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We Insist On Producing A Farm Surplus, But Think The Government Should Find A Profitable Market For It. We Overindulge In Speculation, But Ask The Government To Prevent Panics. Now The Only Way To Hold The Government Entirely Responsible For Conditions Is To Give Up Our Liberty For A Dictatorship. If We Continue The More Reasonable Practice Of Managing Our Own Affairs We Must Bear The Burdens Of Our Own Mistakes. A Free People Cannot Shift Their Responsibility For Them To The Government. Self-government Means Self-reliance.

-Calvin Coolidge

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We Insist On Producing

Calvin Coolidge

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We Insist On Producing A Farm Surplus, But Think The Government Should Find A Profitable Market For It. We Overindulge In Speculation, But Ask The Government To Prevent Panics. Now The Only Way To Hold The Government Entirely Responsible For Conditions Is To Give Up Our Liberty For A Dictatorship. If We Continue The More Reasonable Practice Of Managing Our Own Affairs We Must Bear The Burdens Of Our Own Mistakes. A Free People Cannot Shift Their Responsibility For Them To The Government. Self-government Means Self-reliance.

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No Advance, No Progress Can Be Made Beyond These Propositions. If Anyone Wishes To Deny Their Truth Or Their Soundness, The Only Direction In Which He Can Proceed Historically Is Not Forward, But Backward Toward A Time When There Was No Equality, No Rights Of The Individual, No Rule Of The People. Those Who Wish To Proceed In That Direction Cannot Lay Claim To Progress. They Are Reactionary. Their Ideas Are Not More Modern, But More Ancient Than Those Of Our Revolutionary Ancestors.

In Its Main Features The Declaration Of Independence Is A Great Spiritual Document. It Is A Declaration Not Of Material But Of Spiritual Conceptions. Equality, Liberty, Popular Sovereignty, The Rights Of Man - These Are Not Elements Which We Can See And Touch. They Are Ideals. They Have Their Source And Their Roots In The Religious Convictions. They Belong To The Unseen World. Unless The Faith Of The American People In These Religious Convictions Is To Endure, The Principles Of Our Declaration Will Perish. We Can Not Continue To Enjoy The Result If We Neglect And Abandon The Cause.

Whether One Traces His Americanism Back Three Centuries To The Mayflower, Or Three Years To The Steerage, Is Not Half So Important As Whether His Americanism Of Today Is Real And Genuine. No Matter By What Various Crafts We Came Here, We Are All Now In The Same Boat.

The Higher State To Which [america] Seeks The Allegiance Of All Mankind Is Not Of Human, But Of Divine Origin. She Cherishes No Purpose Save To Merit The Favor Of Almighty God.

What We Need Is Not More Federal Government, But Better Local Government.

Baseball Is Our National Game.

If You Can Get Enough Votes So That Mine Will Make A Majority, You Can Have It.

Of Course, The Accumulation Of Wealth Cannot Be Justified As The Chief End Of Existence.

In A Republic The First Rule For The Guidance Of The Citizen Is Obedience Of The Law.

When More And More People Are Thrown Out Of Work, Unemployment Results.

I Have Found It Advisable Not To Give Too Much Heed To What People Say When I Am Trying To Accomplish Something Of Consequence. Invariably They Proclaim It Can't Be Done. I Deem That The Very Best Time To Make The Effort.

Under Our Institutions The Only Way To Perfect The Government Is To Perfect The Individual Citizen. It Is Necessary To Reach The Mind And Soul Of The Individual. I Know Of No Way That This Can Be Done Save Through The Influence Of Religion And Education. By Religion I Do Not Mean Fanaticism Or Bigotry; By Education I Do Not Mean The Cant Of The Schools, But A Broad And Tolerant Faith, Loving Thy Neighbor As Thyself, And A Training And Experience That Enables The Human Mind To See Into The Heart Of Things.

The Collection Of Taxes Which Are Not Absolutely Required, Which Do Not Beyond Reasonable Doubt Contribute To Public Welfare, Is Only A Species Of Legalized Larceny. Under This Republic The Rewards Of Industry Belong To Those Who Earn Them.

[may] This Civic And Social Landmark [the Washington, D.c., Jewish Community Center] ... Be A Constant Reminder Of The Inspiring Service That Has Been Rendered To Civilization By Men And Women Of The Jewish Faith. May [visitors] Recall The Long Array Of Those Who Have Been Eminent In Statecraft, In Science, In Literature, In Art, In The Professions, In Business, In Finance, In Philanthropy And In The Spiritual Life Of The World.

The Attempt To Regulate, Control, And Prescribe All Manner Of Conduct And Social Relations Is Very Old. It Was Always The Practice Of Primitive Peoples.

It Is Hard To See How A Great Man Can Be An Atheist. . . . We Need To Feel That Behind Us Is Intelligence And Love.

