Poetry & Politics: WHITE MAN'S BURDEN and other poems

10/8/2012

As a blog comment write a response to the "Poetry and Politics: White Man's Burden and other poems." See blog assignment below!

POETRY AND POLITICS: WHITE MAN'S BURDEN

After reading and discussing Rudyard Kipling's 1899 poem "White Man's Burden" in class, read the three poems selected that were written as a response to this controversial (although widely popular) poem from the turn of the 20th century. They include Gaskin’s “What is the White Man’s Burden?”, J. Dallas Bowser’s “Take Up the Black Man’s Burden” and Anna Manning Comfort’s “Home Burdens of Uncle Sam.” You can find them on pages 38-41 of TRB from the Choices Unit “Beyond Manifest Destiny: America Enters Imperialism.” If you lost your handouts, please either go to the Library on Edmodo or on the IB part of the website and download the Choices Unit as a PDF file and see pages 106-110 in the PDF file.

Once you have completed the readings, blog a 200 word minimum response to those poems. Please take into account the historical and theoretical context of these poems. What do all of these poems (“White Man’s Burden” and the various responses to it) teach us about the United States, US History, US at the turn of the 20th Century, American values, and why do they or the values they embody matter? What are the implications of these values on US culture, history, foreign policy, etc.? In your blog you may discuss different political issues or historical events these poems apply to, you may formulate an insightful question about these poems or one of the poems in particular and then attempt to answer your own question. You may also respond to another student’s post, building upon it, disagreeing with it or re-thinking it.

A few basic Blog rules:
1. Be respectful.
2. Please type your full name, a creative title, and the page numbers or chapter your blog entry is responding to on the top line of your comment. This will help us keep track of who is responding to what.
3. You may write in the first-person, informally. That being said, please write in complete sentences and keep your comments relevant and appropriate.
4. 200 word MINIMUM!

10 Comments

Oscar M. Sweet

14/8/2012 10:11:51 am

Throw away the White Man's Burden.

The ultimate racist, social-Darwinist poem The White Man’s Burden, by British author Rudyard Kipling, met a disgustingly large number of people who agreed to his views of white, Christian supremacy. Fortunately, many anti-imperialist poets retorted to that poem. Out of all of those poems, 3 stood out for the interesting, comic nature to which they answered to a peculiar piece of literature (because the word I want to use goes against my teacher’s blog’s rules of conduct). While, nowadays, we can only laugh and joke about how some people could be this closes minded and ignorant, pieces of text like this back in the 1900s (1899) used to shape opinions of not only the common, working man, but also the rich landowner. Such was the case with this poem. The American Congress started to quote pieces of this poem in the debate of the Treaty of Paris, a treaty as to whether Spain should maintain control of its colonial territories of Cuba and the Philippines. Goes to show how any excuse can be used to justify an unjustifiable cause as was the American Imperialism. While it is an absurd to say that this poem is solely responsible for the U.S’ imperialist actions in the future, it can be said that this poem was one of the many things that fueled their drive for their political conquest of the world. One thing is certain: controversial pieces of art like The White Man’s Burden have shaped the opinions and minds of many people around the world, and helped begin a downward spiral in each country’s understanding with each other. We can only wonder what will come next, and how it will manifest.

Athavan Balendran

14/8/2012 11:35:57 am

All 3 Poems play a large role in the thinking of people at the time. Big leaders like Teddy Roosevelt believed in the White mans Burden to help other countries in need and serve a paternal role for them. African Americans felt opposed to this feeling that White people have already done enough meddling in the affairs of others and that they should look into their own country to the mistreatment of their own citizens like many African Americans. Anna Manning Comfort's poem is also similar asking to United States government to look to its own borders in which it has treated all minorities poorly from Black and Indians to women. What we can learn about American History from these poems is that everybody had different opinions on the next goal for the United States. The country since the beginning had always been growing and to stop it might just stop it from becoming a world power. Responsibilities still needed to be tended to because even if it was to expand the country should treat everyone as it would treat its regular citizens, the white citizens.

