President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Quotes From and About Roosevelt

Some quotes and quotations both from and about Franklin D. Roosevelt, the President of the United States.

FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT

Quotes from Roosevelt:

"A conservative is a man with 2 perfectly good legs, who, however, has never learned to walk."

"I have no expectation of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average."

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little."

"These unhappy times call for plans that build from the bottom up and not from the top down, that put their faith once more in the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid."--1932.

"One thing is sure. We have to do something. We have to do the best we know how at the moment. If it doesn't turn out right, we can modify it as we go along."--1933.

"These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. These economic royalists are unanimous in their hate for me--and I welcome their hatred."--1936

"There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.

....We are fighting to save a great and precious form of government for ourselves and for the world."--June 27, 1936, acceptance speech, Democratic convention.

"I want to go back to Hyde Park. I want to take care of my trees. I want to make the farm pay. I want to finish my little house on the hill."--1939

Quotes about Him:

"Dear Mr. President: This is just to tell you that everything is all right now. The man you sent found our house all right, and we went down to the bank with him and the mortgage can go on for a while longer. You remember I wrote you about losing the furniture too. Well, your man got it back for us. I never heard of a President like you."--Letter to the White House, summer, 1933

"Meeting him is like opening a bottle of champagne."--Winston Churchill

"He is a pleasant man, who, without any important qualifications for the office, would very much like to be President....Here is a man who has made a good governor, who might make a good Cabinet officer, but who simply does not measure up to the tremendous demands of the office of President."--Walter Lippmann, 1932

"One thing is sure--that the idea people get from his charming manner--that he is soft or flabby in disposition and character--is far from true. When he wants something a lot, he can be formidable; when crossed, he is hard, stubborn, resourceful, relentless"--Presidential aide Raymond Moley

"The country is being run by a group of college professors. This Brain Trust is endeavoring to force socialism upon the American people."--Sen. Henry D. Hatfield of West Virginia.

"He might have been happier with a wife who was completely uncritical. That I was never able to be. Nevertheless I think I sometimes acted as a spur. I was one of those who served his purposes."--Eleanor Roosevelt, 1945

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