That Man Has Offered Me Unsolicited Advice For Six Years, Most Of It Bad.

Anytime You Don't Want Anything You Get It.

Because Of What America Is And What America Has Done, A Firmer Courage, A Higher Hope, Inspires The Heart Of All Humanity.

Our Domestic Problems Are For The Most Part Economic. We Have Our Enormous Debt To Pay, And We Are Paying It. We Have The High Cost Of Government To Diminish, And We Are Diminishing It. We Have A Heavy Burden Of Taxation To Reduce, And We Are Reducing It. But While Remarkable Progress Has Been Made In These Directions, The Work Is Yet Far From Accomplished.

We Draw Our Presidents From The People. It Is A Wholesome Thing For Them To Return To The People. I Came From Them. I Wish To Be One Of Them Again.

They [the Founding Fathers] Were Intent Upon Establishing A Christian Commonwealth In Accordance With The Principle Of Self-government. They Were An Inspired Body Of Men. It Has Been Said That God Sifted The Nations That He Might Send Choice Grain Into The Wilderness ... Who Can Fail To See It In The Hand Of Destiny? Who Can Doubt That It Has Been Guided By A Divine Providence?

Can Those Entrusted With The Gravest Authority Set Any Example Save That Of The Sternest Obedience To The Law?

Nothing Is Easier Than Spending Public Money. It Does Not Appear To Belong To Anybody. The Temptation Is Overwhelming To Bestow It On Somebody.

If We Judge Ourselves Only By Our Aspirations And Everyone Else Only Their Conduct We Shall Soon Reach A Very False Conclusion.

Honorable Senators: My Sincerest Thanks I Offer You. Conserve The Firm Foundations Of Our Institutions. Do Your Work With The Spirit Of A Soldier In The Public Service. Be Loyal To The Commonwealth And To Yourselves And Be Brief; Above All Be Brief.

The Government Can Supply No Substitute For Enterprise.

It Has Become The Custom In Our Country To Expect All Chief Executives, From The President Down, To Conduct Activities Analogous To An Entertainment Bureau. No Occasion Is Too Trivial For Its Promoters To Invite Them To Attend And Deliver An Address.

Coolidge Expressed His "sympathy With The Deep And Intense Longing Which Finds Such Fine Expression In The Jewish National Homeland In Palestine."

Advertising Is The Life Of Trade.

No Person Was Ever Honored For What He Received. Honor Has Been The Reward For What He Gave.

Motivational Sports

No One Ever Lost His Job By Listening Too Much.

Politics Is Not An End, But A Means. It Is Not A Product, But A Process. It Is The Art Of Government. Like Other Values It Has Its Counterfeits. So Much Emphasis Has Been Placed Upon The False That The Significance Of The True Has Been Obscured And Politics Has Come To Convey The Meaning Of Crafty And Cunning Selfishness, Instead Of Candid And Sincere Service.

A Government Which Requires Of The People The Contribution Of The Bulk Of Their Substance And Rewards Cannot Be Classed As A Free Government.

At First I Intended To Become A Student Of The Senate Rules And I Did Learn Much About Them, But I Soon Found That The Senate Hadbut One Fixed Rule, Subject To Exceptions Of Course, Which Was To The Effect That The Senate Would Do Anything It Wanted To Do Whenever It Wanted To Do It.

I Should Think That An Ordinary Copy Of The King James Version Would Have Been Good Enough For Those Congressmen.

Our Government Rests Upon Religion. It Is From That Source That We Derive Our Reverance For Truth And Justice, For Equality And Liberty, And For The Rights Of Mankind. Unless The People Believe In These Principles They Cannot Believe In Our Government.

One Of The Greatest Dangers To Peace Lies In The Economic Pressure To Which People Find Themselves Subjected. One Of The Most Practical Things To Be Done In The World Is To Seek Arrangements Under Which Such Pressure May Be Removed, So That Opportunity May Be Renewed And Hope May Be Revived.

The Only Way I Know To Drive Out Evil From The Country Is By The Constructive Method Of Filling It With Good.

It Is Much More Important To Kill Bad Bills Than To Pass Good Ones.

Libertarian Party

Few People Are Lacking In Capacity, But They Fail Because They Are Lacking In Application.

You Know, I Have Found In The Course Of A Long Public Life That The Things I Did Not Say Never Hurt Me.

The Government Of A Country Never Gets Ahead Of The Religion Of A Country. There Is No Way By Which We Can Substitute The Authority Of The Law For The Virtues Of Men.

One Of The Greatest Perils To An Extensive Republic Is The Disregard Of Individual Rights.

Little Progress Can Be Made By Merely Attempting To Repress What Is Evil. Our Great Hope Lies In Developing What Is Good.

The Country Is Not In Good Condition.

Great Depression

There Is No Substitute For A Militant Freedom.