Thiago Gatto

14/8/2012 11:54:29 am

Social Darwinism in the United States

The White Man’s Burden, written by Rudyard Kipling, is a poem that depicts the racial and social beliefs that American white people had at the time. Before analyzing the poem and its contents is necessary to analyze the social-historical context of the time the poem was written. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Unites States had already started their imperialist era, with invasions and interventions in countries such as Cuba and Philippines. Furthermore, in 1902, with the death of McKinley, Roosevelt assumed the presidency and with new and innovative perspectives, gave to the United States back the feeling of patriotism and nationalism. Darwin’s theory also contributed to the development of racism, since the white Europeans and Americans developed the idea of Social Darwinism and social superiority, where the white people were the group that was born to rule and dominate the black, who were destined to be commanded and obey the white people. With this context, the author used such perspectives to write a very racist poem, where he asserts that the white people are superior and that their objective is to rule the world and they were meant to control other societies, such as Indians and blacks. He also emphasized that this was a noble trajectory to follow and it was an honor to serve the country in such ways, dominating other races and massacring societies that were thought to be inferior. Other poems, however, such as the “What Is The White Man’s Burden?”, “Take Up The Black Man’s Burden” and “Home Burdens of Uncle Sam”, use irony and sarcasm to put in different perspectives the same model of the “White Man’s Burden” poem. In the first one, David Greene Haskins Jr. ironizes the fact that all that the American people stood for in the last centuries wasn’t being applied now that they were a developed country, since they had fought for freedom, it should make sense that they would be defending the freedom of other people as they did to theirs instead of trying to dominate and imprison them. In J. Dallas Bowse “Take Up The Black Man’s Burden”, he describes the black people as essential people in the formation of the United States as a developed country. He argues that the black people were actually the people who put all the hard work to make the country grow and that they needed to have the same rights as white people because they were just as important to the country as the Anglo-Saxon people. He describes the white people’s action as “savage and untaught”, meaning that their action was brutal and without mercy when dominating smaller societies. Anna Manning Comfort’s “Home Burdens Of Uncle Sam” also ironizes and criticizes the actions of the white people both in foreign affairs and internal affairs. Being a woman, she brings the perspective that the woman in the U.S are enslaved and they have no freedom of speech and that they were important to the country just as men were thus they should have equal rights. She also argues that the white man’s burden is the fact that they have built everything based on the domination and exploitation of other people and their resources and that the political scenario of the country is full of tricks to deceive the people in believing that white people are superior and domination of others is the best way to develop the country. Concluding, the first poem reveals the true beliefs of the American white people at the time, where they believed in the racial superiority and the thought that they were born to rule others and everything should be done in order to develop the country. Differently, the other poems don’t defend these types of actions that are that are characterized as the “white man’s burden”, but they criticize this society and make possible to infer that these policies are wrong and there’s nothing to be proud about on them.

Sarah Godoy

15/8/2012 12:48:00 pm

Don't "Take Up the White Man's Burden"

I strongly agree to Thiago by the time he says that the first poem that adopts a critical reply upon Kipling's "The White Man's Burden" reveals the American ethnocentrism and its reflections on their societal belief- for it generated a feeling that the guidance and leadership over world civilizations fit to the Americans, whereas I disagree to the fact that according to him, the second and third poems approach the “White Men’s Burden” from a different perspective. No, all three pieces of writing are actually aimed at the same thing- presenting to the reader a critique upon the white men’s (Anglo-Saxons, especially) attitude towards populations of other races which by them, were considered to be inferior (not in vain Kipling refers to them as immature, “sullen peoples”- “half devil and half child”). The first critique in form of poem contains the heaviest socio-cultural context, for it does not forget to mention Anglo- Saxon Protestantism’s willingness to expand to the rest of the world as it was viewed as the fittest religion based on Darwin’s theory of societal evolution (indeed, this is argued by Johnson on part 5 of a History of the American People), as in the case of the first verses of “What is the White Man’s Burden?”, which mentions a question upon a branch of Protestantism, the “Testimonies of Jehovah”, “Dar’st thou to say Jeovah has framed such dread decree?” Haskins also makes an indirect mention of the American interventions of the late 1800s and early 1900s as he says “May haughty Saxon armies Sweep through the Eastern world, to civilize or murder, with bloody flags unfurled?”. This question can be contextualized with the Philippines and Cuban intervention, thus resulting in the Spanish- American War, for invasions that were apparently excused by the willingness to civilize needy populations, ultimately resulted in the murder of over 3,000 men only in the Spanish- American War as a consequence of American self-interest. The theory of a “white men’s burden” as a protectionist measure towards the “new-caught sullen peoples” is rejected by Haskins, Bowse, and Comfort, and instead, is replaced by a strong critique to one of the most repressive races mankind has ever met, as suggested in all three texts- the Anglo- Saxons.

Gabriella Freeman

21/8/2012 01:41:38 am

All of the poems show a rather racist, social Darwinist point of view, as the White Man’s Burden was strongly supported by Teddy Roosevelt in order to help other countries in need and serve as a source of comfort and assistance to them. The African Americans thought that the white people had already done enough meddling in other countries and would benefit greatly in trying to deal with their own countries racial and ethical dilemmas. Basically, each poem has a different opinion for the United States´ next move. On one hand, some people believe that the United States should continue its meddling in other countries as it is doing them a favor and being a helping hand, but on the other hand, many believe that the United States should concentrate on its own issues that are just as bad as anyone else’s. Poems like such are an example of exactly what drove the United States into so much political power, in contrast to all the unjustifiable American Imperialism. Overall, each poem offers a different opinion to what the United States should enforce, creating tension and friction between either sides.

Mari T.

