Imperialism Disguised as Racism

Paper Summary:

The paper offers a brief look at Rudyar Kipling himself and at the world into which he was born in order to highlight how his views can neither be explained nor excused by ignorance. The paper discusses how Kipling's poem was published only a few months after the announcement of the U.S.' intention to annex the Philippines as U.S. territory and so politicians used this poem to justify their imperialistic ambitions and intentionally mask their intentions to expand U.S. markets and territory as far has possible. The paper contends that it was these imperialistic motivations, disguised in racist yet benevolent rhetoric, that was the true message of Kipling.

From the Paper:

"Joseph Rudyard Kipling's infamous poem, "White Man's Burden", sparked an enormous anti-imperialist and anti-racist backlash when it was published in 1899, and has been part of over a century of debate over both race relations and the notion and justification of empire. That the poem is based on the author's belief in the superiority of the white race is hardly debatable. Why, though, was this poem take up by figures, like President Theodore Roosevelt, with such enthusiasm? I posit that it was not the racial overtones of the poem, but the idealization of imperialistic intrigue into a sort of stoic duty to be undertaken that caused it to become so widely cited by proponents of the American empire."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Monthly Review. (2003 November). Kipling, 'the white man's burden,' and u.s. imperialism. Monthly Review, 14(6).
• Gosset, T (1997). Race: The history of an idea in america. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Kipling, R (1899, February). "White man's burden: The united states and the philippine islands". McClure's Magazine, 12.
• Karlin, D (1999). Rudyard kipling. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Racism. In Merriam-Webster Online [Web]. Retrieved January 31, 2007, from http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/racism

More papers on Imperialism Disguised as Racism:

• Book Review # 111079 : "Eurocentrism and Racism in the United States"
• Essay # 85685 : "20th Century Imperialism"
• Essay # 90375 : "New Imperialism in Europe"

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