The Quotes canon
Sourced and curated.
Every quote has been curated by hand and carefully authenticated.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Browse all 10,075 quotes or apply filters in different categories to narrow your search.
Citizen and state18 quotes
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. — John F. Kennedy · 1961What pity is it,
That we can die but once, to serve our country! — Joseph Addison · 1713"A fair day's-wages for a fair day's work:" it is as just a demand as Governed men ever made of Governing. It is the everlasting right of man. — Thomas Carlyle · 1843There 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. — Franklin D. Roosevelt · 1936I would not give half a guinea to live under one form of government rather than another. It is of no moment to the happiness of an individual. — Samuel Johnson · 1772We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. — Ronald Reagan · 1981All 18 quotes →American politics5 quotes
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. — John F. Kennedy · 1961There 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. — Franklin D. Roosevelt · 1936We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. — Ronald Reagan · 1981It's not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work—work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it. — Ronald Reagan · 1981In our own lives, let each of us ask—not just what will government do for me, but what can I do for myself? In the challenges we face together, let each of us ask—not just how can government help, but how can I help? — Richard Nixon · 1973Role of government3 quotes
I repeat... That all power is a trust - that we are accountable for its exercise - that, from the people, and for the people, all springs, and all must exist. — Benjamin Disraeli · 1826It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error. — Robert H. Jackson · 1950It's not my intention to do away with government. It is rather to make it work—work with us, not over us; to stand by our side, not ride on our back. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster productivity, not stifle it. — Ronald Reagan · 1981Civic duty2 quotes
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. — John F. Kennedy · 1961In our own lives, let each of us ask—not just what will government do for me, but what can I do for myself? In the challenges we face together, let each of us ask—not just how can government help, but how can I help? — Richard Nixon · 1973Political theory2 quotes
I repeat... That all power is a trust - that we are accountable for its exercise - that, from the people, and for the people, all springs, and all must exist. — Benjamin Disraeli · 1826Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people. — Henry Clay · 1829American experiment1 quote
Our New Beginning is a continuation of that beginning created two centuries ago when, for the first time in history, government, the people said, was not our master, it is our servant; its only power that which we the people allow it to have. — Ronald Reagan · 1985American government1 quote
The perpetuity of our institutions depends upon ourselves...if we maintain the principles on which they were established they are destined to confer their benefits on countless generations yet to come. — Martin Van Buren · 1837Constitutional law1 quote
Immunities that are valid as against the federal government by force of the specific pledges of particular amendments have been found to be implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, and thus, through the Fourteenth Amendment, become valid as against the states. — Benjamin Cardozo · 1937Democracy1 quote
Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another? — Bertolt Brecht · 1956Government1 quote
Government is a trust, and the officers of the government are trustees; and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people. — Henry Clay · 1829Holding to one's principles1 quote
The perpetuity of our institutions depends upon ourselves...if we maintain the principles on which they were established they are destined to confer their benefits on countless generations yet to come. — Martin Van Buren · 1837Human rights1 quote
"A fair day's-wages for a fair day's work:" it is as just a demand as Governed men ever made of Governing. It is the everlasting right of man. — Thomas Carlyle · 1843Limited government1 quote
We are a nation that has a government—not the other way around. And this makes us special among the nations of the Earth. Our government has no power except that granted it by the people. It is time to check and reverse the growth of government, which shows signs of having grown beyond the consent of the governed. — Ronald Reagan · 1981Parliamentary democracy1 quote
Would it not be easier
In that case for the government
To dissolve the people
And elect another? — Bertolt Brecht · 1956Patriotism1 quote
What pity is it,
That we can die but once, to serve our country! — Joseph Addison · 1713Political leadership1 quote
I repeat... That all power is a trust - that we are accountable for its exercise - that, from the people, and for the people, all springs, and all must exist. — Benjamin Disraeli · 1826Political power1 quote
I repeat... That all power is a trust - that we are accountable for its exercise - that, from the people, and for the people, all springs, and all must exist. — Benjamin Disraeli · 1826Serving one's country1 quote
What pity is it,
That we can die but once, to serve our country! — Joseph Addison · 1713Workers' rights1 quote
"A fair day's-wages for a fair day's work:" it is as just a demand as Governed men ever made of Governing. It is the everlasting right of man. — Thomas Carlyle · 1843