An analysis of praise and blame in selectedafter-dinner speeches of Mark Twain

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Authors Denson, Wilbur Thurman, 1939-

Publisher The University of Arizona.

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AN ANALYSIS OF PRAISE AND BLAME IN SELECTED AFTER-DINNER SPEECHES OF MARK TWAIN

by

W ilb u r T. Denson

A Thesis Submitted to the Facu l ty o f the

DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH

In P a r t i a l F u l f i l l m e n t o f the Requirements For the Degree o f

MASTER OF ARTS

In the Graduate Col lege

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

1962

STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This th e s is has been submitted in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f requirements fo r an advanced degree a t The U n iv e r s i ty o f Arizona and is deposited in The U n iv e r s i ty L i b r a r y .

B r i e f quota t ions from t h is th es is are a l lo w a b le w i t h ­out spec ia l perm iss ion , provided th a t ac cura te acknowledgment o f source is made. Requests fo r permission fo r extended quo­t a t i o n from or reproduct ion o f t h i s manuscript in whole or in p a r t may be granted by the head o f the major department or the Dean o f the Graduate Co l lege when in t h e i r judgment the proposed use o f the m a te r ia l is in the in t e r e s t s o f s c h o la r ­sh ip . In a l l o ther instances, however, permission must be obta ined from the au thor .

SIGNED: & / J f a i J.

below:

APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR

Th is th e s is has been approved on the da te shown

GEORGE/F. SPARKS/ Ph.D. / / D a t eAssocia te Professor o f Speech

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The w r i t e r wishes to express s in ce re a p p re c ia t io n to

Dr. George F. Sparks, A ssocia te P rofessor o f Speech, and

Dr. Klonda Lynn, Speech Department Head a t The U n iv e r s i ty o f

Arizona fo r t h e i r generous guidance, p a t ie n c e , and encourage­

ment during the w r i t i n g o f t h i s th e s is .

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Purpose . . » . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . viMet hod. . . . . . . . . . . . v i iL im i t a t io n s . . . . . ................... ix

Chapter

I . FACTORS RELATING TO THE SPEECHES. . . . . . . . . 1

L i f e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IT i m e s ............................ 11

I I . CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE SPEECHES . . 21

Reveal ing the Speaker 's Persuasive Goals. . . 21Reasons fo r Accepting the Speaker 's Goals . . 23Devices fo r Magnify ing th e P ra is e or Blame. . 24

I I I . DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE SPEECHES. . . . 29

"L icense o f the Press'1 Speech . . . . . . . . 29'"Consistency" Speech. . . . . . . . . . . . . 37"Queen V i c t o r i a " Speech . . . . . . . . . . . 43

IV. CONCLUSIONS . ............................ 48

In f luences o f Tw ain 's L i f e and Times. . . . . 48E va lu a t io n o f Tw ain 's Use o f P ra is e

and Blame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50S u mmary 52

APPENDIX. . 53

BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

i v

INTRODUCTION

In the r a p id ly changing modern w or ld , speech holds

g re a t importance as a dynamic and powerful fo rc e . I t is

l a r g e ly through speech t h a t p o l i t i c a l and so c ia l a l t e r a t i o n s

take p lace . In the face o f t h i s ra p id change i t is necessary

to ap pra is e and judge the q u a l i t y o f the many speeches th a t

are given d a i l y ; t h i s is the fu n c t io n o f speech c r i t i c i s m .

Lester Thonssen and A. Cra ig B a ird make the need fo r speech

c r i t i c i s m very v i t a l when they say, 11 In a democracy such as

ours, t h i s im plies a very rea l o b l i g a t i o n upon th e c i t i z e n r y

to ap pra ise i n t e l l i g e n t l y what i t s re p re s e n t a t iv e s say; thus

is the c r i t i c i s m o f speeches made necessary by our p o l i t i c a l

and so c ia l environment."^

W ith in our p o l i t i c a l and soc ia l environment, according

to A r i s t o t l e , a re th re e general types o f speech: forensi c ,

which takes p lace l a r g e l y in courts o f law; d e l i b e r a t i v e ,

which is found in l e g i s l a t i v e bodies; and e p i d e i c t i c , which

is used in commemorative s i t u a t i o n s . ^ This study w i l l deal

w ith th e l a s t o f these types, e p i d e i c t i c or speeches o f p r a i s e

and blame. I t w i l l be f u r t h e r r e s t r i c t e d to th e elements o f

FT Leste r Thonssen and A. Craig B a i rd , Speech C r i t i c i s m (New York, 1948) , p. v .

2. The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e , t r a n s . Lane Cooper(New York, 1932) , p. 17.

v

p r a is e and blame in s e le c te d a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches o f a s i n g l e

sp eaker- -M ark Twain.

Purpose

This a n a ly s is w i l l a t tem pt to s a t i s f y th e need fo r an

e v a lu a t io n o f T w a in 's use o f the elements o f p r a is e and blame.

In doing so the study w i l l ( I ) in v e s t ig a t e the probable i n f l u ­

ences on Tw a in 1s speaking and (2 ) examine th re e s e le c ted a f t e r -

dinner speeches o f Mark Twain in an at tempt to d iscover th e

s t rengths and weaknesses in h is use o f the elements o f p r a is e

and blame.

I t , w i l l be assumed t h a t Twain d id use p r a is e and blame

in h is speaking, f o r , as Bernard Devoto descr ibed the s u b je c ts

o f Tw ain 's c r i t i c i s m , "The whole sp e c tac le o f government passed

in rev i ew -- the pres idency , the Congress, the bas is o f p o l i t i c s ,

the c o r ru p t io n o f th e e l e c t o r a t e - - b r ib e r y , d e p r a v i t y , s u b o rd i ­

n a t io n , the fa rc e o f the p e o p le 's j u s t i c e . "3

Because o f Tw ain 's immense p o p u la r i t y as a banquet

speaker, i t w i l l be f u r t h e r assumed th a t much o f h is p o l i t i c a l

and s o c ia l c r i t i c i s m can be found in h is a f t e r - d i n n e r speaking.

Paul Fatout makes c le a r how popular Twain was on the banquet

program w i t h th is d e s c r ip t io n : "He could have made a ca reer

3. Bernard Devoto, Mark Tw ain 's America (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1932) , p. 267.

o f d inner speaking as he w e l l n igh d id in l a t e r years when no

important banquet was complete w i th o u t Mark Twain.

Method

Assuming t h a t Twain d id use the elements o f p ra is e

and blame in his a f t e r - d i n n e r speaking is , o f course, on ly

the f i r s t step in t h i s e v a lu a t io n . Thonssen and Baird d e sc r ib e

the t r u e goal o f the speech c r i t i c as being an i n t e l l i g e n t ,

c r i t i c a l , o b j e c t i v e e v a lu a t io n . They go on to say, “This ta s k

involves (1 ) in v e s t ig a t in g the fa c ts r e l a t i n g t o the speech,

(2 ) fo rm u la t in g the c r i t e r i a by which the speech is to be

judged, and (3 ) making the e v a l u a t i o n . “ 5

Fol lowing t h is simple format fo r the a n a ly s is o f

speech, the f i r s t chapter o f t h i s study w i l l in v e s t ig a te the

f a c ts r e l a t i n g to Tw ain 's speak ing . This w i l l invo lve two

main a r e a s : Tw ain 's l i f e and h is t imes. Through a study o f

what Tw ain 's contemporaries have s a id , what Twain scholars

have s a id , and what Twain h im s e l f s a id , h is l i f e w i l l be

t ra c e d , inc lud ing parentage , boyhood, e a r ly working years ,

and l a t e r success. Aside from h is l i f e , e x te rn a l in f luences

were a lso e x e r te d on Tw a in ' s use o f p ra is e and blame by the

per iod in which he l i v e d . The times w i l l be examined to d i s ­

cover p o ss ib le fo rces a f f e c t i n g Twain 's speaking. Th is w i l l

Wl Paul F a t o u t , Mark Twain on the Lec tu re C i r c u i t (Bloomington, Ind iana , 1960) , pi 203.

5. Thonssen and B a ird , p. v.

v i i

inc lude the Westward expansion, the C i v i l War, the p o l i t i c a l

s i t u a t i o n , the p r e v a i l i n g m a te r ia l is m , the im per ia l ism , and

the reform movement.

The second chapter w i l l deal w i th fo rm u la t in g c r i t e r i a

by which the speeches are to be judged. For t h i s c r i t e r i a ,

A r i s t o t l e ' s Rhetor i c w i l l be used. There may be disagreement

as to whether or not the use o f one a u t h o r i t y is s u f f i c i e n t to

e s t a b l i s h such c r i t e r i a . However, in the words o f Lane Cooper,

" . . . in e f f e c t , the R h e to r ic not only o f C ice ro and '

Q u i n t i l i a n , but o f the Middle Ages, o f the Renaissance, and

o f modern t im es , is , in i t s best e lements, e s s e n t i a l l y

A r i s t o t e l i a n . There is no book on the s u b je c t s ince A r i s t o t l e ' s

th a t is not a t l e a s t i n d i r e c t l y indebted to h i s . T h i s is

not to say t h a t A r i s t o t l e ' s is the only book on the s u b je c t or

even the on ly book o f worth; however, The R h e to r ic does f u r ­

n ish a p a t te rn and method th a t makes i t s u f f i c i e n t to e s ta b ­

l i s h c r i t e r i a fo r the e v a lu a t io n o f the elements o f p r a is e and

blame. As Cooper f u r t h e r po in ts o u t , "He brought together a l l

t h a t was worth keeping in the e a r l i e r and c u r r e n t Greek t e x t ­

books, r e j e c t i n g t h e i r t r i v i a l novel t i e s , he supp l ied the

d e t a i l s they lacked; and ta k in g what they gave and he added,

he cast the whole in to a p a t t e r n t h a t has not y e t been b e t ­

te re d . "7

The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e , p. x v i i i .

7. The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e , p. x v i i i .

v i i i

The t h i r d chapter o f t h i s study w i l l p resent the

actua l a n a ly s is and e v a lu a t io n o f the speeches. This w i l l be

done by app ly ing the c r i t e r i a to the elements o f p ra is e and

blame in th re e o f Tw ain 's a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches. These th re e

speeches have been chosen from e ig h ty - tw o o f Tw a in 's a f t e r -

dinner speeches as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f h is s t y l e , r e p r e s e n t a t iv e

o f the s i t u a t i o n s in which he u s u a l ly spoke, and re p re s e n ta ­

t i v e o f the sub jec ts p ra is e d or blamed. They have a lso been

taken from each o f the t h r e e per iods in to which Twain 's speak­

ing seems to fa 1 1 .^ Th is chapter w i l l a ls o inc lude short

d e s c r ip t io n s o f the occasions and audiences fo r each of the

th re e speeches. In t h i s way the speeches and t h e i r techniques

may be more f u l l y understood.

A f t e r the speeches have been eva lu a ted according to

the t h r e e -s t e p plan o f t h i s s tudy , the conclusions w i l l be

presented. This w i l l be done in the fo u r th chapter which w i l l

seek to f u l f i l l the s ta te d purpose o f t h i s s tudy . I t must be

noted, however, t h a t the v e ry n a tu re o f an examination o f t h i s

type places c e r t a i n l i m i t a t i o n s on i t s conclus ions .

L im i t a t io n s

In a study o f t h is type where th e re is no way o f h e a r ­

ing the speeches because the speaker is no longer l i v i n g and

no record ings have been made, t e x t s o f the speeches must be

W. Mark Tw ain 's Speeches, ed. A lb e r t Bigelow Paine (New York, 1923) , p. xv.

r e l i e d upon. Th is r e l i a n c e places c e r t a i n r e s t r i c t i o n s and

l i m i t a t i o n s on the conclusions t h a t a re drawn. i t must be

assumed t h a t Twain spoke in the words recorded in the te x ts

and t h a t the t e x t s represent an accura te re p o r t o f h is speak­

ing. I t must a ls o be observed t h a t in some cases the t e x ts o f

the speeches a re not complete; such cases w i l l be noted in th e

a n a ly s is o f the speech.

This study o f t e x t s r a th e r than " l i v e " speech is the

only p o s s ib le approach in Tw ain 's case. However, i t may be

po in ted out th a t a study o f t e x t s has an advantage because i t

permits a more in te n s iv e approach through read ing and r e - r e a d in g

the speech as o f ten as may be necessary.

Terms

in order t h a t the reader may b e t t e r understand t h i s

study, c e r t a i n terms must be d e f in e d and c l a r i f i e d . Th is is

because c e r t a i n te rm ino logy used by A r i s t o t l e and o ther quoted

speech c r i t i c s o f te n has r a th e r s p e c i f i c meanings which may or

may not conform to popular usage. I t is necessary to d e f in e

“a n a l y s i s , " " p r a is e and b lame," and “a f t e r - d i n n e r s p ea k in g ."

“A na lys is" as de f ined by Webster is “ a s e p a ra t in g or

break ing up o f any whole in to i t s p a r ts so as to f in d out t h e i r

n a tu re , p r o p o r t io n , fu n c t io n , r e l a t i o n s h i p , e t c . T h i s study

w i l l adhere to t h is d e f i n i t i o n as c lo s e ly as p o s s ib le .

9. W ebster 's New World D ic t io n a r y o f th e American Language (New York, 1960) , p. 531

x

• 'Pra ise and blame'* w i l l be d e a l t w i th here as one term

since they a re opposites and d e r iv e t h e i r meanings in p a r t

through c o n t r a s t . 10 A r i s t o t l e d e f in e s p r a is e as u . . . an

u t te ra n c e making m an i fes t the greatness o f a v i r t u e . "11 Blame,

being op p o s i te , involves making m an ifes t the e v i l o f a v i c e .

The persuas ive goal o f p r a is e or blame is to e s t a b l i s h honor

or shame; t h a t is , th e speaker seeks to persuade an audience

th a t some man or a c t io n or i n s t i t u t i o n is to be p ra is ed or

r e v i l e d . 12 perhaps t h i s whole r a th e r complex but important

concept is best summed up by an example.

I f , fo r ins tance , a speaker wished to p r a is e Abraham

L in c o ln , he would f i r s t have to show the audience why they

should accept h is persuas ive goal o f honor. Th is "why" is

shown by a t t r i b u t i n g q u a l i t i e s to L inco ln which the audience

w i l l re sp ec t , such as honesty, humbleness, and i n t e g r i t y .

The speaker would next have to he ighten and magnify the qual i -

t i e s he is p r a is in g in L inco ln and make these q u a l i t i e s v i v i d

and meaningful to the audience. In t h is way the audience is

presented w i th a reason fo r accept ing the s p e a k e r ’ s goal o f

honor, and t h i s reason is r e in f o r c e d and made m eaningfu l .

" A f t e r - d i n n e r speaking" must a lso be d e f in e d because

i t has several d i f f e r e n t c o n nota t ion s . Andrew Thomas Weaver

and Ordean Gerhard Ness favor the d e f i n i t i o n t h a t a f t e r - d i n n e r

The R h e to r ic o f Ar i s t o t l e . p. 55-

The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e . P- 52.

The R h e to r ic o f Ar i s t o t l e , p. 18.

x i

speeches must be s h o r t , in fo rm a l , s t r i c t l y e n t e r t a i n i n g , and

take p lace immediately a f t e r a m e a l . ^3 However, d isagre e ing

w ith the idea t h a t the speech must be e n t e r t a i n i n g , Alan H.

Monroe po in ts out th a t a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches a ls o include

those presented f o r the purpose o f conducting se r io us bus i -

ness.^^ James H. McBurhey and Ernest J. Wrage support the

view t h a t a f t e r - d i n n e r speaking may be s e r i o u s . ^5 A f t e r -

dinner speaking as used here w i l l mean any sp eak ing , rega rd ­

less o f i t s purpose, t h a t takes p lac e a t an occasion f e a t u r i n

a d inne r .

m Andrew Thomas Weaver and Ordean Gerhard Ness,The Fundamentals and Forms o f Speech (New York, 1957) , p. 361

14. Alan H. Monroe, P r in c i p l e s and Types o f Speech (New York, 1939) , P- 540.

15. James H. McBurney and Ernest J. Wrage, The A rt o f Good Speech (New York, 1953) , p. 538.

CHAPTER I

FACTORS RELATING TO THE SPEECHES

In order to b e t t e r understand a speech i t is neces­

sary to know something o f the e x te rn a l f a c t o r s assoc ia ted

w ith i t . In accord w i th t h i s , and because Mark Twain 's

speeches seem c lo s e ly r e la t e d to h is l i f e and t im es , these

f a c t o r s must be considered as p o s s ib le in f lu e n c e s on his

speaking and more p a r t i c u l a r l y as elements which determined

his use o f p r a is e and blame. Th is chapter w i l l a t tempt to

d is c o v e r , and, to an e x te n t , weigh the in f lue nces on Tw ain 's

speaking and h is use o f p r a is e and blame which were ex er ted

by h is l i f e and t imes.

L i fe

Mark Tw ain 's l i f e conta ined many f a c t o r s which seem

to have had g re a t in f lu e n c e on h is speaking and his use o f

p r a is e and blame. These fa c t o r s e x e r t themselves throughout

his l i f e and may be examined through a c h rono log ica l study

which deals w i th Twain in terms o f his. parentage , his boy­

hood, h is e a r l y working years , and his l a t e r years o f success

and fame.

Tw ain 's parents were g e n t l e m id d le -c la s s people from

V i r g i n i a . They were re s p e c ta b le and respected in the eyes

o f t h e i r ne ighbors, but they were not r i c h . In f a c t , the

1

Clemens fa m i ly was o f te n In poor f i n a n c i a l c o n d i t io n . This

near pover ty seems d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e to th e na tu re o f

Mark 's f a t h e r , John Clemens.

John Clemens appears to have been a man o f good in t e n ­

t io n and am bit ion , but he was prone t o mistakes in business

because o f a somewhat u n r e a l i s t i c a t t i t u d e . An example o f

John's business f a i l u r e is seen in h is purchase o f the

"Tennessee la n d s ." Mr. Clemens, eyeing the r i s i n g land va lues

on the f r o n t i e r and the r e l a t i v e l y low cost o f these lands,

bought a la rg e t r a c t o f land in Tennessee. He c a lc u la te d t h a t

the fa m i ly would soon become r ic h through the s a le o f the lands.

C h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y , the plan i t s e l f was sound in th e ory , but

th e re was e r r o r in the d e t a i l s o f John's c a l c u l a t i o n s , and the

lands were taken fo r taxes and debts long b e fo re they y ie ld e d

the w ea lth o f which John Clemens dreamed. As a r e s u l t o f t h i s ,

and s i m i l a r ep isodes, John moved h is fa m i ly severa l times in

search o f b e t t e r o p p o r t u n i t i e s . However, he was not an unedu­

cated man, and, w h i le he tended to have a s l i g h t l y u n r e a l i s t i c

a t t i t u d e and to remain a l i t t l e a l o o f even from his c h i ld r e n ,

he did a l lo w Mark the run o f h is r a th e r meager l i b r a r y . ^

Because o f the n a tu re o f John Clemens i t seemed neces­

sary fo r Mark 's mother, Jane Clemens, to d i r e c t and hold the

f a m i ly to g e th e r , and t h i s she appears to have done. Jane

Clemens was a s t rong , r e l i g i o u s , p ioneer woman a b le to i n f l u ­

ence and d i r e c t those around he r . Mark 's mother was q u i te

T I A lb e r t Bigelow Pa ine , Mark Tw ain :__A Bioqraphv(New York and London, 1912) , pp. 6 - 9 .

s te rn and ser ious in her r e l i g i o u s o u t lo o k which some c r i t i c s .

