“A little group of willful men, representing no opinion but their own, have rendered the great government of the United States helpless and contemptible.”

The seed of revolution is repression.

There is something better, if possible, that a man can give than his life. That is his living spirit to a service that is not easy, to resist counsels that are hard to resist, to stand against purposes that are difficult to stand against.

The history of liberty is a history of resistance.

The white men were roused by a mere instinct of self-preservation—until at last there had sprung into existence a great Ku Klux Klan, a veritable empire of the South, to protect the Southern country.

I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.

Every people has a right to choose the sovereignty under which they shall live.

We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the world.

I have long enjoyed the friendship and companionship of Republicans because I am by instinct a teacher, and I would like to teach them something.

I would not speak with disrespect of the Republican Party. I always speak with great respect of the past.

We are no longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and the duress of small groups of dominant men.

Business underlies everything in our national life, including our spiritual life. Witness the fact that in the Lord’s Prayer, the first petition is for daily bread. No one can worship God or love his neighbor on an empty stomach.

The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.

The man who has no vision will undertake no great enterprise.

To conquer with arms is to make only a temporary conquest; to conquer the world by earning its esteem is to make a permanent conquest.

No man ever saw a government. I live in the midst of the Government of the United States, but I never saw the Government of the United States.

“Genius is divine perseverance.” Divine patience I believe he originally used, perseverance is better in my opinion. Genius I cannot claim nor even extra brightness but perseverance all can have.

A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few.

As government expands, liberty contracts.

Whoever controls work and wages, controls morals.

Real change never occurs from the top on down, [but] always from the bottom on up.

We need a government that stands up for working people. That is what we promised to deliver and that is what we must do.

The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation is the philosophy of government in the next.

It is the responsibility of anyone involved in politics to always think of what Japan can do to contribute more to the peace and stability

We’ve got to fight back, and the first step forward is to vote.