The Door Of Opportunity Swings Wide Open In Our Country. Through It, In Constant Flow, Go Those Who Toil. America Recognizes No Aristocracy Save Those Who Work. The Badge Of Service Is The Sole Requirement For Admission To The Ranks Of Our Nobility.

Despotism Has Forever Had A Powerful Hold Upon The World. Autocratic Government, Not Self-government, Has Been The Prevailing State Of Mankind. The Record Of Past History Is The Record, Not Of The Success Of Republics, But Of Their Failure.

We Identify The Flag With Almost Everything We Hold Dear On Earth, Peace, Security, Liberty, Our Family, Our Friends, Our Home. . .but When We Look At Our Flag And Behold It Emblazoned With All Our Rights We Must Remember That It Is Equally A Symbol Of Our Duties. Every Glory That We Associate With It Is The Result Of Duty Done.

I Think The American Public Wants A Solemn Ass As A President, And I Think I'll Go Along With Them.

Don't Hesitate To Be As Revolutionary As Science. Don't Hesitate To Be As Reactionary As The Multiplication Table.

Ultimately Property Rights And Personal Rights Are The Same Thing.

Prosperity Is Only An Instrument To Be Used, Not A Deity To Be Worshipped.

Whenever I Indulge My Sense Of Humor, It Gets Me Into Trouble.

What America Needs Is To Hold To Its Ancient And Well-charted Course. Our Country Was Conceived In The Theory Of Local Self-government. It Has Been Dedicated By Long Practice To That Wise And Beneficent Policy. It Is The Foundation Principle Of Our System Of Liberty. It Makes The Largest Promise To The Freedom And Development Of The Individual. Its Preservation Is Worth All The Effort And All The Sacrifice That It May Cost.

We Cannot Permit Any Inquisition Either Within Or Without The Law Or Apply Any Religious Test To The Holding Of Office. The Mind Of America Must Be Forever Free.

It Would Be Folly To Argue That The People Cannot Make Political Mistakes. They Can And Do Make Grave Mistakes. They Know It, They Pay The Penalty, But Compared With The Mistakes Which Have Been Made By Every Kind Of Autocracy They Are Unimportant.

We Have Too Much Legislating By Clamor, By Tumult, By Pressure. Representative Government Ceases When Outside Influence Of Any Kind Is Substituted For The Judgment Of The Representative.

Civilisation And Profits Go Hand In Hand.

The Benefit Of One Is The Benefit Of All, And The Neglect Of One Is The Neglect Of All.

General Welfare

I Favor The Policy Of Economy, Not Because I Wish To Save Money, But Because I Wish To Save People.

In Life There Is Nothing More Common Than Talent And Intelligence. What Is Missing Is Passion, Persistence, Commitment, And Dedication.

Collecting More Taxes Than Is Absolutely Necessary Is Legalized Robbery.

We Need Not Concern Ourselves Much About Rights Of Property If We Faithfully Observe The Rights Of Persons.

They Criticize Me For Harping On The Obvious; If All The Folks In The United States Would Do The Few Simple Things They Know They Ought To Do, Most Of Our Big Problems Would Take Care Of Themselves.

Persistence And Determination Alone Are Omnipotent.

Government Price-fixing Once Started, Has Alike No Justice And No End. It Is An Economic Folly From Which This Country Has Every Right To Be Spared.

Governments Do Not Make Ideals, But Ideals Make Governments. This Is Both Historically And Logically True. Of Course The Government Can Help To Sustain Ideals And Can Create Institutions Through Which They Can Be The Better Observed, But Their Source By Their Very Nature Is In The People. The People Have To Bear Their Own Responsibilities. There Is No Method By Which That Burden Can Be Shifted To The Government. It Is Not The Enactment, But The Observance Of Laws, That Creates The Character Of A Nation.

I Did Not See The Sense In Chasing A Little White Ball Around A Field.

I Think The Senate Ought To Realize That I Have To Have About Me Those In Whom I Have Confidence; And Unless They Find A Real Blemish On A Man, I Do Not Think They Ought To Make Partisan Politics Out Of Appointments To The Cabinet.

Changing A College Curriculum Is Like Moving A Graveyard-you Never Know How Many Friends The Dead Have Until You Try To Move Them!

Restricted Immigration Is Not An Offensive But Purely A Defensive Action. It Is Not Adopted In Criticism Of Others In The Slightest Degree, But Solely For The Purpose Of Protecting Ourselves. We Cast No Aspersions On Any Race Or Creed, But We Must Remember That Every Object Of Our Institutions Of Society And Government Will Fail Unless America Be Kept American.

If I Had Permitted My Failures, Or What Seemed To Me At The Time A Lack Of Success, To Discourage Me I Cannot See Any Way In Which I Would Ever Have Made Progress.

Congratulations

Unless We Lay Our Course In Accordance With This Principle, The Great Power For Good In The World With Which We Have Been Intrusted By A Divine Providence Will Be Turned To A Power For Evil.

