End Poverty in California (EPIC) was a political campaign started in 1934 by socialist writer
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in seve ...
(best known as author of ''
The Jungle
''The Jungle'' is a 1906 novel by the American journalist and novelist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair's primary purpose in describing the meat industry and its working conditions was to advance socialism in the United States. However, most readers wer ...
''). The movement formed the basis for Sinclair's campaign for
Governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
in 1934. The plan called for a massive
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
program, sweeping tax reform, and guaranteed pensions. It gained major popular support, with thousands joining End Poverty Leagues across the state. EPIC never came to fruition due to Sinclair's defeat in the
1934 election, but is seen as an influence on
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
programs enacted by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
.
Plan
Sinclair laid out his vision for EPIC in his 1933 book ''I, Governor of California, and How I ended Poverty: A True Story of the Future''.
Specifically, the plan called for state seizure of idle factories and farm land where the owner had failed to pay property taxes. The government would then hire the unemployed to work on the farms and at the factories. The farms would then operate as self-sufficient, worker-run co-ops. EPIC also called for the implementation of California's first state income tax. The tax was to be
progressive, with the wealthiest being taxed at 30%. The plan would also have increased inheritance taxes and instituted a 4% tax on stock transfers. EPIC also included government-provided pensions for the old, disabled, and widowed. To implement EPIC, Sinclair called for the creation of three new government agencies: the California Authority for Land (CAL), the California Authority for Production (CAP), and the California Authority for Money (CAM). CAL was to implement the plan for seizure and cultivation of unused farm lands. CAP was to do the same for idle factories. CAM meanwhile was to be used to finance CAL and CAP by issuing scrip to workers and issues bonds for the purchase of lands, factories, and machinery.
Campaign
After two previous unsuccessful runs for the U.S. Congress as a member of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, Sinclair was encouraged by the election of President Roosevelt in 1932 to switch his affiliation to the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
in September 1933. A grassroots movement soon formed in support of EPIC, with thousands joining End Poverty Leagues across the state. A weekly newspaper, the ''EPIC News'', appeared in support of the plan, and reached a circulation of nearly a million by the time of the
gubernatorial primary election in August 1934. Several EPIC-supporting candidates won their primaries for
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento.
The A ...
and
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
seats. Sinclair did not receive full support from the party establishment, however, and Roosevelt refused to endorse him, seeing the EPIC plan as too radical. Sinclair's opponent's claimed that he sought to "Sovietize California".
The Socialist party in California and nationwide refused to allow its members to be active in any other party including the Democratic Party and expelled him, along with socialists who supported his California campaign. The expulsions destroyed the Socialist party in California.
EPIC faced major opposition by the
Republican Party and major media figures. According to Greg Mitchell's 2017 article on EPIC in ''The Nation'', opponents of EPIC "organized the most lavish and creative dirty-tricks campaign ever seen—one that was to become a landmark in American politics" involving "turning over a major campaign to outside advertising, publicity, media and fundraising consultants for the first time."
The heads of Hollywood's major movie studios strongly opposed EPIC, largely due to Sinclair's proposal to hand over idle movie studio lots to unemployed film workers to make movies of their own. The studio heads reacted by threatening to move film operations to Florida and deducting money from employee paychecks to finance the campaign of Sinclair's Republican opponent for governor,
Frank Merriam
Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American Republican politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depress ...
. Two of California's most influential figures in print media,
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...
and
Harry Chandler
Harry Chandler (May 17, 1864 – September 23, 1944) was an American newspaper publisher and investor who became owner of the largest real estate empire in the U.S.
Early life
Harry Chandler was born in Landaff, New Hampshire, the eldest of four ...
, also used their papers to support Merriam's campaign and attack Sinclair.
In the face of this coordinated opposition, and without the backing of Roosevelt, Sinclair fell behind Merriam in the polls. On November 6, 1934, Merriam defeated Sinclair with 1,138,629 (48.9%) to Sinclair's 879,537 (37.8%). Even in defeat, Sinclair received twice as many votes as any previous Democratic candidate for governor. In addition, two dozen candidates running on the EPIC platform were elected to the state legislature, including
Culbert Olson
Culbert Levy Olson (November 7, 1876 – April 13, 1962) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democratic Party member, Olson was involved in Utah and California politics and was elected as the 29th governor of California from 1939 to 1943. ...
, who became Governor four years later.
Movement
The EPIC movement continued after Sinclair's defeat. It "recalled a mayor, kicked out a district attorney, replaced the governor with one of our choice" between 1934 and 1938, according to
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
, who by then was deputy publisher of the ''EPIC News''. Heinlein also ran for State Assembly in Hollywood and Beverly Hills in 1938. He lost, causing him to take up science fiction writing to pay off his campaign debt.
