. . . a writer of yesteryear (THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER, THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT, SAINT JOAN) of whom most of my contemporaries have never heard (in fact, this minority gal I work with from Detroit told me the public school district there has made it statuatorily ILLEGAL to have a copy of HUCK FINN within 1,500 feet of DPSD property!). Somewhat of a curmudgeon to begin with, Samuel Longhair Clemmons got increasingly feisty as he aged, what with his kids dying, and his businesses failing, and all. (Read the WAR PRAYER for an example.) When President McKinley (big in his day, but even less remembered than Twain now) sent the troop ships pictured in this short on their journey of conquest and colonialism to the Philippines (which was a U.S. "possession" with a status halfway between present-day Hawaii and Puerto Rico for the following 60 years, with special U.S. money almost the same as ours!) Twain devoted his life to writing nasty letters to the editor against McKinley, becoming the Ward Churchill of his day. As you watch this 33.26-second short, try viewing it through the eyes of Twain.
Review of Troop Ships for the Philippines
