...don't tell me anybody would seriously WANT the Donald to be present after the events of the last few days... I had predicted rioting protestors signalling their fealty to their Leader already in December. I had NOT counted on POTUS actually egging them on. Fortunately, the guy himself is a coward, or else he would have led his minions in person. Btw, why hasn't Rudy Giuliani been arrested yet? Why were hundreds of people allowed to leave & walk away from the Capitol, some with 'souvenirs'? Okay, this does not have a lot to do with Twain, so moderators might decide this is off topic, and i excuse myself for having brought this up. w On Fri, 8 Jan 2021 18:09:01 +0000 Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >For MS: Speaking of Johnson and the "defilement of the presidency": I >just heard today that AJ was the last president to refuse to attend >the next inauguration. (Ford was not inaugurated, of course) > >To JPZ: those details from HF are intriguing but I'll need a little >more than that... & ps: does HF actually compare someone to Stanton?? >Don't recall that nugget... > > > >_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ > > >Dr. Hal Bush > >Professor of English & > >Director of the Undergraduate Program > >Saint Louis University > >[log in to unmask] > >314-977-3616 > >http://halbush.com > >author blog: > https://www.patheos.com/blogs/spiritualcoffee<https://www.patheos.com/blogs/spiritualcoffee/2020/08/spiritual-coffee-and-the-path-toward-wokeness/> >________________________________ >From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of John Peter >Zavez <[log in to unmask]> >Sent: Friday, January 8, 2021 11:36 AM >To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Re: [External] Re: MT & conspiracy theories? > >To MS, wasn't the issue with Johnson/Stanton whether the President had >the constitutional power to remove a cabinet officer approved by >Congress, so MT may have been motivated more by balance-of-power >concerns than the actual persons involved. > >To HB, is it a coincidence that Huck Finn has: a Wilks Family, a >Booth's Landing, an actor who (physically) resembles John Wilkes >Booth, and his mentor who (physically) resembles Stanton? > >-----Original Message----- >From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Matthew Seybold >Sent: Friday, January 08, 2021 12:07 PM >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: Re: [External] Re: MT & conspiracy theories? > >Don't have time at the moment to follow up in more detail, but I can >say with certainty, having read about it just recently, that in >1868-69, Twain considered Johnson's decision to remove Stanton as >Secretary of War one of his many defilements of the Presidency. This, >of course, doesn't preclude him from buying into the Stanton >conspiracy at some other juncture, but it does complicate it. - MS > >On Fri, Jan 8, 2021 at 11:59 AM Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> That's an interesting idea: I wonder what makes you think MT >believed this scenario? The conspiracy theory about Stanton (which no >historians have bought into) did gain some steam immediately in 1865, >but really was popularized much later, well after the end of Twain's >life ... I'd be interested in hearing more about this connection. MT >did write a few things about AL, by the way, much later. >> >> >> >> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ >> >> >> Dr. Hal Bush >> >> Professor of English & >> >> Director of the Undergraduate Program >> >> Saint Louis University >> >> [log in to unmask] >> >> 314-977-3616 >> >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://halbush.com__;!!K543PA!YvFPFg3nhs0JoTcX9GU97jh4uCJjfys4MEq0lRZDv76p8LIm5_1S-wRfSghYEw$ >> >> author blog: >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.patheos.com/blogs/spiritualcoffee__;!!K543PA!YvFPFg3nhs0JoTcX9GU97jh4uCJjfys4MEq0lRZDv76p8LIm5_1S-wQE6tVygA$ ><https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.patheos.com/__;!!K543PA!YvFPFg3nhs0JoTcX9GU97jh4uCJjfys4MEq0lRZDv76p8LIm5_1S-wS_SGZchQ$ >> >blogs/spiritualcoffee/2020/08/spiritual-coffee-and-the-path-toward-wok >> eness/> >> ________________________________ >> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of John Peter >> Zavez <[log in to unmask]> >> Sent: Friday, January 8, 2021 10:30 AM >> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >> Subject: Re: [External] Re: MT & conspiracy theories? >> >> The biggest conspiracy theory of MT's time, which I believe he >believed, was that Secretary or War Stanton was behind Lincoln's >assassination. >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Hal Bush >> Sent: Friday, January 08, 2021 10:49 AM >> To: [log in to unmask] >> Subject: Re: [External] Re: MT & conspiracy theories? >> >> The Murrell myth, especially when Matt mentioned the how the Mystic >Clan's plots & conspiracy theory synthesized "anti-Black, anti-Semite, >anti-Catholic, and several other common antebellum prejudices," >reminded me of a much larger group doing similar things: the >Freemasons, of