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Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes

32nd U.S. President

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Famous Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes

“We are not isolationists except in so far as we seek to isolate ourselves completely from war. Yet we must remember that so long as war exists on earth there will be some danger that even the Nation which most ardently desires peace may be drawn into war.”

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Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1936, Volume 5
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“Let us not confuse objectives with methods. Too many so-called leaders of the nation fail to see the forest because of the trees. Too many of them fail to recognize the vital necessity of planning for definite objectives. True leadership calls for the setting forth of the objectives and the rallying of public opinion in support of these objectives.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“Do not confuse objectives with methods. When the nation becomes substantially united in favor of planning the broad objectives of civilization, then true leadership must unite thought behind definite methods.”

WisdomPoliticsNationsUnitedBehindsEconomyCivilizationMethodFavorsPlanningObjectivesLiberalismBroadsDefiniteTrue LeaderTrue Leadership
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1937, Volume 6
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“On this tenth day of June, nineteen hundred and forty, the hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor.... In our unity, in our American unity we will pursue two obvious and simultaneous courses; we will extend to the opponents of force the material resources of this nation, and at the same time we will harness and speed up the use of those resources in order that we ourselves in the Americas may have equipment and training equal to the task of any emergency and every defense.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“Our policy is to give all possible material aid to the nations that still resist aggression across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. And we make it abundantly clear that we intend to commit none of the fatal errors of appeasement. We have the thought that in this nation of many states we have found the way in which men of many racial origins may live together in peace. If the human race as a whole is to survive, the world must find a way by which men and nations may live together in peace. We cannot accept the doctrine that war must be forever a part of man's destiny.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“If civilization is to survive, the principles of the Prince of Peace must be restored. Shattered trust between nations must be revived. Most important of all, the will for peace on the part of peace-loving nations must express itself to the end that nations that may be tempted to violate their agreements and the rights of others will desist from such a cause. There must be positive endeavors to preserve peace. America hates war. America hopes for peace. Therefore, America actively engages in the search for peace.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“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.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“We have our difficulties, true; but we are a wiser and a tougher nation than we were in 1932. Never have there been six years of such far flung internal preparedness in all of history. And this has been done without any dictator's power to command, without conscription of labor or confiscation of capital, without concentration camps and without a scratch on freedom of speech, freedom of the press or the rest of the Bill of Rights.”

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Book:The Essential Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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“In this nation I see tens of millions of its citizens, a substantial part of its whole population, who at this very moment are denied the greater part of what the very lowest standards of today call the necessities of life. I see one third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished. 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.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“Of course we will continue to work for cheaper electricity in the homes and on the farms of America; for better and cheaper transportation; for low interest rates; for sounder home financing; for better banking; for the regulation of security issues; for reciprocal trade among nations and for the wiping out of slums. And my friends, for all of these we have only begun to fight.”

HomeGovernmentAmericaFightingCoursesNationsInterestIssuesSecurityLowsMy FriendsTradeRateReformFarmsRegulationElectricityBankingTransportationCheaperInterest RateFinancingSlumsReciprocalSounderWiping Out
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“The peoples of many countries are being taxed to the point of poverty and starvation in order to enable Governments to engage in a mad race in armament which, if permitted to continue, may well result in war. This grave menace to the peace of the world is due in no small measure to the uncontrolled activities of the manufacturers and merchants of engines of destruction, and it it must be met by the concerted actions of the peoples of all Nations.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“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.”

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Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1936, Volume 5
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“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.”

PeopleWorldGivingImportantCountryProblemTodayLastsFacesSpiritDesireSpeakNationsPracticeSolutionsEvidenceTradePrivilegeNeighborGravesMinistersPresidentialAgreementAutumnPrimeCooperationFrankPrime MinisterTangibleWorld TodaySigningGive And TakeTrade AgreementsGood Neighbor
Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“My fellow Americans: Last night when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that the troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far. And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join me in prayer: 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. . .”

StatesMomentsLastsNightFallAsksNationsHoursPrayerUnitedUnited StatesStruggleGreaterSonPrideCivilizationFellowsPreservesPresidentialOperationsSpokesThat MomentThis DayEndeavorRepublicAlliesRomeTroopsAlmightyLast NightCrossingsAlmighty GodPoignantFall Of Rome
Book:The Essential Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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“'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.”

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Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1936, Volume 5
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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.”

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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.”

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

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Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1939, Volume 8
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“The Presidency is not merely an administrative office. Thats the least of it. It is more than an engineering job, efficient or inefficient. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership. All our great Presidents were leaders of thought at times when certain historic ideas in the life of the nation had to be clarified.”

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Author:Franklin D. Roosevelt
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“The Social Security Act offers to all our citizens a workable and working method of meeting urgent present needs and of forestalling future need. It utilizes the familiar machinery of our Federal-State government to promote the common welfare and the economic stability of the Nation.”

NeedsStatesGovernmentNationsSocialCommonEconomicSecurityCitizensOffersMethodMeetingsFamiliarWelfareStabilitySocial SecurityMachineryUrgentState GovernmentEconomic Stability
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1938, Volume 7
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