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__**Occupation**__ Benjamin Tillman was a United States Senator from the state of South Carolina. He was a radical white supremacist and had made statements in favor of lynching blacks who "had committed an assault upon a white woman". This statement illustrated his belief that the blacks were of a lower class than whites and that it was the job of the white man to keep them in line or execute them. Widespread lynchings occurred during the 1890s which had grown more numerous than legal executions and could be attributed to Tillman's statement and his later election to the Senate. Tillman gained recognition when he made a speech declaring that he would "go to Washington and plunge a pitchfork into the rump of President [|Grover Cleveland] .". Although an excellent debater he was reprimanded by Congress for assaulting a fellow senator from his own state. The punishment had been preventing either senator from voting on a bill to provide aid for the Philippine Islands.

__**Reas****ons** **of** **Interest**__ -feelings of racial superiority -mistrust of non-white immigrants -dislike of American intervention

Tillman felt strongly against the American intervention in the Philippines and also against incorporating them into our country. Due to his belief of the superiority of the white race, he believed that an increase of immigrants from the Philippines would corrupt the purity of the Caucasian by tipping the balance of power. He also stated his belief that the people of the Philippines were not ready for American institutes and that we would be forcing these institutes onto the native people. Tillman also made the point that losing American lives in a war to acquire an island is not worth the hefty costs if there is no justification for said war. In a speech to the Senate, Tillman analyzed a poem written by Rudyard Kipling and used it further articulate points that he had made against American imperialism in the Philippines.
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__**Works Cited **__ Subject. "Constitutional Aspects of the Tillman-McLaurin Controversy." //JSTOR//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. .

"The White Man's Burden ." //Assumption College//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. .

"Tillman Address to the US Senate." //National Humanities Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. < nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/gilded/empire/text7/tillman.pdf //>. //

//rnes. "Benjamin Tillman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. .