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Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialist Writings: A Guide to Online Resources

By Jim Zwick

The Spanish-American War officially ended on December 10, 1898, with a peace
treaty that ceded Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the United States
and placed Cuba under U.S. control. Hawaii was annexed during the war. The
creation of an empire by the United States in 1898 provoked the most heated and
profound debate about U.S. foreign policy in the country's history, and the
intensity of the debate would not be matched again until the 1960s. "The nation
is divided, half patriots and half traitors, and no man can tell which from
which," Mark Twain commented in a March 1901 speech. The Most Influential Anti-
Imperialist

Mark Twain entered that debate on October 15, 1900, by declaring himself an
anti-imperialist in dockside interviews given upon his return to the United
States from nearly ten years living abroad. "I am an anti-imperialist. I am
opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land," he declared. He
quickly became one of the country's most prominent and outspoken opponents of
imperialism and the Philippine-American War. In February 1901 the Springfield
Republican (Mass.) editorialized that "Mark Twain has suddenly become the most
influential anti-imperialist and the most dreaded critic of the sacrosanct
person in the White House that the country contains."

Mark Twain's rise to prominence in the debate may have seemed sudden but his
views on the subject developed over most of his adult life. He first confronted
the issues involved with annexation of overseas territories when he went to
Hawaii in 1866. At first he saw the islands as a "half-way house on the Pacific
highway" that the United States should annex for their commercial potential,
but he soon changed his mind. By March of the following year his speeches on
Hawaii were highlighting the "disease" of civilization that was wiping out the
islands' original inhabitants. In 1867 he also published a sweeping satire of
the government's plan to buy the Danish West Indies island of St. Thomas.

Internationalist Solidarity

In 1891 Twain became one of the founding members of the American Friends of
Russian Freedom. Its stated object was "to aid by all moral and legal means the
Russian patriots in their efforts to obtain for their country Political Freedom
and Self-Government." It invited "the cooperation of all liberty-loving
American men and women whose sympathies are not restricted by geographical
boundaries and whose hearts can beat for the sufferings of others." The
organization's internationalist pursuit of self-govenment brought together a
number of people who would later join Twain as officers of the Anti-Imperialist
League formed in 1898 to oppose the creation of an American empire. Among them
was Twain's friend Thomas Wentworth Higginson who developed the
internationalist theme in an 1899 essay on the Philippines, "Where Liberty Is
Not, There Is My Country." Twain remained a supporter of the Russian Revolution
until his death, and he would criticize the Czar's imperial policies in a
number of his later writings.

In the mid-1890s Twain made the round-the-world speaking tour through the
British Empire recorded in Following the Equator. "The English are mentioned in
the Bible," he wrote: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
He saw first-hand the treatment of indigenous peoples in Fiji, Australia,
India, and South Africa. Twain concluded a long description of Cecil Rhodes's
career in South Africa by stating, "I admire him, I frankly confess it; and
when his time comes I shall buy a piece of the rope for a keepsake." In a
December 1900 speech he described England and America as "kin in sin" for their
imperialist wars in South Africa and the Philippines.

Fighting for Freedom

Living in Europe during the Spanish-American War, Twain supported it for the
same reasons he later opposed the war in the Philippines. "It is a worthy thing
to fight for one's freedom," he wrote to his friend Joseph Twichell in June of
1898; "it is another sight finer to fight for another man's." After learning
that the war ended with a treaty that contradicted that goal of liberation,
Twain joined the opposition. Explaining his change of views to the reporters
who met him at the docks in New York, he said, "I have thought some more... and
I have read carefully the treaty of Paris. I have seen that we do not intend to
free, but to subjugate, the people of the Philippines. We have gone there to
conquer, not to redeem."

In 1904, Twain's championship of the anti-imperialist cause led to an
invitation to join the Congo Reform Association founded to end King Leopold's
brutal rule of the Congo Free State. From 1905 to 1906 Twain served as one of
its vice presidents, wrote the scathing satire King Leopold's Soliloquy, and
made several lobbying trips to Washington, D.C., on behalf of the organization.
Booker T. Washington was also a vice president of that organization, as were
many people with whom Twain was associated in both the American Friends of
Russian Freedom and the Anti-Imperialist League.

