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History Proves That Dictatorships Do Not Grow Out Of Strong And Successful Governments, But Out Of Weak And Helpless Ones. If By Democratic Methods People Get A Government Strong Enough To Protect Them From Fear And Starvation, Their Democracy Succeeds; But If They Do Not, They Grow Impatient. Therefore, 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 Its Government.

-Franklin D. Roosevelt

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History Proves That Dictatorships

Franklin D. Roosevelt

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History Proves That Dictatorships Do Not Grow Out Of Strong And Successful Governments, But Out Of Weak And Helpless Ones. If By Democratic Methods People Get A Government Strong Enough To Protect Them From Fear And Starvation, Their Democracy Succeeds; But If They Do Not, They Grow Impatient. Therefore, 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 Its Government.

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Since I Am Used To Speaking In Public, I Know That It Is Useless.

Men And Nature Must Work Hand In Hand. The Throwing Out Of Balance Of The Resources Of Nature Throws Out Of Balance Also The Lives Of Men.

Sports Is The Very Fiber Of All We Stand For. It Keeps Our Spirits Alive.

We Are Going To Tax And Tax, Spend And Spend, Elect And Elect.

Preparation For Defense Is An Inalienable Prerogative Of A Sovereign State.

I Think That Both Here And In England There Are Two Schools Of Thought--those Who Would Be Altruistic In Regard To The Germans, Hoping That By Loving Kindness To Make Them Christian Again--and Those Who Would Adopt A Much Tougher Attitude. Most Decidedly I Belong To The Latter School, For Though I Am Not Blood-thirsty, I Want The Germans To Know That This Time At Least They Have Definitely Lost The War.

On Both Sides Of The Line, We Are So Accustomed To An Undefended Boundary Three Thousand Miles Long That We Are Inclined Perhaps To Minimize Its Vast Importance, Not Only To Our Own Continuing Relations But Also To The Example Which It Sets To The Other Nations Of The World.

Your Boys Are Not Going To Be Sent Into Any Foreign Wars.

We Continue To Recognize The Greater Ability Of Some To Earn More Than Others. But We Do Assert That The Ambition Of The Individual To Obtain For Him A Proper Security Is An Ambition To Be Preferred To The Appetite For Great Wealth And Great Power.

There Can Be Little Doubt That In Many Ways The Story Of Bridge Building Is The Story Of Civilisation. By It We Can Readily Measure An Important Part Of A People's Progress.

Our National Debt After All Is An Internal Debt Owed Not Only By The Nation But To The Nation. If Our Children Have To Pay Interest On It They Will Pay That Interest To Themselves. A Reasonable Internal Debt Will Not Impoverish Our Children Or Put The Nation Into Bankruptcy.

A World Turned Into A Stereotype, A Society Converted Into A Regiment, A Life Translated Into A Routine, Make It Difficult For Either Art Or Artists To Survive. Crush Individuality In Society And You Crush Art As Well. Nourish The Conditions Of A Free Life And You Nourish The Arts, Too.

We Must Be The Great Arsenal Of Democracy.

The Loneliest Feeling In The World Is When You Think You Are Leading The Parade And Turn To Find That No One Is Following You. No President Who Badly Misguesses Public Opinion Will Last Very Long.

History Proves That Dictatorships Do Not Grow Out Of Strong And Successful Governments, But Out Of Weak And Helpless Ones. If By Democratic Methods People Get A Government Strong Enough To Protect Them From Fear And Starvation, Their Democracy Succeeds; But If They Do Not, They Grow Impatient. Therefore, 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 Its Government.

The Handling Of Our Forests As A Continuous, Renewable Resource Means Permanent Employment And Stability To Our Country Life. The Forests Are Also Needed For Mitigating Extreme Climatic Fluctuations, Holding The Soil On The Slopes, Retaining The Moisture In The Ground, And Controlling The Equable Flow Of Water In Our Streams.

The Motto Of War Is: "let The Strong Survive; Let The Weak Die." The Motto Of Peace Is: "let The Strong Help The Weak To Survive."

