Government Action & Policy Change




As the the Muckraker's literature and photography became more well known, it became necessary for a government reaction to these heinous abuses. After the publishing of the Jungle in 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt met with Upton Sinclair and discussed the book and his research. The President reportedly stopped eating meat for an extendd period of time out of disgust. Roosevelt supported the need for reform and subsequently helped push through Congress the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906, less than a year after the publication of the Jungle. These acts regulated cleanliness of factories, the quality of the product they produce, as well as creating the Food and Drug Administration to regulate these new policies. Jacob Riis's images and writings on the conditions of the slum and substandard working conditions helped bring about government regulations on worker's rights, minimum wage and maximum working hours.