I had never really thought about how people may have lived in 1906, nor the working conditions they had to deal with. I can only say it was these people who have made it easier for us today. America promised free school for its children and the right to get a job. Trying to actually get one that didn't half kill you was a job in itself. As for the children it was only the lucky who obtained the free education. Most families were so poor they had to have their children working in order the feed themselves.

It was amazing to feel their optimism as the story began. Jurgis especially was so positive that everything would be okay if he just worked a little harder. When something went wron

As I sit and think about what that means it sounds all nice and wonderful. However, how far could it go alone? I believe in the diversity of this country and it's governing rights. I believe it was people like Jurgis and his friends and family that have helped us get where we are now. When Sinclair wrote this story he was trying to sell his beliefs of socialism to the rest of the world. What he didn't know was that he was opening the world up to even more atrocities. Thank goodness for that. It was his story that passed new laws governing the safe handling of meat and the working conditions its employees had to endure. To this day we have state and federal agencies looking out for the best interest of our people. Without this legislation the "meatpackers" would run the country as they once did. Everything for profit, forget the consequences. As the years turn into decades and the decades a new century we have to look back and realize that it is the people like Jurgis who we need to thank. Sure I could disagree with his socialist views and opinions but without them we would not have the democracy we have today. That is what makes America so great. When the book was published Theodore Roosevelt let the author know he was unhappy with his socialist views in the end but he knew the people needed to hear his story and understand the plights of the "American people." The injustices needed to be out in the daylight. Not hidden in the

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American Dream, Mike Scully, Theodore Roosevelt, , people jurgis, socialist views,
Approximate Word count = 978
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)