Van Wyck Brooks c h i e f among them, have seen as a p o ss ib le

cause o f inner c o n f l i c t in Twain. These c r i t i c s fe e l th a t the

v ig o r o f Jane Clemens in her r e l i g i o n tended to s t i f l e Tw ain 's

c r e a t i v i t y . % Gladys Carmen Bellamy po in ts out t h a t his mother

was a lso a probab le f i r s t example o f the i d e a l i z e d womanhood

t h a t is seen in T w a in ’ s books and speeches.3 Mrs. Clemens was

a very humane, understanding woman and these q u a l i t i e s seem t o

be r e f l e c t e d in Twain. Furthermore, Mark 's mother appears to

have been a speech model fo r him; Tw ain 's humor, h is q u a in t ly

spoken ph i losophy, h is h e s i ta n t r a t e ("Sammy's slow t a l k , " as

his mother put i t ) , a l l seem to have come a t l e a s t in p a r t

from Jane Clemens.**

Tw ain 's p a re n ts , then, seem to have in f luenced his

a t t i t u d e s and personal c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . Much o f t h i s i n f l u ­

ence was probably exe r ted in Mark 's boyhood which must next be

examined fo r o ther fo rces t h a t helped to shape him.

Mark Tw ain 's e a r l y youth in F lo r id a and H a n n ib a l ,

M is s o u r i , conta ins several p o s s ib le in f lu e n ce s . As Twain him­

s e l f put i t , t h i s boyhood was begun ra th e r in a u s p ic io u s ly . " I

was born the 30th o f November, 1835> in the almost i n v i s i b l e

v i l l a g e o f F l o r i d a , Monroe County, M i s s o u r i . "5 Mark was born

2. Van Wyck Brooks, The Ordeal o f Mark Twain (New York, 1933) , p p . ■49-53.

3. Gladys Carmen Bellamy, Mark Twain as a L i t e r a r y A r t i s t (Norman, Oklahoma, 1950) , p. 31.

4 . Pa ine , p. 3 °

5. Mark Twain, Autobioqraphy (New York , 1924) , p. 7.

4

two months premature and was not expected to s u rv iv e the coming

cold months in the t i n y v i l l a g e on the S a l t R iv e r . In 1839

the fa m i ly moved to H anniba l , another minute, un cu l tu re d , f r o n ­

t i e r v i l l a g e in M is s o u r i .

I t was in Hannibal th a t Twain rece ived h is formal and

informal ed uca t ion . Factors o f the two types o f education seem

to in d ic a te t h a t the informal aspect had a good deal more e f f e c t

on him than d id the formal school ing . School f o r Mark began

when he was f i v e , but he o f te n had to be fo rced to go and ap par ­

e n t l y d i s l i k e d the r e s t r i c t i o n s and imposit ions i t represented;

however, Twain d id 1 earn to read and w r i t e in the Hannibal

school and became an extreme!y good s p e l l e r . & Hannibal a ls o

presented an environment which educated Twain in an informal

manner. In t h is f r o n t i e r town were the joys o f cave e x p lo r in g ,

hunt ing , and f i s h i n g ; the horrors o f d r in k in g , rape, and mur­

der ; and the sp ec tac les o f r e v iv a l meetings, c i rc u s e s , and min­

s t r e l shows. In t h is environment Twain led what would now be

termed a “normal c h i ld h o o d ." He was f r e q u e n t ly in t r o u b le ; he

smoked a t an e a r l y age; he developed a vocabulary o f “cuss-

words"; and he was g e n e r a l ly educated in the customs o f common

l i f e . 7 Also present in Twain 's informal boyhood education were

the books which he read in h is f a t h e r ' s l i b r a r y . Among these

volumes were the B i b l e , Don Q u ix o t e , Paradise L o s t , Shakespeare,

6. Paine, pp. 35 -40

7. Pa ine , pp. 46 -56 .

5

The Age o f Reason, C a r l y l e ' s French R e v o lu t io n , and Pepys1

D i a r y .8 A l l o f these f a c to rs o f formal and informal education

e xer ted probable in f luences on Twain. Also present in Hannibal

during Mark 's boyhood was a r e l i g i o u s in f lu e n c e .

R e l ig io n must be looked upon as a s i g n i f i c a n t but

r a th e r confusing f a c t o r in Tw ain 's boyhood ye ars . Through his

mother Mark came to be in t i m a t e l y acquainted w i t h the joys o f

enforced Sunday School a t tendance and long d u l l sermons f i l l e d

w i t h h e l l - f i r e and damnation. How much t h i s exposure a c t u a l l y

meant, however, is q u es t ion ab le s ince he was a ls o aware o f

o th e r , d i f f e r i n g a t t i t u d e s such as those o f h is somewhat h e r e t ­

ica l f a t h e r and a nearby un c le . In any case, r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f s

in l a t e r l i f e as expressed in his speeches i n d i c a t e a d i s l i k e

f o r th e cant and s p e c ta c le o f r e l i g i o n plus many doubts as to

the v a l i d i t y o f C h r i s t i a n i t y in g e n e r a l .9

With the death o f John Clemens in 1847, Mark 's e a r l y

boyhood pe r io d ended, and he moved in to what might be termed

his e a r l y working years,. Th is t r a n s i t i o n in h is l i f e is not

e n t i r e l y lo g ic a l s ince Twain was o n ly tw e lve a t the t im e, and

his q u i t t i n g school to be a p p re n t ic e d to a lo ca l p r i n t e r p rob­

ab ly d id l i t t l e f o r f a m i ly f o r t u n e s . The p r i n t i n g job d id ,

however, begin h is e a r l y working years during which he held

jobs in H anniba l , S t . Louis , New York, and o th e r c i t i e s o f th e

East , on the M i s s i s s i p p i , and in the West.

’ "87 E. Hudson Long, Mark Twain Handbook (New York, 1957) , pp. 294-295 .

9. Kenneth R. Andrews, Nook Farm, Mark Twain 's H a r t f o r d C i r c l e (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 19 50 ) , p. 67.

6

W h i le w o r k in g in H a n n ib a l , Twain was s u b je c t e d t o

s e v e ra l p o s s i b l e i n f l u e n c e s as he le a rn e d th e sm a l l town news­

paper b u s in e s s . As an a p p r e n t i c e t o t h e l o c a l p r i n t e r , Joseph

P. Ament, Twain was exposed t o a g r e a t deal o f l i t e r a t u r e ,

b o th good and bad, w h ich h e lp e d t o f o r m u l a t e h i s l i t e r a r y

t a s t e . A ls o w h i l e w o r k in g f o r Ament, Twain became f a m i l i a r

w i t h th e s t o r y o f Joan o f A rc . T h i s legend seems t o have

formed a n o th e r s te p in t h e deve lopm en t o f h i s a t t i t u d e o f

i d e a l i z e d womanhood w h ich is r e f l e c t e d v i v i d l y in h i s speeches

e u l o g i z i n g Joan o f A rc . When O r io n , T w a in ' s o l d e r b r o t h e r ,

r e t u r n e d t o H ann iba l and bough t a newspaper, T w a in ' s a p p re n ­

t i c e s h i p ended and Mark went t o w o rk f o r O r io n . T h i s a r r a n g e ­

ment l a s t e d o n l y a s h o r t t im e , however , f o r soon Mark began t o

f e e l t h e u rg e t o t r a v e l .

A t e ig h te e n Twain l e f t H an n iba l f o r S t , L o u i s , New

Y o rk , and o t h e r c i t i e s o f t h e E a s t . Mark s p e n t f o u r yea rs in

t h e s e v a r i o u s c i t i e s , u s u a l l y w o r k in g as a newspaper man. The

s p e c i f i c i n f l u e n c e s o f the se y e a rs a re u n c l e a r , b u t t h i s p e r i o d

seems t o have t a u g h t him a good deal about l i f e and pe op le and

appears t o have o f f e r e d him a g r e a t e r i n s i g h t i n t o 1 i f e . ^ O

Upon r e t u r n i n g f rom the, E a s t , Mark became a r i v e r - b o a t

p i l o t on t h e M i s s i s s i p p i . T h i s s h o r t p e r i o d in T w a in 's l i f e

is t h e b e s t known t o most p e o p le because o f t h e g r e a t e f f e c t

i t had on h im. In H ann iba l and t h e v a r i o u s c i t i e s in w h ich he

had w o rke d , Mark had begun t o u n d e rs ta n d human n a t u r e , b u t i t

TOT DeLancey Ferguson, Mark Tw a in ; Man and Legend (New Y o rk , 1 9 4 3 ) , pp. 40 -96 .

seemed t o be on th e R iv e r t h a t t h i s knowledge was c r y s t a l i z e d .

Twain once s a i d t h a t as he grew up and went a b ou t th e w o r l d ,

he met no one he had not met b e f o r e on th e M i s s i s s i p p i . A ls o

on th e R i v e r , de a th e n te r e d h i s l i f e f o r th e second t im e . P r e ­

v i o u s l y , t h e d e a th o f h i s f a t h e r seems t o have had l i t t l e

e f f e c t on T w a in ’ s o u t l o o k ; however , t h e de a th o f h i s younger

b r o t h e r , Henry , in a s teamboat mishap appears t o have had deep

i n f l u e n c e and seems t o fo rm th e f i r s t in a lon g s e r i e s o f t r a g ­

e d ie s in M a rk 's l i f e .

W i th t h e o u t b r e a k o f th e C i v i l War, r i v e r t r a f f i c on

th e M i s s i s s i p p i l o s t i t s p r o f i t , and Mark and b r o t h e r Or ion

moved w es t t o Nevada. T w a in ' s y e a rs in th e West formed a t u r ­

b u l e n t and i n f l u e n t i a l p e r i o d in h i s l i f e . D u r in g t h i s t im e

Mark worked a t s e v e ra l j o b s such as p r o s p e c t i n g , m in in g , and

newspaper w o rk , and h i s a s s o c i a t i o n s w i t h th e men o f th e se p r o ­

f e s s i o n s q u i t e p o s s i b l y h e lped t o b r i n g ab ou t h i s s im p le and

d i r e c t o u t l o o k on l i f e . A ls o d u r i n g h i s Nevada days Twain met

and became f r i e n d s w i t h Artemus Ward. Ward was an o u t s t a n d in g

f r o n t i e r h u m o r is t o f t h e day and a p p a r e n t l y had a g r e a t e f f e c t

on t h e d e l i v e r y and speech mannerisms o f T w a i n . ^ Ward p rom pted

T w a in ' s s t o i c , s t r a i g h t - f a c e d t y p e o f p r e s e n t a t i o n , h is way o f

s l u r r i n g the p o i n t o f th e s e n te n c e , and h i s s lo w , d r y d e l i v e r y . ^

"" 11. P a in e , p. 144.

12. P a in e , pp. 238-248..

13. Fe rguson, pp. 87 - 8 9 .

8

A f t e r h is years o f work in the v a r io u s c i t i e s , on the

M is s i s s i p p i , and in the West, Twain passed in to what may be

a r b i t r a r i l y termed h is years o f success. During t h i s per iod

he became the n a t io n a l and in t e r n a t io n a l f i g u r e t h a t is

brought to mind when the name '‘Mark Twain16 is mentioned. Also

in t h i s p a r t o f h is l i f e were severa l p o t e n t ia l in f luences

which a re found in h is l e c t u r i n g , h is t r a v e l , h is m arr iage ,

his f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s , and his personal t r a g e d ie s .

Twain began a long ca reer as a very popular speaker

w ith h is f i r s t l e c t u r e a t M a gu ire 's Academy o f Music in San

Francisco on October 2, 1 8 6 6 . Thi s engagement a t M agu ire 's

was the f i r s t o f many very successful appearances and tours

which probably fu rn ish e d impetus f o r the p e r f e c t i o n o f his

d e l i v e r y . Mark f e l t , however, t h a t , w h i le l e c t u r i n g was very

popu lar , i t was a r a th e r u n d e s i ra b le p ro fess ion because o f the

hardships encountered on the to u rs .

In s p i t e o f th e d is co m fo r ts . Twain was an ardent w o r ld

t r a v e l e r . His f i r s t t r i p was to th e Sandwich Is lands , now

Haw ai i . La te r tours and excurs ions covered most o f the world

inc lud ing England, France, Germany, I t a l y , the Holy Land, and

many o th e r c o u n t r ie s . W hi le on these t r a v e l s Twain formed

several s p e c i f i c op in ions such as t h i s , fo r example, which

revea ls h is idea o f r o y a l t y :

There a re shams and shams; th e re a re f rauds and f ra u d s , the t ra n s p a re n te s t o f a l l is the sceptered one. We see monarchs go through solemn ceremonies, f a rc e s , w i th s t r a i g h t countenances; but i t is not

14. Paine , pp. 292-294.

p o s s ib le to imagine them meeting in p r i v a t e and not laughing in each o t h e r 's f a c e s „

The system has fo r i t s end the degradat ion o f the many fo r the few, the misery o f the many fo r th e happiness o f the fevv, the co ld and hunger and overworking o f the usefu l t h a t the useless may l i v e in luxury and i d l e n e s s . 15

Tw ain 's a t t i t u d e toward l o y a l t y a ls o seems to have been

a f f e c t e d by h is t r a v e l s . He saw th a t too o f te n men are t r i c k e d

in to f a l s e l o y a l t y , too o f te n people have endured a thousand

i n d i g n i t i e s under the term " l o y a l t y " when a c t u a l l y i t should

f i r s t mean f a i t h f u l n e s s to one's s e l f . ^ T w a in 's t r a v e ls a ls o

in f luenced and helped develop h is humanitar ian o u t lo o k . In

France and I t a l y , Mark was moved to p i t y by the p l i g h t o f the

common man; he was outraged by the i n j u s t i c e o f a soc ia l system

t h a t would perm it such c o n d i t io n s . Mark was a s e n s i t i v e man,

an i d e a l i s t , and on these t r a v e l s he saw his id e a ls c o n s ta n t ly

betrayed; he saw the e v i l in the wor ld ; he saw l i f e a t i t s

w orst . Th is idea l is m and s e n s i t i v i t y c o n t r ib u te d to a p e s s i ­

mism t h a t may be regarded as an in f lu e n c e on h is speaking.

A l l o f Tw a in ' s time dur ing h is years o f success and

fame was n o t , o f course, spent i n ' t r a v e l . On February 2, 1877,

he m arr ied O l i v i a Langdon. "L iv y " formed another example o f

Mark 's concept o f id e a l i z e d womanhood which was mentioned as

s t a r t i n g w i th Jane Clemens and inc lud ing Joan o f Arc. This

a t t i t u d e o f T w a in ' s toward women is w e l l descr ibed by Gladys

T5I Mark Tw a in , Notebook, ed. A lb e r t Bigelow Paine (New York and London, 1935) , pp. 196-197.

16. Tw ain , Notebook, p. 199.

10

Carmen Bellamy: tl . » . most o f Mark Tw ain 's women f l o a t

through h is pages on p i n k - t i n t e d clouds o f s e n t i m e n t a l i t y ,

w ith a l l the verve and zes t o f bisque d o l l s . They are o f

charming p u r i t y , but they have ho l i f e . "^7 Besides serv ing

as an example o f womanhood, O l i v i a a ls o formed a s t a b i l i z i n g

in f lu e n c e in Tw ain 's l i f e when he was beset w i t h f i n a n c ia l

d i f f i c u l t i e s . >

I t seems s t range th a t such a successful man should

have f i n a n c i a l problems* but Twain had many o f them. Examples

o f Mark 's business m isfortunes are his p u b l is h in g f i r m and th e

Paige T y p e s e t t in g Machine. Twain invested h e a v i l y in these

p r o je c ts and placed a g re a t deal o f f a i t h in them. When they

f a i l e d he was g r e a t l y d i s i l l u s i o n e d and economica l ly b a n kru p t .

Tw ain 's f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s in h is years o f "suc­

cess" a r e , however, probably less s i g n i f i c a n t than his personal

m is fo r tu n e s , fo r i t seemed th a t sickness and death fo l lowed

him. The deaths o f h is f a t h e r and b ro ther Henry have a l re a d y

been mentioned. These blows were fo l low ed by the passing away

o f J e rv is Langdon, L i v y 's f a t h e r . Next in t h i s s e r ie s o f t r a g ­

edies was the death o f Mark's on ly son, Langdon Clemens, a f t e r

which L ivy made t h e i r f e e l in g s known by say ing , " I f e e 1 so

o f te n as i f my path is to be l in e d w i th g r a v e s ° This remark

seems a prophesy. Mark 's daughter Susy died in 1896. In 1904,

a f t e r an e ig h t year i l l n e s s , L ivy passed away, and in 1909

ITT Bel 1amy, p. 31.

18. Pa ine , pp. 456-457 .

Tw ain 's daughter Jean d ied . Fol low ing Jean's b u r i a l , Mark

s a id , u I lo s t Susy t h i r t e e n years ago; I lo s t her m o th e r - -h e r

incomparable mother 1 f i v e and a h a l f years ago; C la ra has gone

away to l i v e in Europe; and now I have lo s t Jean . How poor 2

am t h a t once was so r i c h . "^9

Throughout Tw ain 's l i f e , then, a re f a c to r s and happen­

ings t h a t probably in f lue nce d him. These inc lud e h is parentage ,

his boyhood, h is e a r l y working ye a rs , and h is l a t e r years o f

success. Th is does not complete an in v e s t ig a t io n o f the e x t e r ­

nal f a c to rs a f f e c t i n g his speaking, however, f o r the times must

a ls o be regarded as in f lu e n c in g fo rc e s .

T imes

Included in the e x te rn a l fa c to rs in f lu e n c in g a speaker

are the forces and trends o f th e pe r io d in which he l i v e d . As

A. Cra ig B a ird a p t l y s a id , "As the p e r s o n a l i t y - - i n t e l l e c t u a l/

and e m o t io n a l - - o f the speaker is l a r g e l y e x p la in ed by h is t o t a l

exper iences p r i o r to any appearance b e fo re an audience, so is

he h e a v i ly a f f e c t e d by the p o l i t i c a l , economic, and c u l tu r a l

c l im a te in which he l i v e s . The times make the o r a t o r . "^0

I n / t h e case o f Twain th e r e is no cause to suppose t h a t

he was an exception to the fo rces o f his t im es , and, in f a c t ,

q u i t e the c o n tra ry is t r u e . The in f luences e x e r te d by the

per io d may be approached through an examination o f the westward

W. Mark Tw a in , "The Death o f Jean ," Harpers M agaz ine , May, 1909, p. 211.

20. American P u b l ic Address, ed. A. Cra ig Baird (New York, 1956) , p. 4 .

12

expansion, the C i v i l War, the p o l i t i c a l t re n d s , the m a t e r i a l ­

ism, the im per ia l ism , and the reform movements o f the t im e.

Because Twain 's youth and e a r l y manhood was spent on

the f r o n t i e r , the western expansion o f the United States must

be regarded as a fo rc e a f f e c t i n g him. The two towns o f his

youth, F l o r id a and H anniba l , M is s o u r i , were on the f r in g e s o f

c i v i l i z a t i o n as was the Nevada o f h is western y e a rs . In f a c t ,

throughout Tw ain 's l i f e th e re was a f r o n t i e r somewhere in

America which a f f e c t e d him in both adverse and b e n e f ic ia l ways.

A dverse ly , the western movement served to establ ish a

ra th e r grim environment fo r Twain. The s e m i-c iv i 1 i zed e n v i r o n ­

ment in h is l i f e must be looked upon as c u l t u r a l l y deadening;

l i t t l e or no va lu e was placed upon good l i t e r a t u r e , p lays , or

other a r t s ; and o f te n c u l t u r a l p u rs u i ts were scorned. As a

r e s u l t o f t h i s p r e v a i l i n g a t t i t u d e , Twain probably never r e a l l y

understood many o f the g rea t a r t works t h a t he saw in l a t e r

l i f e . T h e re fo re , he o f te n c r i t i c i z e d th a t which he d id not

r e a l l y understand, damning t h a t which was o u ts id e h is e x p e r i ­

ence.

