Former Rep. Allen West’s Book Filled With Fake Founding Father Quotes
A review of a new book by former Congressman Allen West reveals that quotes he attributes to our founding fathers were never uttered.
According to the Palm Beach Post, West’s “Guardian of the Republic,” which outlines his political philosophy and his “warrior code,” includes many quotes that have been described by historians as erroneous.
“Thomas Jefferson said it first: ‘A government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take it away,’” West wrote.
According to researchers at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Charlottesville, Virginia, while that quote has appeared on coffee cups and t-shirts, it doesn’t appear in any of Jefferson’s writings. So many fake quotations have been attributed to the drafter of the Declaration of Independence, that the foundation felt compelled to create a “Spurious Quotations” list…
A quote attributed to Patrick Henry in West’s book didn’t come from the Virginian’s writings or speeches, says Henry biographer Thomas Kidd, a professor of history at Baylor University.
West quotes Henry as saying: “The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.”
Kidd described the quote as a new one that has gained popularity via the Internet.
