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[[File:EPIC1934.jpg|thumb|300px|Socialist Upton Sinclair won the Democratic primary for governor in 1934, but voters saw through his fantasies and elected the conservative Republican Frank Merriam.]]

'''Upton Sinclair''' (September 20, 1878 - November 25, 1968) was an American [[Socialist]] writer and politician, best known for ''[[The Jungle]]'' (1908), a "muckraking" book about the meat packing industry. While it is the book he is remembered for today, he wrote several others that were best-sellers of their time. In total he wrote over 90 books, most quite obscure today.

| image      = Upton-sinclair-suit.jpg

| birth_date  = September 20, 1878

| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland

| death_date  = November 25, 1968

| spouse      = Meta Fuller,<br /> Mary Craig Kimbrough,<br /> Mary Elizabeth Willis

'''Upton Beall Sinclair, Jr.''' (September 20, 1878 - November 25, 1968) was an American [[Socialist]] writer and politician, best known for ''[[The Jungle]]'' (1908), a "muckraking" book about the meat packing industry. While it is the book he is remembered for today, he wrote several others that were best-sellers of their time. In total he wrote over 90 books, most quite obscure today.

==Early life==

==Early life==

In the fall of 1902, Upton Sinclair was brought toward socialist viewpoints by [[Leonard D. Abbott]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Sj40fZg1a9cC&pg=PA86 Getting Things Done in Washington: Lessons for Progressives from Landmark Legislation]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/Thirty-fiveYearsOfEducationalPioneeringL.i.d.CelebratesPast_86 Thirty-five years of educational pioneering; L.I.D. celebrates past achievements and asks "Where do we go from here?"], page 24</ref>  Upon Abbott's insistence, Sinclair started reading socialist writings, and was most impressed with the work of [[George D. Herron]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8YXJ6N6nXSkC&pg=PA20 Radical Innocent: Upton Sinclair]</ref>  Sinclair described his conversion to socialism this way:

In the fall of 1902, Upton Sinclair was brought toward socialist viewpoints by [[Leonard D. Abbott]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Sj40fZg1a9cC&pg=PA86 Getting Things Done in Washington: Lessons for Progressives from Landmark Legislation]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/Thirty-fiveYearsOfEducationalPioneeringL.i.d.CelebratesPast_86 Thirty-five years of educational pioneering; L.I.D. celebrates past achievements and asks "Where do we go from here?"], page 24</ref>  Upon Abbott's insistence, Sinclair started reading socialist writings, and was most impressed with the work of [[George D. Herron]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8YXJ6N6nXSkC&pg=PA20 Radical Innocent: Upton Sinclair]</ref>  Sinclair described his conversion to socialism this way:

<blockquote>It was like the falling down of prison walls about my mind; the most amazing discovery, after all these years . . . There were actually others who understood; who saw what had gradually become clear to me.  The principal fact which the Socialists had to teach me was the fact that they themselves existed.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EN7nQVa6E0wC&pg=PA11 The Land of Orange Groves and Jails: Upton Sinclair's California]</ref></blockquote>

<blockquote>It was like the falling down of prison walls about my mind; the most amazing discovery, after all these years . . . There were actually others who understood; who saw what had gradually become clear to me.  The principal fact which the Socialists had to teach me was the fact that they themselves existed.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=EN7nQVa6E0wC&pg=PA11 The Land of Orange Groves and Jails: Upton Sinclair's California]</ref></blockquote>

 

===Politics===

===Politics===

Upton Sinclair's political views were [[leftist]] and [[socialist]]. He ran for public office several times, running on the [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]] ticket  in 1906 and 1920 for the U.S. Congress, and in 1922 for the [[United States Senate]]. In 1934, he ran on the [[Democratic Party]] ticket for governor of [[California]]. His 1934 run as a Democrat frightened a lot of people, who saw his EPIC (End Poverty In California) plan as an elaborate back-door scheme to bring [[communism]] to California, and he was overwhelmingly defeated.<ref>Upton Sinclair, [http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/sinclair.html End Poverty in California The EPIC Movement], ''The Literary Digest'', October 13, 1934</ref> Remarking on his electoral attempts in 1951, he said, "The American People will take Socialism, but they won't take the label. I certainly proved it...", adding that he had only won 60,000 votes running as a Socialist on an open platform of socialism, but 879,000 votes running as a Democrat on an "End Poverty In California" platform.

Upton Sinclair's political views were [[leftist]] and [[socialist]]. He ran for public office several times, running on the [[Socialist Party of America|Socialist Party]] ticket  in 1906 and 1920 for the U.S. Congress, and in 1922 for the [[United States Senate]]. In 1934, he ran on the [[Democratic Party]] ticket for governor of [[California]]. His 1934 run as a Democrat frightened a lot of people, who saw his EPIC (End Poverty In California) plan as an elaborate back-door scheme to bring [[communism]] to California, and he was overwhelmingly defeated.<ref>Upton Sinclair, [http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/sinclair.html End Poverty in California The EPIC Movement], ''The Literary Digest'', October 13, 1934</ref> Remarking on his electoral attempts in 1951, he said, "The American People will take Socialism, but they won't take the label. I certainly proved it...", adding that he had only won 60,000 votes running as a Socialist on an open platform of socialism, but 879,000 votes running as a Democrat on an "End Poverty In California" platform.