B e n e f i c i a l l y , the westward movement a ls o helped to

form some o f Tw ain 's p o s i t i v e a t t i t u d e s , in the u n s e t t le d

western extremes o f the country a good deal o f emphasis was,

placed upon openness and honesty. Twain , r e f l e c t i n g t h is a t t i ­

tude, o f te n spoke a g a in s t a l l forms o f hoaxes and shams; he

f e l t t h a t nothing o f va lue need be masked or hidden. In a d d i ­

t io n to the honesty and openness, Twain b e n e f i t e d from th e

f r o n t i e r regard fo r democracy. Here men were t r e a te d as equals

13

and a man was judged by what he could do r a th e r than who he

was; the people were c lo se to the rough elements o f l i f e and

respected i n d i v i d u a l i t y . Twain adopted t h is democrat ic o u t ­

look; he f e l t t h a t personal independence must form the bas is

f o r democracy and t h a t m i n o r i t i e s too are important; and he

held a deep b e l i e f in the common man.^l Also present on the

f r o n t i e r was the rough-hewn humor and s a t i r e t h a t was to be

T w a in 's . Humorists such as Augustus Baldwin Lo ng stree t ,

W i l l i a m Tappan Thompson, Johnson J. Hooper, Joseph G. Baldwin,

George W. H a r r i s , and Thomas B. Thorpe were p a r t o f an

extrem ely o ra l type o f communication; news, ya rns , and o th er

communications t r a v e l e d mainly by word o f m outh .^2 Because

o f the importance o f ora l communication, Twain was prompted

to improve h is speaking.

The f r o n t i e r , then, is a ve ry complex s u b je c t c o n t a in ­

ing many p o s s ib le in f luences on Twain which ac ted both a d v ers e ly

and b e n e f i c i a l l y to form him. S t i l l another fo rc e help ing to

shape Twain during these times was the C i v i l War.

The C i v i l War must be considered a ve ry g rea t and

moving fo rc e causing s t r i f e , controversy^ and d is tu rbanc e

during t h is p e r io d . Fam il ies were s p l i t , morals and values

were quest ioned, and customs and hab i ts were d is ru p te d ; th ro ugh­

out the United S ta tes the Union was th re a tened by the g r e a t e s t

TT, Henry Seidel Canby, "Mark Twain H im s e l f , " The Saturday Review, October 29, 1932, p. 202.

22. Bellamy, p. 45.

14

p rob lem s i n c e i t s b e g in n in g . As such a f o r c e , t h e War a f f e c t e d

e v e ry c i t i z e n , i n c l u d i n g Twa in .

One o f the more o b v io u s e f f e c t s o f t h e War was f e l t by

Twain because i t s top pe d t r a f f i c on th e M i s s i s s i p p i . T h is

c l o s i n g o f th e R iv e r formed a t r a n s i t i o n in T w a in ' s l i f e ; had

i t n o t been c lo s e d , he p r o b a b ly w o u ld no t have accompanied h i s

b r o t h e r t o Nevada, and h i s l i f e m ig h t have been g r e a t l y a l t e r e d .

A s id e f rom th e f a c t t h a t th e C i v i l War c lo s e d th e R i v e r ,

i t a l s o a f f e c t e d Twain s i n c e i t caused a c l a s h o f l o y a l i t i e s

w i t h i n h im. T h i s came about when th e v a lu e s Twa in grew up

w i t h were c h a l le n g e d by th o se he had begun t o l i v e by. The

M is s o u r i o f h i s y o u th was a s l a v e - h o l d i n g a r e a , and he was

accustomed t o s l a v e r y and t o o k i t f o r g r a n te d w i t h o u t ex a m in in g

i t s moral i m p l i c a t i o n s . However, t h e East where Twain had

worked v a lu e d f reedom , and the C i v i l War p rompted him t o s e r i ­

o u s l y q u e s t io n th e v a lu e s o f h i s e a r l y c h i l d h o o d .

T h i s c la s h o f v a lu e s in Twain was accompanied by a

g ro w in g pess im ism as he saw th e h o r r o r o f w a r . G ladys Carmen

B e l lam y summarizes t h i s a s p e c t o f t h e C i v i l War:

A t t h i s p o i n t , th e n , he had beh e ld th e human race engaged in two o f i t s u n l o v e l i e s t a c t i v i t i e s , t h e c r im e o f s l a v e r y and t h e c r im e o f w a r . . . .And w h e the r o r n o t th e s p e c t a c l e o f f r a t r i c i d e he had j u s t w i t n e s s e d in the C i v i l War gave r i s e to new f e e l i n g s o f con tempt f o r th e human ra c e a t l a r g e , s u b s e q u e n t l y h i s l e t t e r s and w r i t i n g s re v e a l a g r e a t e r measure o f t h a t c o n te m p t .23

In summary, th e C i v i l War must be re ga rded as a v e r y s i g n i f i ­

c a n t f a c t o r in s h a p ing T w a in ' s l i f e , v a lu e s , and o u t l o o k . The

23. Bel lamy, p. 77.

War was c lo s e ly r e l a t e d to another fo rc e o f the t im es, t h a t

ex e r te d by the p o l i t i c s o f th e p e r io d .

The p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n during Tw ain 's per iod was q u i t e

complex in n a tu re . Change was r a p id , movements were com pl i ­

ca ted , and issues were i 11-d e f in e d in many cases. However,/

w i t h in t h is complex s i t u a t i o n two trends seem to form keys to

an understanding o f the p e r io d . These were toward f a c t i o n a l i s m

and toward c o r r u p t io n .

The t rend toward f a c t io n a l i s m tended to d i v id e the

nat ion in to b i t t e r groups. Fo l lowing the C i v i l War, the

Reconstruct ion Period (1865 -18 77 ) was marked by a s p l i t , not

only between North and South, but a ls o w i t h in the North i t s e l f .

There was intense d i v is io n because c e r t a i n groups advocated

bloody r e p r i s a l s ag a in s t the South w h i le o th e r fa c t io n s favored

amnesty. Among these s p l i t s came lesse r d i v is io n s over pa r ty

p o l i t i c s , p o l i t i c a l reforms, r e g u la t io n o f i n d u s t r i a l expansion,

socia l r e f o r m s , a n d means o f c o n t r o l l i n g c o rp o ra te w e a l t h . ^

Accompanying the f a c t i o n a l i s m o f th e times was another

key t r e n d , t h i s one toward c o r ru p t io n as e x e m p l i f i e d by G ra n t 's

a d m in is t r a t io n . Th is a d m in is t r a t io n was one o f widespread

b r ib e r y and crookedness in p o l i t i c a l o f f i c e . During G ra n t 's

term as P re s id e n t , robber-barons ran the co untry , crushing

s m al le r r i v a l s by unscrupulous methods and r u l i n g by p l u t o c ­

racy. In New York, the Tammany Ring headed by R ichard "Boss"

Croker was a t i t s peak. Th is group o f p o l i t i c a l gangsters

27k H is t o r y and C r i t i c i s m o f American P u b l ic Address, ed. W i l l i a m Norwood Brigance (New York, 1960) , pi 112.

16

succeeded in c o r ru p t in g vo t in g procedures, c o n t r a c t l e t t i n g ,

and p o l i t i c s in g e n e ra l . And, perhaps as the real cause fo r

the scandalous n a t io n a l and c i t y p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n , th e re

was a decay w i t h in the i n d i v i d u a l , Hen became less in te r e s t e d

in p r i n c i p l e and more caught up in the money and m a te r ia l is m

o f the "G i lded Age." In d iv id u a ls s a c r i f i c e d former p r i n c i p l e s

in order to v o te the p a r ty t i c k e t . In g e n e ra l , men seemed1

less ind ignant than the c o r ru p t io n o f times seemed to w a r r a n t .

The m a te r ia l is m o f the "G i lded Age" had g re a t e f f e c t

on aspects o ther than the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n . This m a t e r i a l ­

ism probably s t a r t e d w i th the Bessemer process in 1865 and

gained a fo o th o ld in America w i th the In d u s t r ia l Revolut ion in

about 1867. This r e v o lu t io n caused rap id growth in t r a n s p o r t a ­

t i o n , banking, and a l l agencies o f commerce. The increased

demand fo r la b o r , the growth o f huge t r u s t s and c o rp o ra t io n s ,

and the growth o f c i t i e s were a l l r e s u l t s o f the In d u s t r ia l

R e v o l u t i o n . M a t e r ia l i s m , however, a ls o a f f e c t e d the goals

and va lues o f th e country .

In terms o f the goals and in te r e s t s o f the American

people , Tw ain 's t imes were ones o f in d u s t r i a l p io n e e r in g . A l l

in te r e s t s and d r ive s were d i r e c t e d toward money. The whole

psychic energy o f the United S ta te s was caught up in the

e x p l o i t a t i o n o f n a tu ra l resources; a l l ac t ion revo lved about

the m a te r ia l w ea l th o f the c o u n t ry . 26

—— gyigance, p. 111.

26. Brooks, p. 77-

In terms o f the va lues o f the country , a l l worth was

based upon the d o l l a r s ign . There was a sudden fe v e r is h

d e s i r e f o r qu ick w e a l th , w i th only one d i v i n i t y , the golden

c a l f . Th is m a t e r i a l i s t i c o u t lo o k gave r i s e to o s t e n t a t io n ;

c ig a rs wrapped in h u n d re d -d o l la r b i l l s and banquets fo r pet

dogs were c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f the age. The working c lass was

a ls o e x p lo i t e d as a r e s u l t o f m a te r ia l is m ; workers were i l l -

t r e a t e d , underpaid , po or ly fed , and p o o r l y h o u s e d . 27

The d i s t o r t i o n o f n a t io n a l va lues is seen in another

t rend o f the a g e - - im p e r ia l ism. Im per ia l ism dur ing t h is t ime

was growing r a p i d l y ; empire b u i ld i n g was a t i t s peak. The

scope o f th is movement and i t s in f lu e n c e on Twain are impor­

t a n t f a c to rs o f t h i s t ren d .

The scope o f the problem is best seen in the numerous

i m p e r i a l i s t i c e n te r p r is e s o f England and the United S ta te s .

For example, under the r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f " th e w h i te man's

b u rd e n ,11 England was a c t i v e l y b u i ld i n g her empire in Ind ia and

A f r i c a . The Boer War and o ther le s s e r ac t ion s were being

fought by the B r i t i s h "Tommy." Many p o l i t i c i a n s in the Un ited

S ta tes were advocating conquest o f the Centra l and South

American s t a t e s , and the United S ta tes was "annexing" the

P h i l i p p i n e Is lands .

Twain was moved in c o n t r a d ic t o r y ways by the in f lu e n c e

o f im per ia l ism . In h is youth he shared the dream o f empire

and the idea l ism o f the w h i te man's burden. Th is a t t i t u d e is

27. P h i l l i p S. Foner, Mark Tw ain:__Socia l C r i t i c(New York, 1958) , p. 69.

18

seen, f o r example. In h is advocacy o f the annexation o f the

Sandwich Is lands , In f a c t , in l a t e r l i f e he descr ibed h im s e l f

in youth as a " r e d -h o t i m p e r i a l i s t . "28 This " r e d -h o t im p e r i a l ­

ism" changed, however, as h is va lues matured, as he 1 earned

more o f the ways o f the w or ld , and as h is humanity became

d e f in e d . Twain came to be a strong enemy o f i m p e r i a l i s t i c

p o l ic y and opposed i t in h is w r i t i n g and in h is speaking.

The c o r ru p t io n and im per ia l ism o f the times gave r i s e

to another phenomenon o f Tw ain 's p e r io d , a movement toward

reform. Th is t rend was g rea t in s i z e and consequently o f f e r e d

several p o te n t ia l in f luences on Twain. The scope o f the move­

ment is seen in th re e general a reasr business reform, p o l i t i ­

cal reform, and so c ia l r e f o r m . ^

In the f i e l d o f business g re a t reforms were needed

because, fo l lo w in g the i n i t i a l surge o f growth caused by the

I n d u s t r i a l R ev o lu t io n , l e g i s l a t i o n and r e g u la t io n in t ra d e

lagged. This lag p e rm it te d the growth o f huge t r u s t s and c o r ­

pora t ions t h a t th re a te ned c o m p e t i t io n . Several business

reform measures became a c t i v e in t h i s pe r io d . A n t i - t r u s t laws

were passed and enforced; a Department o f Commerce and Labor

was c rea ted ; and numerous c o n tro ls were passed re g u la t in g

p r i v a t e and c o r p o r a t e p r a c t i c e s . 30 Labor-management reforms

began because o f a growing tendency toward o r g a n iz a t io n in

l a b o r . As labor banded to g e th e r , huge s t r i k e s plagued the

281 Foner , pp. 239-240.

29. Br igance, p. 116.

30. Br igance , p. 116*

19

• 1na t io n and unemployment reached four m i l l i o n . Then s lowly

the c o n f l i c t between labor and management began to be reso lve d .

Re la ted to the business reforms o f the per iod was a

s i m i l a r t rend in p o l i t i c s . in the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n the

corrup t a d m in is t r a t io n o f Grant was exposed; th e carpet bag­

gers were fo rced out o f the South; and the n a t io n , swept on

by vigorous women campaigners in many cases, came to be ashamed

o f i t s p o l i t i c a l decadency. The reform t i c k e t became powerful

on a l l l e v e l s , and the barons o f co rrup t government were c h a l -

1enged and o f te n d e fea ted .

Reform was a ls o an a c t i v e agent in the soc ia l s i t u a -

o f the p e r i o d . . Socia l be tte rm ent d r ives were centered p a r t i c ­

u l a r l y in the Reconstruct ion Era and gave r i s e to the humane

movement and the woman's s u f f r a g e movement.31 The f i r s t o f

these fo l low e d the C i v i l War and sought to a l l e v i a t e human s u f ­

f e r i n g , As a p a r t o f the t ren d many c h a r i t y d r iv e s were o rgan­

ized to help the p o o r , and campaigns were s t a r t e d to e l i m i n a t e

r a c ia l d i s c r im in a t io n . Other campaigns o f the humane movement

concentrated on temperance. E s p e c ia l ly a c t i v e in these tem­

perance d r iv e s was the Woman's C h r is t i a n Temperance Union

which sought to tame and curb what i t f e l t to be the e v i l s o f

the day, p a r t i c u l a r l y d r in k . The woman's s u f f r a g e movement

occurred around the tu rn o f the century and fe a tu re d thousands

o f r a th e r aggress ive females f i g h t i n g fo r the v o te . These

campaigns were n a t io n -w id e , and the women gained power through

perseverance and in many cases a b le p u b l ic speaking.

31. Br igance, p. 113.

20

Externa l f a c t o r s shaping Tw ain 's speaking and use o f

p r a is e and blame, t h e n , can be found in his l i f e and t imes.

W ith in h is l i f e in f luences ex er te d by his p a re n ts , h is boyhood

his e a r l y working ye ars , and h is years o f success and fame

helped to make him the speaker t h a t he was. W i th in the t im es ,

the western expansion, the C i v i l W ar , the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n ,

the m a te r ia l is m and im per ia l ism , and the reform movements were

a c t i v e fa c to r s t h a t served to form his a t t i t u d e s and o p in ions .

W ith these fa c to rs in mind the next phase o f t h i s study w i l l

be approached, the c r i t e r i a fo r the e v a lu a t io n o f the speeches

CHAPTER I I

CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE SPEECHES

B e fo r e a speech can be e v a lu a t e d , th e p o i n t s upon w h ic h

th e c r i t i c i s m is t o be founded must be e s t a b l i s h e d . In the

case o f p r a i s e and blame t h i s i n v o lv e s d raw ing up s ta n d a rd s

t o d e te rm in e how e f f e c t i v e l y t h e s e e lem en ts a r e used. These

c r i t e r i a f u r n i s h an o r g a n iz e d o b j e c t i v e approach f o r t h e c r i t i c

and e n a b le th e re a d e r t o b e t t e r u n d e rs ta n d th e e v a l u a t i o n t h a t

is t o t a k e p la c e .

Th is chapter w i l l a t tem pt to present the necessary c r i ­

t e r i a in th re e b a s ic steps: (1 ) How c l e a r l y does the speech

reveal the sp eaker 's goals? (2 ) How e f f e c t i v e l y does the speech

present reasons fo r the acceptance o f the sp eak er 's goals? and

(3 ) How s k i l l f u l l y a re these reasons heightened to insure the

acceptance o f the speaker 's goals? These th re e po ints and the

va r io us c o n s id e ra t io n s o f each w i l l be discussed as c r i t e r i a

fo r the judgment o f p r a is e and blame.

Reveal ing the Speaker 's Persuasive Goals

In order fo r the persuas ive goal o f the speaker to be

c le a r to the audience in a speech o f p ra is e or blame, the

speaker must do two th in g s : he must l e t the audience know o f

whom he speaks and how he wishes the l i s t e n e r s t o fe e l about

21

22

the su b je c t on which he is speaking. Both o f these tasks

must c l e a r l y be done be fo re the speaker can hope fo r f a v o r ­

ab le response.

The su b je c t o f a speech o f p ra is e or blame can be a

man, an a c t io n , or an i n s t i t u t i o n the name or d e s c r ip t io n o f

which can be revea led to the audience w i th a s imple s ta te m e n t .

But th e re must be no vagueness about the s u b je c t ; the audience

must know e x a c t ly what or whom th e speaker is d e a l in g w i t h ,

and r e p e t i t i o n o f te n serves to f i x the sp eaker 's sub ject in

the minds o f the audience.

Furthermore, the speaker must convey h is purpose to

the audience; he must l e t h is l i s t e n e r s know what rea c t io n he

d e s ires o f them. In the case o f p r a is e , t h i s is adm ira t ion

fo r a person, a c t i o n , or i n s t i t u t i o n . In the event th a t blame

is used, the r e a c t io n des ired is contempt. A r i s t o t l e f u r t h e r

speaks o f the goals o f a speech o f p ra is e or blame as honor

or d is h o n o r . I W ebster 's New World D ic t io n a ry c l a r i f i e s t h i s

type o f speech when i t de f in es " p ra is e " as "a high regard or

g re a t respect g iven , . . . e s p e c i a l l y (a ) fame, g lo r y , renown,

(b ) c r e d i t , good r e p u t a t i o n . "2 Webster d e f in e s "blame" as an

accusat ion , a condemnation, a f a u l t f i n d i n g , a c e n s u r e . 3 The

speaker, then, must c l e a r l y show the audience t h a t he wishes

to convey a high regard or censure fo r the su b je c t o f his

The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e , p. 18.

2. W ebster , p. 697•

3. W ebster , p. 154. .

23

speech. T h i s to o may be done w i t h a s im p le s ta t e m e n t ; i t may

a l s o be done w i t h a s e r i e s o f i n f e r e n c e s ; b u t i t must be done

in such a way as t o le a ve no do ub t abou t = th e s p e a k e r ' s p u rp o se

in t h e minds o f t h e l i s t e n e r s . C r i t i c i s m must e v a lu a t e how

c l e a r l y t h e speaker p r e s e n te d h i s p e r s u a s i v e g o a l s .

Reasons f o r A c c e p t in g th e S p e a k e r 's Goals

A f t e r th e speaker has r e v e a le d th e s u b j e c t o f h i s

speech and how he w ish es th e a u d ie n c e t o f e e l c o n c e rn in g h i s

speech s u b j e c t , he must show h i s l i s t e n e r s why th e y sh o u ld

a c c e p t h i s w is h e s ; i f t h e h e a re rs a r e t o a d m ire o r r e v i l e a

man, a c t i o n , o r i n s t i t u t i o n th e y must be g iv e n reason f o r

d o in g so.

Reason f o r a c c e p t i n g t h e s p e a k e r ' s p r o p o s i t i o n s must

be e s t a b l i s h e d by showing t h e s u b j e c t o f p r a i s e o r blame t o

possess o r t o l a c k t h e t r a i t s t h e a u d ie n ce v a lu e s o r a d m i re s .

A r i s t o t l e d e s c r i b e s o b j e c t s o f v a l u e as th o s e w h ic h p r o v i d e o r

p r o t e c t b e n e f i t s f o r m ank ind . F u r t h e r , he l i s t s n in e ge n e ra l

w o r t h y a t t r i b u t e s o r e lem en ts o f v i r t u e : j u s t i c e , cou rage ,

tem perance , m a g n i f i c e n c e , m a g n a n im i ty , l i b e r a l i t y , g e n t l e n e s s ,

p rude nce , and w is d o m .^ I f t h e speaker can f i r m l y f i x one o r

more o f t h e s e a t t r i b u t e s as p r e s e n t o r l a c k i n g in t h e s u b j e c t

o f h i s speech, he w i l l show th e a u d ie n c e why th e y s h o u ld f e e l

honor o r d i s h o n o r . T h i s may be done w i t h t h e use o f examples

o r i l l u s t r a t i o n s , s t a t i s t i c s , a u t h o r i t i e s , o r re a s o n in g .

