The Fight for Better Health

Teddy Roosevelt fought for a better inspection of the meat being produced in the early 1900’s. This is what I learned after reading the chapter on how the USDA inspection system was created. The Jungle was the epicenter for the confusion, panic, and outcry in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. After Upton Sinclair exposed the unsanitary production of canned-meat products, many steps of action had to take place. On a government level, varied procedures took place that brought about a fight between the packers and the people who wanted a better inspection service of their meat. Inevitably, there was a compromise made and each side had to give up a few things. Neither of the sides had a total victory, which is often in the political system. The Meat Inspection Act, in my opinion, was the first thing that showed America just how the legislative process ran its course. For the first time, Americans saw that a decision can only be made if there is public discourse that causes serious debate and negotiation. I believe the thesis of this chapter supports the complexity of the governmental processes that must occur in order for there to be a change in the order of life.


I learned a great deal while reading this chapter. I never knew that so much goes into the process of creating a bill. It was interesting to learn that one book alone could call for so much chaos, but I guess these days we have Harry Potter and Twilight that seem to cause the same pandemonium in America. Along with The Jungle arousing the attention of America, cartoonist even displayed a big role in causing more destruction. Cartoonist always chose a side, which showed clearly in their drawings because the other side would always be portrayed as something evil. I believe that it is necessary for a better understanding of how the three branches of government come together to produce an outcome for a proposed bill or act. This chapter provides this information; which if every American understood this, we would elect more adequate people into office.

My opinion of the book is that the author was good at showing how a historian must come to write facts, this I like a lot. However, the author became abstracted during the story many times. At times I would find myself wondering where he is going with this thought. But overall, it was very interesting to learn about Teddy Roosevelt and governmental processes.