I don't think that sentence necessarily implies that he joined the Confederacy because he was racist, although that isn't a very far-fetched claim. It is true t

I don't think that sentence necessarily implies that he joined the Confederacy because he was racist, although that isn't a very far-fetched claim. It is true that he fought for the Confederacy, and it is also true that he held racist views, by his own admission. In an essay called Concerning the Jews, which was probably ahead of its time in defending Jewish people, he wrote: > I am quite sure that (bar one) I have no race prejudices - https://origin-rh.web.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1898twain-jews.asp https://origin-rh.web.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1898twain-jews... That "bar one" was probably referring to Native Americans, whom he seemed to really really hate. You can read his full thoughts in another essay called The Noble Red Man: https://twain.lib.virginia.edu/projects/rissetto/redman.html https://twain.lib.virginia.edu/projects/rissetto/redman.html. It's pretty short, but a shorter summary is that he advocates for all-out genocide and says they are the "scum of the earth" and inferior to insects. Side note: if written today, Concerning the Jews would definitely be considered racist, because he defines Jewish people as basically a separate species with inherent traits not shared by other "races". That is the definition of racism, even if the traits you're calling out are considered positive. You can't say "I have no racial prejudices, I just think all Asians are good at math". This would maybe be an unfair standard to apply to someone writing in the 19th century, but I just want to point out that it would be reasonable to say that Twain was racist but in a much more benign way than most of his contemporaries (except when it came to Native Americans).