The true flag : Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the birth of American empire /
Stephen Kinzer.
- First St. Martin's Griffin edition
- 308 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 21 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 279-289) and index.
Introduction White and peaceful wings There may be an explosion The great day of my life Islands or canned goods If they resist, what shall we do? Stinkpot I turn green in bed at midnight What a choice for a patriotic American! The Constitution does not apply You will get used to it The deep hurt
How should the United States act in the world? Americans cannot decide. Sometimes we burn with righteous anger, launching foreign wars and deposing governments. Then we retreat -- until the cycle begins again. No matter how often we debate this question, none of what we say is original. Every argument is a pale shadow of the first and greatest debate, which erupted more than a century ago. Its themes resurface every time Americans argue whether to intervene in a foreign country. Stephen Kinzer transports us to the dawn of the twentieth century, when the United States first found itself with the chance to dominate faraway lands. That prospect thrilled some Americans. It horrified others. Their debate gripped the nation. The country's best-known political and intellectual leaders took sides. Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and William Randolph Hearst pushed for imperial expansion; Mark Twain, Booker T. Washington, and Andrew Carnegie preached restraint. Only once before -- in the period when the United States was founded -- have so many brilliant Americans so eloquently debated a question so fraught with meaning for all humanity.
9781250159687 (pbk)
2016019840
Spanish-American War, 1898--Influence. Imperialism--History--19th century. Imperialism--History--20th century. Guerra hispano-americana, 1898 --Influencia Imperialismo--Historia--Siglo XIX Imperialismo--Historia--Siglo XX
United States--Foreign relations--1897-1901. United States--Politics and government--1897-1901. United States--Foreign relations--1901-1909. United States--Politics and government--1901-1909. United States--Territorial expansion. Estados Unidos --Relaciones exteriores--1897-1901 Estados Unidos--PolĂtica y gobierno--1897-1901.