The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , pp. 4 6 -4 7 .

2 4

C r i t i c i s m must e v a lu a te how e f f e c t i v e l y the speech presented

and f i x e d reasons f o r the acceptance o f the s p e a k e r ’ s goa ls .

Dev ices f o r M a g n i f y i n g -the P r a i s e o r Blame

A speech o f p ra is e or blame cannot end w i th merely

e s t a b l i s h in g a cause fo r accept ing the s p eak er ’ s goals . I f

the speech is to be t r u l y e f f e c t i v e i t must go one step f u r t h e r

and he ighten or magnify the worthy a t t r i b u t e s o f the su b je c t o f

the speech and make them v i v i d and meaningful t o the audience.

This may be accompl ished by the use o f several techniques

which w i l l be descr ibed in d e t a i l .

One o f the ways o f h e igh ten ing the elements o f v i r t u e

present or lac k in g in the s u b je c t o f a speech is by comparing

them to o th e r worthy a t t r i b u t e s . For example, a speaker could

magnify the courage o f General Grant by making i t appear more

b e n e f i c i a l than temperance to mankind in general or the Un ited

Sta tes s p e c i f i c a l l y . In t h is way the su b je c t o f the speech

appears to possess the more im portant v i r t u e s , thereby making

i t po s s ib le to o v er lo o k s l i g h t d e f i c i e n c i e s in o t h e r s .5 C r i t i ­

cism must judge how e f f e c t i v e l y t h i s is done.

The v i r t u e s or v ices d e a l t w i th in the speech may a ls o

be i n t e n s i f i e d through the use o f appeals to th e aud ience ’ s

set o f va lu e s . For instance , an audience composed o f Marines

would be more impressed by courage than temperance in an i n d i ­

v i d u a l . By the same token, temperance would make a g re a te r

impact on the Woman’ s C h r is t ia n Temperance Union than would

The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , p. 47.

25

m agnif icence . This technique re q u ire s two th in g s : a knowl­

edge o f the au d ience 's v a lu e s , and an a b i l i t y to appeal to

them.^ C r i t i c i s m must e v a lu a te how w el l the speaker knew h is

audience and how s k i l l f u l l y he employed t h is knowledge.

Another means o f magnify ing the e f f e c t s o f a v i r t u e

or v ic e is by e s t a b l i s h in g i t as consciously c u l t i v a t e d and

p r a c t ic e d . For example, a man w i th o u t the p r ic e o f a d r in k

can h a rd ly be regarded as temperate in h is abst inence; however,

a man w i th a w e l l - s t o c k e d basement ba r , who loves a good d r in k ,

but who has on ly one a day, is a t r u l y s e l f - c o n t r o l l e d , tem­

p e ra te i n d i v i d u a l . in t h is way the p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t the v i r t u e

or v ic e was a c c id e n ta l or c o in c id e n ta l is e l i m i n a t e d . 7 C r i t i ­

cism must judge how c l e a r l y the speech makes the v i r t u e or

v ic e appear d e l i b e r a t e .

A v i r t u e can a ls o be made v i v i d by the unique charac­

t e r i s t i c s o f i t s demonstra t ion . Th is is done by showing the

demonstrat ion o f v i r t u e to be the f i r s t o f i t s k ind , one o f

only a few examples o f i t s k ind , or the very best o f i t s k ind .&

For.example, Lindbergh's courage in crossing the A t l a n t i c l i e s

c h i e f l y in i t s being the f i r s t such f l i g h t . Or, John Glenn 's

courage in space t r a v e l is m agn i f ied because h is was one o f

only a few such f l i g h t s . Again, the m agnif icence o f the Grand

Canyon can be i n t e n s i f i e d by making i t appear to be the best

6 . The R h e to r ic o f Ar i s t o t l e . pp. 50

7. The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e , P- 53,

8 . The Rhetor ic o f A r i s t o t l e , p. 53.

26

example o f t h i s v i r t u e . How w e l l the speech employs the f a c ­

to rs o f uniqueness must a ls o be e v a lu a te d .

S t i l l another means o f making worthy a t t r i b u t e s rea l

and v i v i d to an audience is achieved through a d e s c r ip t io n o f

the f a c to rs surrounding the occasion o f t h e i r demonstra t ion .

Does the speech make the occasion o f demonstration appear unu­

s u a l l y d i f f i c u l t or demanding? For example, a 1 one judge in

L i t t l e Rock dec id ing in favor o f a Negro dur ing the in te g r a t io n

disputes would appear more j u s t than a judge handing down a

r o u t in e t r a f f i c f i n e fo r speeding. Both have demonstrated

j u s t i c e ; however, the j u s t i c e o f the L i t t l e Rock case is

heightened through the fa c to rs surrounding i t s dem o nstra t io n .

Or, a s o l d i e r r i s k i n g his l i f e a lone in a da rk ju n g le appears

more courageous than a c o l le g e f o o t b a l l p la y e r competing in a

stadium. The c r i t i c must e v a lu a te how e f f e c t i v e l y the fa c to r s

surrounding the demonstrat ion were used by the speaker to mag-

n i f y the v ?r t u e . 9

A ga in , the e f f e c t o f a v i r t u e can be heightened through

comparison. Th is can be done in two ways - through comparing

the v i r t u e o f the s u b je c t o f the speech w ith wel l -known examples

or by comparing i t w i t h average e x a m p le s .^ For instance , the

perseverance o f an unknown statesman gains s ig n i f i c a n c e and

meaning when l ik e n e d to the perseverance o f Woodrow Wilson.

Or, the courage o f a man in saving a c h i ld from a burning house

The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e , p. 53.

10. The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e , p. 54.

27

is h e ig h te n e d by p o i n t i n g ou t t h a t t h e ave rage pe rson in t h a t

s i t u a t i o n w ou ld not have been t h a t b ra v e . C r i t i c i s m must

d e te rm in e t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f t h e use o f such com par isons .

F i n a l l y , th e e f f e c t o f a v i r t u e o r v i c e is made c l e a r

and e f f e c t i v e by e s t a b l i s h i n g u l t i m a t e ends. The speech must

e s t a b l i s h t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e v i r t u e o r v i c e i f i t were pushed

t o i t s e x t re m e ; th e speech must p r o j e c t , i f n e c e s s a ry , i n t o

th e f u t u r e and seek t o e s t a b l i s h u l t i m a t e r e s u l t s o f t h e v i r ­

t u e o r v i c e . ^ For example , i f c o w a rd ic e were t h e v i c e b e in g

b lamed, i t m ig h t be p o i n t e d o u t t h a t i f e v e ryon e were a coward

o f t h e w o r s t s o r t , a l l n a t i o n a l , l o c a l , and p e rso n a l d e fe n s e

w o u ld cease t o be. In t h e e v e n t an u l t i m a t e end has a l r e a d y

been reached , the im p o r ta n c e o r s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h i s r e s u l t

s h o u ld be b r o u g h t o u t . For example , i f t h e u l t i m a t e r e s u l t o f

b r a v e r y in t h e Navy were th e Navy Cross , i t wou ld be e f f e c t i v e

t o show th e g r e a t s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h i s award : What i s neces­

s a r y t o w in i t ? How many i n d i v i d u a l s r e c e i v e i t ? How h i g h l y

does th e Navy r e g a r d i t ? How e f f e c t i v e l y th e t e c h n iq u e o f

p r e s e n t i n g u l t i m a t e ends is used i s a n o th e r p o i n t o f c r i t i c i s m .

The c r i t e r i a f o r t h e e v a l u a t i o n o f p r a i s e and blame

may, th e n , be e s t a b l i s h e d in t h r e e b a s i c s te p s : ( 1 ) t h e c l a r ­

i t y o f t h e s p e a k e r ' s g o a l s , (2 ) t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s in e s t a b l i s h ­

ing reason f o r t h e acce p ta n c e o f t h e s p e a k e r ' s g o a l s , and

(3 ) th e s k i l l f u l ness in making t h e reasons f t i r a cc e p ta n c e

c l e a r and v i v i d t o th e a u d ie n c e . The d e s c r i p t i o n and

"TT The R h e t o r i c o f A r i s t o t l e , p. 54.

28

e v a lu a t io n o f Twain 1s use o f p r a is e and blame w i l l be accom­

p l is h e d in the next chapter by app ly ing the th re e p o in ts o f

the c r i t e r i a to th re e o f Mark Tw ain 's a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches.

CHAPTER I I I'

DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE SPEECHES

In t h i s chapter th re e o f Mark Tw ain 's a f t e r - d i n n e r

speeches w i l l be examined to determ ine the e f f e c t iv e n e s s o f

his use o f p r a is e and blame. Th is examination w i l l include

the d e s c r ip t io n o f the occasion and the audience fo r each

speech as w e l l as an a n a ly s is according to the A r i s t o t e l i a n

c r i t e r i a set f o r t h in Chapter Two. The major p o in ts o f c r i t i

cism w i l l be: (1 ) the c l a r i t y o f Tw ain 's pe rsuas ive goals ,

(2 ) the e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f his reasons fo r the acceptance o f hi

goals , and (3 ) the ski 11 fu lness w i th which he heightens the

reasons to. insure t h e i r acceptance.

1"L icense o f the Press" Speech

Tw ain 's "L icense o f the Press" speech has been chosen

as r e p r e s e n t a t iv e o f his e a r l y pe r io d o f speaking. As Paine

says in his p re fac e to Mark Tw a in 's Speeches, t h i s was the

pe r io d " . . . beginning w i t h h is San Francisco le c t u r e , con­

t in u in g through those years when his conquest o f the world o f

l e t t e r s had not lo s t i t s n o v e l ty , when his blood was quick

and the gods were s t i l l kind . . . " 2 The f i r s t paragraph o f

the speech is m issing.

TT See Appendix fo r t e x t o f t h i s speech.

2. Mark Tw ain 's Speeches, p. xv.

29

30

Occasion and Audience. Several f a c t o r s concerning

the occasion and audience a re p e r t i n e n t to th e understanding

o f the "L icense o f the Press" speech. Fo l low ing the C i v i l

War, the years p r i o r to 1873 were ones o f g r e a t n a t io n a l g r a f t

and c o r r u p t io n . The newspapers were o f te n a p a t h e t i c a t best

in t h i s pe r io d o f n a t io n -w id e decadence. Scandals , b r ib e s ,

and c o r ru p t io n in p o l i t i c s were o f te n over looked w h i le p r i v a t e

in d iv id u a ls were f r e q u e n t ly ru ined by newspaper a t t a c k s . Twain

s ta te d h is re a c t io n to these e v i l s in t h i s speech d e l iv e re d

b e fo re the Monday Evening Club o f H a r t f o r d , C onnect icu t , in

1873. He descr ibes t h i s club q u i t e f u l l y in his Autob iography;

The Monday Evening Club . . „ was founded about f o r t y - f i v e years ago by t h a t th e o lo g ic a l g i a n t .Reverend Doctor Bushnel1 and some comrades o f h is , men o f la rg e i n t e l l e c t u a l c a l i b e r and more or less d i s t i n c t i o n , local or n a t i o n a l . I was ad m it ted to membership in i t in the f a l l o f 1871, and was an a c t i v e member th e n c e fo r th u n t i l I 1 e f t H a r t fo r d in the summer o f 1891. The membership was r e s t r i c t e d , in those days to e i gh t een - - pos's i b 1 y tw enty . The meetings began about the 1st o f October and were held in the p r i v a t e houses o f the members every f o r t n i g h t t h e r e a f t e r throughout the co ld months u n t i l the 1st o f May. U su a l ly th e re were a dozen members present--sometimes as many as f i f t e e n .There were an essay and d iscuss ion . The essa y is ts fo l low ed one another in a lp h a b e t ic a l o rde r through the season. Then the d iscussion fo l lo w e d , and each member present was a l lowed ten minutes in which to express his v iews. The wives o f these people were always p re s en t . I t was t h e i r p r i v ­i le g e to keep s t i l l . . . . A f t e r the discussion t h e r e was a supper, and t a l k , and c ig a r s . This supper began a t ten o 'c l o c k promptly , and the com­pany broke up and went away a t m idn ight . . . "3

3. Tw a in , A utobiography, pp. 294-295.

31

A n a l y s i s o f t h e Speech. W i t h i n t h e " L i c e n s e o f t h e

P re s s " speech Twain * s p e r s u a s i v e g o a ls a re p r e s e n te d q u i t e

e f f e c t i v e l y . C l a r i t y is a c h ie v e d by making th e s u b je c t v e r y

e x a c t and by l e t t i n g the a u d ie n c e know what r e a c t i o n is d e s i r e d

o f them.

The p ress as an i n s t i t u t i o n is named s e v e ra l t im e s as

t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e speech. Twain c l a r i f i e s e x a c t l y what he is

r e f e r r i n g t o by s a y in g i t i s t h e " f r e e p r e s s " and th e Amer ican

p r e s s . He f u r t h e r p i n p o i n t s h i s s u b j e c t by e s t a b l i s h i n g i t as

th e c o n te m p o ra ry p re ss o f th e c o u n t r y .

How Twain w ishe s h i s a u d ie n c e t o f e e l c o n c e rn in g news­

papers is c l e a r l y e s t a b l i s h e d t h r o u g h p o in t e d i n f e r e n c e s . By

p a i n t i n g a v e r y g r im n a t i o n a l p i c t u r e and the n s a y in g , " I am

p u t t i n g a l l t h i s o d io u s s t a t e o f t h i n g s upon th e n e w s p a p e rs , "

Twain i n d i c a t e s h is speech goa l t o be d i s h o n o r o f the p r e s s .

In a n o th e r p o in t e d j a b he says , " I t seems t o me t h a t j u s t in

t h e r a t i o t h a t ou r newspapers in c r e a s e , o u r m o ra ls decay. The

more newspapers th e worse m o ra ls . Where we have one newspaper

t h a t does good, I t h i n k we have f i f t y t h a t do harm. We o u g h t

t o l o o k upon th e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a newspaper o f t h e ave rage

p a t t e r n in a v i r t u o u s v i l l a g e as a c a l a m i t y . " Through th e s e

in fe r e n c e s Twain l e t s t h e a u d ie n c e know how he w ish es them t o

r e a c t .

Hav ing r e v e a le d th e p e r s u a s i v e aim o f t h e speech. Twain

p r e s e n ts reasons why t h e l i s t e n e r s s h o u ld r e v i l e th e p r e s s .

These causes f o r d i s h o n o r a re i n j u s t i c e , ove rabundance o f p o w e r ,

d i s h o n e s t y , and l a c k o f c h a r i t y in t h e Amer ican newspapers .

32

I n j u s t i c e is f i x e d as a v i c e o f t h e p re s s c h i e f l y

t h ro u g h examples , h y p o t h e t i c a l and f a c t u a l . For in s ta n c e ,

Twain says , nA l i b e l s u i t s im p l y b r i n g s th e p l a i n t i f f b e f o r e

a v a s t newspaper c o u r t t o be t r i e d b e f o r e t h e law t r i e s h im ,

and r e v i l e d and r i d i c u l e d w i t h o u t m e r c y . 11 A n o th e r case o f

i n j u s t i c e p r e s e n te d by Twain d e s c r i b e s t h e p r e s s 1s t r e a t m e n t

o f the F o r ty -S e c o n d Congress ' c o r r u p t method o f i n c r e a s in g

s a l a r i e s th r o u g h th e s p o i l s sys tem . He s a i d , "The o t h e r day

a r e p u t a b l e New Y o rk d a i l y had an e d i t o r i a l d e fe n d in g th e s a l ­

a r y s t e a l and j u s t i f y i n g i t on th e ground t h a t Congressmen

w ere n o t p a id en o ug h - -as i f t h a t were a l l s u f f i c i e n t excuse

f o r s t e a l i n g . " I n j u s t i c e is f u r t h e r f i x e d as a v i c e o f the

p ress th ro u g h the p r e s s ' s p o l i c y o f s e l l i n g space t o u n j u s t

causes . T h is i n v o lv e d ru n n in g p le a s and ap p e a ls f o r any cause

as p a id a d v e r t i s e m e n t s . For example , in th e F o s te r case , a

h i g h l y p u b l i c i z e d New Y o rk m u rd e r , t h e papers p re te n d e d t o

back th e g o v e rn o r and the law in condemning th e m u rd e re r , b u t

a t th e same t im e t h e p ress p r i n t e d , as th e speech p u ts i t ,

"a w ho le page o f s i c k l y , m a u d l in appea ls t o h i s c lemency as

a p a id a d v e r t i s e m e n t . . . . The newspaper t h a t o b s t r u c t s th e

law on a t r i v i a l p r e t e x t , f o r money 's sake, is a dangerous

enemy t o th e p u b l i c w e a l . "

Overabundance o f power i s a t t r i b u t e d t o t h e p ress as

a n o th e r v i c e . T h is i s a c c o m p l is h e d by h y p o t h e t i c a l i l l u s t r a ­

t i o n s and re a s o n in g . As an i l l u s t r a t i o n o f t o o much power,

Twain p o i n t s o u t t h a t t h e p re ss has th e a b i l i t y t o make o r

b r e a k a man's r e p u t a t i o n :

33

There a re laws to p r o t e c t the freedom o f the p re s s 's speech, but none t h a t a re worth anyth ing to p r o te c t the people from the press. . . . The touchy Charles Reade^ can sue Engl ish newspapers and get v e r d i c t s ; he would soon change h is t a c t i c s here; the papers (backed by a p u b l ic w e l l taught by themselves) would soon teach him t h a t i t is b e t t e r to s u f f e r any amount o f m is re p re s e n ta t io n than go into our courts w i th a l i b e l s u i t and make h im s e l f the laughing stock o f the community.

The power o f the newspapers is a ls o establ ished as a v ic e by

showing where the power came from and who w ie ld ed i t . Twain

reasons th a t i t is the overwhelming m a jo r i t y o f s tup id people

who b e l i e v e anyth ing they read in p r i n t t h a t g ives the press

i t s power. The power then f a l l s in to the hands o f

. . . a horde o f ig n o ra n t , se l f -c o m p la c e n t simpletons who f a i l e d a t d i tc h in g and shoemaking and fe tched up in jo u r n a l is m on t h e i r way to the poorhouse. I am p e rs o n a l ly acquainted w i th hun­dreds o f jo u rn a l i s t s , and the opinion o f the m a jo r i t y o f them would not be worth tuppence in

. p r i v a t e , but when they speak in p r i n t i t is the newspaper t h a t is t a l k i n g . . . and then t h e i r u t te ran ce s shake the community l i k e thunders o f prophecy.

Dishonesty is made a p o in t o f dishonor in the press

l a r g e l y through Tw ain 's use o f personal exper iences w i th news­

papers. J o k in g ly , but p o in t e d ly , he s ta te s h is c o n t r i b u t i o n :

1 know from personal exper ience the proneness o f j o u r n a l i s t s to l i e . I once s t a r t e d a p e c u l ia r and p ic tu re s q u e fashion o f ly in g m yse lf on the P a c i f i c coast and i t is not dead th e re to t h is day. Whenever I hear o f a shower o f blood and frogs com­bined in C a l i f o r n i a , or a sea serpent found in some d e s e r t , or in a cave frescoed w i th diamonds and emeralds, . . . I say to m yse lf I am the f a t h e r o f t h i s c h i l d .

4 . Charles Reade was a f i e r y campaigning n o v e l i s t o f 19th Century England, noted f o r v igorous a t ta c k s on the English press.

