William Ross Wallace

American poet, 1819–1881. 1 explained quote.

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“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

William Ross Wallace · 1865

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“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”

William Ross Wallace · “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World” (poem) · 1865 · Poet

Mothers shape the next generation, so their influence on the world is greater than any king's or general's. The poem praises motherhood as the strongest force for good.

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About William Ross Wallace

William Ross Wallace was a Kentucky-born poet and lawyer who worked in New York. He wrote patriotic and sentimental verse, much admired in its day. Almost all of it is forgotten except one title line from 1865: “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.”