Democracy Cannot Succeed Unless Those Who Express Their Choice Are Prepared To Choose Wisely. The Real Safeguard Of Democracy, Therefore, Is Education.

No Business Is Above Government; And Government Must Be Empowered To Deal Adequately With Any Business That Tries To Rise Above Government.

We Are Fighting To Save A Great And Precious Form Of Government For Ourselves And For The World.

There Is Much To Be Said Against The Climate On The Coast Of British Columbia And Alaska; Yet, I Believe That The Scenery Of One Good Day Will Compensate The Tourists Who Will Go There In Increasing Numbers.

I Ask Especially That No State Shall, By Law Or Otherwise, Authorize The Return Of The Saloon, Either In Its Old Form Or In Some Modern Guise.

I Suggest A Nationwide Reading Of The Holy Scriptures During The Period From Thanksgiving Day To Christmas.

Thanksgiving Day

Beware Of That Profound Enemy Of The Free Enterprise System Who Pays Lip-service To Free Competition, But Also Labels Every Antitrust Prosecution As A Persecution.

It Is Fun To Be In The Same Decade With You.

It Was Natural And Perhaps Human That The Privileged Princes Of These New Economic Dynasties, Thirsting For Power, Reached Out For Control Over Government Itself. They Created A New Despotism And Wrapped It In The Robes Of Legal Sanction. ...and As A Result The Average Man Once More Confronts The Problem That Faced The Minute Man.

I Consider It A Public Duty To Answer Falsifications With Facts. I Will Not Pretend That I Find This An Unpleasant Duty. I Am An Old Campaigner, And I Love A Good Fight.

I Pledge You, Pledge Myself, To A New Deal For The American People. Let Us All Here Assembled Constitute Ourselves Prophets Of A New Order Of Competence And Of Courage. This Is More Than A Political Campaign; It Is A Call To Arms. Give Me Your Help, Not To Win Votes Alone, But To Win In This Crusade To Restore America To Its Own People.

Do The Best You Can Do And Wait The Results In Peace.

Almighty God: Our Sons, Pride Of Our Nation, This Day Have Set Upon A Mighty Endeavor, A Struggle To Preserve Our Republic, Our Religion, And Our Civilization, And To Set Free A Suffering Humanity.

The Success Of Our Whole National Program Depends, Of Course, On The Cooperation Of The Public--on Its Intelligent Support And Its Use Of A Reliable System.

People Die, But Books Never Die.

Frankly, I Do Not Like The Idea Of Conversations To Define The Term "unconditional Surrender."the German People Can Have Dinned Into Their Ears What I Said In My Christmas Eve Speech--in Effect, That We Have No Thought Of Destroying The German People And That We Want Them To Live Through The Generations Like Other European Peoples On Condition, Of Course, That They Get Rid Of Their Present Philosophy Of Conquest.

But While They Prate Of Economic Laws, Men And Women Are Starving. We Must Lay Hold Of The Fact That Economic Laws Are Not Made By Nature. They Are Made By Human Beings.

Lord, Reform Thy World, Beginning With Me.

The Chief Problem Is, Of Course, Whether The Marching Of The General Spirit Of Things Is Heading Consciously Or Sub- Consciously Toward An Idea Of Extension Of Boundaries.

Many Causes Produce War. There Are Ancient Hatreds, Turbulent Frontiers, The "legacy Of Old Forgotten, Far-off Things, And Battles Long Ago." There Are New-born Fanaticisms. Convictions On The Part Of Certain Peoples That They Have Become The Unique Depositories Of Ultimate Truth And Right.

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Organized Labor

The Only Limit To Our Realization Of Tomorrow Will Be Our Doubts Of Today.

I'm Not The Smartest Fellow In The World, But I Can Sure Pick Smart Colleagues.

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Meaning Of Life

They Fight Not For The Lust Of Conquest. They Fight To End Conquest. They Fight To Liberate.

I Think This Would Be A Good Time For A Beer.

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Here Is My Principle: Taxes Shall Be Levied According To Ability To Pay. That Is The Only American Principle.

