Mrs. Ruland's U.S. History Class Project
EPIC and California
Our topic is Upton Sinclair and EPIC. EPIC was the center point of Upton Sinclair's campaign for governor of California . EPIC, or End Poverty in California , was his plan to get California out of the Great Depression. While he lost the election, his idea of EPIC led to further reform in California . Visit the links above to find out more.
This web site is helpful because it is a primary source written by Upton Sinclair, founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC). This primary source is useful because it provides a first-persona recollection of the conditions of the time, explaining why EPIC was created. The source also explains other causes for the creation of EPIC, making it a helpful source. Due to it being a primary source, there is little chance for false information to be found.
This web site is a useful source; however, its information cannot be concluded as true because it is an organization's site. However, after being cross-referenced with other sources the information was concluded to be true and this secondary source provides a general idea of who Upton Sinclair, founder of EPIC, was and what exactly EPIC was. It provides deep insight into exactly who Upton Sinclair was.
Sinclair Would Place Jobless on Ranches
This web site provides a useful look at the groups opposing Sinclair during the 1934 California Gubernatorial election. It shows the attitudes of many Americans to Socialist reforms. It is a good example of a primary document from the time period, meaning there is little chance of false information.
The California Recall in a Historical Perspective
This web site contains an essay describing the goals, achievements, failures, and plans of EPIC to fix the problems prevalent in California during the Great Depression. The web site also contains many references to further resources, but it also contains numerous specific facts about EPIC.
This web site provides a detailed biography of Upton Sinclair, founder of EPIC. This web site details the significant events of Sinclair's life, and the events such as the founding of EPIC and the writing of the novel The Jungle. The web site is organized in typical essay format, and it provides several sources for further reading.
The Brilliant Failure of Upton Sinclair
This web site provides reasons for why EPIC was both successful and unsuccessful in its attempts to fix the poverty in the state of California . Although slightly biased and poorly organized, there is an abundance of information that can be found. This information contains the successes and failures of EPIC and Upton Sinclair.
This site provides a transcript of a major speech delivered by Upton Sinclair several months before his election. It is a major example of his plans for governor, and it displays clearly his socialist ideas. It is a primary document that accurately identifies his ideas about socialism.
This is the web site for the new EPIC program, campaigning for the California legislature and the gubernatorial election. While it is not directly about Upton Sinclair, it shows how he has had further influence on California politics. It shows that his ideas are still relevant to politics today.
This site gives a good overview of Sinclair and his overall campaign in 1934.It shows how many republicans played dirty to smear Sinclair's image. It also provides names of several books that Upton Sinclair wrote detailing his campaign and the results. It also has images that show the tactics of the 1934 campaign.
TIME magazine archive article -- Epic Registration -- Oct. 29, 1934
This site is useful because it is a primary source, a Time article from the same time as the election. Not only that, but it shows some of the mudslinging that occurred during the election, and it gives real statistics about registered voters
Last updated March 28, 2006
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