Atlas Society misquotes Eisenhower

02/24/2024 · By Dennis Hackethal · Fork · Check another quote

Original text

If all that Americans want is security, they can go to prison. They'll have enough to eat, a bed and a roof over their heads. But if an American wants to preserve his dignity and his equality as a human being, he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government.
Dwight D Eisenhower as quoted by The Times as quoted by Snopes, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/eisenhower-security-prison/

Quote text

If you want total security, go to prison. There you’re fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.
https://x.com/TheAtlasSociety/status/1761110087609843746
Ellipsis used (if any): ‘... ’
Found 30 issue(s) using regular expression \w+ and Histogram algorithm, underlined in wavy red. 
If‧all‧that‧Americansyou‧want‧istotal‧security,‧they‧can‧go‧to‧prison.‧They'llThere‧haveyou’re‧enough‧to‧eatfed,‧aclothed,‧given‧bedmedical‧care‧and‧aso‧roof‧over‧their‧headson.‧ButThe‧ifonly‧anthing‧Americanlacking...‧is‧wants‧to‧preserve‧his‧dignity‧and‧his‧equality‧as‧a‧human‧being,‧he‧must‧not‧bow‧his‧neck‧to‧any‧dictatorial‧governmentfreedom.

Explanation

# Part Valid? Explanation
1 
If‧
2 
all‧that‧Americans
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3 
you
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4 
‧want‧
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is
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6 
total
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7 
‧security,‧
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they‧can‧
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9 
go‧to‧prison.‧
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They'll
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11 
There
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‧
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have
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you’re
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‧
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enough‧to‧eat
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17 
fed
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,‧
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a
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20 
clothed,‧given
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21 
‧
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bed
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23 
medical‧care
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24 
‧and‧
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a
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so
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‧
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roof‧over‧their‧heads
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29 
on
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.‧
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But
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The
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‧
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if
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only
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‧
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an
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thing
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‧
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American
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41 
lacking
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42 
...‧
 ✓ yes Insertion is an ellipsis.
43 
is
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44 
‧
45 
wants‧to‧preserve‧his‧dignity‧and‧his‧equality‧as‧a‧human‧being,‧he‧must‧not‧bow‧his‧neck‧to‧any‧dictatorial‧government
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46 
freedom
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47 
.

Notes

According to Snopes, the misquote attributed to Eisenhower is “a loose paraphrase of comments [he] offered during a speech he delivered in Galveston, Texas, in 1949 [...].” For the (presumably) correct quote, Snopes cites The Times, albeit without a link. An article from Time concurs (roughly). You can also find the same quote verbatim here, where The New York Times is cited (December 9, 1949, p. 23). The corresponding article does seem to exist but is hidden behind a paywall. Same for The Times. The opening lines from the NYT article are visible, however, and say “you must not bow your necks to a centralized government” rather than “he must not bow his neck to any dictatorial government”. This difference shows how even professional journalists are liable to misquote, and how quickly such misquotes can occur and evolve from there. The Eisenhower archives do not seem to have the speech transcript, and I can’t find the original anywhere else either. But the evidence does suggest that the Atlas Society uncritically copied a widespread misquote.

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