which MT was a member, as were many riverboat pilots >and others, right here in St. Louis in fact! I could say much mora >about freemasonry, but some would certainly include them, and other >mysticl brotherhoods in C19, as often provoking conspiracy theories, >to say the least. >> >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://psrh79.org/?page_id=94__;!!K543PA!e >> 9LG-7ltv5LzhMJVQ9InebE2ADS_QP57C4hzKEDmXWl6dydt_dqxvsKN4anPgQ$ >> Polar Star Lodge No. 79 History – Polar Star Rose Hill Lodge No >> >79<https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://psrh79.org/?page_id=94__;!!K543P >> A!e9LG-7ltv5LzhMJVQ9InebE2ADS_QP57C4hzKEDmXWl6dydt_dqxvsKN4anPgQ$ > >A >> Brief History ~ Polar Star Lodge No. 79, St. Louis Written by >PSRH#79 >> Member Worshipful Brother Richard B. Ramage, Appearing in The >Missouri >> Freemason Fall 2004 (Volume 49, No. 4) >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://psrh79.org__;!!K543PA!e9LG-7ltv5Lzh >> MJVQ9InebE2ADS_QP57C4hzKEDmXWl6dydt_dqxvsJ3F54WcQ$ >> >> >> >> >> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ >> >> >> Dr. Hal Bush >> >> Professor of English & >> >> Director of the Undergraduate Program >> >> Saint Louis University >> >> [log in to unmask] >> >> 314-977-3616 >> >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://halbush.com__;!!K543PA!e9LG-7ltv5Lz >> hMJVQ9InebE2ADS_QP57C4hzKEDmXWl6dydt_dqxvsI8mihYhQ$ >> >> author blog: >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.patheos.com/blogs/spiritualcof >> >fee__;!!K543PA!e9LG-7ltv5LzhMJVQ9InebE2ADS_QP57C4hzKEDmXWl6dydt_dqxvsL >> Ji1KX9w$ >> ><https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.patheos.com/blogs/spiritualco >> >ffee/2020/08/spiritual-coffee-and-the-path-toward-wokeness/__;!!K543PA >> !e9LG-7ltv5LzhMJVQ9InebE2ADS_QP57C4hzKEDmXWl6dydt_dqxvsI5D7ABoA$ > >> ________________________________ >> From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Wolfgang >> Hochbruck <[log in to unmask]> >> Sent: Friday, January 8, 2021 9:32 AM >> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> >> Subject: [External] Re: MT & conspiracy theories? >> >> ...Murrell and his gang even more openly get featured in _Tom >Sawyer_, i thought, when Tom & Huck find the treasure ... William G. >Simms wrote more about Murrell in _Richard Hurdis, or the Avenger of >Blood_, and there was a melodrama _Murrell, the Pirate_ (1835), >originally written by Nathaniel Harrington Bannister and popularized >by Charles Burke, both in their turn inspiring German immigrant >Friedrich Gerstäcker who then became they German Simms after his >remigration in 1844 with _Die Flusspiraten des Mississippi_ and >_Regulatoren in Arkansas_, both loosely based on the Murrell story -- >This conspiracy myth must have had a lot more traction in the 1840s >through the Civil War period than i usually suspected. >> >> best >> w >> >> On Fri, 8 Jan 2021 09:37:25 -0500 >> Matthew Seybold <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >That's a great question, Hal. >> > >> >When I wrote my dissertation on the figure of the con-artist, I >spent >> >a little time on conspiracy theories, which are often created >and/or >> >amplified by con-artists. One of the most extraordinary conspiracy >> >theories of the 1830s circulated around "the Mystic Clan." This >was, >> >supposedly, a secret society led by a notorious outlaw, John >Murrell, >> >and thanks in large part to Virgil Stewart, who published a series >of >> >books and pamphlets claiming to expose the Mystic Clan's plots, >they >> >were planning to start slave insurrections as a distraction while >> >they raided banks in major Gulf Coast cities. The conspiracy theory >> >synthesizes anti-Black, anti-Semite, anti-Catholic, and several >other >> >common antebellum prejudices. >> > >> >Twain was definitely aware of Murrell, whose real (and fictional) >> >operations had been in the trade corridor where Twain was later a >> >pilot. He refers to "Murel" in LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI as a >criminal >> >"genius" who made Jesse James look like a "retail rascal." In this >> >passage, Twain mentions several details from the Mystic Clan >> >conspiracy theory and seems to be treating it as accurate history, >> >although he also acknowledges in the same paragraph that "cheap >> >histories" of romantic outlaws were for sale at train stations and >> >steamboat landings. Melville alludes to the same market for >specious >> >criminal biography in the opening chapter of THE CONFIDENCE-MAN, >> >specifically naming Murrell its most profitable topics. I haven't >dug >> >into whether Twain refers to this conspiracy elsewhere later in his >career. >> > >> >Like you, I'd love to know what others C19 conspiracies people have >> >encountered in Twain's life and work. There are, of course, several >> >alluded to in Richard Hofstadter's THE PARANOID STYLE IN AMERICAN >> >POLITICS. >> > >> >Stay safe, everybody. >> > >> >- MS >> > >> >On Fri, Jan 8, 2021 at 8:42 AM Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> >> >> Dear