"To be a patriot, one had to say, and keep on saying, 'our country, right or wrong,' and urge on the little war. Have you not perceived that phrase is an insult to the nation? Only when a republic's life is in danger should a man uphold his government when it is in the wrong. There is no other time" (Geismar vi). Mark Twain was an idealist who used his writings to demonstrate his concern for the direction and condition of the United States. Twain had always hated the cruelty of slavery. He wanted to keep American democracy pure, and was distrustful of other systems such as the English monarchy. Twain was also distrustful of religion, and he wanted to make sure the Catholic Church did not develop dominion over the United States' churches and government. In Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," and "The £1,000,000 Bank-Note," his strong hatred of slavery, hatred of English Monarchy, and hatred of Catholicism are stressed; these satirical works present his American patriotism through his use of character images, humorous burlesques, satirical allusions, and symbolism between the nineteenth and sixth centuries.
             Growing up in Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain saw the sin of slavery in his own backyard. He saw the manual labor and physical abuse the slaves suffered under. From early childhood he despised the practice. He personally felt ashamed of slavery and hated to see the slaves punished in the fields as if they had committed a serious crime (Geismar 85-86). From watching it his whole life, he decided that the remedy was for a brave, effective man to encourage, support, and bring light of the lynching and horrors of slavery (Geismar 38). Once Twain began writing, it was clear he wanted to be known as an individual who stood in opposition to slavery. Later in life, as his works became mor...