A trip through the union stock yards and slaughter houses. Slaughterhouse is a book about the other reality behind our demand for cheap meat, and lots of it. Posted on december 17, 2010 by michael staires in culture, marketing, staff training with no comments on what henry ford learned from a slaughter house we all credit henry ford with inventing the assembly line and for ultimately changing the way the world made things for the next several generations. Sinclair wrote the novel to portray the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the united states in chicago and similar industrialized cities. Oct 15, 2015 how chicago became hog butcher for the world in his new book, slaughterhouse, chicago historian dominic pacyga goes back to his roots as a laborer in the southside stockyards. Utterly disturbing, centuryold photos of meatpacking. Slaughterhouses a jungle no more united states the. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is not intended to be eaten by humans. The branch houses took orders, arranged for local advertising, handled billing and the transfer of funds back to chicago. Cronon has a great command of his sources, and he uses them creatively his use of depressionera bankruptcy records to show debtcredit flow between chicago and. May 07, 2019 sinclairs book told the tale of an immigrant familys toil in chicagos slaughterhouses, tracing the familys physical, financial and emotional collapse. Researching the book in 1904, upton sinclair interviewed fellow socialists. Families, visiting dignitaries, even school groups all made trips to the south side to tour the union stock yard. Last big slaughterhouse in chicago is moving on by don babwin associated press il chicago traffic came to a standstill as cowboys on horseback herded livestock through the streets.
Pacyga is published by university of chicago press. The salt opened in 1865, chicago s union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Operation we care sends care packages to soldiers overseas. Second, slaughterhouses became industrialized, as exemplified by the development of notorious union stockyard in chicago during the late nineteenth century. Sinclairs book told the tale of an immigrant familys toil in chicagos slaughterhouses, tracing the familys physical, financial and emotional collapse. Key workplace hazards for meat and poultry laborers include excessive. Last big slaughterhouse in chicago is moving on the beef. After being scammed into renting a barely livable house, they get to work. The salt opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest. Making profits initially relied upon two major things cheap labor, and the absence of any type of regulation. His latest work to examine the history of chicago is slaughterhouse. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made, dominic a.
Tourists watched masses of animals move through kill floors, a sight hailed as a miracle of modernity. Tourists watched masses of animals move through kill. Opened in 1865, chicagos union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. Mar 18, 2007 when the slaughterhouse moves, the old brick buildings likely will be torn down to make way for houses, book stores, restaurants and other businesses, said franco chiappettis father, company. The scott family created slaughterhousefarm to help operation we care. The national provisioner s top 100 is an annual ranking of the top 100 meat and poultry processors in the united states, based on net sales. When it was published in serial form in 1905, it was a full third longer than the censored, commercial edition published in book form the following year. Upton sinclair poverty, disease and despair are depicted in thei story of the barbarous working conditions in the slaughter houses of chicago in 1900. Slaughter free chicago city hall rally for a slaughter.
Author sinclair lewis wrote a novel about chicago first published in 1906, called the. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made surveys the citys meatpacking industry from its mid nineteenthcentury origins to its postworld war ii demise and beyond. They all live in a small town named packingtown in chicago. President theodore roosevelt signed two historic bills aimed at.
Aug 21, 2007 this is one part of the project i did for my ap us history course. In his book slaughterhouse, published last october, the columbia. The public outrage caused by this sort of investigative reporting led directly to the a. At the time, a young film student, mark mamalakis, went.
At a slaughterhouse, you have big animals entering at one end, and small cuts of meat leaving at the other end. How chicago became hog butcher for the world in his new book, slaughterhouse, chicago historian dominic pacyga goes back to his roots as a laborer in. Slaughterhouse is an accessible introduction to the history of chicagos famous stockyards, holding appeal for a general audience. His primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the united states. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Dec 03, 2015 opened in 1865, chicago s union stock yard was the greatest livestock market the world had seen. The book begins with his wife ona and his wedding feast. Chicagos union stock yard and the world it made pacyga, dominic a.
The following subjects present novel and interesting views along the line of the erie, such as do not always come within the observation of the general tourist. Dominic pacyga traces chicago stockyards history in slaughterhouse. The jungle, americas most influential proletarian novel, emerged from a sevenweek investigation of chicagos slaughterhouses. The chicago city council granted joseph blanchard the right to construct the citys first public market and to rent out stalls to local butchers, grocers, and produce dealers. In between are hundreds of workers, mainly using handheld knives, processing the meat. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat. One hundred years ago, more meat was processed in chicago than anywhere on the planet. The incredible story of the stockyards and slaughter houses.
Its common knowledge now that eating meat is the number one cause of heart disease. Upton sinclairs book the jungle exposed the unsanitary conditions in the chicago slaughterhouses of the early 1900s. This ranking is based on information submitted to np, unless otherwise noted. There they got a firsthand look at the citys industrial prowess as they witnessed cattle, hogs, and sheep disassembled with. Slaughter houses in the 1800s to the early 1900s youtube. Its focus on family, politics, and worklife is penetrating and its conclusions reinforce an emerging scholarly picture of ordinary people exercising unique forms of power. Nov 10, 2015 the city of chicago has an endlessly fascinating history that scholars have explored for several generations. The jungle is a 1906 novel by the american journalist and novelist upton sinclair 18781968.
