I never said all Democrats were saloonkeepers; what I said was all saloonkeepers are Democrats.

Meaning of the quote

The quote suggests that while not all Democrats are saloonkeepers, all saloonkeepers are Democrats. In other words, the speaker is making a generalization that all members of a certain group (saloonkeepers) belong to a particular political party (Democrats), even though not all members of that political party are part of the specific group being referenced.

About Horace Greeley

Horace Greeley was an influential American newspaper editor and publisher who founded the New-York Tribune. He was a prominent figure in politics, running for president in 1872 but losing to Ulysses S. Grant. Greeley was a champion of radical reforms like socialism, feminism, and agrarianism, and he popularized the famous slogan “Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.”

More about the author

More quotes from Horace Greeley

Journalism will kill you, but it will keep you alive while you’re at it.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

The darkest hour in any man’s life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

I am the inferior of any man whose rights I trample underfoot.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

I never said all Democrats were saloonkeepers; what I said was all saloonkeepers are Democrats.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

Go west, young man.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

Common sense is very uncommon.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

Ease up, the play is over.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

Apathy is a sort of living oblivion.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

There is no bigotry like that of “free thought” run to seed.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

Always rise from the table with an appetite, and you will never sit down without one.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

The illusion that times that were are better than those that are, has probably pervaded all ages.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

Go West, young man, and grow up with the country.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)

Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character.

Horace Greeley

American politician and publisher (1811-1872)