34

As f u r t h e r examples o f t h e p r e s s ' s d i s h o n e s t y Twain d e s c r i b e s

h i s t r e a t m e n t a t t h e hands o f v a r i o u s M ic h ig a n pa pe rs . In one

case he had r e fu s e d t o d in e w i t h a d runken e d i t o r , and, t h e r e ­

f o r e , t h a t e d i t o r had run a s c a t h i n g r e p o r t o f T w a in 's l e c ­

t u r e , even though the e d i t o r had n o t even a t t e n d e d i t . In

D e t r o i t a paper had accused him o f b e a t i n g h i s w i f e and even

c r i p p l i n g h e r . Twa in i r o n i c a l l y s t a t e s , "Now s c a r c e l y h a l f o f

t h a t was t r u e . "

Lack o f c h a r i t y is f i x e d in t h e p ress th ro u g h th e use

o f two s p e c i f i c examples . These concern th e newspapers ' t r e a t

ment o f S i r Henry Mor ton S ta n le y and B re t H a r t e . S t a n l e y ' s

g r e a t ach ievem en ts in A f r i c a meant n o t h in g t o th e Amer ican

p r e s s , w h ic h , a c c o r d in g t o T w a in , " . . . t o r e th e poor c r e a ­

t u r e l im b from l im b and s c a t t e r e d t h e f ra g m e n ts f rom Maine t o

Cal i f o r n i a - - m e r e l y because he c o u l d n ' t l e c t u r e w e l l . " B r e t

H a r te had r e c e i v e d s i m i l a r l y u n c h a r i t a b l e t r e a t m e n t from news­

pa pe rs . A f t e r p r a i s i n g H a r te l a v i s h l y f o r h i s w o rk , the p re s s

r u in e d him w i t h v i c i o u s a t t a c k s th e f i r s t t im e h i s f a m i l y f e l l

s i c k and he t u r n e d o u t a poo r a r t i c l e .

I t i s no t s u f f i c i e n t , however , m e re ly t o p r e s e n t t h e

v i c e s o f th e p r e s s ; th e y must be made m e a n in g fu l t o th e a u d i ­

ence. Twain employs s e v e ra l t e c h n iq u e s t o h e ig h t e n the

p r e s s ' s v i c e s and make them v i v i d t o h i s h e a r e r s .

I n j u s t i c e is m a g n i f i e d l a r g e l y th ro u g h th e f a c t o r s

s u r r o u n d in g the p r e s s ' s d i s p l a y o f i t . For i n s t a n c e , in th e

C o n g re s s io n a l s a l a r y s t e a l , i n j u s t i c e is made more re a l and

i n te n s e by showing th e ne w spa p e r 's b la s e a t t i t u d e toward i t .

35

As the speech p o in ts o u t , “That e d i t o r i a l put the m atte r in

a new p e r f e c t l y s a t i s f a c t o r y l i g h t . . . " In th e Foster murder

case such d e t a i l s as the p r e s s 's pretense o f fa v o r in g the mur­

d e r e r 's c o n v ic t io n w h i le a t the same time p r i n t i n g appeals to

the governor 's clemency serve to make the i n j u s t i c e o f the

press more t a n g i b l e .

Overabundant power is made s i g n i f i c a n t to the audience

through the use o f two techn iques . I t is he ightened through

comparison and through i ts u l t i m a t e end. Comparison as a te c h ­

nique is used in the Charles Reade example mentioned above.

Here Twain m agn if ies the power o f the American press by com­

paring i t to the English press; Reade could sue English papers

and get r e s u l t s , but such would not be the case in America.

E s ta b l is h in g the r e s u l t o f too much power a ls o serves to i n t e n ­

s i f y t h i s v ic e to the audience. For example:

Among us the newspaper is a tremendous power.I t can make or mar any man's r e p u ta t io n . I t has p e r f e c t freedom to c a l l the best man in th e land a f ra u d and a t h i e f , and he is destroyed beyond he lp . Whether Hr. Colfax5 is a l i a r or not can never be a s c e r ta in e d now--but he w i l l rank as one t i l l the day o f h is d e a th — fo r the newspapers have so doomed him.

The r e s u l t o f too much power is a ls o m agn if ied as the speech

po in ts o u t , . " . . . t h a t through the abuses o f a l l wholesome

r e s t r a i n t the newspaper has become in a la rg e degree a n a t io n a l

c u rs e , and w i l l probably damn the Republ ic y e t . "

~ 5~, Schuyler C o l fax , a lead ing p o l i t i c i a n , was i m p l i ­cated in the C re d i t M o b i l i e r scandal o f 1873. Th is was not proven, but C o l fa x soon r e t i r e d in d ishonor.

36

D is h o n e s ty is made v i v i d and s i g n i f i c a n t t o th e a u d i ­

ence in s e v e ra l ways. I t i s m a g n i f i e d t h r o u g h com par iso n , by

t h e d e t a i l s o f th e d i s p l a y o f t h e p r e s s ' s d i s h o n e s t y , and by

showing th e v i c e t o be i n t e n t i o n a l l y and d e l i b e r a t e l y p r a c t i c e d .

A com par ison t o th e p ress o f t h i r t y o r f o r t y y e a rs b e f o r e

h e ig h te n s d i s h o n e s t y .

The d i f f e r e n c e between t h e to n e and c o n d u c t o f newspapers t o - d a y and th o s e o f t h i r t y o r f o r t yy e a rs ago is v e r y n o te w o r th y and v e r y sad. . . . Inth o s e days t h e ave rage newspaper was t h e champion o f r i g h t and m o r a ls , and i t d e a l t c o n s c i e n t i o u s l y w i t h the t r u t h . I t is n o t th e case now.

The d e t a i l s o f th e D e t r o i t p r e s s ' s d i s p l a y o f d i s h o n e s t y s e r v e

t o make th e v i c e r e a l . In D e t r o i t th e papers had no t o n l y

s a id t h a t Twain be a t L i v y , b u t t h a t he had c r i p p l e d her and

was s t i l l b e a t i n g h e r . The d i s h o n e s t y o f t h e p ress is a l s o

m a g n i f i e d by showing i t t o be d e l i b e r a t e and c o n s c io u s l y p r a c ­

t i c e d . " I n a town in M ic h ig a n I d e c l i n e d t o d in e w i t h an

e d i t o r who was d ru n k , and he s a i d , in h i s p a p e r , t h a t my l e c ­

t u r e was p r o fa n e , i n d e c e n t , and c a l c u l a t e d t o encourage in te m ­

perance . And y e t t h a t man had ne ve r heard i t . "

The l a c k o f c h a r i t y o f t h e American p r e s s is made

v i v i d in s e v e ra l ways. T h is is a c h ie v e d t h r o u g h th e use o f

c o m p a r iso n , d e t a i l s , and a s ta te m e n t o f f i n a l r e s u l t s . For

i n s ta n c e , com par ison o f t h e E n g l i s h p r e s s ' s c h a r i t a b l e s i l e n c e

abou t S t a n l e y ' s l e c t u r i n g w i t h thfe American p r e s s ' s a t t a c k

m a g n i f i e s the f a u l t .

Poor S ta n le y was a v e r y god, in Eng la nd , h i s p r a i s e s in e v e ry man's m o u th . But nobody s a id a n y t h i n g about h i s 1e c t u r e s - - t h e y were c h a r i t a b l y s i l e n t on t h a t head, and were c o n t e n t t o p r a i s e

37

his h igher v i r t u e s . But our papers t o r e the poor c r e a tu r e iimb from 1 imb and s c a t te re d th e f r a g ­ments from Maine to Cal i forn ia - -m ere1y because he cou1dn11 1ectu re wel 1 .

D e t a i l s such as S ta n le y 's achievements in o th e r f i e l d s , the

f a c t t h a t Bret H ar te had publ ished only one bad a r t i c l e and

t h a t amid fa m i ly s ickness , and the h o r r i b l e t re a tm e nt both

had rece ived a ls o serve to i n t e n s i f y the e f f e c t o f the la c k

o f c h a r i t y . The r e s u l t o f the v i c e a lso heightens the e f f e c t

o f la c k o f c h a r i t y on the audience. The speech g r a p h ic a l l y

e s ta b l is h e s the u t t e r d e s t ru c t io n o f both S tan ley and H ar te

by the p re s s 's a t t a c k s . Th is makes lac k o f c h a r i t y in news­

papers more ser io us to the l i s t e n e r s .

The "L icense o f the Press" speech leaves the impres­

sion t h a t through an e f f e c t i v e use o f the techniques o f blame

Twain has achieved h is purpose. Because his goals were re ad ­

i l y e v id e n t , because adequate reasons were presented fo r th e

acceptance o f his ends, and because the reasons were made

m eaningfu l , the speech appears to have been a success.

"Consistency" Speech^

A r e p r e s e n t a t i v e sample from Tw ain 's second per iod o f

speaking is the speech t i t l e d "C o ns is tency ." As Paine in h is

pre fac e to the speeches descr ibes i t : "The m idd le per iod

covers those years when the a f f a i r s o f men and nat ions began

to make a la rg e r a p p e a l , when p o l i t i c a l abuses and the

51 See Appendix fo r t e x t o f t h is speech.

38

i n j u s t i c e o f c lass began to s t i r him to a c t i v e r e b e l l i o n and

to r ig h te o u s , even i f v i o l e n t , a t t i t u d e s o f r e f o r m . "7

Occasion and Audience. W ith the Republican nomination

o f B la in e fo r P re s id e n t in the campaign o f 1884, Mark Twain

and o ther fo rm e r ly staunch Republicans formed what came to be

c a l l e d the Mugwumps, a group who were s t i l l Republican but who

opposed B la in e . As a r e s u l t o f the Mugwumps' opposit ion to

B la in e , they came under severe c r i t i c i s m from the re s t o f the

p a r t y . In response to t h is c r i t i c i s m the Mugwumps were o b l ig e d

to defend t h e i r s tand. Twain o f f e r e d his op in ions on the sub­

j e c t in t h is speech which was d e l iv e r e d from a w r i t t e n t e x t

to the Monday Evening Club o f H a r t f o r d , C onnec t icu t , fo l lo w in g

the campaign o f 1884. Th is club has been discussed above as

the audience f o r the f i r s t speech, but i t should a lso be noted

th a t many o f i t s members were Mugwumps.

Ana lys is o f the Speech. The speech makes Twain 's p e r ­

suasive goals q u i te c le a r and e v id e n t to the audience. The

s u b je c t is reasonably w e l l d e f in e d as is the response d e s i re d

from the audience. Twain makes i t q u i te c le a r th a t he is

d e a l in g w i th f a l s e l y c o n s is te n t people, those who c l in g to

f a l s e causes or b e l i e f s merely to avoid change. But e x a c t ly

who he includes in t h i s group is somewhat h a z y ; he a t t r i b u t e s

f a l s e consistency g e n e r a l ly to people w i th p o l i t i c a l or r e l i ­

gious t i e s . Obviously , however, Twain did not mean a l l people

w ith r e l i g i o u s or p o l i t i c a l f e e l i n g s , but th e speech does not

7~ Mar k Twa'i n 1 s Speeches , p , xv.

39

c l a r i f y th is s u f f i c i e n t l y . Th is weakness is p a r t i a l l y a l l e v i ­

a ted by the f a c t th a t the audience probably knew th a t Twain

was aiming the speech main ly a t the a t ta c k e r s o f the Mugwumps,

but t h i s p o in t lacks c l a r i t y . How Twain wishes his audience

to fe e l is reve a le d as he descr ibes an o v e r ly c o n s is te n t p e r ­

son as "a t r a i t o r to h im s e l f , a t r a i t o r to th e best and the

highest th a t is jm h im .16 Tw ain 's goal is f u r t h e r c l a r i f i e d as

he asks, 16 Is i t p o ss ib le fo r human wickedness to invent a doc­

t r i n e more in fe r n a l and poisonous than th is? Is th e re

, imaginable a baser s e rv i tu d e than i t imposes?6' With these

po in ted statements Twain e s ta b l is h e s his persuas iv4 end

dishonor o f f a l s e l y c o n s is te n t people .

To achieve t h i s purpose Twain a t tem pts , and, to

degree, succeeds in a t t r i b u t i n g several v ic es to people

r e s i s t n a tu ra l change. Fool ishness , lack o f i n t e g r i t y ,

i n j u s t i c e a re a l l e s ta b l is h e d as f a u l t s to a g r e a te r or

e x t e n t .

Foolishness is e s ta b l is h e d l a r g e ly through reasoning.

For instance , Twain reasons t h a t these people w i l l admit t h a t

change occurs in a l l areas and le v e ls o f l i f e , but in t h e i r

re fu sa l to admit change in r e l i g i o n and p o l i t i c s they demon­

s t r a t e a f o o l i s h and b l in d a t t i t u d e . Twain reasons th a t i t

is only fo o l is hne ss th a t makes these people apply u n s u i ta b le

standards to l o y a l t y in p o l i t i c s and r e l i g i o n ; the analogy

they draw between army and p a r t y l o y a l t y is a f o o l is h one.

F u r t h e r , Twain po in ts out t h a t even in p o l i t i c s and r e l i g i o n

as

a l a r g e

who

and

1esser

40

the very persons condemning change are changing themselves

but a re unable to see i t .

Lack o f i n t e g r i t y is another v ic e shown to be pres en t

in the o v e r ly c o n s is te n t people ch as t ise d in th e speech. This

is accomplished both through reasoning and examples. Twain

reasons th a t persons who b l i n d l y f o l lo w p a r ty or r e l i g i o n w i t h ­

out regard fo r personal independence must la c k a c e r t a in p e r ­

sonal i n t e g r i t y and a re , in f a c t , s la v e s : ltWhat is the essen­

t i a l d i f f e r e n c e between a 1 i f e - l o n g Democrat and any o ther

kind o f a l i f e - l o n g s la v e ? Is i t any less h u m i l i a t in g to

dance to the lash o f one master than another?n He f u r t h e r

reasons t h a t persons who change s trong personal op in ions mere ly

to adhere to p a r ty l in e s must lac k moral f i b e r and s t r e n g t h s

Lack o f i n t e g r i t y is e x e m p l i f ie d in the speech w i t h several

i l l u s t r a t i o n s . The 10,000 Republ ican newspapers and 100,000

prominent p o l i t i c i a n s who were forced to r e t r a c t a l l they had

p re v io u s ly sa id about B la in e in order to back him lacked

s t re n g th o f c o n v ic t io n and b a s ic i n t e g r i t y . in another example

Twain t e l l s o f a clergyman he had met. Th is man had s p e c i f i ­

c a l l y denounced B la in e as " u n p r in c ip le d and un scrupu lous ,11

But the same clergyman betrayed his p r i n c i p l e s in order to

f o l lo w the pa r ty and back B la in e a f t e r the nominat ion.

I n j u s t i c e is another f a u l t th a t Twain seems to a t t r i ­

bute to f a l s e l y c o n s is te n t persons. T h is , however, is not

a c t u a l l y de f in e d or d e f i n i t e l y e s ta b l is h e d as present but is

only im p l ie d , t h i s im p l ic a t io n is present in one example in

the speech which involves the man " le a rn e d in the law" who

41

backed B l a i n e . T h i s man had examined t h e e v id e n c e a g a i n s t

B l a i n e and must have seen t h a t , w h i l e B la i n e c o u ld no t be

p r o s e c u te d , n e i t h e r s h o u ld he be P r e s id e n t . Y e t t h i s man had

backed B la i n e and had i n f l u e n c e d o t h e r s t o s u p p o r t him a l s o ,

t h e r e b y d i s p l a y i n g an u n j u s t n a t u r e .

To in s u r e th e f u l l impact o f th e v i c e s o f f a l s e l y con -

s i s t e n t p e o p le Twa in uses s e v e ra l m a g n i f y i n g te c h n iq u e s w h ic h

s e rv e t o h e ig h t e n each f a u l t . The l a c k o f w isdom o f the

p e o p le who r e s i s t e d change is i n t e n s i f i e d t h r o u g h a d e s c r i p ­

t i o n o f th e d e t a i l s o f i t s d i s p l a y and th e f i n a l r e s u l t o f i t s

p resen ce . For example , the s t r i c t p a r t y f o l l o w e r s were b r a n d ­

ing th o s e who b ro k e f ro m p a r t y l i n e s as t r a i t o r s . But Twa in

m a in ta in e d t h a t t h i s m i l i t a r y te rm was f o o l i s h because a p o l i t ­

i c a l p a r t y la c k s th e m i l i t a r y fo rm , th e c o m p u lso ry d i s c i p l i n e ,

and t h e o a th ne ces s a ry b e f o r e a man can be a t r a i t o r . The

speech a l s o uses d e t a i l s t o h e ig h t e n th e f o o l i s h n e s s o f the

p o s i t i o n th e s e f a l s e l y c o n s i s t e n t pe op le were a t t e m p t i n g t o

d e fend .

They w i l l g r a n t you c e r t a i n t h i n g s , w i t h o u t mur­mur o r d i s s e n t - - a s t h i n g s w h ic h go w i t h o u t s a y in g ; t r u i s m s . They w i l l g r a n t t h a t in t im e th e c r a w l i n g baby w a lk s and must n o t be r e q u i r e d t o go on c raw l - i n q ; t h a t in t im e th e y o u th has ou t grown t h e c h i l d ' s j a c k e t and must no t be r e q u i r e d t o crowd h i m s e l f i n t o i t . . . . They w i l l g r a n t you t h e s e , and e v e r y ­t h i n g el se you can t h i n k o f , in t h e l i n e o f p ro g re s s and change, u n t i l you g e t down t o p o l i t i c s and r e l i ­g i o n ; t h e r e th e y draw t h e 1 i n e .

By showing the r e s u l t o f f o o l i s h c o n s i s t e n c y Twain makes t h i s

v i c e more s e r i o u s . As he p o i n t s o u t , f o o l i s h l o y a l t y t o

42

p e t r i f i e d op in ions “never ye t broke a chain or f re e d a human

soul in th i s world and never w? 1 1. tr

Lack o f i n t e g r i t y is made a ser ious and real f a u l t in

two ways. I t is i n t e n s i f i e d by the use o f d e t a i l s and through

comparison to o ther f a u l t s . For example, the d e t a i l s o f t h e i r

g ro v e l in g heightens the lack o f i n t e g r i t y in the B1 a in e -b ack ing

Repub1icans.

And not fewer than 100,000 m o r e - o r - 1 ess prominent p o l i t i c i a n s sa t down a l l over th is country and wor­r i e d down th e i r ton ap iece; and a f t e r long, long and b i t t e r gagg ing, some m i l l i o n s o f the common serfdom o f the p a r ty sa t down and w o rr ie d down the ? r ton ap iece . P a i n t ? i t was d i r t . Enough o f i t was eaten by the meek Republican p a r ty to b u i ld a r a i l r o a d embankment from here to Japan; and i t pains me to t h i n k th a t a year from now they w i l l probably have to ea t i t a l l over again .

A b r i e f comparison to o ther v ic e s a ls o is used to heighten the

e v i l o f a la c k o f i n t e g r i t y : " I s i t po ss ib le f o r human w ic k ­

edness to invent a d o c t r in e more in fe r n a l and poisonous than

th is ? Is th e re imag inab le a baser s e rv i tu d e than i t imposes?"

I n j u s t i c e as a f a u l t o f people who r e s i s t change is he ightened

somewhat w ith d e t a i l s . “One lea rned in the law . . . rendered

t h is impress ive v e r d i c t : he sa id the evidence would not con -

v i c t Mr. B la in e in a court o f la w , and so he would vote fo r

him. He did not say whether the evidence would prove him

innocent or no t . That w as n ' t im p o r ta n t . " I n j u s t i c e , however,

is l e f t unmagnif ied fo r the most p a r t and consequently remains

somewhat i l l - d e f i n e d .

The “ Consistency" speech seems to employ s u f f i c i e n t

s k i l l and techniques to enable Twain to ach ieve h is persuas ive

43

g o a l , e s p e c i a l l y b e fo re h is p a r t i c u l a r audience. This s k i l l

is seen in the c l a r i t y o f the speech’ s goals and the reasons

fo r t h e i r acceptance. There a re some weaknesses in the speech,

however, e s p e c i a l l y in the u n s p e c i f i c na ture o f the sub jec t

and the f a i l u r e to present and magnify i n j u s t i c e adequate ly .

