Mr. Peanut: Sorry to tell you this but Abraham Lincoln NEVER stated or wrote those words. Even President Reagan made this mistake (in a speech). The quote actually was made by a minister in the early 20th Century. Some mistakes about Lincoln refuse to die-like this one!

Alleged quotes from Abraham Lincoln about the poor, the weak, prosperity, workers, class hatred, and character.

The Truth:
These words are often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, but according to the book They Never Said it: A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, & Misleading Attributions, they are not from Lincoln.

The quotes were published in 1942 by William J. H. Boetcker, a Presbyterian minister. He released a pamphlet titled Lincoln On Limitations, which did include a Lincoln quote, but also added 10 statements written by Boetcker himself.

Thanks Dave for the background info.

You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. But it doesn’t offer anything to what we could do.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. Same argument.

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. This is good advice and the banker boys and the wall street boys should be clued in.

You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
Well of course.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
Good advice for Savage and those similar.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence. I strongly agree with this one.

You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves. Key word here is permanently and if that is understood then I agree.

Amen, Honest Abe.