Government

Explore 53 quotes about Government

This government was instituted to secure the blessings of freedom, and…slavery is an unqualified evil to the negro, to the white man, to the soil, and to the State.

Abraham Lincoln

Buy Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings at Amazon Buy Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings at Amazon
Read the full text of this speech at umich.edu

More information about this quote

Topic

Purpose of government Government Slavery Freedom American politics

Speaker

Abraham Lincoln

Source

Speeches of Abraham Lincoln

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1858 1850s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. Speech in Illinois. 11 Sept. 1858, Edwardsville, IL, USA.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "From Portion of Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois, September 11, 1858." Lincoln's Selected Writings, edited by David S. Reynolds. W. W. Norton & Company, 2016.

No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. So governments' programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth.

Ronald Reagan

More information about this quote

Topic

Big government Government Political theory

Speaker

Ronald Reagan

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1964 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Reagan, Ronald. "A Time for Choosing." U.S. presidential election campaign. 27 Oct. 1964, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, USA. TV broadcast.

Every segment of our population and every individual has a right to expect from our Government a fair deal.

Harry Truman

1949 State of the Union

More information about this quote

Topic

Justice Equality Government

Speaker

Harry Truman

Source

1949 State of the Union Presidential State of the Union addresses

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1949 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Truman, Harry S. Annual message to the Congress on the State of the Union. 5 Jan. 1949, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

Every country has the government it deserves.

Joseph de Maistre

More information about this quote

Topic

Government Political culture Political theory

Author

Joseph de Maistre

Medium

Letter

Language

French

Time

1811 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Maistre, Joseph De. Lettres et Opuscules Inédits de Leibniz. Paris: Lagrange, 1854, letter 76. Originally a letter about Russia's new constitutional laws, 27 Aug. 1811.

One legislator accused me of having a nineteenth-century attitude on law and order. That is a totally false charge. I have an eighteenth-century attitude. That is when the Founding Fathers made it clear that the safety of law-abiding citizens should be one of the government's primary concerns.

Ronald Reagan

More information about this quote

Topic

Law and order Crime Purpose of government Government

Speaker

Ronald Reagan

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1973 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Reagan, Ronald. Address to the Republican State Central Committee Convention. Republican State Central Committee Convention. 7 Sept. 1973, USA.

Whatever government is not a government of laws, is a despotism, let it be called what it may.

Daniel Webster

More information about this quote

Topic

Rule of law Law Government Tyranny

Speaker

Daniel Webster

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1835 1830s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Webster, Daniel. "Remarks Made at Reception." 25 Aug. 1835, Bangor, ME, USA.

Very few people spend other people's money as carefully as they spend their own.

Milton Friedman

More information about this quote

Topic

Moral hazard Government spending Economics Government Political theory

Author

Milton Friedman

Source

Open Mind

Medium

Interview TV program

Language

English

Time

1975 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Open Mind. Interview with Milton Friedman. Hosted by Richard Heffner. The Open Mind Legacy Project. National Educational Telecommunications Association, PBS, 7 Dec. 1975, www.YouTube.com/watch?v=k2Kg2SvsI8Q

Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.

Henry Clay

More information about this quote

Topic

Citizen and state Government Political theory

Speaker

Henry Clay

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1829 1820s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Clay, Henry. Speech in Kentucky. Public dinner. 16 May 1829, Fowler's Garden, Lexington, KY, USA.

The first duty of a State is to see that every child born therein shall be well housed, clothed, fed, and educated, till it attain years of discretion.

John Ruskin

More information about this quote

Topic

Government Children

Author

John Ruskin

Source

Time and Tide

Language

English

Time

1867 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Ruskin, John. Time and Tide by Weare and Tyne. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1867, letter 13.

Current Citation

Ruskin, John. "Time and Tide." The Works of John Ruskin, edited by Edward Tyas Cook and Alexander Wedderburn. Vol. 17, Cambridge University Press, 2010, letter 13.

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

Read this speech at reaganfoundation.org

More information about this quote

Topic

American Revolution Limited government Government Political theory American politics

Speaker

Ronald Reagan

Source

1989 Farewell Address Presidential Farewell Address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1989 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

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

And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.

Ronald Reagan

1989 Farewell Address

Read this speech at reaganfoundation.org

More information about this quote

Topic

Limited government Freedom Political theory Government Politics

Speaker

Ronald Reagan

Source

1989 Farewell Address Presidential Farewell Address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1989 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

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

In all tyrannical governments, the supreme magistracy, or the right both of making and of enforcing the laws, is vested in one and the same man, or one and the same body of men; and wherever these two powers are united together, there can be no public liberty.

William Blackstone

Commentaries on the Laws of England

Buy Commentaries on the Laws of England at Amazon Buy Commentaries on the Laws of England at Amazon
Read Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book I at Project Gutenberg

More information about this quote

Topic

Tyranny Separation of powers Government Political theory Politics

Author

William Blackstone

Source

Commentaries on the Laws of England

Medium

Treatise

Genre

Legal writing

Language

English

Time

1769 1760s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Law of England: Book the First. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1765, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Blackstone, William. Commentaries on the Laws of England: Book I Of the Rights of Persons, edited by David Lemmings. Oxford University Press, 2016, ch. 2.

Never believe governments, not any of them, not a word they say; keep an untrusting eye on all they do.

Martha Gellhorn

More information about this quote

Topic

Lying and politics Government

Author

Martha Gellhorn

Source

The Daily Telegraph

Medium

Obituary Newspaper

Statement Type

Advice

Language

English

Time

1998 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Gellhorn, Martha. "Obituary." Daily Telegraph, 17 Feb. 1998.