The March of the Flag

Beveridge glorifies war in his 1898 speech “The March of the Flag.” He essentially recommends war with Cuba and calls for an invasion of Puerto Rico. As he writes, “There’s canals to be dug, railways to be laid, markets to be won, peoples to be saved, civilization to be proclaimed and the flag of liberty flung to the eager air of every sea (par. 34).” He justifies the subjugation of other nations and races because goods and riches in other places are going to waste. “Shall we be as the man who had one talent and hid it, or as he who had ten talents and used them until they grew to riches? And shall we reap the reward that waits on our discharge of our high duty… The resources of Porto Rico have only been trifled with. The riches of the Philippines have hardly been touched by the fingertips of modern methods… Their trade will be ours in time (par. 6 and 22).” He hails American soldiers as martyrs in America’s righteous crusade to “unfurl our banner (par. 35).” In “Johnny Got his Gun,” Joe decries the American government for not caring about its soldiers. He writes that America’s “martyrs” are only pawns in a greater, more vicious governmental game for power and glory. Beveridge’s insensitive speech seems to prove Joe’s point.