Speech to the 23rd Republican National Convention (June 1944) Quotes

Context

This line was spoken by Herbert Hoover in his June, 1944 speech to the 23rd Republican national convention.

Despite serving as the President of the United States from 1929-1933, Herbert Hoover didn't say this quote while he was president. He said it about 11 years after he left office, when he sat in on the 1944 Republican National Convention.

In 1944, the United States was still involved in World War II. Many people in the U.S. at that time didn't want to involve themselves in foreign wars and politics, and a lot of people thought that World War II in Europe was none of the United States' business—and Roosevelt, who was president, started the fight against Japan by pursing aggressive economic sanctions against them.

So Hoover was blaming Roosevelt for getting us involved in World War II in both Europe and in Japan. Basically, he was saying: Nice going, FDR.

Hoover was voicing the opinion that many Americans had: that the U.S. got involved in the First World War to protect the interests of bankers and arms dealers, and that young men had been sent to war to die for old men's causes. In this quote, Hoover is applying the same idea to World War II.

Where you've heard it

Well, we sure hope you've never heard this unless you were at a Herbert Hoover convention. If you have heard this before, you've probably seen it in a history textbook.

P.S. Here's everything you need to know about the 1944 Republican National Convention

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Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This isn't exactly the most lighthearted sentiment, and it's pretty serious subject matter for a dinner party. If you don't want to be a major downer, maybe give this one a pass.