Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.

Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.

All that is within me cries out to go back to my home on the Hudson River

The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.

Do Something. If it works, do more of it. If it doesn't, do something else.

More than an end to war, we want an end to the beginning of all wars - yes, an end to this brutal, inhuman and thoroughly impractical method of settling the differences between governments.

If you treat people right they will treat you right... ninety percent of the time.

No government can help the destinies of people who insist in putting sectional and class consciousness ahead of general weal.

The Nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.

The whole world is one neighborhood.

The Democratic Party will live and continue to receive the support of the majority of Americans just so long as it remains a liberal party.

We have always known that heedless self interest was bad morals, we now know that it is bad economics.

Forests are the lungs of our land.

It is one of the characteristics of a free and democratic nation that it have free and independent labor unions.

The loneliest feeling in the world is when you think you are leading the parade and turn to find that no one is following you. No president who badly misguesses public opinion will last very long.

No country, however rich, can afford the waste of its human resources. Demoralization caused by vast unemployment is our greatest extravagance. Morally, it is the greatest menace to our social order.

The motto of war is: "Let the strong survive; let the weak die." The motto of peace is: "Let the strong help the weak to survive."

It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.

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.

It is better to swallow words than to have to eat them later.

Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.

To some generations much is given. Of other generations, much is expected.

Above all, try something

Self-interest is the enemy of all true affection.

Among American citizens, there should be no forgotten men and no forgotten races.

The fate of America cannot depend on any one man. The greatness of America is grounded in principles and not on any single personality.

We defend and we build a way of life, not for America alone, but for all mankind.

We may make mistakes-but they must never be mistakes which result from faintness of heart or abandonment of moral principle.

Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.

Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will.

Favor comes because for a brief moment in the great space of human change and progress some general human purpose finds in him a satisfactory embodiment.

We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.

Those newspapers of the nation which most loudly cried dictatorship against me would have been the first to justify the beginnings of dictatorship by somebody else.

Organized money hates me--and I welcome their hatred!

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.

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.

The presidency is not merely an administrative office...It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership.

Chamberlain's visit to Hitler today may bring things to a head or may result in a temporary postponement of what looks to me likean inevitable conflict within the next five years.

In the formative days of the Republic, the directing influence the Bible exercised upon the fathers of the Nation is conspicuously evident.

To return to higher standards of living we must abandon the false prophets and seek new leaders of our own choosing.

The only thing we have to fear...is audiovisual glitches at our annual event.

Okay, you've convinced me. Now go out there and bring pressure on me.

Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it.

No business is above Government; and Government must be empowered to deal adequately with any business that tries to rise above Government.

In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up or else all go down as one people.

I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.

I tell the American people solemnly that the United States will never survive as a happy and fertile oasis of liberty surrounded by a cruel desert of dictatorship.

Government cannot close its eyes to the pollution of waters, to the erosion of soil, to the slashing of forests any more than it can close its eyes to the need for slum clearance and schools.

Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us.

The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned the Government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson...