The 90 best phrases of Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882 - 1945) is considered one of the political leaders who led the United States to great economic and industrial advancement in his four presidential terms (only man who has achieved such an achievement) and known for leading the forces of that nation during World War II, helping to achieve the victory that the Allies needed.

A man who undoubtedly worked for what he loved most in life: his political work. Focused on bringing abundance, prosperity and tranquility to his country, even from his wheelchair (consequence of a polio attack), he shows us through his reflections the way he had of See life.

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Great quotes from Franklin D. Roosevelt

In this article we show you the best and greatest phrases of this admirable man who will teach us that life must be faced with head held high.

1. The only thing we should be afraid of is fear itself.

Facing your fears is the best way to cope without regrets.

2. There is a mysterious cycle in human events. Some generations are given a lot. Much is expected of other generations. This generation of Americans has a date with destiny.

All generations have significant events that are recorded in history.

3. Today, among us a concentration of private power unprecedented in history is growing.

Talking about the power of a group of specific people.

4. In life there is something worse than failure: not having tried anything.

It is better to do something than to be left wondering what would have happened if we had done it.

5. There are as many opinions as there are experts.

Everyone has an opinion in this world.

6. In our quest for economic and political progress, we all go up, or we all go down.

Every advance or risk affects each one of those involved in a government.

7. The Constitution of the United States has proven to be the most wonderfully elastic compilation of rules of government ever written.

Admiring his constitution as one of the best.

8. Whenever they ask you if you can do a job, answer yes and start learning how to do it right away.

Things are mastered by studying and practicing.

9. The only limit to our understanding of tomorrow will be our doubts about the present.

What does not make sense today may do so in a few years, when we gain more experience.

10. Wanting is not enough: you must ask yourself what you are going to do to get what you want.

Wishes come true if you draw up an action plan to achieve them.

11. A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.

The problem with conservatives is that they are unwilling to accept the changes necessary to move forward.

12. Are you working under the impression that I read these memos of yours? I can't even lift them.

Do things as if no one knows your potential.

13. Joy is the philosopher's stone that turns everything to gold.

If we are happy we can see the world from a more positive perspective.

14. Do something and if it doesn't work, do something else.

Never stop trying, no matter how many times you fall.

15. Art is not a treasure in the past or an import from another land, but part of the present life of all living and creative peoples.

Art is always present.

16. Action should always be preferred to criticism.

Only if you are an expert on a topic can you afford to criticize.

17. Virtues are lost in self-interest, as rivers are lost in the sea.

Self-interest always leaves a trail of loneliness in its wake.

18. Liberalism becomes the protection for those of conservative vision.

Speaking of the position of conservative-liberalism that unites both positions.

19. A radical is someone with their feet firmly planted in the air.

Radicals act irrationally and without a specific purpose.

20. The first truth is that the freedom of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of the power in private hands to the point that it becomes stronger than the state itself democratic.

A democratic country must have a balance between public and private power, but when the latter becomes too strong, it can become a bourgeoisie.

21. Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the excitement of creative endeavor.

Creativity has managed to solve more problems than any other reasoning.

22. I have seen war and hated it. I say this over and over again. I hope America stays out of this war.

Roosevelt was by no means a lover of warfare.

23. For civilization to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships, the ability for all peoples, of all kinds, to live together in the same world in peace.

Physical resources are important to a nation, but it is even more important to provide growth possibilities for human talent.

24. I am neither bitter nor cynical, but I do wish that there is less immaturity in political thinking.

The president had a very different and unique idea of ​​politics.

25. I accuse the current administration of being the highest-spending peacetime administration in the entire history of the United States.

Roosevelt was not afraid to expose the flaws in his own government system.

26. Philosophy? I am a Christian and a Democrat. That's all.

His posture, rather than becoming deep knowledge, came from his belief system.

27. No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it.

No one can completely change the essence of a person.

28. The nation that destroys its land destroys itself.

A nation that exploits its resources in an abusive way has no respect for itself.

