I'm sure many of you were just as confused as I was when you got to that question on the test that was asking something about "jingoism". So, I decided to do some research on the term! Jingoism is basically a fancy way of saying "aggressive nationalism". The term originated in the UK in the 1870's. "By Jingo" was a phrase often used in the 17th century as a euphemism for "By Jesus".
The word Jingo refers to a legend surrounding St. Gengulphus, who understandably went by the shorter name. The story of St. Gengulphus is rather interesting: he was a wealthy landowner who renounced his wealth and became a hermit, and was eventually attacked by his wife's lover, who was a priest. The priest had meant to aim for St. Gengulphus's head to decapitate him, but accidentally hit his thigh. Somehow St. Gengulphus died anyway, and after being made a martyr by the Catholic Church, his pieces reanimated to accuse his murderer of the crime. This story has little to do with the meaning of the phrase, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
As for the meaning of jingoism, the dictionary defines it as "extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy". The first use of the term in the United States was in the 1890's, concerning the proposed annexation of Hawaii. The coup against the Hawaiian Queen that led to establish the Republic of Hawaii was described by the American press, specifically yellow journalists, as a belligerent action taken for the sake of nationalism, aligning perfectly with the definition of jingoism.
Theodore Roosevelt was also often associated with the term, as many of his policies were considered hostile and overly-aggressive. Roosevelt responded to these claims by saying, "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'." During WWII, the British policy of appeasement toward Hitler was criticized as being too anti-jingoist, as it seemed the country was losing its aggressive edge concerning the dictator.
While jingoism is by no means a commonly used term, it is one that pertains to many aspects of American history that we've studied. Next time anything about patriotism or nationalism comes up, ask yourself this: are the policies belligerent or aggressive? If so, then you've got yourself a jingo!
Thank you for this. I found it really helping because without you posting about it I would have forgotten this term.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing this, now whenever jingoism comes up on a question I will be able to remember this article.
ReplyDeleteOoh thank you so much for doing a blog post on this! I was very confused when I saw it on the test, and I probably wouldn't have remembered to review the term otherwise. Interesting to see how jingoism went into the growth of America, particularly its expansion.
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing about this I was so confused on the test. It's interesting how this word came about and wonder when somebody equated "by god" to "by jingo." When did this religious statement turn into a nationalist statement? I didn't know that jingoism was even addressed by Roosevelt but I'll make sure to remember for the test what it means.
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