Stephen Kinzer’s The True Flag

Name: Professor’s name: Course: Date: Stephen Kinzer’s The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of the American Empire Introduction The clamor for global political, social, and economic influence is not a new phenomenon to the United States but rather an inherent nature embedded in the nation’s history. Stephen Kinzer’s The True Flag: Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of the American Empire takes a closer look at the historical events leading to the nation’s development of its foreign policies and its subsequent repercussions. Provided herein is a summary analysis of the author’s work on the historical development of the Important American policy as well as the different roles played by both the protagonist and antagonists of the same. Stephen Kinzer’s The True Flag is an excellent depiction of the United States’ development and establishment of its foreign policy upon which forms the basis for the nation’s interventions in other countries. The author, a renowned journalist, and historian provides a historical account of the development of the United States’ foreign policy and its engagements abroad. The authors highlight some of the key players and events, which played a significant role in spearheading the nation’s imperialist and expansionists endeavors in other countries. According to Kinzer, Theodore Roosevelt and the 1898 Spanish-American war were primary factors upon which expansionist sentiments built and spread across the nation CITATION Kin17 \l 1033 (Kinzer). The author purports that the long-forgotten war between the Americans and the Spanish colonists over the South Americas was crucial to setting up the nation’s imperialist and expansion expeditions across different places around the world. The late 19th century witnessed the invasion of Spanish colonies in Cuba under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt who used the war against Spain to catapult his political career to the rank of the vice presidency and ultimately to the powerful seat of the American Presidency CITATION Kin17 \l 1033 (Kinzer). However, the author carefully outlines the unfolding events during the late 19th and early 20th century where the country engaged in a heated debate over its involvement and intervention in international matters to serve its national interests CITATION Kin17 \l 1033 (Kinzer). Kinzer develops the national debate over the same by pitting the proponents of the expansionists against its antagonists. Proponents of the argument for expansionism included Theodore Roosevelt, President McKinley, former Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot, and a newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst CITATION Kin17 \l 1033 (Kinzer). The anti-imperialist faction, on the other hand, included the likes of Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, and William Jennings Bryan who were adamant in their stance against the nation’s proposed move for expansionism CITATION Kin17 \l 1033 (Kinzer). The American-Spanish war of 1898 was a manifestation of Roosevelt’s imperialist and expansion ideology as he urged the nation to go to war with Spain to take over the latter’s colonies in the Caribbean CITATION Kin17 \l 1033 (Kinzer). The United States was sympathetic to the plight of the Cubans who were under the oppre...