Upton Sinclair: Difference between revisions

Sinclair was born in [[Baltimore]], [[Maryland]], to Upton Beall Sinclair Sr. and Priscilla Harden Sinclair. His father was a liquor salesman whose [[alcoholism]] shadowed his son's childhood. Priscilla Harden Sinclair was a strict [[Episcopalian]] who disliked alcohol, tea, and coffee. Both of Upton Sinclair's parents were of [[British Americans|British ancestry]]. His paternal grandparents were [[Scotland|Scottish]], and all of his ancestors emigrated to America from [[Great Britain]] during the late 1600s and early 1700s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kunitz|first=Stanley|url=https://archive.org/details/livingauthorsboo0000kuni/page/374/mode/2up|title=Living Authors: A Book of Biographies|publisher=H.W. Wilson Co.|year=1931|isbn=|location=New York|pages=375–376|oclc=599950758|author-link=Stanley Kunitz|url-access=registration}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=January 2021}} As a child, Sinclair slept either on sofas or cross-ways on his parents' bed. When his father was out for the night, he would sleep in the bed with his mother.<ref name="Harris, Leon 1975">{{cite book| last= Harris| first= Leon| year= 1975| title= Upton Sinclair: American Rebel| publisher= Thomas Y. Crowell Company| place= New York}}</ref> His mother's family was very affluent: her parents were very prosperous in Baltimore, and her sister married a millionaire. Sinclair had wealthy maternal grandparents with whom he often stayed. This gave him insight into how both the rich and the poor lived during the late 19th century. Living in two social settings affected him and greatly influenced his books. Upton Beall Sinclair Sr. was from a highly respected family in the South, but the family was financially ruined by the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the end of slavery causing disruptions of the labor system during the [[Reconstruction era]], and an extended agricultural depression.