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Was Mark Twain for or against imperialism?

By his own admission, there was a time when Mark Twain was a "red-hot imperialist." He once believed that it would be good for the United States to assist the Philippines in gaining freedom from oppression.


However, upon further studying the issue, Twain experienced a complete change of opinion on United States imperialism as it related to the Philippines. In a quote published in the New York Herald in October 1900, Twain shared the following:



"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."



Twain spent a significant amount of time speaking out against imperialism over the course of the conflict in the Philippines. In fact, he joined the Anti-Imperialist League in an effort to show his opposition to the United States' role during the conflict in the Philippines.

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