The Jungle Roosevelt’s attention was turned to the meat-packing industry after reading Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle He wanted to create reforms that raised standards for products sold to consumers
Food Reforms Roosevelt signed the Meat Inspection Act This law created a government inspection program to guarantee safe, sanitary meat He also signed the Pure Food and Drug Act Banned the sale of impure foods and medicines Required product labels listing ingredients Prohibited the exaggeration of product benefits
Conserving Natural Resources Roosevelt supported conservation He wanted the federal government to have control of how America’s natural resources were used Preserved 194 million acres of public lands including the Grand Canyon Created the U.S. Forest Service
Socialism Emerges Many thought that America’s economic system, capitalism, was to blame for the country’s problems Some progressives began to support socialism Socialism: system in which the government controls the economy Eugene V. Debs ran for president in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920 as the Socialist Party candidate