Josiah Stamp? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: An influential banker once commented on the growing skepticism of U.S. citizens:
Heaven help America when she loses faith in slogans
Would you please tell me what prompted this remark and who delivered it?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1929 the United States experienced the stock market crash and the beginning of the Great Depression which continued for about ten years.
In April 1932 a meeting of the Academy of Political Science was held at the Hotel Astor in New York City. The director of the Bank of England, Sir Josiah Stamp, delivered a speech which was printed in the proceedings. Stamp commented on the disillusionment of the U.S. public. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
First of all, I notice a great loss of faith in institutions; institutions of government, institutions of control, institutions of finance, institutions of education no longer command the general confidence. … They feel doubtful about them. They have discovered, rightly or wrongly, that they are not the source of all wisdom.
Also I see a considerable lack of confidence in men whose names you would have considered as infallible, something to conjure with, a year or two ago. But worst of all, from the American point of view, there has been a loss of faith in slogans—and heaven help America when she loses faith in slogans!
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In April 1932 “The Boston Globe” of Massachusetts reported on the New York meeting, and presented a slightly different version of Stamp’s remark about slogans:2
Sir Josiah Stamp, noted British economist, was the only other speaker, asserting that while in America he had observed “a great loss of faith in institutions of Government, finance and education, but worst of all a loss of faith in slogans, and—God help America when she loses faith in slogans.”
In May 1932 “The Wall Street Journal” of New York reprinted remarks Josiah Stamp made in Canada:3
Speaking in Ottawa last month, Sir Josiah Stamp made this dreadful accusation against us who dwell south of the 3,000-mile line:
“In the United States I find a loss of faith in institutions, whether political or financial. I find also a loss of faith in men. They have been a great race for relying on men. But last and worst of all they have lost faith in slogans, and when the Americans lose faith in slogans heaven help them.”
In 1975 Joseph S. Davis published “The World Between the Wars, 1919-39: An Economist’s View” which contained a footnote with the quotation:4
Stamp added, “heaven help America when she loses faith in slogans!”
In conclusion, Josiah Stamp deserves credit for this quotation which he delivered during a speech in New York in 1932 while the U.S. was experiencing the Great Depression. Stamp employed a similar remark in Ottawa, Canada in 1932.
Image Notes: The word ‘Slogan’ written in ornate calligraphy. Public domain image.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Mark Osis whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Osis found an image in a book of a handwritten instance of the quotation which included Josiah Stamp’s signature.
- 1932 May, Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, Volume 15, Number 1, Papers Presented at the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Academy of Political Science Held at the Hotel Astor in New York City on April 13, 1932, Article: Control or Fate in Economic Affairs by Sir Josiah Stamp, Start Page 123, Quote Page 130, The Academy of Political Science, Columbia University, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1932 April 14, The Boston Globe, Walcott Confident of Balanced Budget: Loss of Faith in Slogans Seen by Sir Josiah Stamp, Quote Page 4, Column 6, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1932 May 11, Wall Street Journal, Review and Outlook: Men, Measures and Slogans, Quote Page 8, Column 1, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1975 Copyright, The World Between the Wars, 1919-39: An Economist’s View by Joseph S. Davis, Chapter 11: Descent into the Depression Trough, 1932-33, Quote Page 298, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Maryland. (Verified with scans) ↩︎