--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must annex those people. We can…" description: "\"We must annex those people. We can afflict them with our wise and beneficent government. We can introduce the novelty of thieves, all the way up from s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/mark-twain-22_annexation_we-must-annex-those-people-we-can-afflic_1659130.png" --- # We must annex those people. We can afflict them with our… ![“We must annex those people. We can afflict them with our wise and beneficent government. We can introduce the novelty of thieves, all the way up from street-car pickpockets to municipal robbers and Government defaulters, and show them how amusing it is to arrest them and try them and then turn…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/mark-twain-22_annexation_we-must-annex-those-people-we-can-afflic_1659130.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/mark-twain-22_annexation_we-must-annex-those-people-we-can-afflic_1659130.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/632/mark-twain-22_annexation_we-must-annex-those-people-we-can-afflic_1659130.png) > “We must annex those people. We can afflict them with our wise and beneficent government. We can introduce the novelty of thieves, all the way up from street-car pickpockets to municipal robbers and Government defaulters, and show them how amusing it is to arrest them and try them and then turn them loose -- some for cash and some for ''political influence.'' We can make them ashamed of their simple and primitive justice. We can make that little bunch of sleepy islands the hottest corner on earth, and array it in the moral splendor of our high and holy civilization. Annexation is what the poor islanders need. ''Shall we to men benighted, the lamp of life deny?''” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker satively justifies colonizing a people, claiming it will civilize them, while mocking the moral hypocrisy of such “benevolent” oppression. **In simple terms:** Colonialism is portrayed as a moral duty but is actually exploitation. Key Takeaway Question the morality of imposing control. Themes colonialism power hypocrisy Mood critical ironic Type historical satire When to use this quote - political policy - international relations - human rights debates Key Concepts civilization moral justification imperialism Questions to Reflect On - Is this a genuine Twain quote? - How does satire reveal imperialist attitudes? A Different Perspective The quote may be a satirical misattribution, not an authentic Twain statement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Annex People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annex-people-738704/) [Annexation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annexation/) [Annexation Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annexation-poor-738705/) [Civilization Annexation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-annexation-738707/) [Islanders Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islanders-need-738706/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [St Anne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/st-anne-223747/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“At least Anne Frank,” Comrade Snarky said, “never had to tour with her book . . .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/at-least-anne-frank-comrade-snarky-said-never-had-to-tour-with-her/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“My neighbour is the very famous Johnny Depp, who looks away should I ever appear. When my seven-year tenure at Sweetzer ends, Johnny Depp…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morrissey/my-neighbour-is-the-very-famous-johnny-depp-who-looks-away-should-i/) [Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morrissey/) > [“Trust Anne to turn a disadvantage into an asset!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-plaidy/trust-anne-to-turn-a-disadvantage-into-an-asset/) [Jean Plaidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-plaidy/) > [“American political activist Anne Lamott stated: “You can safely assume that you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-werleman/american-political-activist-anne-lamott-stated-you-can-safely-assume/) [C.J. Werleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-werleman/) > [“We're at a dinner party in an apartment on Rue Paul Valéry between Avenue Foch and Avenue Victor Hugo and it's all rather subdued…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-easton-ellis/we-re-at-a-dinner-party-in-an-apartment-on-rue-paul-val-ry-between/) [Bret Easton Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-easton-ellis/) > [“guests of the Palace, almost all of them Hollywood actors, European royalty, music greats, or the superrich and powerful. He found it all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/guests-of-the-palace-almost-all-of-them-hollywood-actors-european/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [The 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands merely formally recognized what had long been American domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-1898-annexation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-merely-formally/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [I perhaps ought to say that individually I never was much interested in the Texas question. I never could see much good to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-perhaps-ought-to-say-that-individually-i-never-was-much-interested/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“When you grow up knowing that you deserve to be on top, that the lesser houses exist to serve your house’s glorious destiny, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/when-you-grow-up-knowing-that-you-deserve-to-be-on-top-that-the-2/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [“If the Palestinian people really wish to decide that they will battle to the very end to prevent partition or annexation of even an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-the-palestinian-people-really-wish-to-decide-that-they-will-battle/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [As humanism begins to dominate the state, the consequence is complete hostile annexation of the church or persecution by separation. Religion is then removed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-von-kuehnelt-leddihn/as-humanism-begins-to-dominate-the-state-the-consequence-is-complete/) [Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-von-kuehnelt-leddihn/) > [In the short term, it would not have made it possible to resume relations, because in the Chinese mind, the humiliation of China