3/9/2012 08:38:10 am

The poems all show a racist point of view, through social Darwinism. The White Man’s Burden was supported by Teddy Roosevelt to “help” the poorer countries in need. While the African Americans thought that the whites had done enough and were already too guilty of racial dilemmas and should focus on resolving their problems. Each poem dictates what they believe should be the United State’s next step. However, there was another side to the story, who believed that the U.S.A had to keep ‘helping’ the other nations, while also believing that they also had to focus on their own problems, that were as bad as those from other countries. The poems are great indicators of what lead the U.S. into having such political power. All in all, the poems have different views of the U.S.’s next step, which was what created the tension between the opposing sides.

Athavan Balendran

3/9/2012 12:39:20 pm

White Man's Burden Blog Redo post

What the three poems teach us about U.S history is that people at the time had many different perspectives of the problems that were going on. Not only had this, but the government it seems also failed to act when appropriate in regards to addressing these problems and concerns. Many people today believe that people back then were incessantly racist and cruel towards non-whites. While this may not be wholly true many shared the same perspective that blacks and people of color were inferior. The white man’s burden is all about helping the blacks as it is the duty of one of higher dignity to help someone of lower status. As racist as this may be important leaders in our history believed in these same values. Teddy Roosevelt often emitted these values through his own actions. He believed that America was a great country and that with a higher degree of dignity and status comes the responsibility of looking after those of lower status, thus he believed in taking a paternal role for foreign countries similar to the ideas presented in the White Man’s Burden poem. At this same time that the poem came out, things that were occurring were the Spanish American war, and a decade later, WW1. For these events America became highly involved in the businesses of foreign countries and most of the time this led to war. The ” Take Up the Black Man’s Burden” poem, as well as “Home burdens of Uncle Sam”, the issue is the neglect of issues at home. While America fought these big conflicts abroad many were upset that the government was not dealing with problems at home. The black man’s poem and the women’s poem show anger towards the government for neglecting them while they sought to fulfill that paternal role outside of the country. This really shows us that these wars were not all glorious and that many people were against the idea for they believed fixing the problems at home were more important.

Anna Pearson

3/9/2012 12:43:57 pm

The White Man Loves his Burden

What is the white man's burden? In a poem by Rudyard Kipling, he defines it as the duty of Americans to help those who are inferior.

Anna Pearson

3/9/2012 01:00:49 pm

(continued)
This poem accurately shows the American value of imperialism at this time. The white man thinks they have a duty to control the world. By human nature the White man is also greedy and power-hungry and the white man couldn't ignore his internal desires. From this poem we can learn about the value of imperialism at the turn of the 20th-century. This value matters because it is the beginning of American domination over the world that exists today. However the implication of imperialism is that other people are hard. The black man believes that they should have the same burden as the White man and if they were ever given the chance, they could influence the world just as well as the white man. Another implication is the sacrificing consequences of women at this time. Women didn't understand why their men were going out and trying to impose rule with freedom in other countries when back at home there was still inequality, especially with women. However the white man thought that everything was fair. Lastly, a point brought up by David Greene Haskins's poem is that what gives the white man the permission to go out and kill brother man? Imperialism was beginning to dominate foreign policy, so many wondered how could such a thing as imperialism be possible ifit hurts other man? One of the best examples is in the Phillipines. many innocent lives were wasted in order for the United States to implement its domination. Imperialism from this time period has shaped the US foreign policy today and had played an important role in the creating the American influence that exists in much of the world.

Pedro Paulo

3/10/2012 12:24:53 pm

Kiplin's Rather Romantic Approach to Imperialism
The poem by the English poet Rudyard Kiplin "The White Man's Burden" refers to the falacious necessity of the Anglo-Saxon population to spread its culture around the world. Bound by the principle that Anglo-Saxons are naturally superior than humans of other races, the English poet suggests that in order for the development of the planet, the interaction with the way of life and the culture followed by the British and their former North American colonies is necessary. Therefore, it is up to this white population, superior and egalitarian, to spread their knowledge and manners to the underdeveloped regions of the Americas, Asia and Africa. Even though that through Kiplin's verses this civilzing mission might seem quite romantic, this poem is a clear sample of writing based upon pseudo-scientifical justifications for the imperial expansion of the Anglo-Saxon culture. In addition to justifying the Anglo-Saxon expansionist policy established by Theodore Roosevelt during the beggining of the 20th century, the phylosophy inherent to this poem was contributed greatly for the development of the American society untill mid 20th century. The idea that the whites were members of a superior race was important for the continuity of segragation in the Southern States of America untill the end of the 1960's. In response to such falacious and irrational poem such as Kiplin's "The White's Men Burden", several other poems were made critisizing Kiplin's justifications to imperialism, such as “What Is The White Man’s Burden?”, “Take Up The Black Man’s Burden” and “Home Burdens of Uncle Sam”. In all of these three texts there is a recurrent use ironies and rhetorical questions aimed at Kiplin's rather romantic approach to imperialism, making the English poet's arguments seem racist and lacking both reason and proof. It is up to us readers to read both perspectives upon the imperial and expansionist actions of the Anglo-Saxon nations during the 20th century, in order to distinguish what are facts and truths and what is simply a fallacy.

Poetry & Politics: WHITE MAN'S BURDEN and other poems

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