Critiquing the “White Man’s Burden” Rudyard Kipling was an English poet who spend much of his life in India, a colony of Great Britain. He is best known for his novels and poetry which surround British imperial rule. He lived from 1865-1936

Kipling’s Reputation…Wiki style… Kipling's subsequent reputation has changed according to the political and social climate of the age [8][9] and the resulting contrasting views about him continued for much of the 20th century.[10][11] A young George Orwell called him a "prophet of British imperialism".[12] According to critic Douglas Kerr: "He is still an author who can inspire passionate disagreement and his place in literary and cultural history is far from settled. But as the age of the European empires recedes, he is recognized as an incomparable, if controversial, interpreter of how empire was experienced. That, and an increasing recognition of his extraordinary narrative gifts, make him a force to be reckoned with."[13]

Your Learning Goals Understand the political context of “White Man’s Burden” Identify the main values expressed in the four featured poems Analyze the relationship between poetic techniques and political messages

Answer this question… Did the 1899 treaty decision betray the values upon which the US was founded? Or was it the inevitable result of America’s rise to global power?

What do you think? Most American’s would not have considered the views of it he inhabitants of Spain’s former possessions when determining policy. What other options might the US government had entertained following the Spanish American War, if the preferences and viewpoints of the Filipinos and Cubans had been considered?

White Man’s Burden - 1899 Who was Kipling? Read the poem aloud What words and phrases best reflect Kipling’s attitudes? How do Kipling’s imagery, metaphors, and historical references convey his message? What are the principle values portrayed? How does he view colonialism? What does he mean when he predicts that Americans will reap the “blame of these ye better?” Think about this: How might senators of reacted? What values in this poem nay have tipped the balance in favor of the Treaty of Paris in 1898? TR said that the poem “made good sense from the expansionist standpoint”

In Small Groups Examine each of the three other poems to analyze the style and values of the authors. What actions does each poem advocate? From what perspective are they written? Main focus of each poem? Tone of each poem? How do the rebuttals differ in their vision of American society from those of “The White Man’s Burden” and each other?

Connect to today Listen to NPR story http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=6423000&m=6423011 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6423000 How does the current US intervention overseas might be addressed in poetry from different perspectives? What different values, perspectives, and priorities could they highlight in poetry about the war in Iraq or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Can they think of any modern day poets who have written pieces?` http://www.warpoetry.co.uk/ Was the US an imperialist nation in 1900? Is it today?

Exam Practice With respect to origin and purpose, assess the value and limitations of one of the sources (please state which one) for historians studying the debate around US annexation of colonies following the Spanish-American war.