Legacy
Despite Sinclair's defeat, EPIC is recognized as having been very influential in shaping Roosevelt's
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
programs.
In late 1934,
Harry Hopkins
Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...
, a senior adviser to Roosevelt who went on to oversee many New Deal programs, proposed an "End Poverty in America" campaign that ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote “differs from Sinclair's plan in detail, but not in principle.”
In 2022,
universal basic income
Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...
advocate and former
Mayor of Stockton Michael Tubbs
Michael Derrick Tubbs (born August 2, 1990) is an American politician who is currently serving as a special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity for Governor Gavin Newsom. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 79t ...
created "End Poverty in California" (EPIC), a nonprofit antipoverty organization with the same name and acronym that was inspired by Sinclair's campaign.
This movement is thought to have been extremely influential in California’s politics, as well as a standard for democrats and republicans. EPIC had a substantial role in the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, eventually helping provide for the unemployed. Other administrations, such as the Farm Security Administration, continued to carry on these acts favoring the EPIC movement.
[Gregory, J. (1994). The EPIC campaign story. Campaign Story - Upton Sinclair's EPIC Movement. Retrieved October 19, 2022, from https://depts.washington.edu/epic34/campaign.shtml
]
Other candidates supported
*
John W. Baumgartner
John Walter Baumgartner (May 17, 1890 - November 9, 1973) was a civil engineer who was a member of the Los Angeles, California, City Council from 1933 to 1945.
Biography
Baumgartner was born on May 17, 1890, on a ranch in Los Angeles located at w ...
, Los Angeles City Council member, 1933–35
*
Parley Parker Christensen
Parley Parker Christensen (July 19, 1869 – February 10, 1954) was an American attorney and politician who was a Utah state representative, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the Farmer–Labor Party's presidential nominee during the 1920 ...
, Utah and California politician,
Esperantist
An Esperantist ( eo, esperantisto) is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperanto ...
*
Delamere Francis McCloskey
Delamere Francis McCloskey (April 29, 1897 – December 14, 1983) was a Canadian-born American attorney and politician, who represented the 1st District on the Los Angeles City Council from 1941 to 1945.
Biography
McCloskey was born April 29, 18 ...
, Los Angeles City Council member, 1941–43
*
Augustus F. Hawkins
Augustus Freeman Hawkins (August 31, 1907 – November 10, 2007) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served in the California State Assembly from 1935 to 1963 and the U.S. House Of Representatives from 1963 to 1991. Over the ...
, California assemblyman 1935-63, US Representative, 1963-91, first African American Congressman from California
See also
*
1934 California gubernatorial election
The 1934 California gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1934. Held in the midst of the Great Depression, the 1934 election was amongst the most controversial in the state's political history, pitting conservative Republican Frank Merri ...
*
Ham and Eggs Movement The Ham and Eggs movement was an old-age pension movement in California during the 1930s. It was founded by Robert Noble, a controversial radio personality, and Willis Allen. It grew out of a pension movement similar to the one advocated by Franc ...
*
Townsend Plan The Townsend Plan was an American scheme in 1933–1936 during the Great Depression in the United States to give every person over age 60 a monthly cash payment of $200. It was devised by Francis Townsend, an elderly California physician. The plan ...
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
* Wagner, Rob Leicester. ''Hollywood Bohemia: The Roots of Progressive Politics in Rob Wagner's Script'' (Janaway, 2016) ()
* Gregory, James N. "Upton Sinclair's 1934 EPIC Campaign: Anatomy of a Political Movement." ''Labor'' 12#4 (2015): 51-81.
* Mitchell, Greg. ''The campaign of the century: Upton Sinclair's race for governor of California and the birth of media politics'' (New York: Random House, 1992).
* Sinclair, Upton. ''
The Literary Digest
''The Literary Digest'' was an influential American general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, ''Public Opinion'' and '' Current O ...
'', October 13, 193
End Poverty in California: The EPIC Movement* Sinclair, Upton. Gregory et al., eds
"Upton Sinclair's End Poverty in California Campaign" ''washington.edu'' Mapping American Social Movements Through the 20th Century project (U of Washington).
* Star, Kevin (1997). ''Endangered Dreams: The Great Depression in California.'' Oxford UP. .
References
{{Reflist
History of California
Political history of California
Labor relations in California
Poverty in the United States
Socialist Party of America
1934 in California
1934 in American politics