Samuel Clemens
Born in Florida, Missouri, Samuel Clemens is best known as Mark Twain, the author of some of the most popular classic novels of all time, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. His life and accomplishments have made him famous throughout the world and most definitely in historical circles, where he contributed much to our understanding. It is likely that, in this regard, the AP® US History exam will consider both the perception of history that he contributed to as well as his novels. Having published three novels that became extremely popular as well as a variety of other novels, articles, essays and lectures, he was well known even in his own time for writing.
The Early Life
Samuel Clemens was born as the sixth child of John and Jane Clemens. His father worked an array of different jobs from managing a store to being a land speculator, a lawyer and even a judge. Always dreaming of making something of himself, John Clemens was not an overly joyous man, however his wife was a different story. Jane Clemens was a stay-at-home mother and Samuel saw her smile and laugh frequently, always a happy soul.
Samuel Clemens life was not an easy one from the start as his father died when he was 12, leaving the family completely broke. Samuel left school and became an apprentice printer and, three years later, as a printer, writer and editor for his brother’s paper. When he turned 23 he was able to gain employment as a pilot of a Mississippi steamboat and earned a good living until the Civil War began and civilian travel ceased to be a popular pastime. With the state divided between Confederate and Union soldiers, he chose to join the Confederacy.
Only a few weeks later his unit disbanded and Samuel chose to take a stagecoach to Nevada and on to California. Though he started out mining for gold, as most had done when traveling into the West, success was not to be his. He once again went to work for a newspaper and it was here that he began telling stories, though only occasionally writing them down to print in the newspaper. His first bestseller was published in 1869, titled The Innocents Abroad, and it began his career as a novelist, though it would be some time before he wrote another bestseller.
The First Novels
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer came out in 1876, a story that Samuel, using the pen name Mark Twain, had not wanted to write. He believed these types of stories showed a rustic, Western side of him that he was not fond of. As a result, he followed Tom Sawyer with The Prince and the Pauper and Life on the Mississippi. Still, he could not completely ignore the many years he had spent in the West and Huckleberry Finn was a work in progress throughout much of this time, though it wasn’t published until 1884, 8 years later.
The memoir that Twain wrote regarding President Ulysses S. Grant was also extremely popular, though it never achieved the success that he thought it would. Rather than bringing in a large amount of wealth, as he had thought it would, the book merely allowed him to continue writing. It did not take long for his publishing house to go entirely bankrupt however, and Twain found himself struggling in much the same way that his father had many years before. It took some time before he was able to publish another book, but A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court came next.
The End of Life
The latter part of Twain’s life was just the sort of success that he had hoped for, though perhaps not the monetary portion. Instead, Twain was able to achieve many honors and received degrees from two of the most famous universities of any age, Oxford and Yale. Throughout the latter part of the 19th century he became more popular and more well-known wherever he happened to travel. He was even able to travel overseas giving lectures, though he was still in debt at this time and took the position to help settle that debt.
During these years his youngest and oldest daughter both died from medical conditions. Susy, the oldest, of spinal meningitis at the age of 24 and Jean, the youngest, 13 years later from a heart attack, at the age of only 29. His son had died many years earlier but he still had one daughter, the middle child, named Clara. His relationship with Clara was tumultuous however and the two struggled to get along without fighting. During the time between his two daughter’s deaths’, Twain’s wife also passed away after having been sick for a long time.
Mark Twain managed to live only one year after the death of his oldest daughter, dying at the age of 74. He had suffered from a long illness and his middle child was with him when he slipped into unconsciousness from which he never woke. His death was peaceful and came at the same time as Halley’s Comet, just as his birth had come during the time when Halley’s Comet was visible. It was only some time after this that his books, previously bestsellers, truly began to make their way around the world and become more popular.
Current Popularity
Today, Mark Twain’s books are still some of the most popular around the world. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are two of the most popular he was ever able to publish however The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court has also gained popularity, being made into several different plays. The first two of these books have both been banned several times by many different institutions because of the racist language and behavior portrayed in both. This language, though considered normal at the time, has since been declared inappropriate for most audiences and has resulted in the books being pulled from library shelves and school reading lists.
The Gilded Age
This Age was so named because it was a time of extreme poverty hidden behind a large amount of wealth, brought about by a laissez-faire government. The system allowed for a lack of regulation over business by the government as well. This resulted in a large number of monopolies and Twain’s satirical novels poked at the ‘secret’ of this age and how it was continuing to expand.
Best Known
Because of the dialects of his characters, Twain is credited with capturing the realistic view of the frontier as well as representing the humor of the age. His realistic sounding dialect as well as the stories he represented with each of his publications is credited as the greatest contribution to American literature. Alongside this, he is also known for writing The Gilded Age, with Charles Warner, in 1873. It is because of the two that this Age came to be known as such then and ever since as well. Likely the most popular American author of all time, he was also an avid lecturer on a variety of topics.
The AP® US History Exam
This AP® US History exam review is designed to ensure that you have the knowledge you need to answer questions related to Samuel Clemens as an author and as a speaker. Questions may focus on not only Samuel himself but his works and The Gilded Age, which he is credited with naming. Questions related to Samuel may also consider this era and his influence on the naming of it.
It is important to recall that, though he is best remembered as Mark Twain, the author was born with the name Samuel Clemens. Either of these names could be used in the course of the AP® US History exam. You should be able to easily interchange these names to understand questions that may list either name. It may also be important to know some of the background of his life as well as how Samuel has continued to gain in popularity. His books have continued to be controversial and this is also a discussion that may prove important through the course of the AP® exam.
Looking for AP® US History practice?
Check out our other articles on AP® US History.
You can also find thousands of practice questions on Albert.io. Albert.io lets you customize your learning experience to target practice where you need the most help. We’ll give you challenging practice questions to help you achieve mastery of AP® US History.
Start practicing here.
Are you a teacher or administrator interested in boosting AP® US History student outcomes?
Learn more about our school licenses here.
