or ‘slavish’ in the 1880’s (Ladd 101)." Although this type of speech was in vogue within the ‘eastern literary establishment’ of that time Twain’s adoption of their terminology is unsuitable for contemporary dialog. I cannot defend those statements effectively without the ability to read them in context but Twain could’ve been alluding to the colored politicians who had no real power in the white dominated Congress. In Twain’s Concerning the Jews (1899) he seriously composed, "I am quite sure that (bar one) I have no race prejudices and I think that I have no color prejudices nor caste prejudices nor creed prejudices (Budd, Tales 355)." Concerning the Jews is a long work defending the Jews and together with Newhouse’s Jew Story and Randall’s Jew Story there seems to have been a concerted effort on Twain’s part to actively combat anti-Semitism (Tuckley 279-89). Twain joked in Concerning the Jews, "All I care to know is that a man is a human being – that is enough for me; he can’t be any worse (Budd, Tales 355)." He continued by stating that he even feels no prejudice towards Satan and that he might "lean a little his way, on account of him not having a fair show (Budd, Tales 355)." Three years later in 1902 Twain wrote an even more provocative piece. Does the Race of Man Love a Lord? discusses how all of humanity are alike in many respects. He suggests that "Emperors, kings, artisans, peasants, big people, little people – at the bottom we are all alike and all the same; all alike on the inside and when our clothes are off, nobody can tell which of us is which (Budd, Tales 516)." This work effectively compares all members of the human race in a way that could be accepted at the turn of the century. Twain never explicitly said that blacks, Chinese, or Natives Americans deserved to be treated as people but preaching wasn’t his style, chicanery was. Th...
