--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: World War II had been such a tremendous…" description: "\"World War II had been such a tremendous success story for this country that the political and military leadership began to assume that they would preva..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/neil-sheehan-31920_19th-century_world-war-ii-had-been-such-a-tremendous_907973.png" --- # World War II had been such a tremendous success story for… ![“World War II had been such a tremendous success story for this country that the political and military leadership began to assume that they would prevail simply because of who they were. We were like the British at the turn of the 19th century.” quote by Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/neil-sheehan-31920_19th-century_world-war-ii-had-been-such-a-tremendous_907973.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/neil-sheehan-31920_19th-century_world-war-ii-had-been-such-a-tremendous_907973.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/neil-sheehan-31920_19th-century_world-war-ii-had-been-such-a-tremendous_907973.png) > “World War II had been such a tremendous success story for this country that the political and military leadership began to assume that they would prevail simply because of who they were. We were like the British at the turn of the 19th century.” [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overconfidence from past victories can blind leaders to reality, leading to disastrous decisions. **In simple terms:** Past success can create dangerous overconfidence. Key Takeaway Question assumptions. Themes leadership overconfidence history Mood analytical critical Type historical political When to use this quote - policy making - military planning - education Key Concepts Political science military strategy Questions to Reflect On - How can we avoid repeating past mistakes? - What checks can prevent hubris? A Different Perspective Success does not guarantee future outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-leadership/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Success story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success-story/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War of the worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-of-the-worlds/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [My leadership began to take flight when I allowed myself to press people to change-whether they thanked me or cursed me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/my-leadership-began-to-take-flight-when-i-allowed-myself-to-press/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [I like British guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-roberts/i-like-british-guys/) [Ashley Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-roberts/) > [I sometimes feel like a British writer more so than I feel like an American writer. But I think that has to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-sometimes-feel-like-a-british-writer-more-so-than-i-feel-like-an/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I don't think there's a public in the world who respond like the British to a call for charity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-wogan/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-public-in-the-world-who-respond-like-the/) [Terry Wogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-wogan/) > [Succession,' in my mind, is the first successful British comedy in America, and the way that you get Americans to like British comedy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cord-jefferson/succession-in-my-mind-is-the-first-successful-british-comedy-in/) [Cord Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cord-jefferson/) > [If we don't stop behaving like the British Empire, we will end up like the British Empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/if-we-don-t-stop-behaving-like-the-british-empire-we-will-end-up-like/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Yeah I feel like British wrestling deserves a bigger chance and everyone will see that when it's on the WWE Network. People will realise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-dunne/yeah-i-feel-like-british-wrestling-deserves-a-bigger-chance-and/) [Pete Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-dunne/) > [I do like British guys. If I had to pick one it would be Ewan McGregor. I met him once and he was gorgeous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-longoria/i-do-like-british-guys-if-i-had-to-pick-one-it-would-be-ewan-mcgregor/) [Eva Longoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-longoria/) > [Like, Mission Of Burma to me always sounded almost like they were part of the British Arty New Wave. I kind of like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-coxon/like-mission-of-burma-to-me-always-sounded-almost-like-they-were-part/) [Graham Coxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-coxon/) > [I didn't like any British music before The Beatles. For me, it was all about black American music. But then I became a successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lulu/i-didn-t-like-any-british-music-before-the-beatles-for-me-it-was-all/) [Lulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lulu/) > [Catering on planes, like on British Rail, is a standing joke, but I don't really have a problem with it. I don't quite know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collins/catering-on-planes-like-on-british-rail-is-a-standing-joke-but-i-don/) [Phil Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collins/) > [I don't really like British comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vic-reeves/i-don-t-really-like-british-comedy/) [Vic Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vic-reeves/) > [I don't like to have these words banded about, like "British sense of humor," "American sense of humor," though I'll be damned if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-oz/i-don-t-like-to-have-these-words-banded-about-like-british-sense-of/) [Frank Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-oz/) > [If I go anywhere where there are people who vaguely look like me, there is always that feeling of, 'Actually I do look quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjeev-bhaskar/if-i-go-anywhere-where-there-are-people-who-vaguely-look-like-me/) [Sanjeev Bhaskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjeev-bhaskar/) > [The Spanish never appreciated me like the British.