The Jungle and Its Effect on Meat Industry Laws, Essay Example

In Chapter 10 (USDA Government Inspected), “After the Fact”, written by Davidson and Lytle, the authors talk about the beginning of the Meat Inspection Act and how it changed for a bill to a law. The authors state a great line that sums up the need for the Meat Inspection Act in this chapter. They state, “The outcome must be treated not as the inevitable triumph of good over evil but as just one of the many possible outcomes and not necessarily the best at that” (241). The chapter begins with talking about Theodore Roosevelt’s take on this Act and even about his life during his time as president of the United States. The second part of this chapter is dedicated to describing the outcome of the book, “The Jungle”, which was written during the time the Meat Inspection Act began. “The Jungle”, was a book written about the unsanitary conditions in the meat packing market, it also said to have persuaded the government to step in and intervene. Theodore Roosevelt was the politician who stepped in and passed the bill in order to change the meat packing industry, as historians claim. The question is, how much influence did the book, “The Jungle” actually have on the outcome of the Meat Inspection Act?

The authors, Davidson and Lytle, argue that the book, “The Jungle” did not have any impact on affecting how the bill became a law. They try to convince the readers that individuals cannot influence a bill becoming a law. They describe how it is the three branches of government who are ultimately responsible in forming a bill and changing it into a law. Basically, their goal in Chapter 10 was to convey to readers that it is the historian who are choosing and placing information into books in which they want the people to read and believe. They state, “The political historian’s task is also to determine how the complex procedural tangle by which a bill becomes law limits the impact of individual actors no matter how lofty or base their motives” (242).

Davidson and Lytle’s ideas and objectives throughout Chapter 10, reveal how “The Jungle” was mainly the final outrage in regard to the Meat Packing Industry. Since the book, “The Jungle” was published right before President Theodore Roosevelt signed the bill and changed it to a law; it is accredited with implementing the law. In addition, as mentioned previously, it is what the historians were writing in the book for people to remember. In addition, the vivid characterizations of how insanitary the meat industry was and how cruel the animals were treated brought outrage to many individuals. This was also part of what everyone was remembering during that time. They were associating, “The Jungle” with the reason for Theodore Roosevelt’s approval for a law.

Davidson and Lytle point out in this chapter that there was much more to creating the Meat Packing bill much prior to the release of the “Jungle”. In fact, they describe how the bill had to go through many changes and drafts, as well as compromises before it was actually originated. In addition, they describe how Theodore Roosevelt was smart and picked and chose the necessary details to implement into the bill since he knew that not everything was going to pass that he wanted. They also describe how he knew that this was a problem before the book, “The Jungle” was released and he had already made the steps in order to implement a law.

The timing of the release of “The Jungle” and the passing of the bill by Theodore Roosevelt implies the President passed the bill from the outrage of the people once they read the book or heard about the book and the problems in the meat packing industry. Chapter 10 (USDA Government Inspected), “After the Fact”, helps readers understand there was no controversy before the “The Jungle” because there was no indication of who brought this to government attention. Therefore, although “The Jungle” was responsible for bringing the unsanitary conditions to the public, it was not responsible for the signing of the bill and conversion into a law.

Work Cited

Davidson, James and Mark Lytle. “USDA Government Inspected.” After the Fact: Volume 2. New York: McGraw Hill, 2005. 234-259.