Look Well To The Hearthstone; Therein All Hope For America Lies.

We Are Too Solicitous For Government Intervention, On The Theory, First, That The People Themselves Are Helpless, And Second, That The Government Has Superior Capacity For Action. Often Times Both Of These Conclusions Are Wrong.

There Is No Right To Strike Against The Public Safety By Anybody, Anywhere, Any Time.

I Cannot Think Of Anything Characteristically American That Was Not Produced By Toil. I Cannot Think Of Any American Man Or Woman Preeminent In The History Of Our Nation Who Did Not Reach Their Place Through Toil. I Cannot Think Of Anything That Represents The American People As A Whole So Adequately As Honest Work.

Those Who Want Their Rights Respected Under The Constitution And The Law Ought To Set The Example Themselves Of Observing The Constitution And The Law. While There May Be Those Of High Intelligence Who Violate The Law At Times, The Barbarian And The Defective Always Violate It. Those Who Disregard The Rules Of Society Are Not Exhibiting A Superior Intelligence, Are Not Promoting Freedom And Independence, Are Not Following The Path Of Civilization, But Are Displaying The Traits Of Ignorance, Of Servitude, Of Savagery, And Treading The Way That Leads Back To The Jungle.

July 4, 1776 Was The Historic Day On Which The Representatives Of Three Millions Of People Vocalized Concord, And Lexington, And Bunker Hill, Which Gave Notice To The World That They Proposed To Establish An Independent Nation On The Theory That All Men Are Created Equal, That They Are Endowed By Their Creator With Certain Inalienable Rights, That Among These Are Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness.

Pursuit Of Happiness

Inflation Is Repudiation.

Our Country Represents Nothing But Peaceful Intentions Toward All The Earth, But It Ought Not To Fail To Maintain Such A Military Force As Comports With The Dignity And Security Of A Great People.

American Ideals Do Not Require To Be Changed So Much As They Require To Be Understood And Applied.

The Final Solution For Unemployment Is Work.

I Do Not Choose To Run For President In 1928.

The Chief Business Of America Is Business.

There Has Been Abroad Many Times Some Criticism Of Our Government, Of Our People, And Our Ways, But That Has Demonstrated, I Think, That When They Are In Real Trouble And Real Difficulty Over There, They Turn To Us As A Nation That Will Be Fair With Them--one In Whose Judgment And In Whose Character They Can Rely; And That Not Withstanding Differences That Have Seemed To Exist, They Are Willing To Abide By The Faith That They Have In Us, And I Think That Is A Very Substantial Accomplishment.

History Reveals No Civilized People Among Whom There Was Not A Highly Educated Class And Large Aggregations Of Wealth. Large Profits Mean Large Payrolls.

We Cannot Do Everything At Once, But We Can Do Something At Once.

Man Everywhere Has An Unconquerable Desire To Be The Master Of His Own Destiny.

Governments Are Necessarily Continuing Concerns. They Have To Keep Going In Good Times And In Bad. They Therefore Need A Wide Margin Of Safety. If Taxes And Debt Are Made All The People Can Bear When Times Are Good, There Will Be Certain Disaster When Times Are Bad.

Faith Is The Great Motive Power, And No Man Realizes His Full Possibilities Unless He Has The Deep Conviction That Life Is Eternally Important And That His Work Well Done Is A Part Of An Unending Plan.

It Is Only When People Can Feel That Their Lives And The Property Which Their Industry Has Produced Today Will Continue To Be Safe...that There Can Be...stability Of Value And...economic Progress.

A Government Which Lays Taxes On The People Not Required By Urgent Public Necessity And Sound Public Policy Is Not A Protector Of Liberty, But An Instrument Of Tyranny. It Condemns The Citizen To Servitude.

All Growth Depends Upon Activity.

Nobody Will Ever Forget What I've Accomplished.

We Do Not Need More Knowledge, We Need More Character!

I Have Done It [appointed Commissions] Regretfully And With The Hope That It Would Be Temporary. But After A Commission Is Established You Find It Always Wants To Enlarge Itself, Employ More People, Is Very Busy With Senators And Congressmen To Impress Upon Them The Great Value Of The Services Of The Commission, And Even When I Talk To People That I Appoint To Commissions And Tell Them I Would Like Them To Go On To Various Boards With The Idea That They May Be Abolished, They Say They Ought To Be Abolished, But When They Have Taken Their Position They Very Soon Seem To Change Their Mind.

You Can Display No Greater Wisdom Than By Resisting Proposals For Needless Legislation. It Is Much More Important To Kill Bad Bills Than To Pass Good Ones.

The Presidency Does Not Yield To Definition. Like The Glory Of A Morning Sunrise, It Can Be Experienced.

Advertising Is The Most Potent Influence In Adapting And Changing The Habits And Modes Of Life Affecting What We Eat, What We Wear, And The Work And Play Of A Whole Nation.

