I believe in Democracy because it releases the energies of every human being.
The whole purpose of democracy is that we may hold counsel with one another, so as not to depend upon the understanding of one man.
Some Americans need hyphens in their names, because only part of them has come over; but when the whole man has come over, heart and thought and all, the hyphen drops of its own weight out of his name.
We cannot be separated in interest or divided in purpose. We stand together until the end.
The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.
Life does not consist in thinking, it consists in acting.
I will not speak with disrespect of the Republican Party. I always speak with respect of the past.
There is a power so organized, so subtle, so complete, and so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.
Provision for others is a fundamental responsibility of human life.
Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice.
There can be no equality or opportunity if men and women and children be not shielded in their lives from the consequences of great industrial and social processes which they cannot alter, control, or singly cope with.
I have always been among those who believed that the greatest freedom of speech was the greatest safety, because if a man is a fool, the best thing to do is to encourage him to advertise the fact by speaking.
When I give a man an office, I watch him carefully to see whether he is swelling or growing.
Absolute identity with one’s cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership.
No man can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach.
The things that the flag stands for were created by the experiences of a great people. Everything that it stands for was written by their lives. The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history.
Sometimes people call me an idealist. Well, that is the way I know I am an American. America is the only idealistic nation in the world.
Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise.
The way to stop financial joyriding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile.
If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it.