Widely attributed to Gandhi, sometimes citing Ramachandra Krishna Prabhu, The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism (1959). (Cf. Ralph Keyes, The Quote Verifier (2006), p. 74.) However, it is not found in that essay http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/moralbasis_vegetarianism.pdf nor in any of Gandhi's Complete works. http://animalsmattertogod.com/2013/09/13/mahatma-gandhi-hoax-quote-greatness-of-a-nation-and-its-moral-progress-can-be-judged-by-the-way-that-its-animals-are-treated/
The original quote seems to be by David Strauss, The Old Faith and the New (Der alte und der neue Glaube, 1872, trans. by M. Blind, New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1873), vol. II, ch. 71, p. 59 https://archive.org/stream/oldfaithnewconfe01stra#page/59/mode/2up: The manner in which a nation in the aggregate treats animals, is one chief measure of its real civilization.
Similar quotes, not attributed to Gandhi, are found throughout the twentieth century: e.g. The great actress, Mrs Fiske, once said to me, "The civilization of any country can be told by the way it treats its animals" (Zoe Berkeley, "Zoe Berkeley's Corner", Salinas Index-Journal, 1933-07-01, p. 8).
Attributed to Gandhi since at least 1980: The seal hunt truly is Canada's shame and we would do well to think of the words of Gandhi when he said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" (Doris Potter, Letter to the editor, The Gazette (Montreal), 1980-03-18, p. 8).
Disputed
“You can judge a man's true character by the way he treats his fellow animals.”
1990s, Long Walk to Freedom (1995)
Source: Dictionary of political economy, 1818, p. 159, as cited in: Zabieglik (2002).
John F. Kennedy: "Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America" (26 February 1962) http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9075&st=&st1=<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->
1962
Context: We welcome the views of others. We seek a free flow of information across national boundaries and oceans, across iron curtains and stone walls. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.
Source: The Natural System of Political Economy (1837), p. 44
“The condition of women in a nation is the real measure of its progress.”
Source: Wizard of the Crow
“You can often judge the character of a person by the way he treats his fellow men.”
Source: Only Time Will Tell
“How can a nation be called great if its bread tastes like kleenex?”
Origins of attribution could be a New York Times Magazine article by Joan Barthel ("How to Avoid TV Dinners While Watching TV" 7 August 1966, p. 34): "'The French Chef'...the program that can be campier than 'Batman,' farther-out than 'Lost in Space' and more penetrating than 'Meet the Press' as it probes the question: Can a Society be Great if its bread tastes like Kleenex?" Article quoted in for Life: The Biography of Julia Child http://books.google.com/books?id=GDDYYhUS4i0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=kleenex&f=false|Appetite (Noël Riley Fitch. Doubleday, 1997, p. 308)
Attributed
