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Who really said it

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts

Written by Douglas MacArthur 1880–1964 · U.S. General of the Army
Verified In copyright

From MacArthur’s February 1944 letter to Rep. A. L. Miller of Nebraska, made public in April 1944. The circulating version is a light trim: the original begins “Like Abraham Lincoln,” and reads “any national crises” and “bring before them the real facts.”

Last verified 2 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts” Douglas MacArthur, letter to Rep. A. L. Miller, February 1944 (made public April 1944). Popular trimmed form; the original begins "Like Abraham Lincoln, I am a firm believer in the people…" and reads "crises" and "bring before them the real facts."

Can you use it?

Still under copyright (rights held by Estate of Douglas MacArthur). A short, credited quote is generally fine for talks, teaching, and internal decks; for commercial, published, or large-scale reuse, get permission.

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In context

Evoking the world of Douglas MacArthur — U.S. General of the Army. Theme: "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Provenance

The documented source

Work
Letter to Rep. A. L. Miller (R–Nebraska)
Written
February 1944, replying to Miller’s letter of January 27
Made public
April 1944, released to the press by Miller without MacArthur’s consent
Reprinted in
John Gunther, The Riddle of MacArthur (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1951), p. 54

I appreciate very much your scholarly letter of Jan. 27. Your description of conditions in the United States is a sobering one indeed and is calculated to arouse the thoughtful consideration of every true patriot.

We must not inadvertently slip into the same condition internally as the one which we fight externally. Like Abraham Lincoln, I am a firm believer in the people, and, if given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. The great point is to bring before them the real facts. MacArthur to Miller, 1944

Text as printed in Gunther (1951), p. 54, and as transcribed by Barry Popik from the Tuscaloosa News of 14 April 1944. The popular quotation drops “Like Abraham Lincoln,” and changes “crises” to “crisis” and “bring before them” to “bring them.”

Book scan (Internet Archive)
John Gunther, The Riddle of MacArthur (1951)
The Riddle of MacArthur (1951) on the Internet Archive

How the line was traced

In copyright

The words come from a private letter MacArthur wrote in 1944. It was first published that April, when Rep. Miller released it to the press. A work first published in 1931 or later is treated here, conservatively, as still in copyright, held by MacArthur’s estate. Quoting a short passage for commentary is ordinary fair use.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

Why people credit Lincoln

The line is usually shared as a quotation from Abraham Lincoln. That comes from MacArthur’s own words. He began the sentence “Like Abraham Lincoln, I am a firm believer in the people,” and once that opening clause was cut, the comparison turned into an attribution.

Abraham Lincoln Misattributed

No Lincoln source contains this wording. Wikiquote lists it under Lincoln’s misattributed quotes and traces it to MacArthur: Wikiquote ↗. Barry Popik also concludes that Lincoln “never said those exact words”: Popik ↗.

“…the real facts, and beer” (Lincoln) Embellished

Some versions add a joke ending, “and beer.” Wikiquote says that phrase first appeared in an online list of jokes in 1999: Wikiquote ↗. Popik dates the ending in print to about 2005 and cites the Great Falls Tribune of 7 February 2005: Popik ↗.

Abraham Lincoln (a different line) Related, genuine

A related Lincoln remark does exist: “I have faith in the people… Let them know the truth and the country is safe.” A Boston Journal correspondent reported it, and the Sandusky Register reprinted it on 29 April 1865: Popik ↗.

The words are Douglas MacArthur’s, from his 1944 letter to Rep. A. L. Miller, in which he compared himself to Lincoln: Popik’s transcription of the 1944 newspapers ↗.

Context

Why it mattered

In 1943 and 1944, Rep. A. L. Miller, a Nebraska congressman who opposed the New Deal, wrote to MacArthur urging him to let supporters draft him for president. MacArthur sent two replies. In April 1944 Miller gave them to the press without MacArthur’s knowledge or consent, even though one was marked ‘Personal’ (Gunther ↗).

Gunther writes that the letters “created a turbulent, brief storm.” Critics read MacArthur’s praise of Miller as an implied criticism of his commander-in-chief. MacArthur answered that the letters “were neither politically inspired nor intended to convey blanket approval of the Congressman’s views.” The line that now circulates as a tribute to democratic trust started as part of a political embarrassment.

Like Abraham Lincoln, I am a firm believer in the people…

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Truth Leadership Freedom

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Barry Popik: “I am a firm believer in the people”barrypopik.com

Transcribes the 1944 Tuscaloosa News and Time printings of MacArthur’s letter and traces the later Lincoln and “and beer” versions.
Wikiquote: Abraham Lincoln (Misattributed)en.wikiquote.org

Lists the line as misattributed to Lincoln and credits it to MacArthur.
Wikiquote: Douglas MacArthuren.wikiquote.org

Includes the line in MacArthur’s sourced 1940s quotes, citing the Tuscaloosa News of April 14, 1944.
John Gunther, The Riddle of MacArthur (1951)archive.org

Full scan. Pages 53–54 reprint the Miller–MacArthur letters, including this passage.
Barry Popik: “Let the people know the truth”barrypopik.com

Lincoln’s genuine, similar remark and its earliest printing.
Wikipedia: Douglas MacArthuren.wikipedia.org

Biography of the general.

The author

About Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur

1880–1964 · U.S. General of the Army

Douglas MacArthur was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army in the 1930s and Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area, in the Second World War. He later oversaw the occupation of Japan and led the United Nations Command in Korea. In 1944, while still commanding in the Pacific, he was the reluctant focus of a Republican presidential boomlet, and this letter came out of that episode.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source

Douglas MacArthur to A. L. Miller, February 1944, as printed in the Tuscaloosa News, April 14, 1944, and reprinted in John Gunther, The Riddle of MacArthur (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1951), 54.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts’?” Last verified 2 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/i-am-a-firm-believer-in-the-people-if-given-the-truth-they/

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