Imperialism: Main Idea
Imperialism: Main Idea
William Jennings Bryant badly wanted America to be the nice guy of the world. He wanted it really, really badly.
You could almost imagine him giving this speech while holding up a peace sign and sporting some groovy long hair. But he was no hippy. He was a devout Christian who believed that American republicanism did not allow for imperialist policies.
These were the values that he wanted to convey in his speech. (Maybe people would have been more persuaded if he had been wearing a tie-dyed shirt that said "Give peace a chance, man.")
Questions
- Sometimes it might seem like there's no difference between colonialism and imperialism. A tomato vs. tom-ah-to type of situation. But not for Bryan. How does he see these two as very different?
- Were the Founding Fathers really that against imperial expansion, or was Bryan just manipulating history to argue his point?
- Why didn't Bryan want to emulate Europe? How could someone possibly dislike the continent that brought the world bratwursts and baguettes?
- How and why does Bryan differentiate the situations in Cuba and in the Philippines?
Chew On This
When William Jennings Bryan gave a speech to a room full of people, everyone listened. That is…if the room was full of Democrats. Bryan's "Imperialism" speech was an act of political propaganda coded into enlightened rhetoric, empty moralism, and insincere concern for anyone overseas. What a jerk.
William Jennings Bryan's "Imperialism" showed the American people a political style rarely seen: one of compassion and ethical rationalism. It's not accurate to say that Bryan was the Cowardly Lion. He was the Tin Woodman, concerned mostly with the heart.
Quotes
Quote #1
Let them censure Jefferson; of all the statesmen of history none have used words so offensive to those who would hold their fellows in political bondage. Let them censure Washington, who declared that the colonists must choose between liberty and slavery. Or, if the statute of limitations has run against the sins of Henry and Jefferson and Washington, let them censure Lincoln, whose Gettysburg speech will be quoted in defense of popular government when the present advocates of force and conquest are forgotten. (25)
Republicans are such haters…or at least that's what Bryan thinks. At this point in the essay, he's already said that they hate the Philippines, they hate democracy, and that they hate the Democratic Party. But here he goes for the jugular: he's claiming they hate the Founding Fathers like George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Thomas Jefferson. That might just be a little below the belt.
Quote #2
The acquisition of the Louisiana territory, Florida, Texas and other tracts which have been secured from time to time enlarged the republic and the constitution followed the flag into the new territory. It is now proposed to seize upon distant territory already more densely populated than our own country and to force upon the people a government for which there is no warrant in our constitution or our laws. (34)
This isn't really important for what he says, but for what he doesn't say. There's a ginormous (and possibly racist) elephant in the room here.
Dude doesn't even mention the Native peoples that lived in Louisiana, Florida, and Texas. Nor does he hint at the horrible and arguably imperialistic history that went along with gaining those territories. Granted this isn't as bad as some of the stuff the Ku Klux Klan did, but he wasn't exactly being very Mr. Nice Guy Friendly either.
Quote #3
The army is the personification of force, and militarism will inevitably change the ideals of the people and turn the thoughts of our young men from the arts of peace to the science of war. (42)
Bryan wants his listeners to know that if the U.S. chooses to be an empire, the entire country will become obsessed with war. Everyone will live in poverty while all of the wealthy are going to centralize their power in the capital. Then two teens from every state will have to battle to the death as a way to entertain the high imperialist class.
Oh wait, we might have mixed some of this up with the Hunger Games. Oops. But Bryan really was implying that the country would fall into a dystopian nightmare if they choose empire.
Quote #4
In what respect does the position of the Republican Party differ from the position taken by the English government in 1776? Did not the English government promise a good government to the colonists? What king ever promised a bad government to his people? (47)
If Bryan could draw little Hitler mustaches on every Republican and call them fascists he would have (that is, if he had written this speech after WWII.) This is pretty much just as bad. He's calling them out for being monarchists and supporters of a militarized police state, kind of the equivalent of calling them a bunch of Nazis. Ouch.
Quote #5
A European protectorate often results in the plundering of the ward by the guardian. An American protectorate gives to the nation protected the advantage of our strength, without making it the victim of our greed. (107)
If you were going to choose someone to go out on a date with, would you choose the smelly, ugly European who refuses to split the bill or the well-chiseled American who just bathed in rose-petals and the fragrance of the gods?
That's pretty much the option that Bryan is offering here. Fair? Probably not. But easy to choose? Pretty much yeah.