Details
ROOSEVELT, Theodore. Typed letter signed ("Theodore Roosevelt") to Oscar King Davis, New York, N.Y., 14 November 1914. 1 page, 4to (7 5/8 x 6 9/16 in.), Roosevelt's personal stationery, lightly browned, otherwise in fine condition.
"YOU COULD FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE PART OF THE TIME...AND THIS IS A PORTION OF THAT PART OF THE TIME!": ROOSEVELT INVOKES LINCOLN'S FAMOUS REMARK
Roosevelt writes a witty letter to O.K. Davis, newspaperman then serving as secretary of the Progressive Party National Committee, about the party's disappointing losses in the 1914 election: "There is nothing that you can say about the voters at this particular election that is not justified. There is no conceivable iniquity they did not joyfully support. But don't forget that Lincoln's statement was merely that you could not fool all of the people all of the time. He explicitly admitted that you could fool all of the people part of the time--and this is a portion of that part of the time!"
Roosevelt was the titular head of the Bull Moose party, and his reaction to the 1914 elections reveal his disgust with the results. The Progressive vote total was less than half of that polled when Roosevelt was a Presidential candidate in 1912. The party only carried California, where Hiram W. Johnson was re-elected governor, a fact which indicated that the once-vigorous movement was beginning to fail. Despite his weakened condition from his South American adventure, Roosevelt campaigned vigorously but local campaign organization was poor. It turned out to be Roosevelt's worst political campaign, and the results, while not a surprise, were certainly a disappointment.
The quotation Roosevelt employs is: "You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all the time." While appearing in "Abe" Lincoln's Yarns and Stories (Alexander McClure, 1904), the famous quotation has also been attributed to P.T. Barnum.
Provenance: Joseph Rubinfine, 1988.
"YOU COULD FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE PART OF THE TIME...AND THIS IS A PORTION OF THAT PART OF THE TIME!": ROOSEVELT INVOKES LINCOLN'S FAMOUS REMARK
Roosevelt writes a witty letter to O.K. Davis, newspaperman then serving as secretary of the Progressive Party National Committee, about the party's disappointing losses in the 1914 election: "There is nothing that you can say about the voters at this particular election that is not justified. There is no conceivable iniquity they did not joyfully support. But don't forget that Lincoln's statement was merely that you could not fool all of the people all of the time. He explicitly admitted that you could fool all of the people part of the time--and this is a portion of that part of the time!"
Roosevelt was the titular head of the Bull Moose party, and his reaction to the 1914 elections reveal his disgust with the results. The Progressive vote total was less than half of that polled when Roosevelt was a Presidential candidate in 1912. The party only carried California, where Hiram W. Johnson was re-elected governor, a fact which indicated that the once-vigorous movement was beginning to fail. Despite his weakened condition from his South American adventure, Roosevelt campaigned vigorously but local campaign organization was poor. It turned out to be Roosevelt's worst political campaign, and the results, while not a surprise, were certainly a disappointment.
The quotation Roosevelt employs is: "You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all the time." While appearing in "Abe" Lincoln's Yarns and Stories (Alexander McClure, 1904), the famous quotation has also been attributed to P.T. Barnum.
Provenance: Joseph Rubinfine, 1988.