Southern Sympathy

Mason Labash
English 48B
February 25, 2011
Journal: Mark Twain

“In my own view, the whole “miscegenation money” hoax was little more than a desperate insult to the Union cause issued by a confused and increasingly unrepentant Confederate sympathizer.”

“I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. All I care to know is that a man is a human being, and that is enough for me; he can't be any worse.” –Mark Twain

               From this sudden attack on the Union cause it’s easy to assume Twain is a racist because miscegenation by itself is clearly racist. He was born in The South in the late 1800’s so obviously he came from a racist background and was raised to permeate those beliefs. I strongly believe Twain was extremely intelligent and knew that racism was wrong as he got older. Not only that but he was also a visionary. He could see into the future and knew that slavery had to end at some point. He was highly unsatisfied with the way Lincoln decided to go about it though as he was upset when he was once again able to float down the Mississippi River after the war only to discover it had been ravaged beyond belief by the Union.

               I agree with your stance that Twain was still a bit confused and not completely sure who to side with, the Confederacy or the Union. There is strong evidence to support this. He was just recently somewhat won over by his new found friends, the legendary “Virginians.” They had taken him in as one of their own and seemed to offer true companionship. They were very similar to Twain in many ways in that they were both southerners and both left The South to escape the war and head west. This coupled with his nostalgia for the Antebellum South, which was now slowly growing farther and farther out of reach making it all the more desirable. You can’t hate the man for not wanting his roots to die off. Also he had begun gaining fame as a writer for the “Territorial Enterprise” and such works as “Doings in Nevada” which was published in one of the, if not the biggest city in America. He knew his writing would have considerable impact and seized the opportunity to gain support for the Confederacy by disrespecting the Union.

               Hoffman and Sanborn come off as cowards a little bit in my humble opinion. They don’t want to admit that Twain really was siding with the Confederacy. It seems to me that they are frightened by the truth. I don’t know what they are scared of. I personally love The South and am not afraid to admit it. I like the use of the word “unrepentant” as it definitely defines Twain’s sentiment of the time. The Confederacy had basically lost and Twain hated that fact. He certainly didn’t feel the need to show the Union any sympathy. It’s funny that Hoffman goes as far as to call Twain a “borderline schizophrenic.” I don’t think that could be farther from the truth. Everyone is more reckless when they are young or placed in a position of desperation, that doesn’t mean they are mentally insane.

             Mark Twain Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain.html>.