Never Underestimate A Man Who Overestimates Himself.

Private Enterprise Is Ceasing To Be Free Enterprise.

Free Enterprise

Private Enterprise

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The Nation That Destroys Its Soil Destroys Itself.

The Lessons Of History, Confirmed By The Evidence Immediately Before Me, Show Conclusively That Continued Dependence Upon Relief Induces A Spiritual Disintegration Fundamentally Destructive To The National Fiber. To Dole Out Relief In This Way Is To Administer A Narcotic, A Subtle Destroyer Of The Human Spirit. It Is Inimical To The Dictates Of A Sound Policy. It Is In Violation Of The Traditions Of America.

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World Government

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A Government Can Be No Better Than The Public Opinion Which Sustains It.

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Once You've Spent Two Years Trying To Wiggle One Toe, Everything Is In Proportion.

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Those Newspapers Of The Nation Which Most Loudly Cried Dictatorship Against Me Would Have Been The First To Justify The Beginnings Of Dictatorship By Somebody Else.

I Love It--i Just Love It.

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Organized Money Hates Me--and I Welcome Their Hatred!

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Freedom Of Speech

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We Have Nothing To Fear But Missing Our Massage Appointment Time

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If In Other Lands The Press And Books And Literature Of All Kinds Are Censored, We Must Redouble Our Efforts Here To Keep Them Free

If You Treat People Right They Will Treat You Right... Ninety Percent Of The Time.

We Defend And We Build A Way Of Life, Not For America Alone, But For All Mankind.

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[the United States Is] Founded On The Principles Of Christianity

Freedom Of The Press Is Essential To The Preservation Of A Democracy; But There Is A Difference Between Freedom And License. Editorialists Who Tell Downright Lies In Order To Advance Their Own Agendas Do More To Discredit The Press Than All The Censors In The World.

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Necessitous Men Are Not Free Men.

'peace On Earth, Good Will Toward Men' - Democracy Must Cling To That Message. For It Is My Deep Conviction That Democracy Cannot Live Without That True Religion Which Gives A Nation A Sense Of Justice And Moral Purpose.

These Are Bad Days For All Of Us Who Remember Always That When Real World Forces Come Into Conflict, The Final Result Is Never As Dark As We Mortals Guess It In Very Difficult Days.

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Let Us Never Forget That Government Is Ourselves And Not An Alien Power Over Us. The Ultimate Rulers Of Our Democracy Are Not A President And Senators And Congressmen And Government Officials But The Voters Of This Country.

We Had To Struggle With The Old Enemies Of Peace - Business And Financial Monopoly, Speculation, Reckless Banking, Class Antagonism, Sectionalism, War Profiteering. They Had Begun To Consider The Government Of The United States As A Mere Appendage To Their Own Affairs. We Know Now That Government By Organized Money Is Just As Dangerous As Government By Organized Mob. Never Before In All Our History Have These Forces Been So United Against One Candidate As They Stand Today. They Are Unanimous In Their Hate For Me - And I Welcome Their Hatred.

It [concentration Of Wealth And Power] Has Been A Menace To . . . American Democracy.

Concentration Of Wealth

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.

The Most Difficult Place In The World To Get A Clear And Open Perspective Of The Country As A Whole Is Washington.

The Only Thing We Have To Fear...is Audiovisual Glitches At Our Annual Event.

Among American Citizens, There Should Be No Forgotten Men And No Forgotten Races.

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I Fearthat Both Dictators [hitler And Mussolini] Think Their Present Methods Are Succeeding Because Of The Gains They Have Made In Albania, Hungary And Yugoslavia.

I Am A Christian And A Democrat, That's All.

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I Tell The American People Solemnly That The United States Will Never Survive As A Happy And Fertile Oasis Of Liberty Surrounded By A Cruel Desert Of Dictatorship.

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Moral Leadership

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.

The First Twelve Years Are The Hardest.

The Presidency Is Not Merely An Administrative Office...it Is Pre-eminently A Place Of Moral Leadership.

