Franklin D. Roosevelt

1882 - 1945

We must be the great arsenal of Democracy.

Never before have we had so little time to do so much.

We all know that books burn – yet we have the greater knowledge that books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die.

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’m not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.

The test of our progress is not whether we add more abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

We do our best that we know how at the moment, and if it doesn’t turn out, we modify it.

We have always held to the hope, the belief, and the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.

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

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.

There is no indispensable man.

We, and all others, who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.

Every time an artist dies, part of the vision of mankind passes with him.

The core of our defense is the faith we have in the institution we defend.

True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.

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

The life of a nation is the fullness of the measure of its will to live.
In the field of world policy, I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor.

When you get at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.

Recommended Readings:
FDR: An Intimate Biography, 1983
No Ordinary Time, 1994

Recommended Resources:

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library