Empire, Roosevelt, and Mark Twain with Stephen Kinzer

This week, Kelly is joined by historian and journalist Stephen Kinzer to discuss his book The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire. They dig into the Spanish-American War, the fierce imperialist vs. anti-imperialist debate it sparked, and how those same arguments still echo through American foreign policy today.

Find The True Flag here: https://www.amazon.com/True-Flag-Theodore-Roosevelt-American/dp/1627792163 

Timestamps:

0:00 – Introduction

0:13 – Introducing Stephen Kinzer and The True Flag

2:21 – What Was the Spanish-American War?

6:22 – The Imperialist Case: Roosevelt and Lodge

11:05 – The Philippines and the Rise of Insurgency

17:36 – The Anti-Imperialist Senate Debate

24:01 – Mark Twain's Anti-Imperialist Crusade

27:08 – William Jennings Bryan's Complicated Role

31:18 – The Legacy of 1898 Today

34:02 – Closing Thoughts

Diplomatic Immunity is produced by the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. The views expressed herein do not represent the views of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy or Georgetown University.