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If we can "boondoggle" ourselves out of this depression, that word is going to be enshrined in the hearts of the American people for years to come.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. Democratic politician, president. speech, Jan. 18, 1936, to the New Jersey State Emergency Council, Newark.)
Read more quotations about / on: depression, people
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2
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Frankly, I do not like the idea of conversations to define the term "unconditional surrender." ... The German people can have dinned into their ears what I said in my Christmas Eve speech—in effect, that we have no thought of destroying the German people and that we want them to live through the generations like other European peoples on condition, of course, that they get rid of their present philosophy of conquest.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. president. letter, Jan. 17, 1944, to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. The Roosevelt Letters, vol. 3, p. 492, ed. Elliott Roosevelt, George G. Harrup & Co., Ltd. (1952).
Roosevelt had announced the "Unconditional Surrender" doctrine at Casablanca and it was criticized by the Soviets. Stalin believed the Germans would use it to stiffen resistance and he was correct. FDR then felt the need to assert that it was not aimed at the German people but at their leaders and their philosophy of conquest.)
Read more quotations about / on: surrender, christmas, people
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3
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In looking back over the college careers of those who for various reasons have been prominent in undergraduate life ... one cannot help noticing that these men have nearly always shown from the start an interest in the lives of their fellow students. A large acquaintance means that many persons are dependent on a man and conversely that he himself is dependent on many. Success necessarily means larger responsibilities, and responsibilities mean many friends.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. president. editorial, Jan. 26, 1904, by FDR, Harvard Crimson. Ted Morgan, FDR: A Biography, pp. 86-87, Simon & Schuster (1985).
This was an early manifestation of FDR's political and social concept that leaders had of necessity to be people who served and made friends with their fellows. To make oneself popular was a part of leadership, as people who liked you followed you. One suspects that this belief underlay Roosevelt's approach to such things as his Fireside Chats, which allowed the public to think of him as a friend and confidant.)
Read more quotations about / on: success, life
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4
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I make this direct statement to the American people that there is far less chance of the United States getting into war, if we do all we can now to support the nations defending themselves against attack by the Axis than if we acquiesce in their defeat, submit tamely to an Axis victory, and wait our turn to be the object of attack in another war later on.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. president. David Dallek, Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy: 1932-1945, p. 256, Oxford University Press (1979).)
Read more quotations about / on: war, people
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5
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Slowly, and in spite of anything we Americans do or do not do, it looks a little as if you and some other good people are going to have to answer the old question of whether you want to keep your country unshackled by taking even more definite steps to do so—even firing shots—or, on the other hand, submitting to be shackled for the sake of not losing one American life.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. president. Letter, May 19, 1941, to Representative James F. O'Connor of Montana. The Roosevelt Letters, vol. 3, p. 370, ed. Elliott Roosevelt, George G. Harrup & Co., Ltd. (1952).
The President attempted to persuade extreme isolationists like O'Connor that they were risking losing their freedom to totalitarian domination by refusing to aid Britain and that the United States was not going to be left alone simply because Americans withheld aid from the Allies.)
Read more quotations about / on: people, life
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6
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No human being can tell what the Russians are going to do next, and I think the Japanese actions will depend much on what Russia decides to do both in Europe and the Far East—especially in Europe.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. president. letter, Dec. 13, 1939, to Francis B. Sayre, High Commissioner to the Philippines. The Roosevelt Letters, vol. 3, p. 291, ed. Elliott Roosevelt, George G. Harrup & Co., Ltd. (1952).
FDR was chagrined at the USSR's attack on Finland as well as the Nazi-Soviet Pact, and was concerned that the Japanese might see this arrangement as opening a door to further expansion in the Far East, perhaps moving against British, if not American, possessions.)
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7
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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, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.
(Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), U.S. president. annual message to Congress (Jan. 4, 1933), vol. II, ed. Samuel I. Rosenman, The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 13 volumes, New York (1938-1950).)
Read more quotations about / on: world
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