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seve-ballesteros/the-spanish-never-appreciated-me-like-the-british/) [Seve Ballesteros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seve-ballesteros/) ## More by Neil Sheehan > [The destruction of civilian hamlets, the killing and the wounding of civilians, became vastly greater than it had been before, and it was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/the-destruction-of-civilian-hamlets-the-killing-and-the-wounding-of/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [Just because you put higher-octane gasoline in your car doesn't mean you can break the speed limit. The speed limit's still 65.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/just-because-you-put-higher-octane-gasoline-in-your-car-doesn-t-mean/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [We thought that whatever we wanted to do was right and good, simply because we were Americans, and we would succeed at it because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/we-thought-that-whatever-we-wanted-to-do-was-right-and-good-simply/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [I never got away from the war. Not because I was obsessed with it in those years, but because it was the event of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/i-never-got-away-from-the-war-not-because-i-was-obsessed-with-it-in/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [I think you have to remember that Americans saw their purpose as so innately good that they could excuse the pain they would inflict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/i-think-you-have-to-remember-that-americans-saw-their-purpose-as-so/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [You remember all those phrases about how 'these people' - Asians - don't value human life like we do. Well if you spend any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/you-remember-all-those-phrases-about-how-these-people-asians-don-t/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [We had a military and political leadership at that period which was genuinely deluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/we-had-a-military-and-political-leadership-at-that-period-which-was/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [I went to Vietnam; it was my first assignment as a reporter for the UPI, and I never could get away from the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/i-went-to-vietnam-it-was-my-first-assignment-as-a-reporter-for-the/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [We wanted to see this country win the war just as much as those advisors did. We felt we would help to do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/we-wanted-to-see-this-country-win-the-war-just-as-much-as-those/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [People talked to me in a way I think they would not have talked to somebody who hadn't shared the experience; they gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/people-talked-to-me-in-a-way-i-think-they-would-not-have-talked-to/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [At least I'm at peace with myself. I have done my best to write a book about what really happened there and why it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/at-least-i-m-at-peace-with-myself-i-have-done-my-best-to-write-a-book/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [These men were wrongfully rejected, the veterans. The fighting man should never have been blamed for Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/these-men-were-wrongfully-rejected-the-veterans-the-fighting-man/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [The unthinkable occurred: two communist countries went to war with each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/the-unthinkable-occurred-two-communist-countries-went-to-war-with/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [“When Gene Crutchfield brought his troubled friend to Hopkins in 1938, Hopkins was twenty-four years old and in charge of LeKies Memorial, the Methodist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/when-gene-crutchfield-brought-his-troubled-friend-to-hopkins-in-1938/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) > [Americans, particularly after World War II, tended to romanticize war because in World War II our cause was the cause of humanity, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-sheehan/americans-particularly-after-world-war-ii-tended-to-romanticize-war/) [Neil Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) [Explore all 16 Neil Sheehan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-sheehan/) ## More 19th century quotes > [Though my grandmother had picked up modern ideas in America, she still had some conflicting 19th-century Irish notions. She believed that daughters, educated though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-mahoney/though-my-grandmother-had-picked-up-modern-ideas-in-america-she-still/) [Rosemary Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-mahoney/) > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Washington was no politician as we understand the word," replied Ratcliffe abruptly. "He stood outside of politics. The thing couldn't be done today. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/washington-was-no-politician-as-we-understand-the-word-replied/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Then years back, when I moved to California, I happened to see a book about fashions of 19th-century Victorian England, only four pages of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/then-years-back-when-i-moved-to-california-i-happened-to-see-a-book/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [By tracing the careers of the four members of the Philosophical Breakfast Club, Laura Snyder has found a wonderful way not just to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-standage/by-tracing-the-careers-of-the-four-members-of-the-philosophical/) [Tom Standage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-standage/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [ . . . Luddites were those frenzied traditionalists of the early 19th century who toured \[England\] wrecking new weaving machines on the theory that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/luddites-were-those-frenzied-traditionalists-of-the-early-19th/) [James A. 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I don't think that today's women see motherhood as a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-wright/an-ethic-of-maternalism-was-central-to-the-utopianism-of-19th-century/) Clare Wright Browse all 383 19th century quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "World War II had been such a tremendous success story for this country that the political and military leadership began to assume that they would prevail simply because of who they were. 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