American President Quotes

"The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." — Theodore Roosevelt
As quoted in Six sigma (2006) pg. 188 Add Category or Author

"No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expedience." — Theodore Roosevelt
The Century: Volume 60 (1900) pg. 215 From a piece titled "Latitude and Longitude among reformers," Roosevelt continues, "He is bound to do all the good possible. Yet he must consider the question of expediency, in order that he may do all the good possible, for otherwise he will do none." Add Category or Author

"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be." — Abraham Lincoln
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"No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent." — Abraham Lincoln
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"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues." — Abraham Lincoln
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"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." — Author Unknown
Often misattributed to Lincoln, no real record can be found of him saying anything resembling this. It became so commonly attributed with him in the late 1800s, when the quote began appearing alongside Lincoln's portraits. Add Category or Author

"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining." — John F. Kennedy
As quoted in Talent Is Never Enough Workbook (2007) pg. 59 Add Category or Author

"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." — Theodore Roosevelt
Letter to Henry L. Sprague (26 January 1900) Roosevelt himself said he was quoting a "West African proverb," but this is the earliest recorded use of this phrase. Add Category or Author

"It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." — Harry S. Truman
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"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." — Abraham Lincoln
Reported as an inscription quoting Lincoln in an English college in The Baptist Teacher for Sunday-school Workers : Vol. 36 (1905), pg. 483 Famed for his stance on morality, Lincoln here expounds on his views about being right and standing with those that are right. Add Category or Author

"You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves." — William Boetcker
The Ten Cannots (1916) Often misattributed to Lincoln because the leaflet upon which it was published also contained words from Lincoln. Add Category or Author

"To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace." — George Washington
First Annual Address (8 January 1790). Spoken by Washington to both Houses of Congress, in a line that becomes surprisingly more poignant as the United States ages. Add Category or Author

"The buck stops here." — Harry S. Truman
According to The Truman Library and others, Truman did not come up with the phrase, though he did popularize it. The idea was in line with his sentiments, and also according to the Truman Library, "Fred M. Canfil, then United States Marshal for the Western District of Missouri and a friend of Mr. Truman, saw a similar sign while visiting the Reformatory and asked the Warden if a sign like it could be made for President Truman." The phrase did come to embody Truman's presidency and life. Add Category or Author

"If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old." — James Garfield
Letter to Colonel A. F. Rockwell (13 August 1866) Garfield was a man who later became a president, but he wrote this quote in a letter while he was the representative of the 19th Ohio Congressional District. Add Category or Author

"Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder." — George Washington
Written in a letter to Letter to Major-General Robert Howe (17 August 1779). Add Category or Author

"Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose." — Lyndon Johnson
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"Things do not happen. Things are made to happen." — John Fitzgerald
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"That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well." — Abraham Lincoln
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"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer "Present" or "Not Guilty."" — Theodore Roosevelt
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"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb." — Calvin Coolidge
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"Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality." — Abraham Lincoln
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