29. Don't forget that I discovered that more than ninety percent of all national deficits from 1921 to 1939 were caused by payments for past, present, and future wars.

Here he shows us all the more reasons to despise wars, which only bring destruction, even to the victors.

30. The democratic aspiration is not a simple recent phase in human history. It is human history.

All peoples have ever fought (and will continue to fight) to achieve their democracy.

31. Rules are not necessarily sacred, principles are.

Values ​​are what make people human.

32. We have to be the great arsenal of Democracy.

Governments are the ones who should set the example on how to rule fairly.

33. Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch.

Phrase that refers to the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza.

34. The test of our progress is not that those who have much have more, but that those who have too little have more.

Ensuring better conditions for the unfavorable need not affect the upper class.

35. I do not see this United States as a finished product. We are still in the making.

Perhaps no country is actually fully built, perhaps it should improve forever.

36. I always think about what I should do and not what I would like to do.

There are times when we must put our desires aside and focus on our duties.

37. Judge me by the enemies I have made.

The way to know the true appearance of a person is to see the quality of his enemies.

38. I believe in individualism… But only when the individualist begins to thrive at the expense of society.

One thing is individuality and another to want to impose an ideology.

39. Be sincere; be brief; remain seated.

The clearer and easier you express yourself, the better you will make yourself understood.

40. It is common sense to choose a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

No matter how many times you fail, you have to keep trying things until you find the right one.

41. When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold.

Not everyone has the ability to stay on top. Many plummet as soon as they arrive.

42. Men are not prisoners of destiny; They are only prisoners of their own minds.

Our mind has the ability to generate insecurities to avoid taking risks.

43. The hopes of the Republic cannot forever tolerate either undeserved poverty or selfish wealth.

A Republic must give free passage to the growth of its people, but watch the use that they give to its powers.

44. The American government cannot allow Americans to starve.

There is nothing more hypocritical than a government that leaves its people helpless.

45. When you see a rattlesnake about to bite, don't wait until it does to crush it.

Act when you see that it is necessary to do so, do not wait for the damage to be done.

46. To reach a port we must sail, not anchor, hoist the sail so as not to drift.

To achieve a goal it is necessary to walk towards it without stopping.

47. Trust… It thrives on honesty, honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on protection and selfless fidelity in performance. Without them he cannot live.

Confidence is humanity's most precious skill and value.

48. No group or government can adequately prescribe what should constitute the body of knowledge with which true education is concerned.

Education must be for the growth of its students, not for an ideological and political imposition.

49. It is an unfortunate human flaw that a paperback often groans louder than an empty stomach.

Sometimes governments prefer to ignore the shortcomings of their people so as not to show their faults.

50. We have always had the hope, the belief, the conviction, that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.

That feeling that everything will get better is permanent in our hearts.

51. Here is my principle: Taxes will be levied according to ability to pay. That is the only American principle.

The correct way to collect taxes.

52. True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.

If you do not have economic stability and independence, do you have complete freedom?

53. We can afford everything we need, but we cannot afford everything we want.

Sometimes what we want is nothing more than mindless whims.

54. Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.

A lie will always be a lie no matter how many times it is tried to disguise as true.

55. He who does not live to serve, does not serve to live.

Helping others should be a habit to practice regularly.

56. If you treat people right, they'll treat you right… 99% of the time.

There is always a margin of error for everything, including courtesy.

57. I believe that in each country the people are more inclined towards peace and freedom than their governments.

A people will always want to live in peace, but chaos is too profitable for governments.

58. Leaving people hungry and out of work are the things that are done in dictatorships.

There is no fact more certain than this.

59. We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.

Educating young people can hope for a better future.

60. We defend and build a lifestyle, not only for the citizens of the United States of America, but for all Humanity.

Roosevelt always dreamed of making his country an example to the world.

61. He takes a long time to bring the past to the present.

The past is useless in the present, because it no longer has life in it.

