Jingoism

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Jingoism is chauvinistic patriotism, usually with a hawkish political stance. In practice, it refers to sections of the general public who advocate bullying other countries or using whatever means necessary to safeguard a country's national interests.

1 Origin
2 Usage
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Origin

The term originated in Britain. Though historians continue to debate the origins of the terms, early expressions involved rallies with vociferous political speakers, one of which ended with Gladstone's windows being smashed, and include music-hall songs such as that by Irish singer G. H. MacDermott at the London Pavilion during the diplomatic crisis of 1878. The crisis precipitated the endemic Russophobia which had developed in Britain through much of the Victorian period when Russia was persistently viewed as a threat both to the European order and, sporadically, to British interests in India. Ultimately the crisis was ended at the Congress of Berlin when a group of powers, including British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, forced the newly created Bulgarian state to restore much of the land awarded at the peace treaty of San Stefano, including Macedonia, to Ottoman rule. This episode largely reflects the conservative element of jingoism that forms such a critical part of the movement.

The chorus of a song by MacDermott and G. W. Hunt commonly sung in pubs at the time gave birth to the term. The lyrics had the chorus:

We don't want to fight

But, by Jingo, if we do,

We've got the ships,

We've got the men,

We've got the money, too.

The expression "by Jingo" is apparently a minced oath that appeared rarely in print, but which has its origins as far back as the 17th century in a transparent euphemism for "by Jesus" [1]. Origins have also been claimed for it in languages that would not have been very familiar in the British pub: in Basque, for example, "Jainko" is a form of the word for "God". A claim that the term referred to Jingu of Japan has been entirely dismissed.^{[citation needed]} It is also an exclamation uttered by Arthur Birling in An Inspector Calls.

"Ten Thousand Miles From Tip to Tip", a political cartoon from 1898.

During the 19th century in the United States, journalists called this attitude spread-eagleism. This patriotic belligerence was intensified by the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor that led to the Spanish-American War. "Jingoism" did not enter the U.S. vernacular until near the turn of the 20th century.

[edit] Usage

One of those frequently accused of Jingoism was Theodore Roosevelt, who answered in an October 8, 1895 interview in the New York Times, "There is much talk about 'jingoism'. If by 'jingoism' they mean a policy in pursuance of which Americans will with resolution and common sense insist upon our rights being respected by foreign powers, then we are 'jingoes'."

In the 1980s, the Capitol Steps political satire troupe sang "Jingo All the Way" (a parody of "Jingle Bells") about protectionism in the auto industry. The David Bowie song 'After All' is also based around Jingoism.