| The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. |
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| NUMBER: | 22562 |
| QUOTATION: | History is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Henry Ford (1863–1947), U.S. industrialist. Interview in Chicago Tribune (May 25, 1916).
Ford later sued the paper for libel after an editorial had described him as an “anarchist” and “ignorant idealist”; in the course of the action the motor magnate was cross-examined for eight days during which he was forced to defend his views on history. The Tribune was found guilty and fined 6 cents. See Ford on idealism. |
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| | | The Columbia World of Quotations. Copyright © 1996 Columbia University Press. |
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