Calvin Coolidge quotes are focused on the political atmosphere of his day, a time when America was about to face a season of financial distress. It was shortly after he left the office of President of the United States, that the Great Depression began. He was succeeded by Herbert Hoover who was helped by the bankers of his day. J.P. Morgan and others helped to bail America out of its financial struggles.
Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States, and was an American lawyer and politician, prior to his inauguration. He was considered very conservative and followed in Abraham Lincoln’s footsteps, while Ronald Reagan was considered very conservative in modern times. Below are a number of his quotes.
Quote #1 “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” |
Quote #2 “It takes a great man to be a good listener.” |
Quote #3 “There is no dignity |
Quote #4 “Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.” |
Quote #5 “Our government rests upon religion. It is from that source that we derive our reverence for truth and justice, for equality and liberality, and for the rights of mankind. Unless the people believe in these principles they cannot believe in our government. There are only two main theories of government in our world. One rests on righteousness and the other on force. One appeals to reason, and the other appeals to the sword. One is exemplified in the republic, the other is represented by despotism.” |
Quote #6 “The government of a country never gets ahead of the religion of a country. There is no way by which we can substitute the authority of law for the virtue of man. Of course we endeavor to restrain the vicious, and furnish a fair degree of security and protection by legislation and police control, but the real reform which society in these days is seeking will come as a result of our religious convictions, or they will not come at all. Peace, justice, humanity, charity—these cannot be legislated into being. They are the result of divine grace.” |
Quote #7 “It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.” |
Quote #8 “If we judge ourselves only by our aspirations and everyone else only their conduct we shall soon reach a very false conclusion.” |
Quote #9 “We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.” |
Quote #10 “I have noticed that nothing I have never said ever did me any harm.” |
Quote #11 “No person was ever honored for what he recieved. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” |
Quote #12 “It is hard to see how a great man can be an atheist. Without the sustaining influence of faith in a divine power we could have little faith in ourselves. We need to feel that behind us is intelligence and love. Doubters do not achieve; skeptics do not contribute; cynics do not create. Faith is the great motive power, and no man realizes his full possibilities unless he has the deep conviction that life is eternally important, and that his work, well done, is a part of an unending plan.” |
Quote #13 “Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.” |
Quote #14 “I want the people of America to be able to work less for the government and more for themselves. I want them to have the rewards of their own industry. This is the chief meaning of freedom. |
Quote #15 “We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.” |
Quote #16 “Don't you know that four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?” |
Quote #17 “Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” |
Quote #18 “They criticize me for harping on the obvious; if all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.” |
Quote #19 “The nation which forgets it defenders will be itself forgotten.” |
Quote #20 “The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good.” |
Quote #21 “This country would not be a land of opportunity, America could not be America, if the people were shackled with government monopolies.” |
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Quote #23 “When a man begins to feel that he is the only one who can lead in this republic, he is guilty of treason to the spirit of our institutions.” |
Quote #24 “I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people.” |
Quote #25 “The people cannot look to legislation generally for success. Industry, thrift, character, are not conferred by act or resolve. Government cannot relieve from toil. It can provide no substitute for the rewards of service. It can, of course, care for the defective and recognize distinguished merit. The normal must care for themselves. Self-government means self-support.” |
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Quote #27 “I have found it advisable not to give too much heed to what people say when I am trying to accomplish something of consequence. Invariably they proclaim it can't be done. I deem that the very best time to make the effort.” |
Quote #28 “There is only one form of political strategy in which I have any confidence, and that is to try to do the right thing and sometimes be able to succeed.” |
Quote #29 “...After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world. I am strongly of the opinion that the great majority of people will always find these are the moving impulses of our life. But it is only those who do not understand our people, who believe that our national life is entirely absorbed by material motives. We make no concealment of the fact that we want wealth, but there are many other things that we want much more. We want peace and honor, and that charity which is so strong an element of all civilization. The chief ideal of the American people is idealism." |
Quote #30 “It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness. They live in an artificial atmosphere of adulation and exaltation which sooner or later impairs their judgment. They are in grave danger of becoming careless and arrogant.” |
Quote #31 “Any reward that is worth having only comes to the industrious. The success which is made in any walk of life is measured almost exactly by the amout of hard work that is put into it.” |
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Quote #33 “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.” |
Quote #34 “The government of the United States is a device for maintaining in perpetuity the rights of the people, with the ultimate extinction of all privileged classes.” |
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Quote #36 “Democracy is not a tearing down; it is a building up. It does not denial of the divine right of kings; it asserts the divine right of all men.” |
Quote #37 “It is our theory that the people own the government, not that the government should own the people.” |
Quote #38 “Civilization and profits go hand in hand.” |
Quote #39 “You don't have to explain something you haven't said.” |
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Quote #41 “She was practically an invalid ever after I could remember her, but used what strength she had in lavish care upon me and my sister, who was three years younger. There was a touch of mysticism and poetry in her nature which made her love to gaze at the purple sunsets and watch the evening stars. Whatever was grand and beautiful in form and color attracted her. It seemed as though the rich green tints of the foliage and the blossoms of the flowers came for her in the springtime, and in the autumn it was for her that the mountain sides were struck with crimson and with gold.” |
Quote #42 “When a man begins to feel that he is the only one whou can lead in this republic, he is guilty of treason to the spirit of our institutions.” |
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Quote #44 “Well, they’re going to elect that Superman Hoover, and he’s going to have some trouble. He’s going to have to spend money, but it won’t be enough. Then the Democrats will come in. But they don’t know anything about money." |
Quote #45 “No nation ever had an army large enough to guarantee it against attack in time of peace, or ensure it of victory in time of war.” |
Quote #46 “It has been my observation in life that, if one will only exercise the patience to wait, his wants are likely to be filled.” |
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Calvin Coolidge quotes showcase a man who felt very strongly about religion and how America was a nation built on its principles. These things were the benchmark of him being considered very conservative. I hope that something he has said will be a way of inspiring and motivating readers.