public outrage
The public angry with the filth and falsely labeled meat. They almost ignored the issue of the workers. Meat sales dropped sharply. “ I aimed at the nation’s heart, but by accident I hit it in the stomach.” (Sinclair 1906). This quote sums up the effect the book had on the general public all the way to the President of the United States. Americans were realizing that “anyone” can be a reformer. It was not just the politicians, the rich or the big business that make demand reform.