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| George
Washington (1789–1797) |
|
John
Adams (1797–1801) |
| "To be prepared for war is one
of the most effectual means of preserving peace."
"Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it
is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."
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"A pen is certainly an excellent
instrument to fix a man's attention and to inflame his ambition."
"I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessing on this house (the White
House) and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and
wise men ever rule under this roof!"
"Let every sluice of knowledge be open and set a-flowing." |
| Thomas
Jefferson (1801–1809) |
|
James
Madison (1809–1817) |
"One man with courage is a
majority."
"That government is best which governs the least, because its people
discipline themselves."
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance." |
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"The truth is that all men
having power ought to be mistrusted."
"The problem to be solved is, not what form of government is perfect, but
which of the forms is least imperfect."
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the
people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent
and sudden usurpations." |
| James
Monroe (1817–1825) |
|
John
Quincy Adams (1825–1829) |
"National honor is a national
property of the highest value."
"The American continents . . . are henceforth not to be considered as
subjects for future colonization by any European powers."
"A little flattery will support a man through great fatigue." |
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"May our country be always
successful, but whether successful or otherwise, always right."
"America, with the same voice which spoke herself into existence as a
nation, proclaimed to mankind the inextinguishable rights of human nature,
and the only lawful foundations of government."
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish
the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." |
| Andrew
Jackson (1829–1837) |
|
Martin
Van Buren (1837–1841) |
"The individual who refuses to
defend his rights when called by his government, deserves to be a slave, and
must be punished as an enemy of his country and friend to her foe."
"I know what I am fit for. I can command a body of men in a rough way; but I
am not fit to be President."
"Internal improvement and the diffusion of knowledge, so far as they can be
promoted by the constitutional acts of the Federal Government, are of high
importance." |
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"It is easier to do a job right
than to explain why you didn't."
"I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men, whose superiors it is our
happiness to believe are not found on the executive calendar of any
country."
"As to the Presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my
entrance upon the office and my surrender of it." |
| William
Henry Harrison (1841) |
|
John
Tyler (1841–1845) |
"The prudent capitalist will
never adventure his capital . . . if there exists a state of uncertainty as
to whether the Government will repeal tomorrow what it has enacted today."
"A decent and manly examination of the acts of the Government should be not
only tolerated, but encouraged."
"But I contend that the strongest of all governments is that which is most
free." |
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"Popularity, I have always
thought, may aptly be compared to a coquette—the more you woo her, the more
apt is she to elude your embrace."
"Wealth can only be accumulated by the earnings of industry and the savings
of frugality."
"Here lies the body of my good horse, 'The General.' For twenty years he
bore me around the circuit of my practice, and in all that time he never
made a blunder. Would that his master could say the same!" |
| James
Knox Polk (1845–1849) |
|
Zachary
Taylor(1849–1850 ) |
"With me it is exceptionally
true that the Presidency is no bed of roses."
"Public opinion: May it always perform one of its appropriate offices, by
teaching the public functionaries of the State and of the Federal
Government, that neither shall assume the exercise of powers entrusted by
the Constitution to the other."
"I am heartily rejoiced that my term is so near its close. I will soon cease
to be a servant and will become a sovereign." |
|
"For more than half a century,
during which kingdoms and empires have fallen, this Union has stood
unshaken. The patriots who formed it have long since descended to the grave;
yet still it remains, the proudest monument to their memory. . ."
"It would be judicious to act with magnanimity towards a prostrate foe."
"The idea that I should become President seems to me too visionary to
require a serious answer. It has never entered my head, nor is it likely to
enter the head of any other person." |
| Millard
Fillmore (1850–1853) |
|
Franklin
Pierce (1853–1857) |
"It is not strange . . . to
mistake change for progress."
"An honorable defeat is better than a dishonorable victory."
"The man who can look upon a crisis without being willing to offer himself
upon the altar of his country is not for public trust." |
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"We have nothing in our history
or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the
cultivation of relations of peace and amity with all nations."