"Queen V i c t o r ? a t! Speech^

Tw ain 's "Queen V i c t o r i a " speech is t y p i c a l o f his l a t e r

per iod addresses. As Paine descr ibes these speeches, "The

f i n a l group is o f those l a t e r days when, f u l l o f honors ye t

saddened by bereavement and the u n c e r ta in ty o f l i f e ’ s adven­

tu res , he had become the ph i losopher and Sage whose vo ice was

sought on every p u b l ic quest ion , whose humor was more g e n t l e ,

whose judgements had become mellowed and were a l l the more

welcome fo r th a t r e a s o n . "9

Occasion and Audience. Twain had o f te n v i s i t e d England

and was w e l l rece ived by the E n g l is h . He had been honored a t

the Lord Mayor's d inner on November 9, 1872. He had a lso

rece ived an honorary Doctor o f L i t e r a t u r e degree from Oxford

in 1907. T h e r e fo re , i t was probably w ith a g r e a t deal o f r a p ­

p o r t th a t he eu lo g ized Queen V i c t o r i a on May 25, 1908. The

speech was d e l i v e r e d to the B r i t i s h Schools and U n i v e r s i t i e s

Club a t Delmonico's Restaurant in New York C i t y . The occasion

honored the Queen's b i r t h d a y , and th e re was probably g re a t

fa v o ra b le f e e l i n g fo r h is s u b je c t be fore Twain ever began.

81 See Appendix fo r t e x t o f t h is speech.

9. Mark Tw ain 's Speeches, p. xv.

4 4

A n a l y s i s o f t h e Speech. T w a in ' s p e r s u a s i v e g o a ls in

t h e "Queen V i c t o r i a " speech a re q u i t e e v i d e n t because o f t h e

c l a r i t y o f b o th h i s s u b j e c t and i n t e n t . Queen V i c t o r i a is

v e r y o b v i o u s l y t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e speech; th e a u d ie n c e , p r o ­

gram, and o c c a s io n a l l make T w a in ' s t o p i c c l e a r . The speech

a l s o c l a r i f i e s h i s s u b j e c t : "As a woman th e Queen was a l l

t h a t t h e most e x a c t i n g s ta n d a rd s c o u ld r e q u i r e . " Bes ides c l a r ­

i f y i n g t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e sp e ech , t h e passage j u s t quoted a l s o

r e v e a l s T w a in ' s i n t e n t in t h e a d d re s s . T h i s i n t e n t is e v i d e n t

in t h e f i r s t ph ra se o f th e speech: "You do me a h ig h h o n o r ,

indeed , in s e l e c t i n g me t o speak . . . in t h i s commemoration

o f t h e b i r t h d a y o f t h a t n o b le la d y whose l i f e was c o n s e c ra te d

t o t h e v i r t u e s and th e h u m a n i t i e s and t o th e p ro m o t io n o f

l o f t y i d e a l s . . . " The f a c t t h a t T w a in 's pu rp o se in th e

speech is e u lo g y is a l s o i n h e r e n t in th e s i t u a t i o n ; he re w ere

g a th e re d Eng l ishmen a t an E n g l i s h c lu b m e e t in g t o honor th e

b i r t h d a y o f Queen V i c t o r i a ; a e u lo g y was e x p e c te d .

Reasons f o r h o n o r in g th e Queen a re n o t as w e l l e s t a b ­

l i s h e d in t h e speech as the y m ig h t have been. Twain m e n t io n s

s e v e ra l v i r t u e s o f V i c t o r i a , b u t he n e g le c t s t o s u b s t a n t i a t e

o r p ro v e them. The speech s t a t e s t h a t Queen V i c t o r i a se rv e d

as a model o f v i r t u e f o r many p e o p le ; i t d e s c r i b e s her as

" t h a t n o b le la d y whose l i f e was c o n s e c ra te d t o t h e v i r t u e s

and t h e h u m a n i t i e s . , . and was a model upon w h ic h many a

humbler l i f e was formed and made b e a u t i f u l . , But t h i s

d e s c r i p t i o n is u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d . Twain a l s o s t a t e s t h a t th e

Queen was a p o w e r fu l moral f o r c e : " A s a f a r - r e a c h i n g and

4 5

e f f e c t i v e b e n e f ic e n t moral fo rc e she had no peer . „ „11 How­

ev er , t h i s v i r t u e is a ls o unproven and is l e f t to e x i s t on

the weight o f the a s s e r t io n . C h a r i t y is another a t t r i b u t e o f

Queen V i c t o r i a presented in th e speech. Th is is p a r t i a l l y

supported by the vague example o f what she d id fo r us in

America: "What she d id fo r us in America in our t ime o f storm

and s t re s s we s h a l l not fo rg e t . „ But e x a c t l y what i t was*

t h a t she d id is not s ta te d , and, consequent ly , th e Queen's

c h a r i t y a 1 so res ts almost e x c lu s iv e ly on Tw ain 's s ta tem ent.

However, in s p i t e o f a general lack o f s u b s t a n t ia t i o n

and p ro o f , th e v i r t u e s Twain a t t r i b u t e d to V i c t o r i a probably

were accepted by h is very p a r t i a l audience. The hearers d id

not need proo f o f what they a l re a d y b e l ie v e d ; t h i s b e l i e f ,

however, could have been s trengthened w i th examples, reason­

ing, and o th er means o f support.

Heighten ing the v i r t u e s o f Queen V i c t o r i a is p a r t i a l l y

achieved by the use o f comparisons. V i c t o r i a ' s being a model

o f v i r t u e is somewhat m agn if ied by comparing her to a s t a r whose

l i g h t po in ts th e way fo r o th e rs ; . a l i f e which f in d s i t s

j u s t image in the s t a r which f a l l s out o f i t s p la c e , but whose

l i g h t s t i l l streams w i t h unfaded l u s t e r across the abysses o f

space long a f t e r i t s f i r e s have been e x t ing u is hed a t t h e i r

source ," However, t h i s analogy seems somewhat s t ra in e d in

terms o f making the v i r t u e a rea l or important one, and Twain

leaves the a t t r i b u t e less v i v i d than i t might have been. The

Queen's moral fo rc e is a ls o m agn if ied through comparison:

"As a f a r - r e a c h in g . . . b e n e f ic e n t moral fo rc e she had no peer

46

in her t im e among e i t h e r monarchs o r commoners„ 11 A g a in , how­

e v e r , t h i s com par ison is l e s s s p e c i f i c and le s s m e an in g fu l

than i t m ig h t be. Comparison i s a g a in used t o h e ig h te n Queen

V i c t o r i a ' s c h a r i t y and goodness. Twain d e s c r i b e s her c h a r a c t e r

as t6a fame r a r e in t h e h i s t o r y o f t h r o n e s , d o m in io n s , p r i n c i ­

p a l i t i e s , and powers , s i n c e i t w i l l n o t r e s t upon h a rv e s te d

s e l f i s h and s o r d i d a m b i t i o n s , b u t upon lo v e , ea rned and f r e e l y

v o u c h s a f e d . 11

More im p o r ta n t than a l l t h e com par isons m ent ioned

above in h e i g h t e n in g the Queen's v i r t u e is T w a in ' s appeal t o

t h e a u d ie n c e ' s s e t o f v a lu e s . He knew t h a t th e example s e t by

th e Queen, he r moral f o r c e , and he r c h a r i t y w ere a l l im p o r ta n t

v i r t u e s t o t h e a u d ie n c e . T h e r e f o r e , T w a in , w i t h a mere s t a t e ­

ment o f v i r t u e and l i t t l e a t t e m p t t o c l a r i f y o r m a g n i f y , p r o b ­

a b l y won b e l i e f and acce p ta nce f o r h i s g o a ls because th e a u d i ­

ence was “ s e t up f o r h im . " The speech, however , never r e a l l y

succeeds in making V i c t o r i a ' s v i r t u e s re a l o r v i v i d .

T w a in ' s "Queen V i c t o r i a " speech seems t o have s e v e ra l

d e f i c i e n c i e s w h ich l i e in h i s f a i l u r e t o c l e a r l y p r e s e n t and

m a g n i f y he r v i r t u e s . In s p i t e o f th e se f a u l t s , t h e speech

p r o b a b ly a c h ie v e d i t s g o a ls because o f th e p r e v i o u s l y e s t a b ­

l i s h e d b e l i e f s and v a lu e s o f t h e a u d ie n c e .

Thus, th ro u g h th e a n a l y s i s o f t h r e e o f T w a in ' s a f t e r -

d i n n e r speeches a c c o rd in g t o a t h r e e - p o i n t A r i s t o t e l i a n c r i ­

t e r i a , i t can be seen t h a t he had s e v e ra l s t r e n g t h s and weak­

nesses in h i s use o f p r a i s e and b lame. These s t r e n g t h s and

47

weaknesses as w e l l as f a c to rs which may have In f luenced his

speeches and h is ideas w i l l be discussed in the next chapter

in which the conclusions to t h is study w i l l be drawn.

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSIONS

From th e forego ing examination o f T w a in 's l i f e and

times and the a n a ly s is o f th re e o f his a f t e r - d i n n e r speeches,

several conclusions have been drawn concerning Pii s use o f

p r a is e and blame. These l i e in two general a r e a s - - p r o b a b le

in f luences and e f f e c t i v e n e s s . F i r s t , the fa c t o r s in f lu e n c in g

Tw ain 's l i f e and times w i l l be reviewed to show, where pos­

s i b l e , ev idence o f t h e i r e f f e c t on the ac tua l speeches ana lyzed .

Second, Tw ain 's s k i l l in meeting the standards o f the c r i t e r i a

w i l l be summarized to determine the e f f e c t iv e n e s s o f h is use

o f p r a is e and blame.

In f luences o f Tw a in 's L i f e and Times

W ith in Tw ain 's l i f e a re severa l elements o f probable

in f lu e n c e on h is use o f p r a is e and blame. His p a r e n t s , p a r ­

t i c u l a r l y h is mother, helped to shape Tw ain ' s op in ions and

b e l i e f s . Jane Clemens and the example o f id e a l i z e d womanhood

she fu rn ish ed appears to have been an in f lu e n c e on the use o f

p ra is e in the "Queen V i c t o r i a " speech. Because o f the example

set by Jane Clemens, Queen V i c t o r i a , l i k e many o f Twain ' s

women c h a ra c te rs , is "p laced on a p e d e s ta l" in the speech and

lacks r e a l i t y . Mark 's boyhood in Hannibal and his formal and

informal education do not seem to be too d i r e c t l y r e f l e c t e d

48

in the speeches examined. However, when h is boyhood years

are combined w i th h is e a r l y working years on th e M is s is s ip p i

and in the West, a p a t t e r n is formed which s t resse s honesty,

openness, and f a i r p la y . These va lues a re c l e a r l y seen in h is

a t ta c k s on the d ishonesty and i n j u s t i c e o f newspapers and

f a l s e l y c o n s is te n t people. The in f luences o f Tw ain 's l a t e r

years o f success are q u i te nebulous and d i f f i c u l t to r e l a t e

d e f i n i t e l y to the speeches ana lyzed . During these years , how­

ev e r , many exper iences and hardships helped to f o s t e r humani­

t a r i a n f e e l in g s in Twain which probably led him to c r i t i c i z e

the la c k o f c h a r i t y in th e press and to p r a is e the kindness

and g e n e ro s i ty o f Queen V i c t o r i a .

The per iod in which Twain l i v e d a ls o o f f e r s probable

in f luences on h is use o f p r a is e and blame. The openness and

honesty o f the f r o n t i e r combined w i t h the f e e l i n g s o f e q u a l i t y

fo s te re d by the C i v i l War probably helped to form Twain's,

hatred o f d ishonesty and i n j u s t i c e which he expresses in h is

“ License o f the Press" and "Consistency" speeches. The p o l i t ­

ica l c o r ru p t io n o f the times a ls o seems to have had marked

e f f e c t on Tw ain 's use o f p r a is e and blame,- in f a c t , both the

“ License o f the Press" and "Consistency" speeches appear to

be d i r e c t statements a g a in s t the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n . M a t e r i ­

a l ism is seen to be a fo rc e o f Tw a in 's times in th e speech

a g a in s t newspapers and t h e i r p o l i c i e s . In t h i s speech the

w i l l i n g n e s s o f the press to p r i n t pleas fo r any cause or group

t h a t could pay them is a t tac k e d by Twain.

50

E v a lu a t io n o f Tw ain 's Use o f P ra is e and Blame

Several conclusions concerning the e f f e c t iv e n e s s o f

Tw ain 's use o f p r a is e and blame may be drawn from the speeches

analyzed. These a re centered around his s k i l l in present ing

and c l a r i f y i n g his go a ls , h is a b i l i t y to e s t a b l i s h reasons fo r

the acceptance o f h is goa ls , and h is e f f e c t iv e n e s s in using

techniques to he ighten his p r a is e and blame.

Twain seems to have been c l e a r and e x a c t , in most

cases, in e s t a b l is h in g his speech sub jects and goa ls . The

su b jec ts o f the speeches examined are g e n e r a l ly q u i t e c le a r

and s p e c i f i c ; however, an except ion to th is is the su b jec t o f

the "Consistency" speech which is r a th e r nebulous and is not

de f in ed e x a c t ly . The persuas ive goals o f a l l th e speeches

a re r e a d i l y e v id e n t ; Tw ain 's persuas ive goals a re c l e a r l y d i s ­

honor in the "L icense o f the Press" and "Consistency" speeches

and eulogy in the "Queen V i c t o r i a " sp,eech.

Reasons fo r the acceptance o f Tw ain 's speech goals

are presented q u i t e s k i l l f u l l y in the speeches examined. The

presence o f v i r t u e s or v ices in h is subjects is e s ta b l is h e d

in many instances by the use o f h y p o th e t ic a l and fa c tu a l i l l u s ­

t r a t i o n s . By using examples, e s p e c i a l l y in h is speeches c r i t i ­

c i z i n g the press and f a l s e l y c o n s is te n t people . Twain is a b le

to e s t a b l i s h v i r t u e s and v ices as being a t t r i b u t e s o f h is sub­

j e c t . Twain a ls o uses reasoning to present cause fo r honor

or d ishonor. Through reasoning in the "L icense o f the Press"

speech, fo r example, he is ab le to make overabundant power

appear to be a f a u l t o f newspapers. In some cases, however.

p a r t i c u l a r l y the “ Queen V i c t o r i a ' 1 speech. Twain does not present

cause fo r honor or dishonor as thoroughly as might be d e s i re d .

He seems to r e l y too much upon the predisposed n a tu re o f his

audience to accept poor ly s u b s ta n t ia te d evidence o f v i r t u e s

or v ic e s .

Twain is q u i te s k i l l f u l in h is use o f va r io us methods

to he ighten p r a is e and blame. One o f the techniques he employs

e f f e c t i v e l y is the appeal to the aud ience 's se t o f values to

f u r t h e r his persuas ive ends. In a l l the speeches analyzed, and

e s p e c i a l l y the “Queen V i c t o r i a " speech, Twain has a thorough

knowledge o f the va lues o f h is audience and employs th is knowl­

edge to good advantage in advancing h is purpose. Another t e c h ­

nique Twain uses e f f e c t i v e l y in magnify ing v ic e s or v i r t u e s is

de scr ib ing the d e t a i l s o f t h e i r demonstra t ion . In t h is way,

p a r t i c u l a r l y in the “'License o f the Press" and “ Consistency"

speeches, Twain is a b le to make the v i r t u e s and v ic es o f his

s u b je c t rea l and meaningful to the audience. Comparison is

another technique th a t Twain uses s k i l l f u l l y t o magnify his

p r a is e and blame. The adept use o f th is method can be seen in

each o f the speeches analyzed. Twain a lso demonstrates s k i l l

in h is use o f the technique o f e s ta b l is h in g u l t im a t e r e s u l ts

o f v i r t u e s or v ic e s . In doing t h i s Twain shows his audience

what would happen i f the v i r t u e or v ic e were present in i t s

worst degree. Th is appears to magnify the impress ion made on

the audience. In some cases, however, e s p e c i a l l y the "Queen

V i c t o r i a " speech, Twain places too much dependence upon the

52

e x i s t i n g op in ions o f his audience and ne g lec ts to heighten his

p r a is e or blame s u f f i c i e n t l y . -

Summary

Mark Twain, in h is a f t e r - d i n n e r speaking, seems to

achieve h is persuas ive goals q u i te e f f e c t i v e l y through a s k i l l ­

fu l use o f the techniques o f p r a is e and blame. In the main

his speech sub jec ts and persuas ive goals are c l e a r ; his reasons

fo r the acceptance o f his goals a re q u i t e wel l presented and

s u b s t a n t ia te d ; and his techniques used to he igh ten the e f f e c t

o f v i r t u e s or v ices are s k i l l f u l l y employed. Occasional weak­

nesses l i e in Tw ain 's tendency to r e l y too h e a v i l y upon the

knowledge possessed by h is audience. This r e l i a n c e sometimes

r e s u l ts in u n s p e c i f ic speech su b je c ts and f a i l u r e to substan­

t i a t e and i n t e n s i f y the v i r t u e s or v ic e s o f h is t o p ic .

APPENDIX

LICENSE OF THE PRESS1

( F i r s t paragraph miss ing)

I t ( th e press) has sc o f fed a t r e l i g i o n t i l l i t has

made s c o f f in g popular . I t has defended o f f i c i a l c r im in a ls ,

on par ty p r e t e x t s , u n t i l i t has c rea ted a United States Senate

whose members are incapable o f determining what crime a g a in s t

law and the d i g n i t y o f t h e i r own body Jj>, they a re so m o ra l ly

b l i n d , and i t has made l i g h t o f dishonesty t i l l we have as a

r e s u l t a Congress which c o n tra c ts to work fo r a c e r t a in sum

and then d e l i b e r a t e l y s t e a ls a d d i t io n a l wages out o f the pub­

l i c pocket and is pained and s u rp r is e d th a t anybody should

worry about a l i t t l e th ing l i k e t h a t .

I am p u t t in g a l l t h is odious s t a t e o f th ing s upon the

newspaper, and I b e l i e v e i t belongs t h e r e - - c h i e f l y , a t any

r a t e . I t is a f r e e p r e s s - - a press th a t is more than f r e e - - a

press which is l ic ensed to say any infamous th in g i t chooses

about a p r i v a t e or a p u b l ic man, or advocate any outrageous

d o c t r in e i t p leases . I t is t i e d in no way. The p u b l ic o p in ­

ion which should hold i t in bounds i t has i t s e l f degraded to

i t s own l e v e l . There a re laws to p ro te c t the freedom o f the

p re s s 's speech, but none th a t a re worth anyth ing to p r o te c t

T. Hark Tw ain 's Speeches, pp. 46 -5 2 .

53

5 4

the people from the press. A l ibel s u i t s imply br ings the

p l a i n t i f f be fo re a v a s t newspaper c our t to be t r i e d be fore the

law t r i e s him, and r e v i l e d and r i d i c u l e d w i th o u t mercy. The

touchy Charles Reade can sue Eng l ish newspapers and get v e r ­

d i c t s ; he would soon change h is t a c t i c s here; th e papers

(backed by a p u b l ic w e l l taught by themselves) would soon

teach him t h a t i t is b e t t e r to s u f f e r any amount o f m is re p re ­

s e n ta t io n than go in to our courts w i th a l i b e l s u i t and make

h im s e l f the laughing s tock o f the community.

I t seems to me t h a t j u s t in the r a t i o t h a t our news­

papers increase, our morals decay. The more newspapers the

worse morals . Where we have one newspaper t h a t does good, I

t h i n k we have f i f t y th a t do harm. We ought to look upon the

es tab l ishm ent o f a newspaper o f the average p a t t e r n in a v i r ­

tuous v i l l a g e as a c a la m ity .

The d i f f e r e n c e between the tone and conduct o f news­

papers to -day and those o f t h i r t y or f o r t y years ago is very

noteworthy and very s a d - - I mean the average newspaper ( f o r

they had bad ones then, t o o ) . In those days the average news­

paper was the champion o f r i g h t and morals, and i t d e a l t con­

s c ie n t io u s ly in the t r u t h . I t is not the case now. The o th e r

day a rep u ta b le New York d a i l y had an e d i t o r i a l defending the

s a la ry s tea l and j u s t i f y i n g i t on the ground t h a t Congressmen

were not pa id enough--as i f t h a t were an a l l - s u f f i c i e n t excuse

fo r s t e a l i n g . That e d i t o r i a l put the m atter in a new and p e r ­

f e c t l y s a t i s f a c t o r y l i g h t w i th many a lea th e r -h ea d e d r e a d e r ,

w ith o u t a doubt. I t has become a s a r c a s t ic proverb th a t a

55

th in g must be t r u e i f you saw i t in a newspaper. That is th e

opin ion i n t e l l i g e n t people have o f t h a t ly in g v e h i c l e in a

n u t s h e l l . But the t r p u b le is t h a t the s tu p id peop le— who con­

s t i t u t e the grand overwhelming m a jo r i t y o f t h i s and a l l o th e r

n a t io n s - -d o be! ieve and are moulded and convinced by what they

get out o f a newspaper, and th e re is where the harm l i e s .