62. On this tenth day of June 1940, the hand holding the dagger struck the back of his neighbor.

Declaration on the height of the Second World War.

63. The forests are the lungs of our land, purify the fresh air and give strength to our people.

Green life is what guarantees human life on earth.

64. All the work carried out must be useful, not just for a day or a year, useful in the sense of offering a permanent improvement in the living conditions of our nation.

All work should be an opportunity for future growth and development, not a short-term benefit.

65. I think we consider the good luck of the early bird too much and not enough the bad luck of the early bird worm.

Not all those who get up early, God helps them.

66. The life of a nation is the fullness of the measure of its will to live.

Each government should ensure the quality of life of its nation.

67. Joyful news for an elderly person like me. I am almost totally out of order as far as my legs go, but the doctors say there is no doubts that I will recover its use again, even if this means several months of treatment in New York.

Speaking hopefully about your ability to regain leg movement, no matter what you have to do or how many times you have to do it.

68. This is the opportune moment to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly.

It is never a bad time to be honest.

69. Competition has proven useful up to a point and no more, but cooperation, which is what we must strive for today, begins where competition ends.

Competition helps us improve our skills, but cooperation is what makes us achieve our goals.

70. All free peoples are deeply impressed by the courage and steadfastness of the Greek nation.

Greek culture has had a lot to teach us, especially in political, social and philosophical matters.

71. We are not to spend another winter like the last. I seriously doubt that no other people ever endured with such courage and resignation a season only half as rigorous.

Talking about the difficulties of being involved in war.

72. Physical force cannot permanently withstand the impact of spiritual force.

Our interior can make or break our exterior.

73. Increasing wages and reducing working hours will not harm any employer. On the contrary, such an action benefits the employer more than unemployment and reduced wages, inasmuch as it creates a greater number of consumers for his production.

Speaking of the logic of salary increases and balanced working hours.

74. I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I can pick smart colleagues.

If you don't know about something, surround yourself with people who are experts at it and who can instruct you.

75. That superiority is gone, forever.

We reach a point in our life where superiority is negligible.

76. We cannot ask the United States to continue to face such useless hardships.

A reference to that it is time to act on the root of the problems instead of solving small incidents.

77. A reactionary is a backsliding sleepwalker.

Not all acts are justifiable.

78. But while clinging to economic laws, men and women are starving.

Many times, governments by not leaving their false pride aside, do not see that their actions affect their people.

79. Not only our future economic strength, but the strength of our democratic institutions depend on the determination of our government to employ men.

For a nation to grow and prosper as a whole, each person must have the ability to produce.

80. I don't want to see a single war millionaire created in the United States as a result of this worldwide disaster.

Those who see war as an opportunity for profit are despicable beings.

81. No man can hold the office of president without taking into consideration that he is the president of all people.

He is not the president of a single beneficial group, but of an entire people in need but with great potential.

82. There are, of course, men - even if only a few - who will try to obstruct this great common purpose, seeking, above all, a selfish benefit for themselves.

There will always be people who see in every good deed an opportunity for their personal interests.

83. We must take into account the fact that economic laws are not made by nature.

Laws are written by people, for better and for worse.

84. As a nation, we can be proud of the fact that we are soft-hearted; But we can't afford to be stupid

Being kind and kind, we must not be mistaken for innocent and naive.

85. In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.

A great claim to consider.

86. Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date that will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.

Speech on the attack on Pearl Harbor orchestrated by Japanese forces.

87. With great power comes great responsibility.

An iconic phrase that you surely know from the movies, but that was actually said by this president.

88. Self-interest is the enemy of all true affection.

You cannot be affectionate and seek the welfare of the other if you are focused on always being victorious above all else.

89. They are unanimous in their hatred for me, and I appreciate their hatred.

Sometimes people's hatred is nothing more than a sign of their own success.

90. School is the last expense America must be willing to cut down on.

There should be no financial restrictions on imparting and obtaining knowledge.