"The storm of frenzy and faction must inevitably dash itself in vain against
the unshaken rock of the Constitution."
"The revenue of the country, levied almost insensibly to the taxpayer, goes
on from year to year, increasing beyond either the interests or the
prospective wants of the Government." |
| James
Buchanan (1857–1861) |
|
Abraham
Lincoln (1861–1865) |
"To avoid entangling alliances
has been a maxim of our policy ever since the days of Washington, and its
wisdoms no one will attempt to dispute."
"The ballot box is the surest arbiter of disputes among freemen."
"There is nothing stable but Heaven and the Constitution." |
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"You can fool all of the people
some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can not
fool all of the people all of the time."
"If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong."
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" |
| Andrew
Johnson (1865–1869) |
|
Ulysses
Simpson Grant (1869–1877) |
"If the rabble were lopped off
at one end and the aristocrat at the other, all would be well with the
country."
"Honest conviction is my courage; the Constitution is my guide."
"The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people." |
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"I have never advocated war
except as a means of peace."
"My failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent."
"The Southern rebellion was largely the outgrowth of the Mexican war.
Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions. We got our
punishment in the most sanguinary and expensive war of modern times." |
|
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877–1881) |
|
James
Abram Garfield (1881) |
"I would honor the man who give
to his country a good newspaper."
"My policy is trust—peace and to put aside the bayonet."
"It is now true that this is God's Country, if equal rights—a fair start and
an equal chance in the race of life are everywhere secured to all." |
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"I have had many troubles in my
life, but the worst of them never came."
"We can not overestimate the fervent love of liberty, the intelligent
courage, and the sum of common sense with which our fathers made the great
experiment of self-government."
"Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of
all industry and commerce." |
| Chester
Alan Arthur (1881–1885) |
|
Stephen
Grover Cleveland (1885–1889) |
"Good ballplayers make good
citizens."
"If it were not for the reporters, I would tell you the truth."
"Men may die, but the fabrics of our free institutions remain unshaken."
Sept. 22, 1881
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"A man is known by the company
he keeps, and also by the company from which he is kept out."
"Above all, tell the truth."
"It is the responsibility of the citizens to support their government. It is
not the responsibility of the government to support its citizens." |
| Benjamin
Harrison (1889–1893) |
|
William
McKinley (1897–1901) |
"No other people have a
government more worthy of their respect and love or a land so magnificent in
extent, so pleasant to look upon, and so full of generous suggestion to
enterprise and labor."
"Lincoln had faith in time, and time has justified his faith."
"We Americans have no commission from God to police the world." |
|
"That's all a man can hope for
during his lifetime—to set an example—and when he is dead, to be an
inspiration for history."
"Unlike any other nation, here the people rule, and their will is the
supreme law. It is sometimes sneeringly said by those who do not like free
government, that here we count heads. True, heads are counted, but brains
also . . ."
"In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest." |
| Theodore
Roosevelt (1901–1909) |
|
William
Taft (1909–1913) |
"The American people are slow to
wrath, but when their wrath is once kindled it burns like a consuming
flame."
"Speak softly, but carry a big stick."
"The only man who makes no mistake is the man who does nothing." |
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"The intoxication of power
rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt
reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the
kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress."
"Politics, when I am in it, makes me sick."
"Next to the right of liberty, the right of property is the most important
individual right guaranteed by the Constitution . ." |
| Thomas
Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) |
|
Warren
G. Harding (1921–1923) |
"Some people call me an
idealist. Well, that is the way I know am an American. America is the only
idealistic nation in the world."
"We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers."
"If you want to make enemies, try to change something." |
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"Our most dangerous tendency is
to expect too much of government, and at the same time do for it too
little."
""My God, this is a hell of a job! I have no trouble with my enemies . . .
but my damn friends, they're the ones that keep me walking the floor
nights."