Duty Is Not Collective; It Is Personal.

Parties Do Not Maintain Themselves. They Are Maintained By Effort. The Government Is Not Self-existent. It Is Maintained By The Effort Of Those Who Believe In It. The People Of America Believe In American Institutions, The American Form Of Government And The American Method Of Transacting Business.

No Matter What Anyone May Say About Making The Rich And The Corporations Pay The Taxes, In The End They Come Out Of The People Who Toil. It Is Your Fellow Workers Who Are Ordered To Work For The Government, Every Time An Appropriation Bill Is Passed. The People Pay The Expense Of Government, Often Many Times Over, In The Increased Cost Of Living. I Want Taxes To Be Less, That The People May Have More.

Wherever Despotism Abounds, The Sources Of Public Information Are The First To Be Brought Under Its Control.

This Is As Good A Time As Any To Comment On What I Think Has Grown Into An Abuse. Congress Makes Holidays And Every Time There Isa Holiday It Is The Practice For One Department To Telephone Over To Another Department And Say We Are Going To Have An Extra Holiday In This Department And What Is Your Department Going To Do About It.... If It Comes On Saturday, They Want A Holiday On Friday, And Of Course They Couldn't Come Back And Travel On Sunday And So They Want Another Holiday On Monday To Get Back On.

What Men Owe To The Love And Help Of Good Women Can Never Be Told.

I Want The People Of America To Be Able To Work Less For The Government And More For Themselves. I Want Them To Have The Rewards Of Their Own Industry. This Is The Chief Meaning Of Freedom. Until We Can Reestablish A Condition Under Which The Earnings Of The People Can Be Kept By The People, We Are Bound To Suffer A Very Severe And Distinct Curtailment Of Our Liberty.

Never Go Out To Meet Trouble. If You Just Sit Still, Nine Cases Out Of Ten, Someone Will Intercept It Before It Reaches You.

Money Will Not Purchase Character Or Good Government.

Our Doctrine Of Equality And Liberty And Humanity Comes From Our Belief In The Brotherhood Of Man, Through The Fatherhood Of God.

Brotherhood Of Man

Unless The People, Through Unified Action, Arise And Take Charge Of Their Government, They Will Find That Their Government Has Taken Charge Of Them. Independence And Liberty Will Be Gone, And The General Public Will Find Itself In A Condition Of Servitude To An Aggregation Of Organized And Selfish Interest.

If There Is To Be Responsible Party Government, The Party Label Must Be Something More Than A Mere Device For Securing Office. Unless Those Who Are Elected Under The Same Party Designation Are Willing To Assume Sufficient Responsibility And Exhibit Sufficient Loyalty And Coherence, So That They Can Cooperate With Each Other In The Support Of The Broad General Principles, Of The Party Platform, The Election Is Merely A Mockery, No Decision Is Made At The Polls, And There Is No Representation Of The Popular Will.

There Are Racial Considerations Too Grave To Be Brushed Aside For Any Sentimental Reasons. Biological Laws Tell Us That Certain Divergent People Will Not Mix Or Blend. The Nordics Propagate Themselves Successfully. With Other Races, The Outcome Shows Deterioration On Both Sides. Quality Of Mind And Body Suggests That Observance Of Ethnic Law Is As Great A Necessity To A Nation As Immigration Law.

Mass Demand Has Been Created Almost Entirely Through The Development Of Advertising.

I Want The People To Work Less For The Government And More For Themselves. I Want Them To Have The Rewards Of Their Own Industry.

The Jews Themselves, Of Whom A Considerable Number Were Already Scattered Throughout The Colonies, Were True To The Teachings Of Their Prophets. The Jewish Faith Is Predominantly The Faith Of Liberty.

It Is Difficult For Men In High Office To Avoid The Malady Of Self-delusion. They Are Always Surrounded By Worshipers. They Are Constantly, And For The Most Part Sincerely, Assured Of Their Greatness.

Some Of The Offers That Have Come To Me Would Never Have Come If I Had Not Been President. That Means These People Are Trying To Hire Not Calvin Coolidge, But A Former President Of The United States. I Can't Make That Kind Of Use Of The Office.... I Can't Do Anything That Might Take Away From The Presidency Any Of Its Dignity, Or Any Of The Faith People Have In It.

You Can't Know Too Much, But You Can Say Too Much.

It Is Characteristic Of The Unlearned That They Are Forever Proposing Something Which Is Old, And Because It Has Recently Come To Their Own Attention, Supposing It To Be New.

After All, The Chief Business Of The American People Is Business. They Are Profoundly Concerned With Producing, Buying, Selling, Investing And Prospering In The World.

The Property Of The People Belongs To The People. To Take It From Them By Taxation Cannot Be Justified Except By Urgent Public Necessity. Unless This Principle Be Recognized Our Country Is No Longer Secure, Our People No Longer Free.

It Is Very Difficult To Reconcile The American Ideal Of A Sovereign People Capable Of Owning And Managing Their Own Government With An Inability To Own And Manage Their Own Business.

I Love Vermont Because Of Her Hills And Valleys, Her Scenery And Invigorating Climate, But Most Of All Because Of Her Indomitable People. They Are A Race Of Pioneers Who Have Almost Beggared Themselves To Serve Others. If The Spirit Of Liberty Should Vanish In Other Parts Of The Union And Support Of Our Institutions Should Languish, It Could All Be Replenished From The Generous Store Held By The People Of This Brave Little State Of Vermont.

It Is Not Easy To Conceive Of Anything That Would Be More Unfortunate In A Community Based Upon The Ideals Of Which Americans Boast Than Any Considerable Development Of Intolerance As Regards Religion.

You Can't Increase Prosperity By Taxing Success.

Nothing In This World Can Take The Place Of Persistence. Talent Will Not: Nothing Is More Common Than Unsuccessful Men With Talent.

If A Painting Of A Tree Was Only The Exact Representation Of The Original, So That It Looked Just Like The Tree, There Would Be No Reason For Making It; We Might As Well Look At The Tree Itself. But The Painting, If It Is Of The Right Sort, Gives Something That Neither A Photograph Nor A View Of The Tree Conveys. It Emphasizes Something Of Character, Quality, Individuality. We Are Not Lost In Looking At Thorns And Defects; We Catch A Vision Of The Grandeur And Beauty Of A King Of The Forest.

One Day The President And Mrs. Coolidge Were Visiting A Government Farm. Soon After Their Arrival They Were Taken Off On Separate Tours. When Mrs. Coolidge Passed The Chicken Pens She Paused To Ask The Man In Charge If The Rooster Copulates More Than Once Each Day. "dozens Of Times, Was The Reply." "please Tell That To The President," Mrs. Coolidge Requested. When The President Passed The Pens And Was Told About The Roosters, He Asked "same Hen Every Time?" "oh No, Mr. President, A Different One Each Time." The President Nodded Slowly, Then Said, "tell That To Mrs. Coolidge."

It Would Be Difficult To Conceive A Finer Example Of True Sport.

We Insist On Producing A Farm Surplus, But Think The Government Should Find A Profitable Market For It. We Overindulge In Speculation, But Ask The Government To Prevent Panics. Now The Only Way To Hold The Government Entirely Responsible For Conditions Is To Give Up Our Liberty For A Dictatorship. If We Continue The More Reasonable Practice Of Managing Our Own Affairs We Must Bear The Burdens Of Our Own Mistakes. A Free People Cannot Shift Their Responsibility For Them To The Government. Self-government Means Self-reliance.

We Need More Of The Office Desk And Less Of The Show Window In Politics. Let Men In Office Substitute The Midnight Oil For The Limelight.

Human Nature Provides Sufficient Distrust Of All That Is Alien, So That There Is No Need Of Any Artificial Supply.

All Growth Depends Upon Activity. There Is No Development Physically Or Intellectually Without Effort, And Effort Means Work.

One Of The Greatest Favors That Can Be Bestowed Upon The American People Is Economy In Government.

There's More, Much More, To Christmas Than Candlelight And Cheer; It's The Spirit Of Sweet Friendship That Brightens All Year. It's Thoughtfulness And Kindness, It's Hope Reborn Again, For Peace, For Understanding, And For Goodwill To Men!

Christmas Is Not A Time Or A Season But A State Of Mind.

The Duties Which A Police Officer Owes To The State Are Of A Most Exacting Nature. No One Is Compelled To Choose The Profession Ofa Police Officer, But Having Chosen It, Everyone Is Obliged To Live Up To The Standard Of Its Requirements. To Join In That High Enterprise Means The Surrender Of Much Individual Freedom.

What We Need In Appointive Positions Is Men Of Knowledge And Experience Who Have Sufficient Character To Resist Temptations.

This Country Would Not Be A Land Of Opportunity, America Could Not Be America, If The People Were Shackled With Government Monopolies.

Industry Cannot Flourish If Labor Languish.

To The American People: Christmas Is Not A Time Or A Season But A State Of Mind. To Cherish Peace And Good Will, To Be Plenteous In Mercy, Is To Have The Real Spirit Of Christmas. If We Think On These Things, There Will Be Born In Us A Savior And Over Us Will Shine A Star Sending Its Gleam Of Hope To The World." ~ Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), American President. Presidential Message (december 25, 1927).

The Strength Of A Country Is The Strength Of Its Religious Convictions.

Public Debt [is] A Burden On All The People.

Nothing In The World Can Take The Place Of Persistence.

