--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Or, as Jackson would have said: The…" description: "\"“Or, as Jackson would have said: The people, sir-the people will set things right.”\" — Jon Meacham" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/jon-meacham-2863_things-right_or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people_1257816.png" --- # Or, as Jackson would have said: The people, sir-the people… ![“Or, as Jackson would have said: The people, sir-the people will set things right.” quote by Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/jon-meacham-2863_things-right_or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people_1257816.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/jon-meacham-2863_things-right_or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people_1257816.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/jon-meacham-2863_things-right_or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people_1257816.png) > ““Or, as Jackson would have said: The people, sir-the people will set things right.”” [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The people, when united, have the power to correct societal wrongs, emphasizing collective action over elite control. **In simple terms:** People can set things right when united. Key Takeaway Support collective engagement for social change. Themes democracy people power social justice activism Mood inspirational urgent Type historical political When to use this quote - voting - community organizing - grassroots movements - policy advocacy Key Concepts collective action citizen responsibility political agency Questions to Reflect On - How can ordinary citizens sustain influence? - What safeguards prevent manipulation of popular movements? A Different Perspective Mass movements can be co‑opted by elites. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jackson Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jackson-said-1194864/) [People Set](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-set-383434/) [People Sir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-sir-3986988/) [Said People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-people/) [Things Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-right/) ## Related quotes > [Of course I don't expect people to call me Sir Chris. That'd be embarrassing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hoy/of-course-i-don-t-expect-people-to-call-me-sir-chris-that-d-be/) [Chris Hoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hoy/) > [Somebody once asked me how I found Peter Jackson, and I said: 'Well, I parted his hair, and there he was.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/somebody-once-asked-me-how-i-found-peter-jackson-and-i-said-well-i/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [“I just-I don't want to get involved with you Jackson," I said, the words tumbling out. "You're a nice guy, but then, when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-lockhart/i-just-i-don-t-want-to-get-involved-with-you-jackson-i-said-the-words/) [E. Lockhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-lockhart/) > [“I don't actually live here," Reggie said. "Who does live here then?" "Ms. MacDonald, except that she doesn't because she's dead. Everyone's dead." "I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-don-t-actually-live-here-reggie-said-who-does-live-here-then-ms/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“Between bites Jackson said, “So what’s our next move?” Sawyer looked”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/between-bites-jackson-said-so-what-s-our-next-move-sawyer-looked/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [Jesse Jackson also said he thought Barack Obama was talking down to black people by lecturing them on things like fatherhood and being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/jesse-jackson-also-said-he-thought-barack-obama-was-talking-down-to/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [“His back to the room, Jackson said, "I need a Chris." Because Chris was gay, Dare choked and Trace laughed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-foster/his-back-to-the-room-jackson-said-i-need-a-chris-because-chris-was/) [Lori Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-foster/) > [It's amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stein/it-s-amazing-what-ordinary-people-can-do-if-they-set-out-without/) [Ben Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stein/) > [“At the world's end, a hero did not rise. So the people set out to make one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-billedeaux/at-the-world-s-end-a-hero-did-not-rise-so-the-people-set-out-to-make/) [A.C. Billedeaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-billedeaux/) > [Free people will set the course of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/free-people-will-set-the-course-of-history/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Its amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/its-amazing-what-ordinary-people-can-do-if-they-set-out-without/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [I'm not going to let other people set my limitations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sorbo/i-m-not-going-to-let-other-people-set-my-limitations/) [Kevin Sorbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sorbo/) > [“So many people set off in a direction in life but don’t think things completely through first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sonmez/so-many-people-set-off-in-a-direction-in-life-but-don-t-think-things/) [John Sonmez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sonmez/) > [The awkward thing is the people in the room besides us. It's not us. It's just the 20 or 30 people that are around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/the-awkward-thing-is-the-people-in-the-room-besides-us-it-s-not-us-it/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [It's hard not to get a big head in the film industry, there are people on a set paid to cater to your every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/it-s-hard-not-to-get-a-big-head-in-the-film-industry-there-are-people/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) ## More by Jon Meacham > [Scripture is not inerrant; believers are called to interpret biblical texts in light of tradition and reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/scripture-is-not-inerrant-believers-are-called-to-interpret-biblical/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [We are now living in a post-Roosevelt, post-Reagan universe. What comes next will not be post-partisan, because faction is an intrinsic human impulse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/we-are-now-living-in-a-post-roosevelt-post-reagan-universe-what-comes/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“his other hand. Sensitive to his guest’s affliction, Churchill realized that “every step” was”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/his-other-hand-sensitive-to-his-guest-s-affliction-churchill-realized/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Too many activists have convinced themselves that they have a monopoly on truth. A little humility and a sense of history could move us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/too-many-activists-have-convinced-themselves-that-they-have-a/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [In the fullness of time, I suspect that bigotry against homosexuals will seem as repugnant as racial prejudice does today. Or so one hopes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/in-the-fullness-of-time-i-suspect-that-bigotry-against-homosexuals/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Mysteries and thrillers are not the same things, though they are literary siblings. Roughly put, I would say the distinction is that mysteries emphasize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/mysteries-and-thrillers-are-not-the-same-things-though-they-are/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“When