Presidential Quotes
“Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” ~ George Washington
“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!” ~ John Adams
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
“The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.” ~James Madison
“National honor is a national property of the highest value.” ~James Monroe
“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.” ~ John Quincy Adams
“It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t.” ~ Martin Van Buren
“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.” ~ William Henry Harrison
“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.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
“The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people.” ~ Andrew Johnson
“Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office seeking.” ~Rutherford B. Hayes
“If it were not for the reporters, I would tell you the truth.” ~ Chester A. Arthur
“A man is known by the company he keeps, and also by the company from which he is kept out.” ~ Grover Cleveland
“The disfranchisement of a single legal elector by fraud or intimidation is a crime too grave to be regarded lightly.” ~ Benjamin Harrison
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt
“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.” ~William Howard Taft
“If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” ~ Woodrow Wilson
“The business of America is business.” ~ Calvin Coolidge
“Absolute freedom of the press to discuss public questions is a foundation stone of American liberty.” ~Herbert Hoover
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
“You can not stop the spread of an idea by passing a law against it.” ~ Harry S. Truman
“There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure.” ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
“And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” ~ John F. Kennedy
“Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty; always remember, others may hate you. Those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself.” ~ Richard M. Nixon
“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.” ~Gerald R. Ford
“We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And that makes us special among the nations of the earth.” ~ Ronald W. Reagan
“If anyone tells you that America’s best days are behind her, they’re looking the wrong way.” George H. W. Bush
“There is nothing wrong in America that can’t be fixed with what is right in America.” ~ William J. Clinton
“We will bring the terrorists to justice; or we will bring justice to the terrorists. Either way, justice will be done.” ~ George W. Bush
“Tells me the bullet hasn’t been taken out.” ~ Barack H. Obama