Quotation: "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."

Variations: 1. "Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not."

Sources consulted: Searching on the phrase "hammer their guns"

  1. Founders Online
  2. Thomas Jefferson Retirement Papers

Earliest known appearance in print: Gary W. Smith, Life Changing Thoughts: Thousands of Inspiring, Life-changing, and Humorous Thoughts (AuthorHouse, 2009), 276.[1]

Earliest known appearance in print, attributed to Thomas Jefferson: See above.

Other attributions: None known.

Status: We have not found any evidence that Thomas Jefferson said or wrote, "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not," or any of its variations.

- Anna Berkes, 8/10/07; revised 8/21/15

References

  1. ^ To establish the earliest appearance of this phrase in print, the following sources were searched for the phrase, "Those who hammer their guns into plows" and "Those who hammer their guns into plowshares": Google Books, Amazon.com, Access Newspaper Archive.