Leaders Quotes | Franklin D. Roosevelt
1. When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
2. Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
3. I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.
4. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
5. A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.
6. Presidents are selected, not elected.
7. There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.
8. If you treat people right they will treat you right ... ninety percent of the time.
9. Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
10. The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.
11. Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
12. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.
13. The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.
14. Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.
15. Books can not be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory... In this war, we know, books are weapons. And it is a part of your dedication always to make them weapons for man's freedom.
16. To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.
17. I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.
18. A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.
19. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
20. We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.
21. Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.
22. It isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.
23. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism -- ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.... Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.
24. In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice…, the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.
25. Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
26. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory.
27. A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.
28. We have always known that heedless self interest was bad morals, we now know that it is bad economics.
29. Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
30. Be sincere, Be brief, Be seated.
31. 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.
32. The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government of the U.S. since the days of Andrew Jackson.
33. You are only an extra in everyone else's play.
34. We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future.
35. In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.
36. I think we consider too much the luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.
37. War is young men dying and old men talking.
38. Great power involves great responsibility.
39. True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
Freedom
40. Competition has been shown to be useful
up to a certain point and no further,
but cooperation, which is the thing
we must strive for today,
begins where competition leaves off.
41. Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
42. The Truth is found when men (and Women) are free to pursue it.
43. A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns.
44. It is the purpose of government to see that not only the legitimate interests of the few are protected but that the welfare and rights of the many are conserved.
45. We and all others who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.
46. There should be no bitterness or hate where the sole thought is the welfare of the United States of America. No man can occupy the office of President without realizing that he is President of all the people.
47. I sometimes think that the saving grace of America lies in the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans are possessed of two great qualities- a sense of humor and a sense of proportion.
48. First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
49. The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.
50. Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that
men have died to win them.
51.Today we are faced with the pre-eminent fact that if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships, the ability of all peoples of all kins to live together and to work together in the same world at peace.
52. We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests.
53. Never underestimate a man who overestimates himself.
54. Do something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.
55. It is fun to be in the same decade with you.
56. We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.
57. We have faith that future generations will know that here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.
58. Some people can never understand that you have to wait, even for the best of things, until the right time comes.
59. Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.
60. We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of nations far away. We have learned that we must live as men, and not as ostriches nor as dogs in the manger. We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.
61. 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.
62. In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
63. Cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.
64. There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected.
65. If we will not prepare to give all that we have and that all that we are to preserve Christian civilization in our land, we shall go to destruction.
66. It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.
67. The very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men.
68. Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.
69. People are not prisoners of fate, but prisoners of their own minds.
70. The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.
Born: 30 January 1882
Died: 12 April 1945
Country: United States
1. When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
2. Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
3. I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.
4. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
5. A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.
6. Presidents are selected, not elected.
7. There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.
8. If you treat people right they will treat you right ... ninety percent of the time.
9. Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
10. The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.
11. Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
12. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.
13. The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.
14. Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.
15. Books can not be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory... In this war, we know, books are weapons. And it is a part of your dedication always to make them weapons for man's freedom.
16. To reach a port we must set sail –
Sail, not tie at anchor
Sail, not drift.
17. I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.
18. A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.
19. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.
20. We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.
21. Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.
22. It isn't sufficient just to want - you've got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.
23. The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism -- ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.... Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing.
24. In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice…, the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.
25. Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
26. Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere. Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them. Our strength is our unity of purpose. To that high concept there can be no end save victory.
27. A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.
28. We have always known that heedless self interest was bad morals, we now know that it is bad economics.
29. Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
30. Be sincere, Be brief, Be seated.
31. 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.
32. The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government of the U.S. since the days of Andrew Jackson.
33. You are only an extra in everyone else's play.
34. We cannot always build a future for our youth, but we can always build our youth for the future.
35. In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.
36. I think we consider too much the luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.
37. War is young men dying and old men talking.
38. Great power involves great responsibility.
39. True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
Freedom
40. Competition has been shown to be useful
up to a certain point and no further,
but cooperation, which is the thing
we must strive for today,
begins where competition leaves off.
41. Better the occasional faults of a government that lives in a spirit of charity than the consistent omissions of a government frozen in the ice of its own indifference.
42. The Truth is found when men (and Women) are free to pursue it.
43. A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns.
44. It is the purpose of government to see that not only the legitimate interests of the few are protected but that the welfare and rights of the many are conserved.
45. We and all others who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.
46. There should be no bitterness or hate where the sole thought is the welfare of the United States of America. No man can occupy the office of President without realizing that he is President of all the people.
47. I sometimes think that the saving grace of America lies in the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans are possessed of two great qualities- a sense of humor and a sense of proportion.
48. First of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
49. The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.
50. Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that
men have died to win them.
51.Today we are faced with the pre-eminent fact that if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships, the ability of all peoples of all kins to live together and to work together in the same world at peace.
52. We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests.
53. Never underestimate a man who overestimates himself.
54. Do something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.
55. It is fun to be in the same decade with you.
56. We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.
57. We have faith that future generations will know that here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.
58. Some people can never understand that you have to wait, even for the best of things, until the right time comes.
59. Physical strength can never permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.
60. We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of nations far away. We have learned that we must live as men, and not as ostriches nor as dogs in the manger. We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.
61. 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.
62. In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
63. Cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.
64. There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected.
65. If we will not prepare to give all that we have and that all that we are to preserve Christian civilization in our land, we shall go to destruction.
66. It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.
67. The very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men.
68. Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.
69. People are not prisoners of fate, but prisoners of their own minds.
70. The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.
