George Carlin? Elsie Robinson? Eddie Schwartz? Jan M. Carroll? Gordie Spear? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: When foolish people group together the results are often terrible. Here are two versions of a cautionary adage:
(1) Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
(2) Never underestimate the power of stupid people in a large group.
This saying has been credited to U.S. comedian George Carlin, but I have not seen a solid citation, and I am skeptical of this attribution. Would you please explore this topic?
Reply from Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that George Carlin wrote or spoke this statement. Carlin received credit in 2000, but the saying entered circulation decades earlier.
QI believes that the statement evolved over time. In 1930 the widely syndicated columnist by Elsie Robinson published the following partially matching statement with flawed grammar. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
Don’t underrate “single track minds.” Don’t underestimate the power of stupid, stubborn people with one idea can-and often does-put it all over a brilliant citizen with a million.
On April 28, 1959 a full match appeared in a column published in the “Minneapolis Morning Tribune” of Minnesota:2
Day Brightener: Eddie Schwartz is distributing cards bearing this motto: Never Underestimate the Power of Stupid People in Large Groups.
The fact that the saying was on a card indicated that the originator was anonymous. Two days later the saying appeared in a column by Gordie Spear in a Miles City, Montana newspaper:3
In closing, let me remind you—Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
On May 10, 1959 a Cincinnati, Ohio columnist reported that the saying appeared on cards handed out by members of “The Elks”, a U.S. social club and civic group:4
QUESTION: What do Elks have that other animals don’t have? Give up? Parades . . . Add funny cards: “Never Underestimate The Power Of Stupid People In Large Groups!” . . . Add truck signs: “We’re Loaded With Bourbon—What’s Your Excuse?”
On May 26, 1959 a column in “The Courier-Journal” of Louisville, Kentucky printed the following:5
We understand cards are being distributed in Minneapolis bearing this motto: Never Underestimate the Power of Stupid People in Large Groups.—Selected
In 1988 attorney Jan M. Carroll was the roastmaster at a political dinner held in Indianapolis, Indiana, and she delivered an instance with “large group” instead of “large groups”:6
“When Mannweiler was elected speaker, I was reminded of that old Irish proverb: Never underestimate the power of stupid people in a large group.”
In 2000 the “Ledger-Enquirer” of Columbus, Georgia attributed the saying to a prominent comedian:7
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
George Carlin
In conclusion, a partial version of the saying appeared in a column by Elsie Robinson in 1930. The full version appeared in 1959 on a card with an unknown author distributed by Eddie Schwartz. In the following days and months the saying appeared in many newspapers around the U.S. The attribution to George Carlin is unsupported.
Image Notes: Group of silhouettes representing a crowd from geralt at Pixabay. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Sue Ferrara whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Also, thanks to researcher Barry Popik for his pioneering work on this topic available here. Popik found citations beginning on June 19, 1959.
- 1930 April 27, The Danville Register Listen World by Elsie Robinson, (King Features Syndicate), Quote Page 6, Column 3, Danville, Virginia. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1959 April 28, Minneapolis Morning Tribune, It’s Her Part, Coming, Going by Will Jones, Day Brightener, Quote Page 30, Column 8, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1959 April 30, Miles City Star, Spearmentin With Sports by Gordie Spear, Quote Page 8, Column 1, Miles City, Montana. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1959 May 10, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Innocent Bystander by Ollie M. James, Quote Page 2-J, Column 6, Cincinnati, Ohio. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1959 May 26, The Courier-Journal, Greetings from Allan M. Trout, Quote Page 15, Column 3, Louisville, Kentucky. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1988 February 17, The Indianapolis Star, Political, civic leaders eat crow at Gridiron Dinner by Patrick J. Traub (Star Politics Writer), Quote Page D-3, Column 3, Indianapolis, Indiana. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 2000 April 23, Ledger-Enquirer, (Filler item), Quote Page F2, Column 1, Columbus, Georgia. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