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
70
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.