From what I know of the book, it was a critical success but did not resonate with the public the way Sinclair wanted it to. The government took notice and tried to better regulate the meat industry. Working people, however, were not drawn to it the way had hoped.
Explanation:
The Progressive Era Summary
The Progressive Era (1896–1916) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States of America that spanned the 1890s to World War I. Progressive reformers were typically middle-class society women or Christian ministers.
Actually most were happy to leave the swamp of trying to force peace onto the ever warring greeks