Kipling's 'The White Man's Burden' and the British Newspaper Context, 1898–1899

Abstract

Examining Kipling's 'The White Man's Burden' within the rhetorical context of pro-imperialist British newspapers in the 1898–9 period demonstrates that the poem itself is both product and cause of the relationship these publications were constructing between Great Britain and its erstwhile colony. The Times (London), the Spectator, The Economist, and the Daily Mail all supported US imperialism, but they also perceived the necessity for Great Britain to control a potential rival. To facilitate a mentoring relationship they constructed a set of arguments concerning US responsibilities in the aftermath of its victory over Spain in 1898–9 and suggested that the USA should model its colonial policies after Britain's own imperial administration. Kipling's poem comes directly out of these arguments; moreover, once published, the papers instantly recycled it to support their points. Together with the newspapers' arguments, the poem constituted a clear intervention into debates over the course of US imperialism.