National leader

Explore 818 quotes by National leaders

It rests now with ourselves alone to enjoy in peace and concord the blessings of self-government, so long denied to mankind: to shew by example the sufficiency of human reason for the care of human affairs and that the will of the majority, the Natural law of every society, is the only sure guardian of the rights of man.

Thomas Jefferson

More information about this quote

Topic

Democracy Political theory

Author

Thomas Jefferson

Language

English

Time

1790 1790s 18th century

Era

American Revolutionary Period

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Jefferon, Thomas. "The Response." 12 Feb. 1790.

Current Citation

Jefferson, Thomas. "The Response, 12 February 1790." The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: November 1789 to 4 July 1790, edited by Julian P. Boyd. Vol. 16, Princeton University Press, 1961.

If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.

Winston Churchill

The Second World War

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Topic

My enemy's enemy Hitler Hell The devil

Author

Winston Churchill

Source

The Second World War

Genre

Historical literature

Language

English

Time

1950 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Churchill, Winston. Note to his personal secretary John Colville. 21 June 1941.

Observe good faith and justice toward all Nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all... The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.

George Washington

Washington's Farewell Address

Read George Washington's Farewell Address at presidency.ucsb.edu

More information about this quote

Topic

American foreign policy International politics Political neutrality

Author

George Washington

Source

Washington's Farewell Address Presidential Farewell Address

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1796 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Washington, George. "The Address of Gen. Washington to the People of America on His Declining the Presidency of the United States." Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 19 Sept. 1796.

Current Citation

Washington, George. "Farewell Address, September 19, 1796." George Washington: Writings, edited by John Rhodehamel. Library of America, 1997.

Avoid the necessity of those overgrown Military establishments, which under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty.

George Washington

Washington's Farewell Address

Read this speech at the Yale Law School website

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Topic

Military industrial complex

Author

George Washington

Source

Washington's Farewell Address Presidential Farewell Address

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1796 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Washington, George. "The Address of Gen. Washington to the People of America on His Declining the Presidency of the United States." Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 19 Sept. 1796.

Current Citation

Washington, George. "Farewell Address, September 19, 1796." George Washington: Writings, edited by John Rhodehamel. Library of America, 1997.

A line has been drawn in the sand.

George H.W. Bush

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Topic

Persian Gulf War

Speaker

George H.W. Bush

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1990 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Bush, George H. W. Decision to send U.S. troops to defend Saudi Arabia against Iraqi troops. 8 Aug. 1990, Washington, DC, USA.

America cannot be an ostrich with its head in the sand.

Woodrow Wilson

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Topic

World War I America and the world

Speaker

Woodrow Wilson

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1916 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Wilson, Woodrow. Speech in Des Moines. 1 Feb. 1916, Des Moines Coliseum, Des Moines, IA, USA.

The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest.

George Washington

Read this speech at UVA's Miller Center website

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Topic

Foreign policy International politics

Author

George Washington

Source

Washington's Farewell Address Presidential Farewell Address

Medium

Speech

Language

English

Time

1796 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Washington, George. "The Address of Gen. Washington to the People of America on His Declining the Presidency of the United States." Claypoole's American Daily Advertiser. Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 19 Sept. 1796.

Current Citation

Washington, George. "Farewell Address, September 19, 1796." George Washington: Writings, edited by John Rhodehamel. Library of America, 1997.

I don't oppose all wars. And I know that in this crowd today, there is no shortage of patriots, or of patriotism. What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war.

Barack Obama

More information about this quote

Topic

Iraq War

Speaker

Barack Obama

Source

Speeches of Barack Obama

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2002 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Obama, Barack. Speech to anti-war rally. 2 Oct. 2002, Federal Plaza, Chicago, IL, USA.

The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage.

Emperor Hirohito

Part of Emperor Hirohito's broadcast announcing Japan's surrender after the atom bomb had destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

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Topic

The atom bomb Nuclear weapons World War II

Speaker

Emperor Hirohito

Medium

Speech

Statement Type

Understatement

Language

Japanese

Time

1945 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Emperor Hirohito. The Jewel Voice. 15 Aug. 1945, Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan. Broadcast.

The various admirable movements in which I have been engaged have always developed among their members a large lunatic fringe.

Theodore Roosevelt

More information about this quote

Topic

Political extremism Politics

Author

Theodore Roosevelt

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1913 1910s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Roosevelt, Theodore, Jr. Letter to Henry Cabot Lodge. 27 Feb. 1913.