"Ambition is a commendable attribute without which no man succeeds. Only
inconsiderate ambition imperils." |
| John
Calvin Coolidge (1923–1929) |
|
Herbert
Clark Hoover (1929–1933) |
"The business of America is
business."
"I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say."
"Character is the only secure foundation of the state." |
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"Peace is not made at the
Council table or by treaties, but in the hearts of men."
"A splendid storehouse of integrity and freedom has been bequeathed to us by
our forefathers. In this day of confusion, of peril to liberty, our high
duty is to see that this storehouse is not robbed of its contents."
"Absolute freedom of the press to discuss public questions is a foundation
stone of American liberty." |
| Franklin
Delano Roosevelt (1933–1945) |
|
Harry S.
Truman (1945–1953) |
"The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself."
"A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers."
"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative
effort." |
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"You can not stop the spread of
an idea by passing a law against it."
"We need not fear the expression of ideas—we do need to fear their
suppression."
"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an
optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties." |
| Dwight
David Eisenhower (1953–1961) |
|
John
Fitzgerald Kennedy (1961–1963) |
"America is best described by
one word, freedom."
"I never saw a pessimistic general win a battle."
"There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom,
intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure." |
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"The American, by nature, is
optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best
when called upon to build greatly."
"And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask
what you can do for your country."
"If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world
safe for diversity." |
| Lyndon
Baines Johnson (1963–1969) |
|
Richard
Milhous Nixon (1969–1974) |
"A president's hardest task is
not to do what is right, but to know what is right."
"You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're talkin'."
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the
unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest sleeping
in the unplowed ground. . ." |
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"A man who has never lost
himself in a cause bigger than himself has missed one of life's mountaintop
experiences. Only in losing himself does he find himself."
"What kind of nation we will be, what kind of world we will live in, whether
we shape the future in the image of our hopes, is ours to determine by our
actions and our choices."
"I like the job I have, but if I had to live my life over again, I would
like to have ended up a sports writer." |
| Gerald
Rudolph Ford (1974–1977) |
|
James
Earl Carter, Jr. (1977–1981) |
"We . . . declared our
independence 200 years ago, and we are not about to lose it now to paper
shufflers and computers."
"Truth is the glue that holds governments together. Compromise is the oil
that makes governments go."
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big
enough to take from you everything you have." |
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"The best way to enhance freedom
in other lands is to demonstrate here that our democratic system is worthy
of emulation."
"Our American values are not luxuries but necessities—not the salt in our
bread, but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is
our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad—greater than the
bounty of our material blessings."
"We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles."
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| Ronald
Wilson Reagan (1981–1989) |
|
George
Herbert Walker Bush (1989–1993) |
"America is too great for small
dreams."
"We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And that
makes us special among the nations of the earth."
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." |
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"If anyone tells you that
America's best days are behind her, they're looking the wrong way."
"The United States is the best and fairest and most decent nation on the
face of the earth."
"Don't try to fine-tune somebody else's view." |
| William
Jefferson Clinton (1993–2001) |
|
George
Walker Bush (2001– present) |
"There is nothing wrong in
America that can't be fixed with what is right in America."
"If you live long enough, you'll make mistakes. But if you learn from them,
you'll be a better person. It's how you handle adversity, not how it affects
you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit."
"We need a spirit of community, a sense that we are all in this together. If
we have no sense of community, the American dream will wither." |
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"Recognizing and confronting our
history is important. Transcending our history is essential. We are not
limited by what we have done, or what we have left undone. We are limited
only by what we are willing to do."
"If you don't feel something strongly you're not going to achieve."
"Government can hand out money, but it cannot put hope in our hearts or a
sense of purpose in our lives. It cannot bring us peace of mind. It cannot
fill the spiritual well from which we draw our strength day to day. Only
faith can do that." |
From "Presidential Quotes"
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/presquotes1.html
Copyright Infoplease.com www.infoplease.com.
Reprinted with permission.
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