Was Franklin D. Roosevelt The First Growth Hacker?

I'm working my way through Season 3 of House of Cards. No spoilers please. In Episode 2, while pushing his America Works initiative Frank Underwood quotes FDR. The quote is from a commencement address that Franklin D. Roosevelt gave at Olgethorpe Univeristy in May of 1932. Here it is:

"The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Isn't this the essence of Conversion Rate Optimization/Growth Hacking? Does anyone have anything earlier, maybe something from Nostradamus?