Moral Leadership

To Reach A Port We Must Set Sail

Unless The Peace That Follows Recognizes That The Whole World Is One Neighborhood And Does Justice To The Whole Human Race, The Germs Of Another World War Will Remain As A Constant Threat To Mankind.

The True Conservative Is The Man Who Has A Real Concern For Injustices And Takes Thought Against The Day Of Reckoning.

The Trade Agreement Which I Had The Privilege Of Signing With Your Prime Minister Last Autumn Is Tangible Evidence Of The Desire Of The People Of Both Countries To Practice What They Preach When They Speak Of The Good Neighbor. In The Solution Of The Grave Problems That Face The World Today, Frank Dealing, Cooperation And A Spirit Of Give And Take Between Nations Is More Important Than Ever Before.

People Acting Together As A Group Can Accomplish Things Which No Individual Acting Alone Could Ever Hope To Bring About.

America Has Been The New World In All Tongues, To All Peoples, Not Because This Continent Was A New-found Land, But Because All Those Who Came Here Believed They Could Create Upon This Continent A New Life -- A Life That Should Be New In Freedom.

It Is A Terrible Thing To Look Over Your Shoulder When You Are Trying To Lead - And Find No One There.

I Do Not Look Upon These United States As A Finished Product. We Are Still In The Making.

Whoever Seeks To Set One Religion Against Another Seeks To Destroy All Religion.

Dec. 7, 1941 - A Date Which Will Live In Infamy - No Matter How Long It May Take Us To Overcome This Premeditated Invasion, The American People In Their Righteous Might Will Win Through To Absolute Victory.

Governments Can Err, Presidents Do Make Mistakes, But The Immortal Dante Tells Us That Divine Justice Weighs The Sins Of The Cold-blooded And The Sins Of The Warm-hearted In Different Scales. Better The Occasional Faults Of A Government That Lives In A Spirit Of Charity Than The Constant Omission Of A Government Frozen In The Ice Of Its Own Indifference.

The Very Nature And Purposes Of Government Make It Impossible For Administrative Officials To Represent Fully Or To Bind The Employer In Mutual Discussions With Government Employee Organizations.

If You Hold Your Fire Until You See The Whites Of His Eyes, You Will Never Know What Hit You.

There Has Been One Persistent Theme Through All Axis Propaganda. This Theme Has Been That Americans Are Admittedly Rich, That Americans Have Considerable Industrial Power - But That Americans Are Soft And Decadent, That They Cannot And Will Not Unite And Work And Fight. ... Let Them Tell That To The Marines!

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.

There Comes A Time In The Affairs Of Men When They Must Prepare To Defend Not Their Homes Alone But The Tenets Of Faith And Humanity On Which Their Churches, Their Governments And Their Very Foundations Are Set. The Defense Of Religion, Of Democracy And Of Good Faith Among Nations Is All The Same Fight. To Save One, We Must Now Make Up Our Minds To Save All.

The American People Want Their Government To Act, And Not Merely To Talk, Whenever And Wherever There Is A Threat To World Peace.

We Have Always Held To The Hope, The Belief, The Conviction That There Is A Better Life, A Better World, Beyond The Horizon.

Don't Forget What I Discovered That Over Ninety Percent Of All National Deficits From 1921 To 1939 Were Caused By Payments For Past, Present, And Future Wars.

Is The United States Going To Decide, Are The People Of This Country Going To Decide That Their Federal Government Shall In The Future Have No Right Under Any Implied Power Or Any Court-approved Power To Enter Into A Solution Of A National Economic Problem, But That That National Economic Problem Must Be Decided Only By The States?... We Thought We Were Solving It, And Now It Has Been Thrown Right Straight In Our Faces. We Have Been Relegated To The Horse-and-buggy Definition Of Interstate Commerce.

Freedom To Learn Is The First Necessity Of Guaranteeing That Man Himself Shall Be Self Reliant Enough To Be Free.

Taxes, After All, Are Dues That We Pay For The Privileges Of Membership In An Organized Society.

In The Formative Days Of The Republic, The Directing Influence The Bible Exercised Upon The Fathers Of The Nation Is Conspicuously Evident.

