"The philosophy of the classroom in one generation…

“The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next” is often said to be a quotation from Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). However, no such quote has been found from Lincoln—or from anyone in the 1800s.

The quote (attributed to Abraham Lincoln) appeared in American newspapers in 1957 as:

“The philosophy which is taught in the classroom becomes the philosophy of government in the next generation.”

25 September 1957, Lexington (KY) Herald, “Readers’ Letters To The Herald Editor,” pg. 4, col. 6:
“The philosophy which is taught in the classroom becomes the philosophy of government in the next generation,” said Abraham Lincoln.
(...)
R. D. SHORT
Lexington.

16 October 1957, Amarillo (TX) <>Daily News, “From A to Izzard” by Wes Izzard, pg. 1, col. 1:
Abraham Lincoln said: “The philosophy which is taught in the classroom becomes the philosophy of government in the next generation.”

15 October 1966, Alton (IL) Evening Telegraph, “Today’s College Students More Concerned With Human Values” by Steve Cousley, pg. A-6, col. 4:
Lincoln’s quotation was: “The philosophy of the classroom is the philosophy of the government in the next generation.”

16 January 1969, Brownfield (TX) News Herald, “Let’s Visit” by Douglass Rohre, pg. 4, col. 8:
Abraham Lincoln realized the power within youth and the need for leadership to guide them: “The philosophy of the classroom in one generation is the philosophy of the government in the next generation.”

Google News Archive
21 February 1982, The Ledger (Lakeland, FL), pg. 10A, col. 2 ad:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN WARNED “...THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE CLASSROOM IS THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE NEXT GENERATION.”
(Calvary Baptist Church.—ed.)

14 July 1986, Mobile (AL) Register, “Our history relevant” by D. L. Cuddy, pg. 4-A, col. 1:
As Abraham Lincoln has been quoted as saying, “The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”

Google Books
Assuring Quality for the Social Studies in Our Schools
By Paul Robert Hanna
Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press of Stanford University
1987
Pg. 46:
I applaud a statement of the problem made by Abraham Lincoln: “The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”

Google News Archive
15 August 1990, Kentucky New Era (Hopkinsville, KY), pg. 5A, col. 1:
Significant is the warning of Abraham Lincoln. “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”
(Pennyrile Christian Academy.—ed.)

Google Books
Sex, Lies, and the Media
By Eva Marie Everson and Jessica Everson
Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries
2005
Pg. 173:
On September 21, 1858, Abraham Lincoln stated, “The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.”

BuzzFeed
Mike Huckabee’s 1998 Book Is Full Of Fake Quotes From America’s Founders
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary to make sure the sources in your book are not an Internet quotations page.
By Andrew Kaczynski and Mark Arce
posted on Oct. 7, 2015, at 10:35 a.m.
(...)
“The philosophy of the classroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next,” reads on quote attributed to Lincoln. The quote is untraceable to Lincoln and is often listed as an unconfirmed quote.

“It looks like that quote began appearing in various evangelical books attributing it to Lincoln at some point in the 1990s, but beyond that I don’t know its origins,” Lincoln scholar and Dickinson College professor Matthew Pinsker. “It’s certainly not Lincoln, or to be precise, there’s no evidence that it comes from any of Lincoln’s writings and no recollected account that I know of which even claims this line as his.”