Presidential quotes
746 quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
"Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again."
"This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor."
"We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it."
"But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever."
"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'"
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"We are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this."
"Freedom of conscience, of education, of speech, of assembly are among the very fundamentals of democracy and all of them would be nullified should freedom of the press ever be successfully challenged."
"There is nothing left to do but get drunk."
"While men inhabiting different parts of this vast continent cannot be expected to hold the same opinions, they can unite in a common objective and sustain common principles."
"The emigrants although of different parties and different religious sects all flew from persecution in pursuit of liberty."
"The right of self-defense never ceases. It is among the most sacred, and alike necessary to nations and to individuals."
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."
"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."
"Working on your biceps? Try chopping down a cherry tree."
"A government of laws, and not of men."
"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future."
"Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery."
"War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today."
"This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."
"Frequently the more trifling the subject, the more animated and protracted the discussion."
"Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe."
"Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business."
"America cannot be an ostrich with its head in the sand."
"We must use time as a tool, not as a couch."
"There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts. The age of Pericles was also the age of Phidias. The age of Lorenzo de Medici was also the age of Leonardo da Vinci. The age of Elizabeth was also the age of Shakespeare. And the New Frontier for which I campaign in public life, can also be a New Frontier for American art."
