Editing Mark Twain (section)

====Labor====
Twain wrote glowingly about [[Trade union|unions]] in the river boating industry in ''Life on the Mississippi'', which was read in union halls decades later.<ref>Philip S. Foner, ''Mark Twain: Social Critic'' (New York: International Publishers, 1958), p. 98</ref> He supported the [[labor movement]], especially one of the most important unions, the [[Knights of Labor]].<ref name="helen-scott"/> In a speech to them, Twain said:
{{blockquote|Who are the oppressors? The few: the King, the capitalist, and a handful of other overseers and superintendents. Who are the oppressed? The many: the nations of the earth; the valuable personages; the workers; they that make the bread that the soft-handed and idle eat.<ref>Philip S. Foner, ''Mark Twain: Social Critic'' (New York: International Publishers, 1958), p. 169, cited in Helen Scott's "The Mark Twain they didn't teach us about in school" (2000) in ''International Socialist Review'' 10, Winter 2000, pp. 61–65</ref>}}

Twain further wrote "Why is it right that there is not a fairer division of the spoil all around? Because laws and constitutions have ordered otherwise. Then it follows that laws and constitutions should change around and say there shall be a more nearly equal division."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Twain |first1=Mark |title=Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays 1852–1890 |date=1992 |publisher=Library of America |page=884}}</ref>