Named source · 1880

Democracy: An American Novel Quotes by Henry Adams: Context & Meanings

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In politics we cannot keep our hands clean.

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“In politics we cannot keep our hands clean.”

Henry Adams

Voice: Fictional character · Senator Silas Ratcliffe

Meaning & context

Ratcliffe bluntly argues that political action can involve morally compromising choices, exposing the novel’s conflict between expediency and personal integrity.

Source details

Democracy: An American Novel, represented by Project Gutenberg #2815. Senator Silas Ratcliffe says this to Madeleine Lee while defending questionable acts in his political career. It is fictional character dialogue in Adams’s political novel, not Adams speaking autobiographically or prescribing political conduct.

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