Weapons of Satire

Twain remained an officer of the Anti-Imperialist League until he died in 1910,
and the League published a memorial tribute to him in its annual report that
year: Mr. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, author of "To the Person Sitting in
Darkness," employed in the cause of Anti-Imperialism and in behalf of the
Filipino those wonderful weapons of satire which were so absolutely at his
command, and the members of the League were able to appreciate what is not yet
justly understood: that, more than a brilliant humorist, he was a passionate
and zealous reformer. Mark Twain's anti-imperialist writings and activities can
be studied with online resources more fully than almost any other part of his
career. Most of his writings are available, from his 1866 letters from Hawaii
to a late notebook entry on patriotism, and there are numerous biographical and
critical studies. Among the wealth of contextual information about the anti-
imperialist movement are the texts of three petitions he signed and related
writings by some of his close friends. This guide organizes the online
resources by topic in a roughly chronological order. Some writings that deal
with more than one topic are listed under each for the convenience of those
interested in his writings on a specific subject. A thorough bibliography of
manuscript and print resources is also included.
Jim Zwick

The American Lion of St. Mark's, Life (Feb. 18, 1901).
The imperialists run for cover after Twain publishes "To the Person Sitting in
Darkness." Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialism Online
Early Views
Historical Contexts
Following the Equator
Photos & Films
Spanish-American War
Biography
Philippine-American War
Criticism
China and the Missionaries
Teaching & Study
Russia and the Congo
Legacies
Anti-Imperialist League
Bibliography
Other Resources
 Virtual Postcard
"I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on
any other land." --Mark Twain. Enter number 7099.
Guides to Mark Twain's Books
A series of comprehensive guides to online resources about Twain's major books,
including Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, and Pudd'nhead Wilson.
Discussion
Mark Twain Forum
Discuss Mark Twain with others interested in his life and works.  Something on
your mind? Bulletin Board
Chat Room
Newsletter
Virtual Postcards
 When in doubt, tell the truth.
Articles by date | Articles by topic
Copyright � 1998 Jim Zwick
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Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialist Writings: Bibliography
About Mark Twain
Bresnahan, Roger J., ed. In Time of Hesitation: American Anti-lmperialists and
the Philippine-American War. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1981.
Budd, Louis J. "Twain, Howells, and the Boston Nihilists." New England
Quarterly 32 (Sept. 1959): 351-71.
-----. Mark Twain: Social Philosopher. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1962.
-----. Our Mark Twain: The Making of His Public Personality. Philadelphia:
Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1983.
Clemens, Clara. My Father, Mark Twain. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1931.
Cohen, Morton N. "Mark Twain and the Philippines: Containing an Unpublished
Letter." Journal of the Central Mississippi Valley American Studies Association
1 (Fall 1960): 25-31.
Collins, Brian. "Presidential Reconstructions: Mark Twain's Letters from Hawaii
and the Integration of Civil Society." American Studies 37 (Spring 1996): 51-
62.
Emerson, Everett. The Authentic Mark Twain: A Literary Biography of Samuel L.
Clemens. Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1984.
Foner, Philip S. Mark Twain: Social Critic. New York: International Publishers,
1958.
Foner, Philip S., ed. The Anti-lmperialist Reader: A Documentary History of
Anti-lmperialism in the United States. Vol. 2, The Literary Anti-lmperialists.
New York: Holmes and Meier, 1986.
Fulton, Valerie. "An Other Frontier: Voyaging West with Mark Twain and Star
Trek's Imperial Subject." Postmodern Culture 4 (May 1994).
Gibson, William M. "Mark Twain and Howells: Anti-Imperialists." New England
Quarterly 20 (Dec. 1947): 435-70.
-----. Theodore Roosevelt Among the Humorists: W. D. Howells, Mark Twain, and
Mr. Dooley. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1980.
Giddings, Robert. "Mark Twain and King Leopold of the Belgians." In Mark Twain:
A Sumptuous Variety, ed. Robert Giddings, 199-221. New York: Barnes and Noble
Books, 1985.
Harrington, Fred H. "Literary Aspects of American Anti-Imperialism, 1898-1902."
New England Quarterly 10 (Dec. 1937): 650-67.
Hawkins, Hunt. "Mark Twain's Involvement with the Congo Reform Movement: 'A
Fury of Generous Indignation.'" New England Quarterly 51 June 1978): 147-75.
-----. "Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialism." American Literary Realism 25 (Winter
1993): 31-45.
