Lincoln Never Said "You Cannot Help the Poor by Destroying the Rich"
The Claim
Former President Abraham Lincoln said: “You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people's initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves.”
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Since as far back as 1943, the quote has been attributed to Lincoln by politicians, radio commentators, magazines, and most recently, social media users.
Misbar’s Analysis
Our investigation found that this quote did not originate from Lincoln, but from religious leader and public speaker William J. H. Boetcker. The words were first published in his 1916 booklet entitled Inside Maxims: Gold Nuggets Taken from the Boetcker Lectures. Later, he expanded the quote into what became known as The Industrial Decalogue: The Ten Cannots.
The reason the quote has been attributed to Lincoln so often over the years is due to a 1942 leaflet produced by the Committee for Constitutional Government. The leaflet, titled Lincoln on Limitations, included legitimate Lincoln quotes as well as Boetcker’s list of The Ten Cannots. This led to confusion as to who actually said the words, leading many to ascribe them to Lincoln.
Over the years, Boetcker’s maxims have been attributed to Lincoln by a variety of prominent publications and politicians. One of the most famous examples of this quote being misattributed happened in 1992 at the Republican National Convention in Houston, Texas. During the convention, Ronald Reagan repeated the words claiming they were stated by Lincoln. The misattribution was reported by several media outlets at the time.
