Franklin D. Roosevelt

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

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

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.

I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen dead men strewn on the ground. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war.

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.

A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.

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

The structure of world peace cannot be the work of any single nation alone.

The greatest good for the greatest number.

We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.

I never forget that I live in an old house, and that a good many people live in new houses.

The American people are not afraid of the future; they just want to know what it is.

Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.

The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself.

The best way to keep a man from doing something is to tell him he can't do it.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And a few other things, like the Japanese, the Germans, and the Italians.

There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.

The economic ills of the world are not incurable. They are the result of the failure of men to use the vast resources of the earth for the benefit of all.

The true conservative is the man who has a decent regard for the past, but who recognizes that we must move forward.

When you have to deal with a man who is a pig, you should treat him like a pig.