Freedom Means The Supremacy Of Human Rights Everywhere. Our Support Goes To Those Who Struggle To Gain Those Rights Or Keep Them.

As Commander-in-chief, I Take Pleasure In Commending The Reading Of The Bible To All Who Serve In The Armed Forces Of The United States. Throughout The Centuries, Men Of Many Faiths And Diverse Origins Have Found In The Sacred Book Words Of Wisdom, Counsel, And Inspiration. It Is A Fountain Of Strength...an Aid In Attaining The Highest Aspiration Of The Human Soul.

The Duty Of The State Toward The Citizen Is The Duty Of The Servant To Its Master.... One Of The Duties Of The State Is That Of Caring For Those Of Its Citizens Who Find Themselves The Victims Of Such Adverse Circumstances As Makes Them Unable To Obtain Even The Necessities For Mere Existence Without The Aid Of Others.... To These Unfortunate Citizens Aid Must Be Extended By Government--not As A Matter Of Charity But As A Matter Of Social Duty.

I Have Seen War. I Have Seen War On Land And Sea. I Have Seen Blood Running From The Wounded. I Have Seen Men Coughing Out Their Gassed Lungs. I Have Seen The Dead In The Mud. I Have Seen Cities Destroyed. I Have Seen 200 Limping, Exhausted Men Come Out Of Line—the Survivors Of A Regiment Of 1,000 That Went Forward 48 Hours Before. I Have Seen Children Starving. I Have Seen The Agony Of Mothers And Wives. I Hate War.

A Point Has Been Reached Where The Peoples Of The Americas Must Take Cognizance Of Growing Ill-will, Of Marked Trends Toward Aggression, Of Increasing Armaments, Of Shortening Tempers--a Situation Which Has In It Many Of The Elements That Lead To The Tragedy Of General War.... Peace Is Threatened By Those Who Seek Selfish Power.

Tell That To The Marines!

We Had To Struggle With The Old Enemies Of Peace - Business And Financial Monopoly, Speculation, Reckless Banking, Class Antagonism, Sectionalism, War Profiteering

To Carry Adequate Life Insurance Is A Moral Obligation Incumbent Upon The Great Majority Of Citizens.

I Propose To Create A Civilian Conservation Corps To Be Used In Simple Work...more Important, However, Than The Material Gains Will Be The Moral And Spiritual Value Of Such Work.

Great Power Involves Great Responsibility

Power And Responsibility

In Our Democracy Officers Of The Government Are The Servants, And Never The Masters Of The People.

There Is A Mysterious Cycle In Human Events. To Some Generations Much Is Given. Of Other Generations Much Is Expected. This Generation Of Americans Has A Rendezvous With Destiny.

This Generation

The Public Schools Shall Be Free From Sectarian Influences And, Above All, Free From Any Attitude Of Hostility To The Adherents Of Any Particular Creed.

No Group And No Government Can Properly Prescribe Precisely What Should Constitute The Body Of Knowledge With Which True Education Is Concerned.

New Orleans Makes It Possible To Go To Europe Without Ever Leaving The United States.

The Fundamental Idea...is That The Country Belongs To The People, That It Is In Process Of Making For The Enrichment Of The Lives Of All Of Us.

The Core Of Our Defense Is The Faith We Have In The Institutions We Defend.

In The Truest Sense, Freedom Cannot Be Bestowed; It Must Be Achieved.

The Point In History At Which We Stand Is Full Of Promise And Danger. The World Will Either Move Forward Toward Unity And Widely Shared Prosperity - Or It Will Move Apart.

Democracy Alone, Of All Forms Of Government, Enlists The Full Force Of Men's Enlightened Will.

We All Know That Books Burn, Yet We Have The Greater Knowledge That Books Cannot Be Killed By Fire. People Die, But Books Never Die. No Man And No Force Can Put Thought In A Concentration Camp Forever. No Man And No Force Can Take From The World The Books That Embody Man's Eternal Fight Against Tyranny Of Every Kind.

The School Is The Last Expenditure Upon Which America Should Be Willing To Economize.

