Quotessence
Home / Authors / William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas

William O. Douglas Quotes

Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

Filter quotes by topic

AllMenGovernmentLibertyPeopleAmendmentsFirst AmendmentLawFirstsIfsConstitutionMayPrivacyShouldDoeKnowsStatesThinkingFreedom Of SpeechPoliticalSpeech

Famous William O. Douglas Quotes

“These examples and many others demonstrate an alarming trend whereby the privacy and dignity of our citizens is being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen -- a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of man's life at will." [Osborn v. United States, 385 U.S. 323, 343 (1966) (dissenting)]”

GovernmentFreedomLibertyCivil RightsPrivacySurveillanceEncroachment
Author:William O. Douglas
Create image

“What we must remember, however, is that preservation of liberties does not depend on motives. A suppression of liberty has the same effect whether the suppressor be a reformer or an outlaw. The only protection against misguided zeal is constant alertness to infractions of the guarantees of liberty contained in our Constitution. Each surrender of liberty to the demands of the moment makes easier another, larger surrender. . .”

DoeMomentsRememberLibertyEffectsDependsEasierDemandConstitutionConstantProtectionSurrenderMotiveGuaranteesPreservationZealSuppressionOutlawMisguidedReformersAlertness
Author:William O. Douglas
Create image

“A function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it invites a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger. Speech is often provocative and challenging. It may strike at prejudices and preconceptions and have profound unsettling effects as it passes for acceptance of an idea.”

PeopleMayIdeasGovernmentPurposeChallengesLibertyConditionsEffectsAcceptanceSpeechFunctionPrejudiceProfoundStrikesInvitesFree SpeechDisputesDissatisfactionProvocativeUnrestPreconceptionsSystems Of Government
Author:William O. Douglas
Create image

“But our society - unlike most in the world - presupposes that freedom and liberty are in a frame of reference that makes the individual, not government, the keeper of his tastes, beliefs, and ideas. That is the philosophy of the First Amendment; and it is this article of faith that sets us apart from most nations in the world.”

WorldFirstsIdeasPhilosophyGovernmentIndividualBeliefNationsLibertyTasteOur SocietyArticlesAmendmentsFirst AmendmentFreedom And LibertyKeepersFrame Of Reference
Author:William O. Douglas
Create image

“Realization of this need means adults must awaken to the urgency of the young people's unrest-in other words there must be created an adult unrest against the inequities and injustices in the present system. If the government is in jeopardy, it is not because we are unable to cope with revolutionary situations. Jeopardy means that either the leaders or the people do not realize they have all the tools required to make the revolution come true. The tools and the opportunity exist. Only the moral imagination is missing.”

PeopleIfsNeedsMeanGovernmentYoungOpportunityRealizingImaginationSituationLibertyLeaderMoralMissingRevolutionAdultsToolsInjusticeRealizationRevolutionaryDissentUrgencyUnrestJeopardy
Book:POINTS OF REBELLION
Create image