The Budget Idea, I May Admit, Is A Sort Of Obsession With Me. I Believe In Budgets. I Want Other People To Believe In Them. I Have Had A Small One To Run My Own Home; And Besides That, I Am The Head Of The Organization That Makes The Greatest Of All Budgets, That Of The United States Government. Do You Wonder, Then, That At Times I Dream Of Balance Sheets And Sinking Funds?

When A Man Begins To Feel That He Is The Only One Who Can Lead In This Republic, He Is Guilty Of Treason To The Spirit Of Our Institutions.

Theodore Roosevelt Was Always Getting Himself In Hot Water By Talking Before He Had To Commit Himself Upon Issues Not Well-defined.

I Shouldn't Want You To Be Surprised, Or To Draw Any Particular Inference From My Making Speeches, Or Not Making Speeches, Out There. I Don't Recall Any Candidate For President That Ever Injured Himself Very Much By Not Talking.

America Has Many Glories. The Last One That She Would Wish To Surrender Is The Glory Of The Men Who Have Served Her In War. While Such Devotion Lives, The Nation Is Secure. Whatever Dangers May Threaten From Within Or Without, She Can View Them Calmly. Turning To Her Veterans, She Can Say: 'these Are Our Defenders. They Are Invincible. In Them Is Our Safety.'

The Right Thing To Do Never Requires Any Subterfuge, It Is Always Simple And Direct.

Industry, Thrift And Self-control Are Not Sought Because They Create Wealth, But Because They Create Character.

The Nation Which Forgets Its Defenders Will Be Itself Forgotten.

A Colored Man Is Precisely As Much Entitled To Submit His Candidacy In A Party Primary, As Is Any Other Citizen. The Decision Must Be Made By The Constituents To Whom He Offers Himself, And By Nobody Else.

Nothing Is More Common Than Unsuccessful People With Talent.

Procrastination

It Is Necessary To Have Party Organization If We Are To Have Effective And Efficient Government. The Only Difference Between A Mob And A Trained Army Is Organization, And The Only Difference Between A Disorganized Country And One That Has The Advantage Of A Wise And Sound Government Is Fundamentally A Question Of Organization.

We Live An Age Of Science And Of Abounding Accumulation Of Material Things. These Did Not Create The Declaration. Our Declaration Created Them. ... If We Are To Maintain The Great Heritage Which Has Been Bequeathed To Us, We Must Be Like-minded As The Fathers Who Created It.

There Have Been Great Men With Little Of What We Call Education. There Have Been Many Small Men With A Great Deal Of Learning. There Has Never Been A Great People Who Did Not Possess Great Learning.

In The Discharge Of The Duties Of This Office, There Is One Rule Of Action More Important Than All Others. It Consists In Never Doing Anything That Someone Else Can Do For You.

The Words Of The President Have An Enormous Weight And Ought Not To Be Used Indiscriminately.

[the Political Mind] Is A Strange Mixture Of Vanity And Timidity, Of An Obsequious Attitude At One Time And A Delusion Of Grandeurat Another Time. The Political Mind Is The Product Of Men In Public Life Who Have Been Twice Spoiled. They Have Been Spoiled With Praise And They Have Been Spoiled With Abuse.

One Of The First Lessons A President Has To Learn Is That Every Word He Says Weighs A Ton.

Character Is The Only Secure Foundation Of The State.

If All Men Are Created Equal, That Is Final. If They Are Endowed With Inalienable Rights, That Is Final. If Governments Derive Their Just Powers From The Consent Of The Governed, That Is Final. No Advance, No Progress Can Be Made Beyond These Propositions.

[the Reason A Man Has] So Much Trouble With The Senate Is That There Isn't A Man In The Senate Who Doesn't Think He Is Better Suited To Be President Than The President, And Thinks He Might Have Been President Except For Luck.

I Want The People Of America To Be Able To Work Less For The Government, And More For Themselves

When People Are Bewildered They Tend To Become Credulous.

We Want Wealth, But There Are Many Other Things We Want Very Much More. Among Them Are Peace, Honor, Charity, And Idealism.

Economy Is The Method By Which We Prepare Today To Afford The Improvements Of Tomorrow.

Measured By The Standards Of Men Of Their Time, [the Pilgrims] Were The Humble Of The Earth. Measured By Later Accomplishments, They Were The Mighty. In Appearance Weak And Persecuted They Came -- Rejected, Despised -- An Insignificant Band; In Reality Strong And Independent, A Mighty Host Of Whom The World Was Not Worthy Destined To Free Mankind.

It Is Difficult For Men In High Office To Avoid The Malady Of Self-delusion

We Have Found That When Men And Women Are Left Free To Find The Places For Which They Are Best Fitted, Some Few Of Them Will Indeed Attain Less Exalted Stations Than Under A Regime Of Privilege; But The Vast Multitude Will Rise To A Higher Level, To Wider Horizons, To Worthier Attainments.

No Enterprise Can Exist For Itself Alone.