started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/in-the-short-term-it-would-not-have-made-it-possible-to-resume/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [I not only rejoice, but congratulate my beloved country Texas is reannexed, and the safety, prosperity, and the greatest interest of the whole Union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/i-not-only-rejoice-but-congratulate-my-beloved-country-texas-is/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [We believe that settlement expansion policies pursued in recent decades by successive Israeli governments have facilitated the process of de-facto annexation. It has complicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurer/we-believe-that-settlement-expansion-policies-pursued-in-recent/) [Peter Maurer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurer/) > [The G7 and former G8 group has always viewed itself as a community of values, the annexation of Crimea, which is a blatant violation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/the-g7-and-former-g8-group-has-always-viewed-itself-as-a-community-of/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Annexation quotes > [The G7 and former G8 group has always viewed itself as a community of values, the annexation of Crimea, which is a blatant violation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/the-g7-and-former-g8-group-has-always-viewed-itself-as-a-community-of/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [The 1898 annexation of the Hawaiian Islands merely formally recognized what had long been American domination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-macmillan/the-1898-annexation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-merely-formally/) [Margaret MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-macmillan/) > [I perhaps ought to say that individually I never was much interested in the Texas question. I never could see much good to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-perhaps-ought-to-say-that-individually-i-never-was-much-interested/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I not only rejoice, but congratulate my beloved country Texas is reannexed, and the safety, prosperity, and the greatest interest of the whole Union…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/i-not-only-rejoice-but-congratulate-my-beloved-country-texas-is/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [We believe that settlement expansion policies pursued in recent decades by successive Israeli governments have facilitated the process of de-facto annexation. It has complicated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurer/we-believe-that-settlement-expansion-policies-pursued-in-recent/) [Peter Maurer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurer/) > [In the short term, it would not have made it possible to resume relations, because in the Chinese mind, the humiliation of China started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/in-the-short-term-it-would-not-have-made-it-possible-to-resume/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [As humanism begins to dominate the state, the consequence is complete hostile annexation of the church or persecution by separation. Religion is then removed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-von-kuehnelt-leddihn/as-humanism-begins-to-dominate-the-state-the-consequence-is-complete/) [Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-von-kuehnelt-leddihn/) > [“If the Palestinian people really wish to decide that they will battle to the very end to prevent partition or annexation of even an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/if-the-palestinian-people-really-wish-to-decide-that-they-will-battle/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“When you grow up knowing that you deserve to be on top, that the lesser houses exist to serve your house’s glorious destiny, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-leckie/when-you-grow-up-knowing-that-you-deserve-to-be-on-top-that-the-2/) [Ann Leckie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-leckie/) > [I'm very pleased this military engagement together with a political road map that we developed, we were able to continue. We want to bring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/i-m-very-pleased-this-military-engagement-together-with-a-political/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [Annexation is probably the most valuable tool a city has to ensure orderly growth and development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hawkins/annexation-is-probably-the-most-valuable-tool-a-city-has-to-ensure/) [Jeff Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hawkins/) > [FREEBOOTER, n. A conqueror in a small way of business, whose annexations lack of the sanctifying merit of magnitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/freebooter-n-a-conqueror-in-a-small-way-of-business-whose-annexations/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“The movement to join Washington had a substantial following in the 1850s, centred in Montreal...It faced considerable resistance, though - in part because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-saunders/the-movement-to-join-washington-had-a-substantial-following-in-the/) [Doug Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-saunders/) > [ Generally the officers of the army were indifferent whether the annexation \[of Texas\] was consummated or not; but not so all of them. For… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/generally-the-officers-of-the-army-were-indifferent-whether-the/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [There are probably 400 to 500 people, water protectors, north of the 1889 boundary, that was the result of an illegal annexation of treaty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-iron-eyes/there-are-probably-400-to-500-people-water-protectors-north-of-the/) [Chase Iron Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-iron-eyes/) [Browse all 17 Annexation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/annexation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must annex those people. We can afflict them with our wise and beneficent government. We can introduce the novelty of thieves, all the way up from street-car pickpockets to municipal robbers and Government defaulters, and show them how amusing it is to arrest them and try them and then turn them loose -- some for cash and some for ''political influence.'' We can make them ashamed of their simple and primitive justice. We can make that little bunch of sleepy islands the hottest corner on earth, and array it in the moral splendor of our high and holy civilization. Annexation is what the poor islanders need. 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