In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

First Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Read this speech at UVA's Miller Center website

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Topic

Non-intervention American foreign policy Foreign policy International politics

Speaker

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Source

First Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1933 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Roosevelt, Franklin D. "First Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1933, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

Current Citation

Roosevelt, Franklin D. "First Inaugral Address: Washington, DC, March 4, 1933." Great Speeches, edited by John Grafton. Dover, 1999.

To be conscious that you are ignorant is a great step to knowledge.

Benjamin Disraeli

Sybil

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More information about this quote

Topic

Ignorance Wisdom

Author

Benjamin Disraeli

Source

Sybil

Medium

Novel

Statement Type

Paradox

Language

English

Time

1845 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Disraeli, Benjamin. Sybil; or, The Two Nations. Vol. 1, London: Henry Colburn, 1845, bk. 1, ch. 5.

Current Citation

Disraeli, Benjamin. Sybil, edited by Sheila Smith. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 1, ch. 5.

In your discussions of the nuclear freeze proposals, I urge you to beware the temptation of pride—the temptation of blithely declaring yourselves above it all and label both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire.

Ronald Reagan

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Topic

Soviet Union

Speaker

Ronald Reagan

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1983 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Reagan, Ronald. "Evil Empire." Annual convention of National Association of Evangelicals. 8 Mar. 1983, Orlando, FL, USA.

By a plan known only to Providence, the stolen sons and daughters of Africa helped to awaken the conscience of America. The very people traded into slavery helped set America free. My nation's journey toward justice has not been easy, and it is not over. The racial bigotry fed by slavery did not end with slavery or with segregation. And many of the issues that still trouble America have roots in the bitter experience of other times. But however long the journey, our destination is set: liberty and justice for all.

George W. Bush

More information about this quote

Topic

Civil rights American politics

Speaker

George W. Bush

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Bush, George W. Remarks at Goree Island, Senegal. 8 July 2003, Île de Gorée, Dakar, Senegal.

They may walk with a little less spring in their step, and their ranks are growing thinner, but let us never forget, when they were young, these men saved the world.

Bill Clinton

Remarks at the U.S. National Cemetery, June 6, 1944

On veterans of the D-Day invasion of World War II.

Read this speech at UVA's Miller Center website

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Topic

D-Day Invasion World War II

Speaker

Bill Clinton

Source

Remarks at the U.S. National Cemetery, June 6, 1944

Language

English

Time

1994 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Clinton, Bill. Remarks at the US National Cemetery. 6 June 1994, Colleville-sur-Mer, France.

The collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.

Vladimir Putin

Read an English translation of this speech in Russian

More information about this quote

Topic

Soviet Union Russia International politics Politics

Speaker

Vladimir Putin

Source

2005 Address to Russian Parliament

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

Russian

Time

2005 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Putin, Vladimir. "Annual Address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation." 25 Apr. 2005, The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia.

A war can perhaps be won single-handedly, a lasting peace cannot be secured without the support of all.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

More information about this quote

Topic

Peace

Speaker

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2003 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Silva, Luiz Inácio Lula da. Address to United Nations. United Nations General Assembly. 23 Sept. 2003, New York, NY, USA.

In every political society, parties are unavoidable. A difference of interests, real or supposed is the most natural and fruitful source of them...the great art of politicians lies in making them checks and balances to each other.

James Madison

Parties

More information about this quote

Topic

Political parties Checks and balances Political theory

Author

James Madison

Source

Parties The National Gazette

Medium

Essay Newspaper

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1792 1790s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Madison, James "Parties." The National Gazette. 23 Jan. 1792.

Current Citation

Madison, James. "Political Essays: Charters and Parties; January 19 and 23, 1792." Selected Writings of James Madison, edited by Ralph Ketcham. Hackett Publishing Company, 2006.

The law, in all vicissitudes of government, fluctuations of the passions, or flights of enthusiasm, will preserve a steady undeviating course; it will not bend to the uncertain wishes, imaginations, and wanton tempers of men... On the one hand it is inexorable to the cries and lamentations of the prisoners; on the other it is deaf, deaf as an adder to the clamours of the populace.

John Adams

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Topic

Rule of law

Speaker

John Adams

Medium

Courtroom speech Speech

Language

English

Time

1770 1770s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Adams, John. Spoken at the argument in defense of the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials. Boston Massacre Trials. 4 Dec. 1770, Queen Street courtroom, Boston, MA, USA.

We have seen their kind before. They're the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies.

George W. Bush

Address to Joint Session of Congress, September 20, 2001

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Topic

Islamic extremism

Speaker

George W. Bush

Source

Address to Joint Session of Congress, September 20, 2001

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2001 2000s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Bush, George W. Address to joint session of Congress. Joint session of Congress. 20 Sept. 2001, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.