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Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes

32nd U.S. President

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Famous Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes

“Forests are the lungs of our land.”

EarthEnvironmentTreeLandPlanetsEnvironmentalForestsEcologyLungsOur PlanetOur EnvironmentMother EarthPlanet EarthMother NatureSustainable DevelopmentEarth DayEnvironmental ProtectionNature And EnvironmentPlant A TreeEarth And NatureGreen EarthForests And TreesPurifyingBeautiful EarthGreen LivingSave The EnvironmentEarth And SkyEco FriendlyAir And WaterTree PlantingInspiring NatureGreen TreesPlants And TreesArbor DayInspirational EarthInspirational EnvironmentalEnvironmental SustainabilityChanging EnvironmentEarth FriendlyEnvironmental ChangeLand And WaterSave Our PlanetConserving EnvironmentCold AirMorning Air
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1935, Volume 4
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“No greater blessing could come to our land today than a revival of the spirit of religion. I doubt if there is any problem in the world today -- social, political, or economic -- that would not find happy solution if approached in the spirit of the Sermon on the Mount.”

IfsWorldProblemTodayPoliticalSpiritSocialDoubtGreaterEconomicLandBlessingSolutionsSermonsRevivalWorld TodaySermon On The Mount
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1938, Volume 7
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“In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level - I mean the wages of decent living.”

MenWellsMeanCountryWholeSeemsSimpleWhiteLevelsExistenceClassHe ManDependsIndustryWorkersDecentCommerceWagesPropositionsCollarsMinimum WageInauguralSubsistenceLiving WageWhite CollarOveralls
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“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.”

PeopleMenBelieveUseSeemsTogetherPastThreeHouseNationsBuildingJudgmentCreatingMen And WomenGainsResourcesCapacityLibraryDedicationThree ThingsLearn From The Past
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“The creed of our democracy is that liberty is acquired and kept by men and women who are strong and self-reliant, and possessed of such wisdom as God gives mankind - men and women who are just, and understanding, and generous to others - men and women who are capable of disciplining themselves. For they are the rulers and they must rule themselves.”

MenGivingSelfStrongUnderstandingPresidentLibertyDemocracyMankindCapableMen And WomenGenerousPossessedRulersCreedsSelf Reliant
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1944-1945, Volume 13
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“The moment a mere numerical superiority by either states or voters in this country proceeds to ignore the needs and desires of the minority, and for their own selfish purpose or advancement, hamper or oppress that minority, or debar them in any way from equal privileges and equal rights-that moment will mark the failure of our constitutional system.”

WayNeedsCountryStatesMomentsDesirePurposePoliticsRightsEqualMarkMajorityMerePrivilegeSelfishMinoritiesThat MomentVotersSuperiorityAdvancementEqual RightsHamper
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“You sometimes find something good in the lunatic fringe. In fact, we have got as part of our social and economic government today a whole lot of things which in my boyhood were considered lunatic fringe, and yet they are now part of everyday life.”

SometimesWholeFactsGovernmentTodaySocialEconomicEverydayEveryday LifeFringeLunaticBoyhoodRadicalism
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1944-1945, Volume 13
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“Those of you who have been there [Haiti] know it is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. It has everything. It has everything above the ground, and everything under the ground.... It is an amazing place. I strongly recommend that whenever you get a chance, if you haven't been there, that you go to Haiti. I think it was a certain Queen of England who said that after her death "Calais" would be found written on her heart. When I die, I think that "Haiti" is going to be written on my heart.”

IfsThinkingKnowsWorldHeartHas BeensSaidCountryWould BeBeautifulCertainDiesFoundChanceWrittenMy HeartEnglandQueensHaitiQueen Of EnglandBeautiful CountryAmazing Places
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“If the Nation is living within its income, its credit is good. If, in some crises, it lives beyond its income for a year or two, it can usually borrow temporarily at reasonable rates. But if, like a spendthrift, it throws discretion to the winds, and is willing to make no sacrifice at all in spending; if it extends its taxing to the limit of the peoples power to pay and continues to pile up deficits, then it is on the road to bankruptcy.”

IfsYearsTwoNationsPaySacrificeWillingWindLimitsCrisisRateCreditSpendingIncomeReasonableDeficitDiscretionBankruptcySpendthrift
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1928-1932, Volume 1
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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.”

PeopleIfsWellsEnoughGovernmentStrongGrowsInterestLibertyDemocracySuccessfulSucceedProtectProveWeakMethodDemocraticOver ItDictatorshipContinuingHelplessSovereignStrong EnoughImpatientStarvation
Book:Fireside chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: radio addresses to the American people about the Depression, the New Deal, and the Second World War, 1933-1944
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“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.”

IfsChildrenNationsInterestPayOur ChildrenDebtReasonableInternalsBankruptcyNational Debt
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1939, Volume 8
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“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.”

Has BeensTwoSometimesGovernmentPresidentClearCuttingBattleLet MeAgreeCongressAll TimeAdministrationBranchesAgreementDisagreement
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. 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. The millions who are in want will not stand by silently forever while the things to satisfy their needs are within easy reach.”

IfsWantNeedsTryingCountryWisdomPoliticsEasyCommonMistakeMillionsEconomyForeverFailingDemandMethodCommon SenseLiberalismTemperPersistentExperimentation
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“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.”

PeopleHas BeensCountryStatesProblemGovernmentFacesUnitedUnited StatesEconomicSolutionsDecidedHorseCourtDefinitionsThrownCommerceFederal GovernmentApprovedImpliedE CommerceEconomic ProblemsInterstate
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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