American politics

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Since its very outset, it has been found necessary to conduct our Government by means of political parties. That system would not have survived from generation to generation if it had not been fundamentally sound and provided the best instrumentalities for the most complete expression of the popular will. It is not necessary to claim that it has always worked perfectly. It is enough to know that nothing better has been devised.

Calvin Coolidge

Second Inaugural Address of Calvin Coolidge

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Coolidge, Calvin. "Second Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1925, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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On this February day, as this nation stands at the brink of battle, every American on some level must be contemplating the horrors of war. Yet this chamber is, for the most part, silent-ominously, dreadfully silent. There is no debate, no discussion, no attempt to lay out for the nation the pros and cons of this particular war. There is nothing. We stand passively mute in the United States Senate, paralyzed by our own uncertainty, seemingly stunned by the sheer turmoil of events.

Robert Byrd

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Byrd, Robert C. Speech on the impending invasion of Iraq. 12 Feb. 2003, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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We believe, and I think properly, that when the men who met in 1787 to make a Constitution made the best political document ever made, they did so very largely because they were great compromisers.

Learned Hand

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Hand, Learned. "Morals in Public Life." Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. 28 June 1951, Washington, DC, USA. Testimony.

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The chances are that a man cannot get into congress now without resorting to arts and means that should render him unfit to go there.

Mark Twain

The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today

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Twain, Mark and Charles Dudley Warner. The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today. Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1873, ch. 50.

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Twain, Mark and Charles Dudley Warner. "The Gilded Age." Mark Twain: The Gilded Age and Later Novels, edited by Hamlin Hill. Library of America, 2002, ch. 50.

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Without union our independence and liberty would never have been achieved; without union they never can be maintained.

Andrew Jackson

Second Inaugural Address of Andrew Jackson

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Jackson, Andrew. "Second Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1833, House Chamber, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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It will be my sincere and constant desire to observe toward the Indian tribes within our limits a just and liberal policy, and to give that humane and considerate attention to their rights and their wants which is consistent with the habits of our Government and the feelings of our people.

Andrew Jackson

First Inaugural Address of Andrew Jackson

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Jackson, Andrew. "First Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1833, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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My Country has in its Wisdom contrived for me, the most insignificant Office that ever the Invention of Man contrived or his Imagination conceived.

John Adams

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Adams, John. Letter to Abigail Adams. 19 Dec. 1793.

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“John Adams to Abigail Adams, 19 December 1793,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/04-09-02-0278.

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In administering the laws of Congress I shall keep steadily in view the limitations as well as the extent of the Executive power, trusting thereby to discharge the functions of my office without transcending its authority.

Andrew Jackson

First Inaugural Address of Andrew Jackson

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Jackson, Andrew. "First Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1833, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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For too long, a small group in our nation’s Capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished – but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered – but the jobs left, and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country.

Donald Trump

Inaugural Address of Donald Trump

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Trump, Donald. "Inaugural Address." 20 Jan. 2017, West Front, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience.

Ronald Reagan

1984 Presidential Debates

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Reagan, Ronald. "The Second Reagan-Mondale Presidential Debate." 21 Oct. 1984, Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, MO, USA. Presidential debate.

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But there is still an undercurrent at work by which, if not seasonably checked, the worst apprehensions of our antifederal patriots will be realized, and not only will the State authorities be overshadowed by the great increase of power in the executive department of the General Government, but the character of that Government, if not its designation, be essentially and radically changed.

William Henry Harrison

Inaugural Address of William Henry Harrison

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Harrison, William Henry. "Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1841, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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In our intercourse with our aboriginal neighbors the same liberality and justice which marked the course prescribed to me by two of my illustrious predecessors when acting under their direction in the discharge of the duties of superintendent and commissioner shall be strictly observed.

William Henry Harrison

Inaugural Address of William Henry Harrison

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Harrison, William Henry. "Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1841, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: "We the People." "We the People" tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us."We the People" are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the People" tell the government what it is allowed to do."We the People" are free.

Ronald Reagan

1989 Farewell Address

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Reagan, Ronald. "Farewell Address to the Nation." 11 Jan. 1989, Oval Office, The White House, Washington, DC, USA.

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The Federal Constitution is a grant from the States to Congress of certain specific powers, and the question whether this grant should be liberally or strictly construed has more or less divided political parties from the beginning.

James Buchanan

Inaugural Address of James Buchanan

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Buchanan, James. "Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1857, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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It is a source of deep regret that in some sections of our country misguided persons have occasionally indulged in schemes and agitations whose object is the destruction of domestic institutions existing in other sections—institutions which existed at the adoption of the Constitution and were recognized and protected by it.

James K. Polk

Inaugural Address of James K. Polk

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Polk, James K. "Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1845, East Portico, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

Ronald Reagan

1989 Farewell Address

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Reagan, Ronald. "Farewell Address to the Nation." 11 Jan. 1989, Oval Office, The White House, Washington, DC, USA.

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The thirteenth amendment secured them freedom; the fourteenth amendment due process of law, protection of property, and the pursuit of happiness; and the fifteenth amendment attempted to secure the negro against any deprivation of the privilege to vote because he was a negro. The thirteenth and fourteenth amendments have been generally enforced and have secured the objects for which they are intended. While the fifteenth amendment has not been generally observed in the past, it ought to be observed.

William Howard Taft

Inaugural Address of William Howard Taft

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Taft, William Howard. "Inaugural Address." 4 Mar. 1909, Senate Chamber, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

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Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law.

John Paul Stevens

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Bush v. Gore

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Stevens, John. Dissenting Opinion. Bush, et al. v. Gore, et al. United States Reports, vol. 531, 12 Dec. 2000, pp. 123-129. Justia, supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/531/98/.

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