Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire : Anti-Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution)

Mark Twain was described by a contemporary newspaper as the "most influential anti-imperialist and the most dreaded critic of the sacrosanct person in the White House that the country contains." Although not a pacifist Twain was the most prominent opponent of the Philippine-American War. Today however this aspect of Mark Twains career is barely known. His writings on the war have never been collected in a single volume and a number of them are published here for the first time. Although he was a vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League from 1901 to 1910 until now no thorough study had been made of his relationship with the organized opposition to the war. Drawing upon the unpublished manuscripts of Mark Twain and various leaders of the League Jim Zwicks Introduction and headnotes provide the most complete account of Twains involvement in the anti-imperialist movement. Mark Twains writings sparked intense controversy when they were written. Readers will appreciate the continuing relevance and quotability of his statements on the abuse of patriotism the "treason" of requiring school children to salute the flag the right to dissent the importance of self-government and the value of Americas democratic and anticolonial traditions. This book will prove valuable to all who are interested in Twain and his works as well as to teachers of literature peace studies and history.