who said patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel
Political views of Samuel Johnson In 1774, he printed The Patriot, a critique of what he viewed as false patriotism. On the evening of 7Â April 1775, he made the famous statement, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."[8] This line was not, as widely believed, about patriotism in general, but the false use of the term "patriotism" by William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (the patriot-minister) and his supporters. Johnson opposed "self-professed patriots" in general, but valued what he considered "true" self-professed patriotism.[9]