society the better options
Understand the beliefs and followings of socialism very well
Persevere to get to where I want to be
Influence people to see what I want them to see
Able to find the flaws residing in society and/or government
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Careful studying and observation
Expressing ideas through books and stories
Becoming involved in politics
Influencing others around me
Methods
References
Theodore Roosevelt:
He was the first person I looked to influence that socialism is the right thing for society
and that the meat packing industry was simply too unsanitary. He is the one who passed the two
acts regarding the sanitation of the meat plants and for them I am always grateful to him and his
decision.
Jack London
He is my very close companion and a fellow believer in the possibilities of socialism. He
was one of the first who showed me the power of socialism in his novel The People of the Abyss,
and ever since then we have been working together. We also joined the Intercollegiate Social
Society with one another in 1905.
Florence Kelley
She was a fellow joiner of the Intercollegiate Social Society. We both had similar view
points about socialism and worked together in order to promote it throughout America for several
years.
Annotated Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Bantam Books, 1906.
This is Sinclair’s historic novel The Jungle known world-wide for its influence
and the change it brought upon American society. It was very helpful in that it
clearly depicted how Sinclair felt towards the meat-packing industry as well as
display his attachment and belief in the introduction of socialism throughout
America.
Sinclair, Upton. Oil! New York: Penguin Books, 1927.
A book published in Sinclair’s later writing career which demonstrates his view of
how corrupt the oil industry is. It let me see once again how the capitalist system,
which was running the oil industry, refused to distribute the wealth they gained
from the oil and the resentment that Sinclair felt towards it.
Sinclair, Upton. The Metropolis. New York: Moffat Yard and Company, 1908.
This is similar to that of The Jungle in that it again shows the discontent of the
way things are being run by the government, except this time New York and not
Chicago being the example. It once again showed Sinclair’s belief in socialism
and nothing more.
Secondary Sources:
Arthur, Anthony. Upton Sinclair, Radical Innocent. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
This is a novel written by Arthur describing the entire life of that of Upton
Sinclair through all the successful and not so successful times. The book provided
me with a strong biography of Sinclair’s life and how and what he did to get to
where he wanted to be in life.
“Upton Sinclair”. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2009. 3 Nov. 2009.
<http://www.americanhistory. abc-clio.com>.
This was a database source which simply had a simplistic overview of Sinclair’s
life. It provided me with more ideas and also made it clearer on what Sinclair was
really about and what he had in fact accomplished for America.