SOURCE: "Political System," and "Moral Foundation," in José Martí: Mentor of the Cuban Nation, University Presses of Florida, 1983, pp. 65-85, 86-105.

In the following essays, Kirk examines two prominent aspects of Martí's thought: the first essay details the republic that Martí envisioned for the Cuban political system; the second describes the new Cuban citizen that Martí believed independence would create.

Having outlined the origins of Martí's political career and the principal influences on the development of his thought, the type of society that José Martí aspired to introduce into an independent Cuba can be examined in greater detail. Any attempt to outline the basic political structure desired by Martí for Cuba is facilitated by eliminating at the outset those aspects of government that Martí's views definitely, and most obviously, forbade. Although this may be somewhat self-evident, it must be stated that Martí wanted an essentially...