In a paragraph, analyze the Mark Twain quote and identify his point of view about U.S. actions in Cuba and the Philippines.

Question

In a paragraph, analyze the Mark Twain quote and identify his point of view about U.S. actions in Cuba and the Philippines.

From a Boston Herald transcript of a speech from 1900:

Oh, you have been doing many things in this time that I have been absent; you have done lots of things, some that are well worth remembering, too. Now, we have fought a righteous war since I have been gone, and that is rare in history—a righteous war is so rare that it is almost unknown in history; but by the grace of that war we set Cuba free, and we joined her to those three or four free nations that exist on this earth; and we started out to set those poor Filipinos free too, and why, why, why that most righteous purpose of ours has apparently miscarried I suppose I never shall know.

Answer 1

In this quote, Mark Twain expresses a positive view of the U.S. actions in Cuba, describing the war as "righteous" and commending the country for setting Cuba free. However, he adopts a more critical tone when discussing the U.S. involvement in the Philippines, questioning why the initial goal of "setting those poor Filipinos free" seems to have gone awry. Twain's point of view seems to be that while the U.S. was successful in one instance, the outcome in the Philippines has been a disappointment, suggesting a sense of disillusionment with the actions taken in that region.