Hill, Hamlin. Mark Twain: God's Fool. New York: Harper and Row, 1973.
Hoffman, Andrew. Inventing Mark Twain: The Lives of Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
New York: William Morrow, 1997.
Holtzman, Filia. "A Mission That Failed: Gorky in America." Slavic and East
European Journal 7 (Fall 1962): 227-236.
Howells, William Dean. My Mark Twain. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1910.
Kaplan, Amy. "Imperial Triangles: Mark Twain's Foreign Affairs." Modern Fiction
Studies 43 (Spring 1997): 237-248.
Kaplan, Justin. Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1966.
Laing, Nita. "The Later Satire of Mark Twain." Midwest Quarterly 2 (Oct. 1960):
35-48.
Lawton, Mary. A Lifetime with Mark Twain. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1925.
Macnaughton, William R. Mark Twain's Last Years as a Writer. Columbia:
University of Missouri Press, 1979.
McNutt, James C. "Mark Twain and the American Indian: Earthly Realism and
Heavenly Idealism." American Indian Quarterly 4 (1978): 223-242.
Olivia, L. Jay. "Maxim Gorky Discovers America." The New York Historical
Society Quarterly 51 (Jan. 1967): 45-60.
Paine, Albert Bigelow. Mark Twain: A Biography. 4 vols. New York: Harper and
Brothers, 1912.
Poole, Ernest. "Maxim Gorky in New York." Slavonic and East European Review 22
(May 1944): 77-83.
Putz, Manfred. "Mark Twain and the Idea of American Superiority at the End of
the Nineteenth Century." In Serge Ricard, ed., An American Empire: Expansionist
Cultures and Policies, 1881-1917, 215-236. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de
L'Universit� de Provence, 1990.
Rowe, John Carlos. "How the Boss Played the Game: Twain's Critique of
Imperialism in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." In Robinson,
Forrest G., ed., The Cambridge Companion to Mark Twain, 175-192. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Royot, Daniel. "The Fantastic Record of a Maniac: King Leopold's Soliloquy
Revisited." In Serge Ricard, ed., An American Empire: Expansionist Cultures and
Policies, 1881-1917, 237-243. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de L'Universit� de
Provence, 1990.
Salomon, Rober B. Twain and the Image of History. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press,
1961.
Scott, Arthur L. "Mark Twain: Critic of Conquest." Dalhousie Review 35 (Spring
1955): 45-53.
-----. Mark Twain at Large. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, 1969.
Shillingsburg, Miriam Jones. At Home Abroad: Mark Twain in Australasia.
Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1988.
Sillen, Samuel. "Dooley, Twain and Imperialism." Masses and Mainstream 1 (Dec.
1948): 6-14.
Warth, Robert D. "Mark Twain and the Gorky Affair." South Atlantic Quarterly 85
(Winter 1986): 32-39.
Wuliger, Robert. "Mark Twain on King Leopold's Soliloquy." American Literature
25 (March 1953): 234-37.
Zwick, Jim. "Who Wrote the Couplet? Textual Variants in Mark Twain's
'Salutation to the Twentieth Century.'" Mark Twain Journal 27 (Spring 1989):
3439.
-----. "An Empire Is Not a Frontier: Mark Twain's Opposition to United States
Imperialism." Over Here: Reviews in American Studies 15 (Summer-Winter 1995):
58-70.
-----. "Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, and the Anti-Imperialist League, 1899-
1920." In Proceedings of the 1994 Maxwell Colloquium, 105-110. Syracuse:
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse Univ., 1995.
-----. "'Prodigally Endowed With Sympathy for the Cause': Mark Twain's
Involvement with the Anti-Imperialist League." Mark Twain Journal 32 (Spring
1994): 2-25 (mailed spring 1997).


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Integrity has no need of rules. -Albert Camus (1913-1960)
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The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking
new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The libertarian therefore considers one of his prime educational
tasks is to spread the demystification and desanctification of the
State among its hapless subjects.  His task is to demonstrate
repeatedly and in depth that not only the emperor but even the
"democratic" State has no clothes; that all governments subsist
by exploitive rule over the public; and that such rule is the reverse
of objective necessity.  He strives to show that the existence of
taxation and the State necessarily sets up a class division between
the exploiting rulers and the exploited ruled.  He seeks to show that
the task of the court intellectuals who have always supported the State
has ever been to weave mystification in order to induce the public to
accept State rule and that these intellectuals obtain, in return, a
share in the power and pelf extracted by the rulers from their deluded
subjects.
[[For a New Liberty:  The Libertarian Manifesto, Murray N. Rothbard,
Fox & Wilkes, 1973, 1978, p. 25]]

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