Profitable Business

I Do Not Want To See Any Of The People Cringing Supplicants For The Favor Of The Government, When They Should All Be Independent Masters Of Their Own Destiny.

The Prohibition Amendment To The Constitution Requires The Congress. And The President To Provide Adequate Laws To Prevent Its Violation. It Is My Duty To Enforce Such Laws.to Prevent Smuggling, The Coast Card Should Be Greatly Strengthened, And A Supply Of Swift Power Boats Should Be Provided. The Major Sources Of Production Should Be Rigidly Regulated, And Every Effort Should Be Made To Suppress Interstate Traffic... It Is The Duty Of A Citizen Not Only To Observe The Law But To Let It Be Known That He Is Opposed To Its Violation.

Congress And The President

Advertising Ministers To The Spiritual Side Of Trade.

We Do Not Need More Material Development, We Need More Spiritual Development. We Do Not Need More Intellectual Power, We Need More Moral Power. We Do Not Need More Knowledge, We Need More Character. We Do Not Need More Government, We Need More Culture. We Do Not Need More Law, We Need More Religion. We Do Not Need More Of The Things That Are Seen, We Need More Of The Things That Are Unseen. It Is On That Side Of Life That It Is Desirable To Put The Emphasis At The Present Time. If That Side Be Strengthened, The Other Side Will Take Care Of Itself.

While I Do Not Think It Was So Intended I Have Always Been Of The Opinion That This Turned Out To Be Much The Best For Me. I Had No National Experience. What I Have Ever Been Able To Do Has Been The Result Of First Learning How To Do It. I Am Not Gifted With Intuition. I Need Not Only Hard Work But Experience To Be Ready To Solve Problems. The Presidents Who Have Gone To Washington Without First Having Held Some National Office Have Been At Great Disadvantage.

Life Is One Darn Thing After Another.

Nothing In This World Can Take The Place Of Persistence. Talent Will Not: Nothing Is More Common Than Unsuccessful Men With Talent. Genius Will Not; Unrewarded Genius Is Almost A Proverb. Education Will Not: The World Is Full Of Educated Derelicts. Persistence And Determination Alone Are Omnipotent.

The Best Help That Benevolence And Philanthropy Can Give Is That Which Induces Everybody To Help Himself.

[sun Yat-sen Is A] Combined Benjamin Franklin And George Washington Of China.

Nature Is Inexorable. If Men Do Not Follow The Truth They Cannot Live.

Men Speak Of Natural Rights, But I Challenge Any One To Show Where In Nature Any Rights Existed Or Were Recognized Until There Was Established For Their Declaration And Protection A Duly Promulgated Body Of Corresponding Laws.

The Doctrine Of The Declaration Of Independence Predicated Upon The Glory Of Man And The Corresponding Duty To Society That The Rights Of Citizens Ought To Be Protected With Every Power And Resource Of The State, And A Government That Does Any Less Is False To The Teachings Of That Great Document - False To The Name American.

You Have To Stand Every Day Three Or Four Hours Of Visitors. Nine-tenths Of Them Want Something They Ought Not To Have. If You Keep Dead-still They Will Run Down In Three Or Four Minutes. If You Even Cough Or Smile They Will Start Up All Over Again.

We Must Have No Carelessness In Our Dealings With Public Property Or The Expenditure Of Public Money. Such A Condition Is Characteristic Either Of An Undeveloped People, Or Of A Decadent Civilization. America Is Neither.

The Slogan 'press On' Has Solved And Always Will Solve The Problems Of The Human Race.

What The End Of The Carnage Of World War Ii Meant To Those Who Remember It, Can Never Be Forgotten, But To All Those Who Don't, Its Meaning Can Never Be Fully Understood!

It Is A Great Advantage To A President, And A Major Source Of Safety To The Country, For Him To Know He Is Not A Great Man.

The Government Of The United States Is A Device For Maintaining In Perpetuity The Rights Of The People, With The Ultimate Extinction Of All Privileged Classes.

Surprisingly Few Men Are Lacking In Capacity, But They Fail Because... They Are Too Indolent To Apply Themselves With The Seriousness And The Attention That Is Necessary To Solve Important Problems.

I Have Never Been Hurt By What I Have Not Said.

The Man Who Builds A Factory, Builds A Temple.

Don't Expect To Build Up The Weak By Pulling Down The Strong.

You Don't Have To Explain Something You Never Said.

We Cannot Weaken Or Destroy Political Parties In Ther United States Without Weakening Or Destroying The Rule Of The People.... Those Who Support Party Organization And Submit To Party Discipline Are Supporting The Only Course Yet Discovered For Orderly Government By The People.

Teaching Is One Of The Noblest Of Professions. It Requires An Adequate Preparation And Training, Patience, Devotion, And A Deep Sense Of Responsibility. Those Who Mold The Human Mind Have Wrought Not For Time, But For Eternity.

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