This phrase was used by Washington Irving in his ‘Creole Village,’ 1837; and was claimed by him in the edition of 1855, which is to be found in vol. iv. p. 36 of Constable’s ‘Miscellany of Foreign Literature.’ The passage is as follows:—
| “As we swept away from the shore, I cast back a wistful eye upon the moss-grown roofs and ancient elms of the village, and prayed that the inhabitants might long retain their happy ignorance, their absence of all enterprise and improvement, their respect for the fiddle, and their contempt for the almighty dollar. (Note) This phrase, used for the first time in this sketch, has since passed into current circulation, and by some has been questioned as savouring of irreverence. The author, therefore, owes it to his orthodoxy to declare that no irreverence was intended, even to the dollar itself,—which, he is aware, is daily becoming more and more an object of worship.” |
The expression had acquired currency before the year 1837, for it occurs in quotation-marks (vide infra) in Dec., 1836, in an article severely reflecting on Gov. Isaac Hill of New Hampshire. But there is no reason to doubt that Mr. Irving invented it. Possibly he had in mind Ben Jonson’s “Almightie gold.”—See a contribution by Mr. Matthews, ‘N. & Q.,’ 11 S. iii. 211.
1836. “The Almighty Dollar” is the only object of worship.—Public Ledger, Dec. 2 (Phila.).
1843. If (as a foreigner has flung at us) the “almighty dollar” is not always on his [an American’s] tongue, you may be quite sure that it is nearest his heart.—‘Lowell Offering,’ iv. 5.
1850. That class of people, sneered at by the gentleman from N. Carolina, but most invaluable, who seek the “almighty dollar,” and the comforts and education it furnishes.—Mr. Butler of Conn., House of Repr., March 12: Con. Globe, p. 306, Appendix.
1852. Here is a speculation in which dollars and cents can be made, with which the almighty dollar has to play a part.—Mr. Mace of Indiana, Ho. of Rep., Feb. 20: id., p. 614.
1855. An extra month’s delay of the brig, which would amount to about 500 Almighty Dollars.—Letter to the Olympia (W.T.) Pioneer and Democrat, March 3.
1856. They talk about “the almighty dollar” governing the Yankees; but let me tell you it governs the whole species.—Mr. Davidson of Louisiana, House of Repr., Dec. 18: Cong. Globe, p. 114, Appendix.
