THey Never said that!
Made-up and Mis-Attributed Quotations
Fred really hates memes that attribute quotes to the founders things they never said.
We all have pet peeves. Fred has more than most people (or so he assumes). One is people who post inspirational quotes from famous people which those people never said. Admittedly, a lot of these memes are innocently posted, and even if you try to fact check the quotation, you usually find so many instances of the meme that you just assume it must have been fact checked before or it wouldn't have been posted so many times. So Fred now offers as a public service this page which will contain only quotations that were never said, at least not by the people they are attributed to. This will be a labor intensive effort which Fred will attend to from time to time as time permits. To start off, however, we will begin with an easy one (and possibly the most frequently mis-attributed) from everyone's favorite founding sage, Thomas Jefferson. Just remember, if it's in RED is was never said.
Things Thomas Jefferson Never Said.
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."
The earliest attribution of this quotation being attributed to Jefferson is 2005, Before that it was most frequently attributed to Edmund Burke, going back as 1950. The nearest thing to a properly attributed quotation is from JohnStuart Mill, "Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing," from an address at the University of St. Andrews in 1867. Burke did say something along the same lines, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle,” from Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents, April 23, 1770. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has found nothing comparable for Jefferson in any of his writings.
"An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people."
This really does sound like something Jefferson would have believed, but he never said it. This quotation seems to have originated in an article of the same title on PicktheBusiness.com. It is an accurate paraphrase of Jefferson's views on education, but the exact phrasing seems to belong to the author of the article, and not Jefferson.
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
Jefferson did say "History, in general, only informs us what bad government is" in a letter to John Norvell dated June 14, 1807, but in the context of the letter it does not appear that Jefferson considered bad government resulting from either too much or too little. Rather, it seems clear that what Jefferson thought was that history informed us as to why governments fail. This quotation can be traced to a speech give by Congressman John Sharp Williams, who was speaking of Jefferson, but did not attribute the phrase to him.
The earliest attribution of this quotation being attributed to Jefferson is 2005, Before that it was most frequently attributed to Edmund Burke, going back as 1950. The nearest thing to a properly attributed quotation is from JohnStuart Mill, "Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing," from an address at the University of St. Andrews in 1867. Burke did say something along the same lines, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle,” from Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents, April 23, 1770. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation has found nothing comparable for Jefferson in any of his writings.
"An educated citizenry is a vital requisite for our survival as a free people."
This really does sound like something Jefferson would have believed, but he never said it. This quotation seems to have originated in an article of the same title on PicktheBusiness.com. It is an accurate paraphrase of Jefferson's views on education, but the exact phrasing seems to belong to the author of the article, and not Jefferson.
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government."
Jefferson did say "History, in general, only informs us what bad government is" in a letter to John Norvell dated June 14, 1807, but in the context of the letter it does not appear that Jefferson considered bad government resulting from either too much or too little. Rather, it seems clear that what Jefferson thought was that history informed us as to why governments fail. This quotation can be traced to a speech give by Congressman John Sharp Williams, who was speaking of Jefferson, but did not attribute the phrase to him.
Things James Madison Never Said.
"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
The quotation has been cited in print since at least November 2001 and became frequently used in discussions about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Madison did say “The means of defence against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home” (1787) and “Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged against provisions against danger, real or pretended from abroad” (1798). So it may be fair to say that this quotation is something Madison might have said.
The quotation has been cited in print since at least November 2001 and became frequently used in discussions about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Madison did say “The means of defence against foreign danger have been always the instruments of tyranny at home” (1787) and “Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged against provisions against danger, real or pretended from abroad” (1798). So it may be fair to say that this quotation is something Madison might have said.
Things George Washington Never Said.
"A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government."
This is a case of someone having taking an actual quotation, and then significantly altering the language to promote a quite different aim than was intended. As written, the quotation support an armed citizenry capable of opposing the government. The misquotation appears in the remarks of Congressman Paul Broun, Jr. in response to the US. Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). It's not clear if Broun fabricated the quote to bolster his argument that the decision was contrary to the founder's intent concerning the 2nd Amendment or merely lifted if from another source.
What Washington actually said, in his first "State of the Union" message to Congress was, "A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies." In other words, Washington was encouraging the development of an arms industry to assure that the nation would not need to depend on foreign powers to maintain its independence.
"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
The quote is frequently misattributed to Washington, particularly in regards to his farewell address of 1796. The origin of the misquote is, perhaps, a mention of a similar statement in a biography of Washington first published in 1835. However, the quote that appeared in the biography has never been proven to have come from Washington.
"When a nation mistrusts its citizens with guns it is it sending a clear message. It no longer trusts its citizens because such a government has evil plans."
The quote seems to originate from an online publication: The American Wisdom Series presents Pamphlet #230, "President George Washington's Thoughts on Firearms." The author provides no citation for the quotations used and there is no evidence that it comes from any speech, letter or other written source attributable to Washington. The American Wisdom Series website is a major source of disinformation on many topics including many spurious quotations from historic figures that support the website's conservative, millenarian views. A similar quote attributed to Washington is equally spurious: "When government takes away citizens' right to bear arms it becomes citizens' duty to take away government's right to govern." The origin of this quote is unknown, and it may simply be a restatement of the American Wisdom Series quotation. Poltifact rates this quotation false.
This is a case of someone having taking an actual quotation, and then significantly altering the language to promote a quite different aim than was intended. As written, the quotation support an armed citizenry capable of opposing the government. The misquotation appears in the remarks of Congressman Paul Broun, Jr. in response to the US. Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). It's not clear if Broun fabricated the quote to bolster his argument that the decision was contrary to the founder's intent concerning the 2nd Amendment or merely lifted if from another source.
What Washington actually said, in his first "State of the Union" message to Congress was, "A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies." In other words, Washington was encouraging the development of an arms industry to assure that the nation would not need to depend on foreign powers to maintain its independence.
"It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible."
The quote is frequently misattributed to Washington, particularly in regards to his farewell address of 1796. The origin of the misquote is, perhaps, a mention of a similar statement in a biography of Washington first published in 1835. However, the quote that appeared in the biography has never been proven to have come from Washington.
"When a nation mistrusts its citizens with guns it is it sending a clear message. It no longer trusts its citizens because such a government has evil plans."
The quote seems to originate from an online publication: The American Wisdom Series presents Pamphlet #230, "President George Washington's Thoughts on Firearms." The author provides no citation for the quotations used and there is no evidence that it comes from any speech, letter or other written source attributable to Washington. The American Wisdom Series website is a major source of disinformation on many topics including many spurious quotations from historic figures that support the website's conservative, millenarian views. A similar quote attributed to Washington is equally spurious: "When government takes away citizens' right to bear arms it becomes citizens' duty to take away government's right to govern." The origin of this quote is unknown, and it may simply be a restatement of the American Wisdom Series quotation. Poltifact rates this quotation false.
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