Among us, the newspaper is a tremendous power. I t can

make or mar any man's r e p u ta t io n . I t has p e r f e c t freedom to

c a l l the best man in the land a f ra u d and a t h i e f , and he is

destroyed beyond he lp . Whether Mr. C o lfax is a l i a r or not

can never be a s c e r ta in e d now--but he w i l l rank as one t i l l th e

day o f h is d e a t h - - f o r the newspapers have so doomed h i m . . Our

newspapers--a l 1 o f them, w i th o u t e x c e p t i o n - - g l o r i fy the "B la ck

Crook" and make i t an opu lent su cce ss - - th ey could have k i l l e d

i t dead w i th one broadside o f contemptuous s i l e n c e i f they had

wanted to . Days Doings and P o l ic e Gazettes f l o u r i s h in the

land unmolested by the law, because the v ? rtuous newspapers

long ago nu r tu red up a p u b l ic l a x i t y th a t loves indecency and

never cares whether laws a re adm in is tered or not .

In the newspapers o f the West you can use the ed i t o r ia l

v o jc e in the e d i t o r i a l columns to defend any wretched and i n j u ­

r ious dogma you p lease by paying a d o l l a r a l i n e fo r i t .

N ear ly a l l newspapers f o s t e r Rozenweigs and kindred

c r im in a ls and send v ic t im s to them by opening t h e i r columns to

t h e i r ad ver t isem ents . You a l l know th a t .

In the Foster murder case the New York papers made a

weak pre tense o f upholding the hands o f the Governor and

56

urging the people to s u s ta in him in standing f i r m l y by the law;

but they p r in t e d a whole page o f s i c k l y , maudlin appeals to

his clemency as a pa id adver t is em ent . And I suppose they

would have publ ished enough pages o f abuse o f th e Governor to

destroy h is e f f i c i e n c y as a publ ic o f f i c i a l to th e end o f h is

term i f anybody came forward and pa id fo r i t - - a s an a d v e r t i s e ­

ment. The newspaper th a t ob s truc ts the law on a t r i v i a l p r e ­

t e x t , fo r money's sake, is a dangerous enemy to the p u b l ic w e a l .

That awful power, the p u b l ic op in ion o f a n a t io n , is

c rea ted in America by a horde o f ignoran t , se l f -c o m p la c e n t

simpletons who f a i l e d a t d i tc h in g and shoemaking and fe tc h ed

up in jo u r n a l is m on t h e i r way to th e poorhouse. I am person­

a l l y acquainted w i th hundreds o f j o u r n a l i s t s , and the opin ion

o f the m a jo r i t y o f them would not be worth tuppence in p r i v a t e ,

but when they speak in p r i n t i t is the newspaper th a t is t a l k ­

ing ( t h e pygmy s c r ib e is not v i s i b l e ) and then t h e i r u t t e r ­

ances shake the community l i k e the thunders o f prophecy.

I know from personal exper ience the^proneness o f j o u r ­

n a l i s t s to l i e . 1 once s t a r t e d a p e c u l ia r and p ic tu resque

fash ion o f ly in g myself on the P a c i f i c coast , and i t is not

dead th e re to t h i s day. Whenever I hear o f a shower o f blood

and frogs combined, in C a l i f o r n i a , or a sea serpent found in

some d e s e r t , th e r e , or a cave frescoed w i t h diamonds and emer­

a lds (a lways found by an In jun who died b e fo re he could f i n i s h

t e l l i n g where i t was), I say to m yse lf I am the fa th e r o f t h i s

chi Id - - 1 have got to answer fo r t h i s l i e . And h a b i t is e v e ry -

t h i n g - - t o t h i s day I am l i a b l e to l i e i f I d o n ' t watch a l l th e

t im e.

57

The l ic e n s e o f the press has scorched every in d iv id u a l

o f us in our t im e , I make no doubt . Poor S ta n le y was a very

god, in England, h is p ra is es in every man's mouth. But nobody

sa id anyth ing about his l e c t u r e s - - t h e y were c h a r i t a b l y q u ie t

on th a t head, and were content to p r a is e h is h ighe r v i r t u e s .

But our papers to r e the poor c r e a tu r e 1 imb from 1 imb and s c a t ­

te re d the fragments from Maine to C a l i f o r n i a — merely because

he c o u ld n ' t l e c t u r e w e l l . His prod ig ious achievement in A f r i c a

goes fo r n a u g h t - - th e man is p u l le d down and u t t e r l y d e s t r o y e d - -

but s t i l l the persecu t ion fb l lo w s him as r e l e n t l e s s l y from

c i t y to c i t y and from v i l l a g e to v i l l a g e as i f he had committed

some bloody and d e te s ta b le cr ime. Bret H ar te was suddenly

snatched Out o f o b s c u r i ty by our papers and throned in the

c l o u d s - - a l 1 the e d i t o r s in the land stood out in the inclement

weather and adored him through t h e i r te lescopes and swung t h e i r

hats t i l l they wore them out and then borrowed more; and the

f i r s t t ime h is fa m i ly f e l l s ic k , and in h is t r o u b l e and h a ra s s ­

ment he ground out a r a th e r f l a t a r t i c l e in p la ce o f another

heathen Chinee, t h a t hurrah ing host sa id , "Why, t h i s man's a

f r a u d ," and then they began to reach up th e re f o r him. And

they got him, too, and fe tched him down, and walked over him,

and r o l l e d him in the mud, and t a r r e d and fe a th e re d him, and

then set him up fo r a t a r g e t and have been heaving d i r t a t him

ever s ince . The r e s u l t is t h a t the man has had only j u s t n i n e ­

teen engagements to l e c t u r e t h i s year , and the audiences have

been so s c a t t e r i n g , too , th a t he has never d ischarged a sen­

tence y e t th a t h i t two people a t the same t im e . The man is

58

r u in e d - -n e v e r can get up aga in . And ye t he is a person who

has g r e a t c a p a b i l i t i e s , and might have accomplished g rea t

th ings fo r our l i t e r a t u r e and fo r h im s e l f i f he had had a hap­

p i e r chance. And he made the m is take , too, o f doing a pe cun i ­

ary kindness f o r a s t a r v in g beggar o f our g u i l d - - o n e o f the

j o u r n a l i s t i c shoemaker c la s s - -a n d th a t beggar made i t h is b u s i ­

ness as soon as he got back t o San Francisco t o pub l ish four

columns o f exposures o f crimes committed by h is b e n e fa c to r , the

l e a s t o f which ought to make any decent man b lush . The press

t h a t adm it ted t h a t s t u f f to i t s columns had too much l ic e n s e .

In a town in Michigan I de c l in e d to d ine w ith an e d i t o r

who was drunk, and he s a id , in h is paper, t h a t my le c tu r e was

pro fane , indecent , and c a lc u la t e d to encourage intemperance.

And ye t th a t man never heard i t . I t might have reformed him

i f he had.

A D e t r o i t paper once s a id t h a t 1 was in the constant

h a b i t o f be a t in g my w i f e and th a t I s t i l l kept t h i s re c r e a t io n

up, a l though I had c r ip p le d her fo r l i f e and she was no longer

a b le to keep out o f my way when I came home in my usual f r a n t i c

frame o f mind. Now sc a rc e ly h a l f o f th a t was t r u e . Perhaps I

ought to have sued t h a t man fo r l i b e l - - b u t I knew b e t t e r . A l l

the papers in A m e r ic a - -w i th a few c r e d i t a b l e except ions--wouI d

have found out then, to t h e i r s a t i s f a c t i o n , t h a t I was a w i f e

b e a te r , and they would have given i t a p r e t t y general a i r i n g ,

too.

59

Why, J_ have publ ished v ic io u s l i b e l s upon people

m y s e l f - -a n d ought to have been hanged be fo re my t ime fo r i t ,

t o o - - i f I do say i t m yse l f , th a t s h o u ld n ' t .

But I w i l l not cont inue these remarks. 1 have a s o r t

o f vague general idea th a t th e re is too much 1 ib e r t y o f the

press in t h is coun try , and th a t through the absence o f a l l

wholesome r e s t r a i n t the newspaper has become in a la rg e degree

a n a t io n a l c u rs e , and w i l l probably damn the Republ ic ye t .

There are some e x c e l l e n t v i r t u e s in newspapers, some

powers th a t w ie ld va s t in f luences fo r good; and I could have

t o ld a l l about these th in g s , and g l o r i f i e d them exhaust i v e l y - -

but th a t would have l e f t you gentlemen nothing to say.

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CONSISTENCY2

We are c o n t i n u a l l y warned to be cons is t e n t - - b y the

p u l p i t , by the newspaper, by our a s s o c ia t e s . When we depart

from cons is tency , we are reproached fo r i t by these censors.

When a man who has been born and brought up a Jew becomes a

C h r i s t i a n , the Jews sorrow over i t and reproach him fo r his

inconstancy; a l l h is l i f e he has denied the d i v i n i t y o f C h r i s t ,

but now he makes a l i e o f a l l h is past; upon him res ts the

stigma o f inconsis tency; we can never be sure o f him a g a in .

We put in the deadly p a r a l l e l columns what he s a id former 1y

and what he says now, and h is c r e d i t is gone. We say, T ru s t

him n o t ; we know him now; he w i l l change aga i n ; and p o ss ib ly

aqa i n and ye t a g a in ; he has no s t a b i l i t y .

There a re men c a l l e d l i fe -? long Democrats, l i f e - l o n g

Republicans. I f one o f these departs from h is a l l e g ia n c e and

votes the o ther t i c k e t , the same th in g happens as in the Jew* s

case. The man loses c h a ra c te r . He is in c o n s is te n t . He is a

t r a i t o r . His past u t te ran ces w i l l be double columned w i th h is

present ones, and he is damned; a ls o despised-~even by his new

p o l i t i c a l a s s o c ia te s , fo r in t h e i r s , as in a l l men1s eyes,

inconsistency is a treason and m at te r fo r scorn.

These are facts--common, every-day f a c t s ; and I have

chosen them fo r t h a t reason; f a c t s known to everybody, f a c ts

which no one denies .

2. Mark Tw ain 's Speeches, pp. 120-130.

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What is th e most r igorous law o f our being? Growth.

No s m a l le s t atom o f our moral , m enta l , or physica l s t r u c t u r e

can stand s t i l l a y e a r . I t g r o w s - - i t must grow; nothing can

prevent i t . I t must grow downward or upward; i t must grow

sm al le r or l a r g e r , b e t t e r or w o r s e - - i t cannot stand s t i l l .

In o ther words, we change--and must change, c o n s t a n t ly , and

keep on changing as long as we l i v e . What, t h e n , is the t r u e ,

gospel o f consistency? Change. Who is the rea l 1y co n s is te n t

man? The man who changes. Since change is th e law o f his

b e in g , he cannot be c o n s is te n t i f he s t i c k in a r u t .

Y e t , as the quoted fa c ts show, th e re a re those who

would misteach us t h a t to s t i c k in a ru t _i_s cons I s tency- -and

a v i r t u e ; and th a t to climb out o f the ru t is ineons?stency- -

and a v i c e . They w i l l grant you c e r t a i n t h i n g s , w i th ou t mur­

mur or d i s s e n t - - a s th ing s which go w i tho u t saying; t ru ism s.

They w i l l g ran t t h a t in t ime the c raw l ing baby walks and must

not be req u ire d to go on c r a w l i n q ; th a t in t ime the youth has

outgrown th e c h i l d ' s jacke t and must not be re q u ire d to crowd

h im s e l f in to i t ; they gran t you t h a t a c h i l d ' s knowledge is

becoming and proper to the c h i l d on ly so they g ran t him a

school and teach him, so t h a t he may change and grow; they

grant you t h a t he must keep on l e a r n in g - - t h r o u g h youth and

manhood and s t r a i g h t o n - -h e must not be a l lowed to suppose

th a t the knowledge o f th i r t y can be any proper equipment fo r

h is f i f t i e t h y e a r ; they w i l l grant you t h a t a young man's

opin ions about mankind and the un ive rs e a re c ru d e , and some­

times f o o l i s h , and they would not dream o f r e q u i r in g him to

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s t i c k to them the r e s t o f his l i f e , l e s t by changing them he

br ing down upon h im s e l f the reproach o f ineons is t e n c y . They

w i l l g ran t you t h e s e , and ev ery th ing e ls e you can t h in k o f ,

in the l i n e o f progress and change, u n t i l you get down to

p o l i t i c s and rel ig ion; th e re they draw the Jjjne. These must-

s u f f e r no change. Once a P re s b y te r ia n , always a P re s b y te r ia n ,

or you a re in c o n s is te n t and a t r a i t o r ; once a Democrat, always

a Democrat, or you are in c o n s is te n t and a t r a ?t o r - - a t u r n c o a t .

I t is cur ious lo g ic . Is th ere but one kind o f treason?

No man remains the same so r t o f P re s b y te r ia n he was a t f i r s t - -

the th in g is imposs i b l e ; t im e and va r io u s in f lu e n ce s modify

h is P re s b y te r ia n ism; i t narrows or i t broadens, grows deeper

or s h a l lo w e r , but does not stand s t i l 1. In some cases i t

grows so f a r beyond i t s e l f , upward or downward, th a t nothing

is rea l 1y 1 e f t o f j t but the name, and perhaps an inconsequen­

t i a l rag o f the o r i g i n a l substance, the b u lk being now B a p t is t

or Buddhist or something. W e l l , i f he go over to the Buddhists ,

he is a t r a i t o r . To whom? To what? No man can answer those

questions r a t i o n a l l y . Now i f he does not go over what is he?

P l a i n l y a t r a i t o r to h i m s e l f , a t r a i t o r to the best and the

highest and the honestest th a t is _i_n him. Which o f these

treasons is th e b la c k e s t one--and the shamefu1est? Which is

the real and r i g h t consistency? To be c o n s is te n t to a sham

and an empty name, or c o n s is te n t to the law o f one 's bei nq,

which is change, and in t h is case requ ires him to move forward

and keep abreast o f his best mental and moral progress, h is

h ighest co n v ic t io n s o f the r i g h t and the true? Suppose t h i s

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treason to the name o f a church should c a r ry him c le a r o u ts id e

o f a l 1 churches? Is th a t a b lac k e r t reason than to remain?

So long as he is loyal to h is best s e l f , what should he care

fo r o ther l o y a l t i e s ? I t seems to me th a t a man should secure

the Well done, f a i t h f u l s e r v a n t , o f h is own conscience f i r s t

and foremost, and l e t a l l o th e r l o y a l t i e s go.

I have r e f e r r e d to the f a c t th a t when a man r e t i r e s

from his p o l i t i c a l p a r t y he is a t r a i t o r - - t h a t he is so p ro ­

nounced in p l a i n language. That is b o ld ; so bold as to dece ive

many in to the fancy t h a t i t is t r u e . D e s e r t io n , t r e a s o n - - t h e s e

are the terms a p p l ie d . T h e i r m i l i t a r y form re v e a ls the thought

in the man's mind who uses them; to him a p o l i t i c a l p a r ty is

an army. W e l l , j_s i t? Are th e two th ings id e n t ic a l? Do they

even resemble each other? N e c e s s a r i ly a p o l i t i c a l p a r ty is not

an army of. c o n s c r ip ts , fo r they a re in the ranks by compul s i o n .

Then i t must be a re g u la r army, or an army o f v o lu n te e rs . J_s

i t a re g u la r army? No, fo r these e n l i s t fo r a s p e c i f i e d and

w e l 1-understood t e r m .and can r e t i r e w i th o u t reproach when the

term is up. Is i t an army o f v o lu n te e rs who have en1 is ted f o r

the w a r , and mey r ig h te o u s ly be shot i f they leave be fo re the

war is f in ish ed ? No, i t is not even an army in t h a t sense.

Those f i n e m i l i t a r y terms are h igh-sounding, empty 1 ie s - -a n d

a re no more r a t i o n a l l y a p p l ic a b le to a p o l i t i c a l p a r ty than

they would be to an o y s te r bed. The v o lu n te e r s o l d i e r comes

to the r e c r u i t i n g o f f i c e and s t r i p s h im s e l f , and proves t h a t

he is so many f e e t h igh , and has s u f f i c i e n t l y good te e th , and

no f in g e rs gone, and is s u f f i c i e n t l y sound in body general 1y ;

64

he is accepted, but not u n t i l he has sworn a deep oath , or

made o ther solemn form o f prom ise , to march under th a t f l a g

u n t i l th a t war is done or h is term o f e n l is tm e n t completed.

What is the process when a v o te r j o i n s a p a r t y ? Must he prove

th a t he is sound in any way, mind or body? Must he prove t h a t

he knows an y th ing - -w h ate ve i— is capable o f anyth ing? Does he

take an oath or make a promise o f any s o r t ? - - o r do esn ' t he

leave h im s e l f e n t i r e l y f ree? I f he were informed by the p o l i t ­

ica l boss t h a t i f he j o i n i t must be f o r e v e r ; th a t he must be

th a t p a r t y ' s c h a t t e l and wear i t s brass c o l l a r the r e s t o f h is

days, would not t h a t in s u l t him? I t goes w i th o u t saying. He

would say some rude, u n p r in t a b le th in g and turn h is back on

t h a t preposterous o r g a n iz a t io n . But the p o l i t i c a l boss puts

no c o nd i t ion s upon him a t a l 1 ; and the v o lu n te e r makes no prom­

ises, e n l i s t s fo r no s ta te d te rm . He has in no sense become a

p a r t o f an army, he is in no way r e s t r a in e d o f his freedom.

Yet he w i l l p r e s e n t ly f in d t h a t h is bosses and h is newspapers

have assumed j u s t the reverse o f t h a t ; t h a t they have b la n d ly

arro g a te d to themselves an i r o n - c la d m i l i t a r y a u t h o r i t y over

him; and w i t h in tw e lve months, i f he is an average man, he w i l l

have surrendered h is l i b e r t y , and w i l l a c t u a l l y be s i l l y enough

to b e l i e v e th a t he cannot leave t h a t p a r ty fo r any cause w hat­

e v e r , w i th o u t being a shameful t r a i t o r , a d e s e r t e r , a l e g i t i ­

mate ly dishonored man.

There you have the j u s t measure o f t h a t freedom o f

conscience, freedom o f op in io n , freedom o f speech and a c t io n ,

which we hear so much i n f l a t e d foo l is hness a b o u t , as being the

65

precious possession o f the Republ ic . Whereas, in t r u t h , the

surest way fo r a man to make o f h im s e l f a t a r g e t f o r almost

un ive rs a l scorn, obloquy, s la n d e r , and in s u l t is to stop twad­

d l in g about these p r ic e le s s independencies, and at tempt to

e x e rc is e one o f them. I f he is a preacher , h a l f h is congrega­

t io n w i l l clamor f o r h is ex p u ls ion , and w i l l expel him, except

they f in d i t w i l l i n j u r e real e s t a t e in the neighborhood; i f

he is a mechanic, he w i l l be d ischarged , promptly; i f he is a

lawyer , his c l i e n t s w i l l t a k e t h e i r business elsewhere; i f he

is a d o c to r , his own dead w i l l tu rn aga in s t him.

I repeat th a t the new p a r t y member who supposed h im s e l f

independent w i l l p r e s e n t ly f in d t h a t the p a r ty has somehow got

a mortgage on his sou l , and t h a t w i t h in a year he w i l l recog­

n iz e the mortgage, d e l i v e r up h is l i b e r t y , and a c t u a l l y b e l i e v e

he cannot r e t i r e from t h a t p a r ty from any m ot iv e , howsoever

high and r i g h t , in h is own e y es , w i th o u t shame and dishonor.

