Literature is highly influential in society.

It has been a pleasure debating you. As for Uncle Tom's Cabin, I concede that the complexity of the Civil War was such that the influence of a novel is extremely difficult to measure, especially when the other factors you present are taken into account. As such, I would like to dismiss the novel. Now I will address The Jungle. Coincidentally, I too used the American Pageant, AP US History Edition, last year. My opponent s correct, in the early 1900s, European countries were banning meat importation, and legislation was passed to rectify this, but the Meat Inspection Act was NOT passed for that reason. The Neill-Reynolds report was commissioned in 1906, which was then cited in the passage of said Act. The report was commissioned in response to public outrage ignited by the muckraking novel. I am not saying my opponent's sources are incorrect, Roosevelt may very well have began investigating meat packing factories prior to 1906. However, it was in response to the Neill-Reynolds report that the Meat Inspection Act was passed, and the Neill-Reynolds report was commissioned in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt in response to public indignation concerning the novel. Here are the sources that confirm this:James Harvey Young's, "The Donkey that Fell Into the Privy," page 476Federal. law. com: . http://federal.laws.com...The June 05, 1906 issue of the NY Times: . http://query.nytimes.com...;(Which mentions the inadequacies of prior meatpacking legislation created to assuage Europe's fears). The USDA Website: . http://www.fsis.usda.gov...;http://www.oppapers.com...Harvard law website: . http://leda.law.harvard.edu...As my opponent has conceded my point concerning On the Road, I will nevertheless address some additional instances where American literature influenced American society. Thomas Dixon Jr's work, The Clansman, romanticized the Klu Klux Klan and was a primary source for their ideology during the revival of the second KKK. It was adapted into the natoriously racist film, The Birth of a Nation, which provided a vision of the KKK that William Simmons (the founder of the 2nd KKK) sought to emulate. Dixon's novel portrayed the Klan with their classic white costumes and burning crosses, both of which were then adopted by the 2nd KKK. The Klu Klux Klan went on to create a reign of terror for African Americans living primarily in the South. Thomas Paine's Common Sense while arguably unfair to the British monarchy, garnered the support needed by the Continental Army during the revolution. It brought matters of politics to the level of the common man. In a period where the grand majority of the population was on the fence about the war against the crown, Common Sense convinced much of this population to fight for their independence. Though I concede that other factors were at play during the time period, the fact remains that Common Sense profoundly influenced the view of the common man, creating enthusiasm for separation from Britain. If we consider that religious texts are traditionally considered literature by those studying them objectively, then The Book of Mormon is an incredibly influential American text, for obvious reasons. However, if my opponent does not wish to consider religious texts in the debate, I will allow that to be his prerogative. I believe that the work, however, stands up to the definition of literature that I provided at the outset of the debate. I believe that I have effectively proven that literature is influential in society. Though political influence is tricky, there is no doubt that American literature has the capacity to have overwhelming cultural impact, as you conceded concerning On the Road.