Carolina QuotesI am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the civilized world: no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men.
Woodrow Wilson Connected to the Carolinas
Source
Attributed in Shadow Kings (2005) by Mark Hill, p. 91; This and similar remarks are presented on the internet and elsewhere as an expression of regret for creating the Federal Reserve. The quotation is fabricated from out-of-context remarks Wilson made on separate occasions: — I am a most unhappy man… — Attributed by Curtis Dall in FDR: My Exploited Father-in-Law, regarding Wilson's break with Edward M. House: "Wilson … evidenced similar remorse as he approached his end. Finally he said, 'I am a most unhappy man. Unwittingly I have ruined my country.'" — A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit.… — "Monopoly, Or Opportunity?" (1912), criticizing the credit situation before the Federal Reserve was created, in The New Freedom (1913), p. 185 — We have come to be one of the worst ruled… governments…. — "Benevolence, Or Justice?" (1912), also in The New Freedom (1913), p. 201 — The quotation has been analyzed by Andrew Leonard in "The Unhappiness of Woodrow Wilson" (December 12, 2007) Salon: — I can tell you categorically that this is not a statement of regret for having created the Federal Reserve. Wilson never had any regrets for having done that. It was an accomplishment in which he took great pride. — John M. Cooper, professor of history and author of several books on Wilson, as quoted by Andrew Leonard
- year
- 1912
- locator
- p. 91
misattributed
Cite this record
“I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my countr…” Woodrow Wilson. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-0E80941A73. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/0e80941a73
More from Woodrow Wilson
My dear Swope, Your letter of yesterday interests me very deeply, I need hardly say, and furnishes much material for constructive thinking, but my present judgment is that this is not the time for formulation. If we were dealing with only one class, a statement could be made which I think would guide and stimulate rather than disturb, but just so certainly as such a statement was attempted at this time, there would spring up a grand controversy in which the selfish and exclusive interests of the country would speak loudest because through the largest number of the journals and magazines. I am afraid that, while we could easily hold our own in such a debate, this is not the wise time to start a debate which would distract attention from the matters immediately in hand and pressing for the right solution. Don’t you think there is something in that? Cordially and sincerely yours, Woodrow Wilson.
The principles on which to base a science of administration for America, must be principles which have democratic policy very much at heart.
No student knows his subject: the most he knows is where and how to find out the things he does not know.