friends: what a week. Can I tie these horrific events into >C19 >> >& MT? >> >> >> >> A friend has passed on his terrifying essay on a conspiracy >theory >> >way back in 1860, see below. I think we need reminding that >> >conspiracy theories have a very long history in our nation, and >that >> >they can be deadly and incendiary. >> >> >> >> Q; has anyone looked into MT's encounter with and understanding/ >> >critique of conspiracy theory--pro and con? >> >> >> >> >> >>https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://baptistnews.com/article/how-300-c >> >hi >> >>ldren-lost-their-fathers-to-lynching-on-a-single-day-because-of-a-con >> >sp >> >>iracy-theory/?fbclid=IwAR2RtPG7DEJx-D7WiusYA9h8YLeIY-iLksb99CWAQqNIOT >> >7J >> >>fcGVtuRJBJY*.X_hexOBMFTZ__;Iw!!K543PA!bqFn8R79de9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9 >> >Fg >> >svDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz0Kt6vHUA$ >> >> >> >>[https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://1648o73kablq2rveyn64glm1-wpengine. >> >>https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/ >> >>2020/12/Great_Hanging_at_Gainesville___;!!K543PA!e9LG-7ltv5LzhMJVQ9In >> >ebE2ADS_QP57C4hzKEDmXWl6dydt_dqxvsKYg8NpmA$ >> >>Texas_-_1862.jpg__;!!K543PA!bqFn8R79de9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9FgsvDNZP5i >> >au >> >vlDnAusm7tz2jkRkW2g$ >> >>]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://baptistnews.com/article/how-300 >> >-c >> >>hildren-lost-their-fathers-to-lynching-on-a-single-day-because-of-a-c >> >on >> >>spiracy-theory/?fbclid=IwAR2RtPG7DEJx-D7WiusYA9h8YLeIY-iLksb99CWAQqNI >> >OT >> >>7JfcGVtuRJBJY*.X_hexOBMFTZ__;Iw!!K543PA!bqFn8R79de9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0 >> >n9 >> >FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz0Kt6vHUA$ > >> >> How 300 children lost their fathers to lynching on a single day >> >because of a conspiracy theory – Baptist News >> >>Global<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://baptistnews.com/article/ho >> >w- >> >>300-children-lost-their-fathers-to-lynching-on-a-single-day-because-o >> >f- >> >>a-conspiracy-theory/?fbclid=IwAR2RtPG7DEJx-D7WiusYA9h8YLeIY-iLksb99CW >> >AQ >> >>qNIOT7JfcGVtuRJBJY*.X_hexOBMFTZ__;Iw!!K543PA!bqFn8R79de9Vzns52b-hITjy >> >_d sP0n9FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz0Kt6vHUA$ > >> >> There is nothing new about conspiracy theories. Recently, while >> >doing some research on the history of lynching, I learned that >> >Anthony Bewley, a Methodist minister, was lynched in Fort Worth, >> >Texas, back in 1860. Bewley was the victim of a bizarre conspiracy >theory. >> >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://baptistnews.com__;!!K543PA!bqFn8 >> >> R7 9de9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz2J_sdTMg$ >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ >> >> >> >> >> >> Dr. Hal Bush >> >> >> >> Professor of English & >> >> >> >> Director of the Undergraduate Program >> >> >> >> Saint Louis University >> >> >> >> [log in to unmask] >> >> >> >> 314-977-3616 >> >> >> >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://halbush.com__;!!K543PA!bqFn8R79d >> >> e9 Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz1AN7IhRg$ >> >> >> >> author blog: >> > >> >https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.patheos.com/blogs/spiritualcof >> >fee__;!!K543PA!bqFn8R79de9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz3 >> yog7CsA$ >> ><https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.patheos.com/blogs/spiritualco >> >ffee/2020/08/spiritual-coffee-and-the-path-toward-wokeness/__;!!K543PA >> !bqFn8R79de9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz2ta9_2aA$ > >> > >> > >> > >> >-- >> >Matt Seybold >> >Assistant Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies >> >Elmira College Editor, >> >>https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://MarkTwainStudies.org__;!!K543PA!bq >> >Fn 8R79de9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz05Rij2bQ$ >> >>https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://MattSeybold.com__;!!K543PA!bqFn8R7 >> >9d e9Vzns52b-hITjy_dsP0n9FgsvDNZP5iauvlDnAusm7tz3j84_nCw$ >> >> >> Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hochbruck >> Dept. of English >> Centre for Security and Society >> Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg >> Rempart St. 15 >> D-79098 Freiburg >> Germany > > > >-- >Matt Seybold >Assistant Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies Elmira >College Editor, >https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://MarkTwainStudies.org__;!!K543PA!YvFPFg3nhs0JoTcX9GU97jh4uCJjfys4MEq0lRZDv76p8LIm5_1S-wR8LVnnlg$ > https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://MattSeybold.com__;!!K543PA!YvFPFg3nhs0JoTcX9GU97jh4uCJjfys4MEq0lRZDv76p8LIm5_1S-wQh4xkDdg$ Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hochbruck Dept. of English Centre for Security and Society Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg Rempart St. 15 D-79098 Freiburg Germany