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Jingo and Jingoism

Jingoism, or “extreme nationalism,” derives from a drinking-hall song popular in the 1870’s, with the belligerent refrain: “We don’t want to fight but by jingo if we do / We’ve got the ships, we’ve got the men, and got the money too / We’ve fought the Bear before and while we’re Britons true / The Russians shall not have Constantinople.” The term jingo came to denote “fervent patriot espousing an aggressive foreign policy.” This is part of a complete episode.

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