Lincoln was running for the House of Representatives from Illinois, he was charged with being “a scoffer at religion,” wrote the historian William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/when-lincoln-was-running-for-the-house-of-representatives-from/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“The Man who has not Music in his Soul, Or is not touch’d with Concord of sweet Sounds, Is fit for Treason, Stratagems, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/the-man-who-has-not-music-in-his-soul-or-is-not-touch-d-with-concord/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [I am an Episcopalian who takes the faith of my fathers seriously, and I would, I think, be disheartened if my own young children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/i-am-an-episcopalian-who-takes-the-faith-of-my-fathers-seriously-and/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Only the most unapologetic biblical fundamentalists, for instance, take every biblical injunction literally. If we all took all scripture at the same level of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/only-the-most-unapologetic-biblical-fundamentalists-for-instance-take/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“There was, of course, a more immediate point to frequent gatherings of lawmakers, diplomats, and cabinet officers at the president’s table. It tends to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/there-was-of-course-a-more-immediate-point-to-frequent-gatherings-of/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [“For Jefferson, William and Mary was largely about what university life is supposed to be about: reading books, enjoying the company of like-minded, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/for-jefferson-william-and-mary-was-largely-about-what-university-life/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [One wonders whether the Obama re-election campaign may be on the right track as it seeks to apply the you-break-it-you-own-it rule to Bush and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/one-wonders-whether-the-obama-re-election-campaign-may-be-on-the/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [Reagan is the Republican FDR, an exemplar of presidential greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/reagan-is-the-republican-fdr-an-exemplar-of-presidential-greatness/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) [Explore all 146 Jon Meacham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) ## More Things Right quotes > [Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ko-wen-je/doing-the-right-things-is-more-important-than-doing-things-right/) [Ko Wen-je](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ko-wen-je/) > [It's all about doing the right things at the right times and I believe I can win everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-cross/it-s-all-about-doing-the-right-things-at-the-right-times-and-i/) [Rob Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-cross/) > [I have to make things right with Tiger first before anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fuzzy-zoeller/i-have-to-make-things-right-with-tiger-first-before-anything-else/) [Fuzzy Zoeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fuzzy-zoeller/) > [Being trustworthy requires: Doing the right thing. And doing things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-peppers/being-trustworthy-requires-doing-the-right-thing-and-doing-things/) [Don Peppers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-peppers/) > [“If you are always right, something is not right of you. If you always want to be right, still something is wrong with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabelo-mabona/if-you-are-always-right-something-is-not-right-of-you-if-you-always/) [Kabelo Mabona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabelo-mabona/) > [“The right thing to do is doing whatever you think is the right. Because everything you do, people will not consider them right unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/the-right-thing-to-do-is-doing-whatever-you-think-is-the-right/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [There is a tendency for things to right themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/there-is-a-tendency-for-things-to-right-themselves/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Some things are right, whether nobody sees you doing them or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/some-things-are-right-whether-nobody-sees-you-doing-them-or-not/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“Mi'ija, in a world as wrong as this one, all we can do is to make things as right as we can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/mi-ija-in-a-world-as-wrong-as-this-one-all-we-can-do-is-to-make/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [When you get things right, good things happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-easterbrook/when-you-get-things-right-good-things-happen/) [Steve Easterbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-easterbrook/) > [Nobody has the the power to make things perfect but everyone is given a chances to make things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/nobody-has-the-the-power-to-make-things-perfect-but-everyone-is-given/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [“You do realize it's all right to have nice things sometimes, right?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/you-do-realize-it-s-all-right-to-have-nice-things-sometimes-right/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Sometimes all it takes is another chance to get things right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hottiedevil/sometimes-all-it-takes-is-another-chance-to-get-things-right/) [HOttieDeviL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hottiedevil/) > [“A smile is a curve that sets things right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-diller/a-smile-is-a-curve-that-sets-things-right/) [Phyllis Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-diller/) > [“If you get the important things right, than there is a lot of room in life to make little mistakes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-koeneman/if-you-get-the-important-things-right-than-there-is-a-lot-of-room-in/) [Keith Koeneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-koeneman/) [Browse all 224 Things Right quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-right/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Or, as Jackson would have said: The people, sir-the people will set things right.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Meacham" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people-sir-the-people-will-set/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Things Right" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people-sir-the-people-will-set/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/jon-meacham-2863_things-right_or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people_1257816.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/jon-meacham-2863_things-right_or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people_1257816.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/12f/jon-meacham-2863_things-right_or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people_1257816.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Or, as Jackson would have said: The people, sir-the people will set things right.” — Jon Meacham", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jon Meacham", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Or, as Jackson would have said:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people-sir-the-people-will-set/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/or-as-jackson-would-have-said-the-people-sir-the-people-will-set/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```