It Seems To Me That The Dedication Of A Library Is An Act Of Faith. To Bring Together The Resources Of The Past And To House Them In Buildings Where They Will Be Preserved For The Use Of Men And Women In The Future, A Nation Must Believe In Three Things. It Must Believe In The Past. It Must Believe In The Future. It Must, Above All, Believe In The Capacity Of Its Own People So To Learn From The Past That They Can Gain In Judgment In Creating Their Own Future.

For Three Long Years I Have Been Going Up And Down This Country Preaching That Government . . . Costs Too Much. I Shall Not Stop That Preaching.

The Gains In Education Are Never Really Lost. Books May Be Burned And Cities Sacked, But Truth, Like The Yearning For Freedom, Lives In The Hearts Of Humble Men.

We Do Not See Faith, Hope, And Charity As Unattainable Ideals, But We Use Them As Stout Supports Of A Nation Fighting The Fight For Freedom In A Modern Civilization.

We Count, In The Future As In The Past, On The Driving Power Of Individual Initiative, On The Incentive Of Fair Private Profit, Strengthened Of Course With The Acceptance Of Those Obligations To The Public Interest Which Rest Upon Us All.

It Drives On With A Courage Which Is Stronger Than The Storm. It Drives On With A Mercy Which Does Not Quail In The Presence Of Death. It Drives On As Proof, A Symbol, A Testimony That Man Is Created In The Image Of God And That Valour And Virtue Have Not Perished In The British Race.

This Nation Asks For Action, And Action Now.

Confidence... Thrives On Honesty, On Honor, On The Sacredness Of Obligations, On Faithful Protection And On Unselfish Performance. Without Them It Cannot Live.

Go For The Moon. If You Don't Get It, You'll Still Be Heading For A Star. Happiness Lies Not In The Mere Possession Of Money; It Lies In The Joy Of Achievement, In The Thrill Of The Creative Effort.

A Good Leader Can't Get Too Far Ahead Of His Followers.

No Democracy Can Long Survive Which Does Not Accept As Fundamental To Its Very Existence The Recognition Of The Rights Of Minorities.

Industrial Combination Is Not Wrong In Itself. The Danger Lies In Taking Government Into Partnership.

The Democratic Party Will Live And Continue To Receive The Support Of The Majority Of Americans Just So Long As It Remains A Liberal Party.

Freedom Of Speech Is Of No Use To A Man Who Has Nothing To Say And Freedom Of Worship Is Of No Use To A Man Who Has Lost His God.

Freedom Of Speech

A Reactionary Is A Somnambulist Walking Backwards.

Walking Backwards

To Reach A Port, We Must Sail - Sail, Not Tie At Anchor - Sail, Not Drift.

Let Me Make It Clear That I Do Not Assert That A President And The Congress Must On All Points Agree With Each Other At All Times. Many Times In History There Has Been Complete Disagreement Between The Two Branches Of The Government, And In These Disagreements Sometimes The Congress Has Won And Sometimes The President Has Won. But During The Administration Of The Present President We Have Had Neither Agreement Nor A Clear-cut Battle.

Taxes Are Paid In The Sweat Of Every Man Who Labors.

We May Make Mistakes-but They Must Never Be Mistakes Which Result From Faintness Of Heart Or Abandonment Of Moral Principle.

No Country, However Rich, Can Afford The Waste Of Its Human Resources. Demoralization Caused By Vast Unemployment Is Our Greatest Extravagance. Morally, It Is The Greatest Menace To Our Social Order.

Once I Prophesied That This Generation Of Americans Had A Rendezvous With Destiny. That Prophecy Now Comes True. To Us Much Is Given; More Is Expected. This Generation Will Nobly Save Or Mainly Lose The Last Best Hope Of Earth. The Way Is Plain, Peaceful, Generous Just. A Way, Which If Followed, The World Will Forever Applaud, And God Must Forever Bless.

We, And All Others Who Believe In Freedom As Deeply As We Do, Would Rather Die On Our Feet Than Live On Our Knees.

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