Is i t p o s s ib le fo r human wickedness to Invent a doc­

t r i n e more in fe r n a l and poisonous than th is? Is th ere imag­

inab le a baser s e rv i tu d e than i t imposes? What s lave is so

degraded as the s la v e who is proud th a t he jis. a slave? What

is the e s s e n t ia l d i f f e r e n c e between a l i f e - l o n g Democrat and

any o ther kind o f a 1 i f e - lo n g s l a v e ? Is i t less h u m i l ia t in g

to dance to th e lash o f one master than a n o th e r?

This a t ro c io u s d o c t r in e o f a l l e g ia n c e to p a r ty p lays

d i r e c t l y in to the hands o f p o l i t i c i a n s o f the baser s o r t - - a n d

doubtless fo r th a t i t was bo rrow ed- -o r s t o l e n - - f r o m the monar­

c h ic a l system. I t enables them to f o i s t upon th e country

66

o f f i c i a l s whom no s e l f - r e s p e c t i n g man would v o te f o r , i f he

could but come to understand t h a t lo y a l t y to h im se l f is h is

f i r s t and h ighest du ty , not l o y a l t y to any p a r ty name. The

w ir e w o rke rs , convention p a ckers , know they a re not o b l ige d

to put up the f i t t e s t man fo r the o f f i c e , fo r they know t h a t

the d o c i l e p a r ty w i l l vo te fo r any forked th in g they put up ,

even though i t do not even s t r i c t l y resemble a man.

I am p e rs u a d e d - -c o n v in c e d - - th a t t h i s idea o f cons i s t -

e n cy -u n c h a n g in g a l l e g ia n c e to p a r t y - -has lowered the manhood

o f the who 1e nat ion- - pu11ed i t down and dragged i t in the mud.

When Hr. B la in e was nominated f o r the Pres idency , I knew the

man; no, 1 judqed I knew him; I d o n ' t know him now, but a t

t h a t time I j udqed I knew him; f o r my d a i l y paper had been

p a in t in g him b la ck , and b lac k e r s t i l l , fo r a s e r ie s o f y e a r s ,

during which i t had no c a l l to be m al ic ious toward him, no

c a l l to be o therw ise than j u s t simply and ho nes t ly candid

about him, s ince he belonged to i t s own p a r ty and was not

b e fo re the na t ion as a d e te c ta b le candidate fo r anyth ing .

But w i t h in t h i r t y days a f t e r the nominat ion t h a t paper had

him a l l pa in te d up whi te aga in . That is not a l l e g i a n c e to

or&e's best s e l f , one 's s t r a ig h te s t conv i c t io n s ; i t is a l l e g i ­

ance to p a r t y . Nobody l i k e s to ea t a ton o f b la c k p a i n t , and

none but the master can make th e s la ve do i t . Was th is paper

alone a t t h is s in g u la r feast? No; ten thousand o ther Repub­

l ic a n newspapers sa t down a t the same t a b l e and w o rr ied down

the i r ton ap iece; and not any fewer than 100,000 m o re -o r - l ess

prominent p o l i t i cians sat down a l l over t h i s country and

w o rr ie d down th e i r ton ap iece; and a f t e r long, long and b i t t e r

gagging, some m i l l i o n s o f the common serfdom o f the pa r ty s a t

down and w o rr ie d down the i r ton ap iece . P a i n t ? I t was d i r t .

Enough o f i t was eaten by the meek Republican p a r t y to b u i ld

a r a i l r o a d embankment from here to Japan; and i t pains me to

t h i n k t h a t a year from now they w i l l probably have to ea t i t

a l l over again .

W e l l , th e re was a lo t o f queer fe a s t in g done in those

days. One learned in the law pondered the M u l l ig a n l e t t e r s

and o th e r f r i g h t f u l l i t e r a t u r e , and rendered t h i s impressive

v e r d i c t ; he sa id the evidence would not c o n v ic t Mr. B la in e in

a court o f law , so he would vo te fo r him. He d id not say

whether the evidence would prove him ?nnocent or not . That

w as n ' t important.

Now, he knew th a t t h is v e r d i c t was a b s o lu te ly incon­

c lu s iv e . He knew t h a t i t s e t t l e d no th ing , e s ta b l is h e d nothing

whatever , and was w h o l ly v a lu e le s s as a guide fo r his a c t io n ,

an answer to h is quest ion ings .

He knew t h a t the m e rc i fu l and r ighteous b a r r i e r s

ra ise d up by the laws o f our humane age fo r th e s h e l t e r and

p ro te c t io n o f the po ss ib ly innocent, have o f te n and over again

p ro te c te d and rescued the c e r t a i n l y g u i1t y . He knew th a t in

t h i s way many and many a p r is o n e r has gone unchastised from

the court when judge and j u r y and the whole p u b l ic b e l iev e d

w ith a l l t h e i r hear ts th a t he was g u i l t y . He kn ew --a11 c r e d i t

not d i s c r e d i t to our age th a t I t is s o - - t h a t t h i s r e s u l t is so

f r e q u e n t , so almost commonplace t h a t the mere f a i l u r e to

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s a t i s f y the ex a c t ing forms o f law and prove a man g u i l t y in

a c o u r t , is a hundred thousand m iles from prov ing him inno­

cent . You see a hiccoughing man wal lowing in the g u t te r a t

two o 'c l o c k in the morning; you t h i n k the th in g a l l over and

weigh the d e t a i l s o f i t in your mind as you w a lk home, and

w it h immeasurable wisdom a r r i v e a t the v e r d i c t t h a t you don11

know he w as n ' t a P r o h i b i t i o n i s t . Of course you don' t , and i f

you stop and t h i n k a minute you would r e a l i z e t h a t you d o n ' t

know he was, e i t h e r .

W e l l , a good clergyman who read the M u l l ig a n and o th er

publ ished evidences was not a b le to make up h is mind, but con­

cluded to take re fuge in the v e r d i c t rendered by the c i t i z e n

learned in the 1 aw; take h is i n t e l l e c t u a l and moral food a t

second-hand, though he doesn ' t rank as an i n t e l l e c t u a l in f a n t ,

unable to chew his own moral and mental nourishment; he

decided th a t an a p p a re n t ly co lo red person who c o u ld n ' t be

proven to be b la c k in the b a f f l i n g c r o s s l iq h ts o f a court o f

law was w h i te enough fo r hum, he being a l i t t l e c o lo r b l i n d ,

anyway, in m atte rs where the p a r ty is concerned, and so jne

came r e l u c t a n t l y to th e p o l l s , w i th his redeeming blush on

his countenance, and put in his v o te .

I met a c e r t a in o th e r clergyman on the corner the day

a f t e r the nominat ion. He was very uncompromising. He s a id :

n I know B la in e to the c o re ; 1 have known him from boyhood up ;

and I know him to be u t t e r l y u n p r in c ip le d and unscrupulous."

W ith in s ix weeks a f t e r t h a t , t h i s clergyman was a t a Republican

mass meeting in the Opera House, and I t h i n k he pres ided. At

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any r a t e , , he made a speech. I f you d id not know th a t the

c h a ra c te r de p ic ted in i t meant Hr. B la in e , you would suppose

i t m eant- -w e11, th e re i s n ' t anybody down here on the ea r th

th a t you can use as a comparison. I t is p r a is e , p r a is e ,

p ra is e ; la u d a t io n , la u d a t io n , la u d a t io n ; g l o r i f i c a t i o n , g l o r i ­

f i c a t i o n , c a n o n iz a t io n . Conceive o f the general crash and

upheaval and r ip p in g and t e a r in g and readjustment o f th ings

t h a t must have been going on in t h a t man's moral and mental

chaos f o r s i x weeks! What is any combination o f inf lammatory

rheumatism and St. V i t u s 's dance to t h i s ? When the d o c t r in e

o f a l l e g i a n c e to p a r ty can u t t e r l y up-end a man's moral con­

s t i t u t i o n and make a temporary foo l o f him bes id es , what

excuse are you going to o f f e r f o r preaching i t , teaching i t ,

extending i t , p e rp e tu a t in g i t? Shal l you say, the best good

o f the country demands th a t a man k ic k his t r u t h and his con­

science in to the g u t t e r , and become a mouthing l u n a t i c ,

bes ides? Oh, no! you say; i t does not demand t h a t . But what

i f i t produce t h a t , in spi te o f you? There is no o b l ig a t io n

upon a man to do th ings which he ought not to do, when d ru n k ,

but most men w i l l do them, j u s t the same, and so we hear no

arguments about o b l ig a t io n s in the m atte r ; we on ly hear men

warned to avoid the h a b i t o f d r j n k i n q ; get r i d o f the th in g

th a t can b e t ra y men in to such th in g s .

This is a funny business, a l l round. The same men

who e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y preach loya l consistency to church and

p a r ty a re always ready and w i l l i n g and anxious to persuade a

Chinaman or an Indian dr a Kanaka to deser t hi s church, or a

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f e l 1ow-Amer i can to d e s er t h i s p a r t y . The man who deser ts to

them is a l l t h a t is high and pure and b e a u t i f u l - - a p p a r e n t l y ;

the man who deserts from them is a l l th a t is foul and de sp i ­

cab le . Th is is Consistency w i t h a c a p i ta l C.

With the d a i n t i e s t and s e l f -c o m p la c e n te s t sarcasm the

l i f e - l o n g l o y a l i s t s c o f fs a t the In d e p e n d e n t - -o r , as he c a l l s

him, w i th c u t t in g i ron y , the Mugwump; makes h im s e l f too k i l l -

in g ly funny fo r anyth ing in t h is wor ld about him. B u t - - th e

Mugwump can stand i t , f o r th e r e is a g rea t h i s t o r y a t his back,

s t r e t c h in g down th e c e n t u r ie s , and he comes o f a mighty ances­

t r y . He knows th a t in the whole h i s t o r y o f the race o f men no

s in g le g re a t and high and b e n e f ic e n t th ing was ever done fo r

the souls and bodies , the hear ts and b ra in s , o f the c h i ld r e n

o f th is w o r ld , but a Mugwump s t a r t e d i t and Mugwumps c a r r ie d

i t to v i c t o r y . And t h e i r names are the s t a t e l i e s t in h i s t o r y :

Washington, G arr iso n , G a l i l e o , L u th e r , C h r is t . L o ya l ty to

p e t r i f i e d opin ions never yet broke a chain or f r e e d a human

sou 1 in t h i s w o r ld - -a n d never w i l l .

To re tu rn to the s t a r t i n g p o in t : I am persuaded t h a t

the world has been t r i c k e d in to adopting some f a l s e and most

p e rn ic io u s notions about cons is t e n c y - -and to such a degree

t h a t the average man has turned the r ig h ts and wrongs o f

th ings e n t i r e l y around, and is proud to be " c o n s i s t e n t , ”

unchanging, immovable, f o s s i l i z e d , where i t should be his

h u m i l ia t io n th a t he is so.

71

QUEEN VICTORIA3

You do me a high honor, indeed, in s e l e c t i n g me to

speak o f my country in t h i s commemoration o f the b i r th d a y o f

t h a t noble lady whose l i f e was consecrated to the v i r t u e s and

the humanit ies and to the promotion o f l o f t y id e a ls , and was

a model upon which many a humbler l i f e was formed and made

b e a u t i fu l w h i le she l i v e d , and upon which many such l i v e s w i l l

s t i l l be formed in the generat ions th a t a re to come--a l i f e

which f in d s i t s j u s t image in the s t a r which f a l l s out o f i t s

place in the sky and out o f e x is te n c e , but whose l i g h t s t i l l

streams w ith unfaded lu s t e r across the abysses o f space long' ' i

a f t e r i t s f i r e s have been e x t in g u is h e d a t t h e i r source.

As a woman the Queen was a l l th a t the most exact ing

standards could r e q u i r e . As a f a r - r e a c h in g and e f f e c t i v e

b e n e f ic e n t moral fo rc e she had no peer in her t ime among e i t h e r

monarchs or commoners. As a monarch she was w i th o u t reproach

in her g rea t o f f i c e . We may not v e n tu re , perhaps, t o say so

sweeping a th ing as t h i s in co ld blood about any monarch t h a t

preceded her upon e i t h e r her own throne or upon any o th e r .

I t is a co lossal eu logy, but i t is j u s t i f i e d .

In those q u a l i t i e s o f the h e a r t which beget a f f e c t i o n

in a l l so r ts and c o n d i t ion s o f men she was r i c h , s u r p r i s i n g l y

r i c h , and fo r t h is she w i l l s t i l l be remembered and revered

in the f a r - o f f ages when the p o l i t i c a l g l o r i e s o f her re ig n

" 3 . Mar k Tw ain 's Speeches, pp. 38 7 -88 .

72

s h a l l have faded from v i t a l h i s t o r y and f a l l e n to a p lace in

t h a t scrap-heap o f u n v e r i f i a b l e odds and ends which we c a l l

t r a d i t i o n . Which is to say, in b r i e f e r phrase, t h a t her name

w i l l l i v e always. And w i th i t her charactei— a fame ra re in

the h i s t o r y o f th rones , dominions, p r i n c i p a l i t i e s , and powers,

since i t w i l l not re s t upon harvested s e l f i s h and sordid ambi­

t i o n s , but upon lo ve , earned and f r e e l y vouchsafed. She mended

broken hear ts where she could , but she broke none.

What she did fo r us in America in our t im e o f storm

and s t re s s we sh a l l not fo r g e t , and whenever we c a l l i t to

mind we sh a l l always remember the wise and r ig h teo u s mind th a t

guided her in i t and susta ined and supported h e r - - P r i n c e

A l b e r t 1 s. We need not t a l k any i d l e t a l k here t o - n i g h t about

p o s s ib le or impossib le wars between the two c o u n t r ie s ; th e re

w i l l be no war w h i le we remain sane and the son o f V i c t o r i a

and A lb e r t s i t s upon the throne. In co nclus ion , I b e l i e v e I

may, j u s t l y c la im to u t t e r the v o ic e o f my country in saying

t h a t we hold him in deep honor, and a lso in c o r d i a l l y wishing

him a long 1 i f e and a happy r e i g n .

B IBL 10GRAPHY

Books

American P u b l ic Address. Ed. A. Cra ig Baird.. New York, 1956.

Andrews, Kenneth R. Nook Farm, Mark Tw ain 's H a r t f o r d C i r c l e . Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1950.

A r t , Humor and Humanity o f Mark Tw a in . Eds. M in n ie M.Brashear and Robert M. Rodney. Norman, Oklahoma, 1959.

Bellamy, Gladys Carmen. Mark Twain as a L i t e r a r y A r t i s t .Norman, Oklahoma, 1950.

B l a i r , W a l t e r . Mark Twain and Huck F in n . Berke ley and Los Angeles, C a l i f o r n i a ! 1960.

Brooks, Van Wyck. The Ordeal o f Mark Twain. New York, 1933.

Devoto, Bernard. Mark T w a in 's .A m e r ic a . Cambridge, Massachusetts , 1932.

Fa tou t , Paul . M a rk Twain on the Lecture C i r c u i t . Bloomington, Ind iana , 19&0.

Ferquson, DeLancey. Mark Twainr Man and Legend. New York,1943.

Foner, P h i l l i p S. Mark Twain: Socia l C r i t i c . New York, 1958.

H is to r y and C r i t i c i s m o f American P u b l ic Address. Ed. W i l l i a mNorwood Brigance. New Y o r k , i 960!

Long, E. Hudson. Mark Twain Handbook. New York , 1957.

L y n e t t , Mary Jean. A R h e to r ic a l Study o f Mark Tw ain 's Speaking. Dekalb, 111 in o is , 1958.

Mark Twain: S e lec ted C r i t i c i s m . Ed. A r thu r L. S c o t t . D a l l a s ,Texas, 1955.

Mark Tw ain 's Speeches. Ed. A lb e r t Bigelow Pa ine . New York,1923.

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74

McBurney, James H. and Ernest J . Wrage. The A r t o f Good Speech. New York, 1953.

Monroe, A lan H. P r i n c i p l e s and Types o f Speech. New Y o rk ,1939.

P a ine , A l b e r t B ig e lo w . Mark T w a in : A B i o g r a p h y . New Y o rk ,1912 .

The R h e to r ic o f A r i s t o t l e . Trans. Lane Cooper. New York, 1932.

Thonssen, L este r and A. Cra ig B a i rd . Speech C r i t i c i s m . New York, 1948.

Twain, Mark. Autob ioqraphy. New York, 1924.

_______________ . Mark T w a in ' s N o te b o o k . Ed. A l b e r t B ig e lo wPaine . New York, 1935.

Weaver, Andrew Thomas and Ordean G erhard Ness. The Fundamenta ls and Forms o f Speech. New Y o rk , 1957.

W ebster 's New World D ic t io n a ry o f the American Language. New York, I960 .

Yeager , W i l l a r d Hayes. E f f e c t i v e Speak ing f o r Every O c c a s io n . New Y o rk , 1941.

Per iodi cal s

B ig e lo w , P o u l t n e y . "God Speed Mark T w a in , " The In d e p e n d e n t , O c tobe r 25, 1900.

"Boyhood o f Mark T w a in , " The N a t i o n , September 27, 1952.

Canby, Henry Seidel . "Mark Twain: Ant i - V i c t o r i a n ," TheSaturday Review, October 12, 1935.

______________ _. "M a rk Twain H i m s e l f , " The S a tu rd a y Rev iew ,October 29, 1932.

"The Cub Days o f Mark Tw ain ," The L i t e r a r y D i g e s t , February 10, 1 9 1 2 .

G i l d e r , Richard Watson. "Mark Twain: A Glance a t His Spokenand W r i t t e n A r t , " The O u t lo o k , December 3, 1904.

Henderson, A rc h ib a ld . "Mark T w a in ," H arp e r 's Magazine, May, 1909.

Johnson» A lv in , "The Tragedy o f Mark Tw a in ," The New Repub 1? Co J u ly 14, 1920,

Kouwenhoven, John A. "What's American About America?"H arp e r 's M agazine, J u ly , 1956.

L o v e t t , Robert Mores. "Mark T w a in - - t h e American," The New R e p u b l ic , November 20, 1935.

"Mark Twain as a Ser ious Force in L i t e r a t u r e , " C urrent L i t e r a t u r e , June, 1910.

"Mark Twain from a New A ng le ," C urren t L i t e r a t u r e , ,August, 1909.

" M a r k Twain on C h r i s t i a n S c ie n c e , " H a r p e r ' s W e e k ly , December 27, 1902.

"Mark T w a i n - - R a d i c a l ," The Saturday Review, November 1, 1924.

"M a rk T w a in 1s F a i l u r e s , " The L i t e r a r y D i g e s t , J u l y 27, 1912.

"Mark Tw ain 's F a ta l i s m ," The N a t i o n , September 27, 1952.

"M a rk T w a in ' s P e s s i m i s t i c Phi i o s o p h y , " C u r r e n t L i t e r a t u r e ,June, 1910.

M asters , Edgar Lee. "Mark Twain: Son o f the F r o n t i e r , " TheAmerican M ercury , September, 1935.

M e r r i l l , W. H. "When Mark Twain L e c tu re d ," H a rp e r 's Weekly , February 10, 1906.

"More from Mark Twain About C h r is t i a n S c ie n c e ," H arper 'sW eekly , January 24, 1903.

Paine, A lb e r t Bigelow. "Mark Twain a t S t o r m f i e l d , " H arp e r ' s M agazine , May, 1909.

"Serious H um or is t ," The Na t i o n, June 30, 1910.

"The S p i r i t u a l Tragedy o f Mark T w a in ," Current L i t e r a t u r e , November, 1912.

Twain, Mark. "The Death o f Jean," H arpe r 's Magaz ine , May, 1909.

'________ . " S a in t Joan o f A r c , " H arp er 's Magazine ,December, 1904.

V a le , Char les . "Mark Twain as an O r a t o r , " The Forum, J u ly , 1910.

Weaton, Rev. Henry M. "The Boyhood Home o f Mark Twain ," TheCentury Magazine , September, 1902.