Franklin D. Roosevelt

Quotes

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.
The true conservative is the man who has a real concern for injustices and takes thought against the day of reckoning.
A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.
As Americans, we go forward, in the service of our country, by the will of God.
Those who have long enjoyed such privleges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith.
We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
We defend and we build a way of life, not for America alone, but for all mankind.
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.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money. It lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
The constant free flow of communication amount us-enabling the free interchange of ideas-forms the very bloodstream of our nation. It keeps the mind and body of our democracy eternally vital, eternally young.
We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics.
If you treat people right they will treat you right - ninety percent of the time.
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.
Be sincere; be brief; be seated.
Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.
We can gain no lasting peace if we approach it with suspicion and mistrust or with fear. We can gain it only if we proceed with the understanding, the confidence, and the courage which flow from conviction.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.
The only thing to fear is fear itself.
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.
More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars.
The hopes of the Republic cannot forever tolerate either undeserved poverty or self-serving wealth.
A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who has never learned to walk.
I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird, and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.
It is fun to be in the same decade with you.
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.
We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.
He [Somoza] may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch.
In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.
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.
Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live on in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.
When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
We know that equality of individual ability has never existed and never will, but we do insist that equality of opportunity still must be sought.
A radical is a man with both feet firmly planted in the air.
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.