As area changes, chicagos last big slaughterhouse moving on. He and his family live near the stockyards and meatpacking district where many immigrants, who do not know much english, work. Slaughter free chicago is engaging in the kind of next level activism that we at the beacon justice league have been encouraging all along theyre, getting political group of 40 people showed up to city hall to demand that elected officials enforce the laws that are already on the books if they do so theres a good chance all the remaining slaughter houses will have to relocate out of town we. Dec 20, 2011 one hundred years ago, more meat was processed in chicago than anywhere on the planet. The council prohibited the sale of retail proportions of meat, eggs, poultry, and vegetables anywhere else in. Slaughter house five expaination based on kurt vonnegut jr. In chicago 1900 the chicago meatpacking industry, along with other industries, began to expand and grow. Upton sinclairs the jungle constitutional rights foundation. Estimated from company reports or other published data. Swift had 193 such branch houses in 1900, while morris maintained 77, and. Chicago is one of the major cities with high rates of obesity and health related illnesses directly caused by consuming animal products. The slaughterhouses got their livestock from chicagos union stockyards. Chicago has been called the slaughterhouse of the world in describing the urban area and its main industry. Pacygas extensive chicago scholarship, slaughterhouse.
When the slaughterhouse moves, the old brick buildings likely will be torn down to make way for houses, book stores, restaurants and other businesses, said. Chicago continued to be americas slaughter capital until the 1950s, when slaughterhouses moved away because it was cheaper and more efficient to put them close to ranches and then to ship the. Mar 01, 1991 natures metropolis is an economic history of chicago, specifically in view of how intimately tied together the city and countryside were in the development on the american frontier. Technically, humane slaughter became law in the united states with the 1958 humane slaughter act, intended to prevent the needless suffering of livestock during slaughter.
There was money to be made both at home, as well as overseas. President theodore roosevelt signed two historic bills aimed at regulating the food and drug industries into. Download and read online for free a trip through the union stock yards and slaughter houses chicago usa by george william lambert. Compliance, though, historically has been hitormiss, and in the intervening decades, after sensational undercover investigations and internet animal cruelty videos and activist pr campaigns, eaters have begun to. On his recommendation, hathaway and swift moved once more in 1875, this time to join the influx of meat packers setting up shop in chicago s sprawling union stock yards. It is one of a number of novels in which the slaughter house is both a. Upton sinclair, whose muckraking changed the meat industry. The press room men work in their bare feet and very light cloth thing, the temperature being between 80 and 90 degrees f. Full text of a trip through the union stock yards and slaughter houses. Department of agriculture inspect all livestock before slaughter. This is one part of the project i did for my ap us history course.
Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. The story of the phenomenal rise of the chicago slaughterhouses in the. Generations of workers walked to jobs at dozens of slaughterhouses and packing plants concentrated in an area that, at about 500 acres, was the. How chicagos slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for. Built to centralize the various slaughterhouses away from chicagos. The slaughterhouses got their livestock from chicago s union stockyards. Slaytons back of the yards is one of the finest accounts i have ever read on an urban, workingclass neighborhood in twentiethcentury america. What henry ford learned from a slaughter house michael. Upton sinclairs book the jungle exposed the unsanitary. The main character in the book, jurgis rudkus, a lithuanian immigrant, tries to make ends meet in chicago.
Click on the links below to access scans of some of the sheet maps of chicago from the years between 1900 and the onset of world war i that are held at the university of chicago librarys map collection. Dominic pacyga marks the upcoming 150th anniversary of chicagos union. Dec 03, 2015 how chicago s slaughterhouse spectacles paved the way for big meat. Why is chicago called the slaughterhouse of the world. Jun 30, 2016 upton sinclair, whose muckraking changed the meat industry. While animals are a point of focus of this book, i wouldnt call slaughterhouse an animal rights or vegan work. He is the author or coauthor of several books on chicago, including chicago. Animal slaughter, meat packing, and meat processing are difficult, dirty jobs that see a high rate of employee turnover. Feb 23, 2008 book description for nearly a century, the original version of upton sinclairs classic novel has remained almost entirely unknown. Second, slaughterhouses became in dustrialized, as exemplified by the development of notorious union stockyard in chicago during the late nineteenth century. Finally, during the latter part of the twentieth century. The city of chicago has an endlessly fascinating history that scholars have explored for several generations. Find 7 listings related to slaughter house in chicago on.
Meat packing blues a book examines when chicago was the king of. Quite to the contrary, they spurred chicagos growth into the city that the poet carl sandburg called hog butcher to the world. From the minute it openedon christmas day in 1865it was chicagos mustsee tourist attraction, drawing more than half a million visitors each year. His first four booksking midas 1901, first published the same year as springtime and. Sep 06, 2015 in chicago 1900 the chicago meatpacking industry, along with other industries, began to expand and grow. The main character in the book, jurgis rudkus, a lithuanian immigrant, tries. Chicagos slaughterhouses were not an obstacle to urbanization. By 1904, most of chicagos packinghouse workers were recent immigrants. Slaughter free chicago city hall rally for a slaughter free. Pacyga, who has written distinguished histories of the city, is one of those scholars. In slaughterhouse five, billy pilgrim finds unstuck in time jumping between several periods of his life. The council prohibited the sale of retail proportions of meat, eggs, poultry, and vegetables anywhere else in the city during market hours.