The White Man's Burden

While in a three-month Spanish–American War; the United States felt the urge to take up the “burden” of empire, as had Britain. The author of the short poem, "White Man's Burden" believed in the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries that white men took responsibility for educating ethnicities who considered to be uncivilized and/or ignorant. This pretty much applied to anyone who was not white. “Your new-caught, sullen peoples, half-devil and half-child,” said Kipling, relates to colonialism by referring to the native peoples as from the dumps with different custom and religion (7-8). In line eight of Kipling’s poem “child” is referring to not being sure of ignorance…

Another one of the promises made in “The White Man’s Burden” was to help the people by protecting them. This promise, as well as the promise of stopping famine were both broken. In “The White Man’s Burden”, Rudyard Kipling had promised they would protect and help the people of color from around the world. “...when we failed and our rubber was short, the soldiers came to our towns and killed us. Many were shot, some had their ears cut off; others were tied up with ropes around their necks and…

The White Man’s Burden, 1899 published in the McClure’s magazine stands out as one of the most infamous literature works by Kipling. It has been reviled as the major articulation of the greediness of the countries of the West especially America and Europe and their encompassing ambitions on the orient. Kipling initially composes his poem for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria but later chose to submit it as a hymn. A summary of the poem articulates several things about the…

An example of this would be the poem The White Man’s Burden, written by Rudyard Kipling, known for being an extreme imperialist. In the poem, he refers to the people of the Philippines as “half-devil and half-child,” while also referring them as “wild.”6 This is written at a time when the United States is taking over the Philippines, a nation that could’ve been put under the category of “uncivilized.” This is where nationalism and imperialism collide, because imperialism is controlling the…

“The White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling was wrote in 1899 to promote imperialism. Rudyard Kipling states “send forth the best ye breed,” talking about white men. He is saying that White men are the best breed, or the best of humankind. It is a poem written in encouragement of the European sense of superiority over other races. In “The White Man’s Burden.” Rudyard Kipling is describing what his opinion of the burden of a white man is. He describes the intelligence of a white man being that…

In his poem The White Man’s Burden, Author Rudyard Kipling instructs white men to take up the “burden” of responsibility for the “sullen peoples/half devil and half child” who are affected by colonization. Kipling, was a well-known pro-Imperialist writer and a prestigious college graduate who had won many awards, including the Nobel Prize for writing. His tone throughout the poem is insultingly patronizing and reflects the popular attitude toward imperialism at the time. Despite widespread…

During the 1890’s to 1899 many African Americans fought to get equal rights as others. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was signed and it gave African Americans the right to vote; However, they faced obstacles due to Grandfather clauses, literacy exams and poll taxes. This is when the The Brown Man’s Burden by Henry Labouchére and The White Man’s Burden by Rudyard Kipling were published in 1899, emphasizing the idea that Imperialism and racism were negative and positive impacts in society at that…

The industrialization of Europe in the early 1800’s was essential to the rise of New Imperialism in Europe as it brought about technological advancements like railroads and steam engines that paved the way for a new concept: Global Empire. King Leopold II of Belgium accurately sums up the fundamental rationale for 19th century European manifest destiny with his quote, “The country [people] must be strong, prosperous, therefore have colonies of her [their] own, beautiful and calm.” [5] The…

Kipling published his “White Man’s Burden,” a satire was published by Henry Labouchere in which the truth of the efforts were revealed that one must destroy the blacks that try and stop the colonization. This writing began with, “pile on the brown man’s burden to gratify your greed; go clear away the ‘niggers’ who progress would impede” (Henry Labouchere, “The Brown Man’s Burden,”…

greatest human tragedies of the New World and the United States. The White Man's Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States was written by Winthrop D. Jordan and tells the history of racism in the United States. The author discusses the very origins of racism and the nature of slavery within the United States through the attitudes of the white slave owners. In the book, the author addresses the problem of slavery through the negative stereotypes, racist laws, and the paradox of…