FACT CHECK: Did Abraham Lincoln Say, āThings May Come To Those Who Wait, But Only The Things Left By Those Who Hustleā?
A post on Facebook claims that former President Abraham Lincoln once stated, āThings may come to those who wait ā¦ but only the things left by those who hustle.ā
Verdict: False
There is no evidence that Lincoln said this. The Abraham Lincoln Association debunked it in 2003.
Fact Check:
āFour score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.ā
Those words, with which Lincoln opened the Gettysburg Address, are just some of the many that can be found online attributed to the 16th American president. Yet, unlike others, thereās clear evidence that Lincoln actually said them.
However, the same cannot be said for the quote attributed to Lincoln in the Facebook post. The Daily Caller News Foundation searched Lincolnās writings, as well as his recorded speeches, but found nothing matching the statement. (RELATED: Did Abraham Lincoln Say, āTo Sin By Silence When They Should Protest, Makes Cowards Of Menā?)
āI can find no evidence that Lincoln having [sic] said or written this,ā said Daniel Worthington, director of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, in an email to the DCNF. āNo doubt a mis-attribution.ā
James Cornelius, an editor and secretary at the Abraham Lincoln Association, agreed that the quote wasnāt authentic, writing in an email to the DCNF, āThis one is not Lincoln at all.ā
The Abraham Lincoln Association debunked the quote in a 2003 newsletter. The article notes that, according to āA Dictionary of Americanisms,ā the word āhustleā meant āto get upā or āobtainā during Lincolnās lifetime, instead of being a colloquialism for hard work, as it can be used today.
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