God's Arbiters

Americans and the Philippines, 1898 - 1902

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 19th Century
Cover of the book God's Arbiters by Susan K. Harris, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Susan K. Harris ISBN: 9780199831623
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: June 29, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Susan K. Harris
ISBN: 9780199831623
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: June 29, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

When the U.S. liberated the Philippines from Spanish rule in 1898, the exploit was hailed at home as a great moral victory, an instance of Uncle Sam freeing an oppressed country from colonial tyranny. The next move, however, was hotly contested: should the U.S. annex the archipelago? The disputants did agree on one point: that the United States was divinely appointed to bring democracy--and with it, white Protestant culture--to the rest of the world. They were, in the words of U.S. Senator Albert Beveridge, "God's arbiters," a civilizing force with a righteous role to play on the world stage. Mining letters, speeches, textbooks, poems, political cartoons and other sources, Susan K. Harris examines the role of religious rhetoric and racial biases in the battle over annexation. She offers a provocative reading both of the debates' religious framework and of the evolution of Christian national identity within the U.S. The book brings to life the personalities who dominated the discussion, figures like the bellicose Beveridge and the segregationist Senator Benjamin Tillman. It also features voices from outside U.S. geopolitical boundaries that responded to the Americans' venture into global imperialism: among them England's "imperial" poet Rudyard Kipling, Nicaragua's poet/diplomat Rubén Darío, and the Philippines' revolutionary leaders Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario Mabini. At the center of this dramatis personae stands Mark Twain, an influential partisan who was, for many, the embodiment of America. Twain had supported the initial intervention but quickly changed his mind, arguing that the U.S. decision to annex the archipelago was a betrayal of the very principles the U.S. claimed to promote. Written with verve and animated by a wide range of archival research, God's Arbiters reveals the roots of current debates over textbook content, evangelical politics, and American exceptionalism-shining light on our own times as it recreates the culture surrounding America's global mission at the turn into the twentieth century.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

When the U.S. liberated the Philippines from Spanish rule in 1898, the exploit was hailed at home as a great moral victory, an instance of Uncle Sam freeing an oppressed country from colonial tyranny. The next move, however, was hotly contested: should the U.S. annex the archipelago? The disputants did agree on one point: that the United States was divinely appointed to bring democracy--and with it, white Protestant culture--to the rest of the world. They were, in the words of U.S. Senator Albert Beveridge, "God's arbiters," a civilizing force with a righteous role to play on the world stage. Mining letters, speeches, textbooks, poems, political cartoons and other sources, Susan K. Harris examines the role of religious rhetoric and racial biases in the battle over annexation. She offers a provocative reading both of the debates' religious framework and of the evolution of Christian national identity within the U.S. The book brings to life the personalities who dominated the discussion, figures like the bellicose Beveridge and the segregationist Senator Benjamin Tillman. It also features voices from outside U.S. geopolitical boundaries that responded to the Americans' venture into global imperialism: among them England's "imperial" poet Rudyard Kipling, Nicaragua's poet/diplomat Rubén Darío, and the Philippines' revolutionary leaders Emilio Aguinaldo and Apolinario Mabini. At the center of this dramatis personae stands Mark Twain, an influential partisan who was, for many, the embodiment of America. Twain had supported the initial intervention but quickly changed his mind, arguing that the U.S. decision to annex the archipelago was a betrayal of the very principles the U.S. claimed to promote. Written with verve and animated by a wide range of archival research, God's Arbiters reveals the roots of current debates over textbook content, evangelical politics, and American exceptionalism-shining light on our own times as it recreates the culture surrounding America's global mission at the turn into the twentieth century.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book A Well-Regulated Militia by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizures by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book The Divine Madness of Philip K. Dick by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book The Death Penalty in America by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book The Goddess Lives in Upstate New York by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Fighting to the End by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Behavioral Addictions: DSM-5® and Beyond by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book The Political Economy of Violence against Women by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Hegel's Conscience by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Altered Egos by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Human Rights, Legitimacy, and the Use of Force by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Of Friends and Foes by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Against Anti-Semitism by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders by Susan K. Harris
Cover of the book Understanding French Verse by Susan K. Harris
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy