So let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
Peace, like charity, begins at home.
I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people. Let us all here assembled constitute ourselves prophets of a new order of competence and courage. This is a call to arms.
A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.
I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.
Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
Books can not be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory... In this war, we know, books are weapons. And it is a part of your dedication always to make them weapons for man's freedom.
Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.
If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.
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.
In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Here is my principle: Taxes shall be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.
Take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly, and try another. But by all means, try something.
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
Self-interest is the enemy of all true affection.
Yesterday, December seventh, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. We will gain the inevitable triumph, so help us God.
A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.
Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country.
Put two or three men in positions of conflicting authority. This will force them to work at loggerheads, allowing you to be the ultimate arbiter.
