Coined the phrase The Gilded Age, which continues to be invoked to describe an aspect of American culture. His work on  the Belgium Congo and the US occupation of the  Philippines demonstrated how a celebrity can be a voice for oppressed people, which we see today in the work of celebrities like Bono and George Clooney, among many others. His political commentary and satire is replicated in numerous TV talk shows and political satires today.

Twain also spoke out/ lobbied/campaigned  for Civil Service Reform, Copyright reform, judicial reform, women's suffrage, the rights of Chinese immigrants, anti-lynching legislation, medical care reform,  the rights of unions and working men and women, animal rights, among other causes, much  of which eventually resulted in legislation at the federal or State level.

He claimed in a letter to his mother that in Nevada, he "passed every bill I worked for..., " including a bill that required every corporation to file its charter with and pay a fee to the Secretary of the Territory , who happened to be his brother.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Clay Shannon
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 9:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: A question for any and all on the forum: Twain and law

This question makes me wonder if any of the Twain researchers/authors here =
would ever consider writing a book such as "How Mark Twain Saved the World"=
 (as you are probably aware, there are such books as "How the Irish Saved t=
he World."
It would be interesting to see enumerated all the ways in which he has infl=
uenced culture, both American and world.=C2=A0- B. Clay Shannon

      From: Gregg Camfield <[log in to unmask]>
 To: [log in to unmask]
 Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 3:27 PM
 Subject: Re: A question for any and all on the forum: Twain and law
  =20
It's widely believed that Twain's very political use of the term "new deal"=
 i=3D
n _Connecticut Yankee_ inspired F. D.=C2=A0 Roosevelt's branding of his leg=
islati=3D
ve program.=C2=A0 Indirect, but big.

Gregg

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 23, 2017, at 11:36 AM, Julie N Ward <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>=3D20
> Hello all,
>=3D20
> Does anyone know if a Mark Twain story/essay/piece ever influenced
> (directly or indirectly) public legislation?
>=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
> Thanks!


  =20