--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Forgotten Man... delving away in…" description: "\"The Forgotten Man... delving away in patient industry, supporting his family, paying his taxes, casting his vote, supporting the church and the school...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/william-graham-sumner-5011_bigs_the-forgotten-man-delving-away-in-patien_711429.jpg" --- # The Forgotten Man... delving away in patient industry… ![“The Forgotten Man... delving away in patient industry, supporting his family, paying his taxes, casting his vote, supporting the church and the school... but he is the only one for whom there is no provision in the great scramble and the big divide. Such is the Forgotten Man. He works, he votes…” quote by William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/william-graham-sumner-5011_bigs_the-forgotten-man-delving-away-in-patien_711429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/william-graham-sumner-5011_bigs_the-forgotten-man-delving-away-in-patien_711429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/455/william-graham-sumner-5011_bigs_the-forgotten-man-delving-away-in-patien_711429.jpg) > “The Forgotten Man... delving away in patient industry, supporting his family, paying his taxes, casting his vote, supporting the church and the school... but he is the only one for whom there is no provision in the great scramble and the big divide. Such is the Forgotten Man. He works, he votes, generally he prays-but his chief business in life is to pay… Who and where is the Forgotten Man in this case, who will have to pay for it all?” [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote describes the ordinary citizen who bears the burdens of society yet receives no direct aid. **In simple terms:** Common people bear society’s costs without support. Key Takeaway Recognize and address the needs of the overlooked majority. Themes social justice economic inequality citizen responsibility Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - welfare reform - tax policy - community support - civic engagement Key Concepts political economy public policy Questions to Reflect On - Who are the modern “Forgotten Men” in your community? - How can policy better protect them? A Different Perspective Solutions may conflict with entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Casting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/casting/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Delving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delving/) [Divide Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divide-forgotten-1449113/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Election day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election-day/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Forgotten Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten-man-347992/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Pay Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay-forgotten-5611081/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Provision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/provision/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Works Votes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-votes-1009696/) ## Related quotes > [The Forgotten Man is delving away in patient industry, supporting his family, paying his taxes, casting his vote, supporting the church and the school,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-forgotten-man-is-delving-away-in-patient-industry-supporting-his/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“Such is the Forgotten Man. He works, he votes, generally he prays—but he always pays—yes, above all, he pays.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/such-is-the-forgotten-man-he-works-he-votes-generally-he-prays-but-he/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“The Forgotten Man works and votes—generally he prays—but his chief business in life is to pay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-forgotten-man-works-and-votes-generally-he-prays-but-his-chief/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The forgotten man... He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is to pay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-forgotten-man-he-works-he-votes-generally-he-prays-but-his-chief/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The Forgotten Man... works, he votes, generally he prays-but he always pays-yes, above all, he pays. He does not want an office; his name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-forgotten-man-works-he-votes-generally-he-prays-but-he-always/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The State cannot get a cent for any man without taking it from some other man, and this latter must be a man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-state-cannot-get-a-cent-for-any-man-without-taking-it-from-some/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [If any student of social science comes to appreciate the case of the Forgotten Man, he will become an unflinching advocate of strict scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/if-any-student-of-social-science-comes-to-appreciate-the-case-of-the/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The State, it cannot be too often repeated, does nothing and can give nothing which it does not take from somebody. The Forgotten Man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-state-it-cannot-be-too-often-repeated-does-nothing-and-can-give/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Who is the Forgotten Man? He is the clean, quiet, virtuous, domestic citizen, who pays his debts and his taxes and is never heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/who-is-the-forgotten-man-he-is-the-clean-quiet-virtuous-domestic/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“we must not speak of him; we must let him be forgotten. But a man is not forgotten, as long as there are two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/we-must-not-speak-of-him-we-must-let-him-be-forgotten-but-a-man-is/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [The forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/the-forgotten-man-at-the-bottom-of-the-economic-pyramid/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“Who is the forgotten man...? I know him as intimately as my own undershirt. He is the fellow that is trying to get along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/who-is-the-forgotten-man-i-know-him-as-intimately-as-my-own/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [“But how could she have forgotten who he was—a man who could lose himself in a single book, not to mention a world-class, open-stack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-masello/but-how-could-she-have-forgotten-who-he-was-a-man-who-could-lose/) [Robert Masello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-masello/) > [“Man has not forgotten to be man because man has not yet learned to be man! You can’t forget the thing you haven’t learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/man-has-not-forgotten-to-be-man-because-man-has-not-yet-learned-to-be/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [The marble keeps merely a cold and sad memory of a man who would else be forgotten. No man who needs a monument ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-marble-keeps-merely-a-cold-and-sad-memory-of-a-man-who-would-else/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More by William Graham Sumner > [The great force for forging a society into a solid mass has always been war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-great-force-for-forging-a-society-into-a-solid-mass-has-always/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [One thing must be granted to the rich: they are goodnatured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/one-thing-must-be-granted-to-the-rich-they-are-goodnatured/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“Can anyone imagine that the masterfulness, the overbearing disposition, the greed of gain, and the ruthlessness in methods, which are the faults of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/can-anyone-imagine-that-the-masterfulness-the-overbearing-disposition/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The waste of capital, in proportion to the total capital, in this country between 1800 and 1850, in the attempts which were made to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-waste-of-capital-in-proportion-to-the-total-capital-in-this/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [We shall find that every effort to realize equality necessitates a sacrifice of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/we-shall-find-that-every-effort-to-realize-equality-necessitates-a/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Who is the Forgotten Man? He is the clean, quiet, virtuous, domestic citizen, who pays his debts and his taxes and is never heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/who-is-the-forgotten-man-he-is-the-clean-quiet-virtuous-domestic/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living generally find that the world pays its 'debt' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-men-who-start-out-with-the-notion-that-the-world-owes-them-a/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The taxing power is especially something after which the reformer's finger always itches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-taxing-power-is-especially-something-after-which-the-reformer-s/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Great captains of industry are as rare as great generals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/great-captains-of-industry-are-as-rare-as-great-generals/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Whatever capital you divert to the support of a shiftless and good-for-nothing person is so much diverted from some other employment, and that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/whatever-capital-you-divert-to-the-support-of-a-shiftless-and-good/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [ The yearning after equality \[in economic outcome\] is the offspring of envy and covetousness, and there is no possible plan for satisfying that yearning… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-yearning-after-equality-in-economic-outcome-is-the-offspring-of/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [I never have known a man of ordinary common-sense who did not urge upon his sons, from earliest childhood, doctrines of economy and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/i-never-have-known-a-man-of-ordinary-common-sense-who-did-not-urge/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Before the tribunal of nature, a man has no more right to life than a rattlesnake; he has no more right to liberty than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/before-the-tribunal-of-nature-a-man-has-no-more-right-to-life-than-a/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The millionaires are a product of natural selection ... the naturally selected agents of society for certain work. They get high wages and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-millionaires-are-a-product-of-natural-selection-the-naturally/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Perhaps they do not recognize themselves, for a rich man is even harder to define than a poor one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/perhaps-they-do-not-recognize-themselves-for-a-rich-man-is-even/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) [Explore all 104 William Graham Sumner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) [Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Forgotten Man... delving away in patient industry, supporting his family, paying his taxes, casting his vote, supporting the church and the school... but he is the only one for whom there is no provision in the great scramble and the big divide. 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