Selected Calvin Coolidge Quotes
Calvin Coolidge- Born John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. He was a Republican from New England who became Massachusetts’ 48th governor. He rose to national prominence with his decisive action on the Boston Police Strike of 1919. He was elected as the 29th vice president the following year and then became president after the death of President Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected again in 1924, he was known for his small government conservative policy and termed as "Silent Cal" for his taciturn personality and dry sense of humor. He never ran for reelection in 1928 despite his popularity. His words were: "longer than any other man has had it – too long!"
His gubernatorial career was known for fiscal conservatism, strong support for women's suffrage, and vague opposition to Prohibition. His presidency was known for restoring public confidence in the White House after the many scandals of the Harding administration, the signing into law of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 which granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans, a period of rapid and expansive economic growth known as the "Roaring Twenties", made his office considerably popular. He was known for his hands-off governing approach and pro-business stances. Biographer Claude Fuess remarked this about him: "He embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions. That he did represent the genius of the average is the most convincing proof of his strength."
Scholars rank him in the lower half of U.S. presidents. He is nearly universally praise for his stalwart support of racial equality during a period of heightened racial tension in the United States. He is highly praised by advocates of smaller government and laissez-faire economics. Supporters of an active central government generally view him less favorably. His critics argue that he failed to use the country's economic boom to help struggling farmers and workers in other flailing industries. There is also much debate among historians as to the extent to which his economic policies contributed to the onset of the Great Depression.
Selected Calvin Coolidge Quotes:
“Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“It has been my observation in life that, if one will only exercise the patience to wait, his wants are likely to be filled.”
― Calvin Coolidge, Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“You don't have to explain something you haven't said.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“If you see ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“If you don't say anything, you won't be called on to repeat it.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“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?”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“No person was ever honored for what he recieved. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“I have noticed that nothing I have never said ever did me any harm.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
- Presidential message, December 25, 1927”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“It takes a great man to be a good listener.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Life, Intelligence/Wisdom
“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.”
― Calvin Coolidge, The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Life, Success
“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.”
― Calvin Coolidge, Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Life, Nature
“There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means.”
Calvin Coolidge, Wealth
“Wealth comes from industry and from the hard experience of human toil. To dissipate it in waste and extravagance is disloyalty to humanity.”
― Calvin Coolidge, The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Wealth, Goals
“Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.”
Calvin Coolidge, Wealth, Goals
“The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good.”
― Calvin Coolidge, The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Goals
“We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.”
Calvin Coolidge, Goals
“Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.”
Calvin Coolidge, Goals
“The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good. The country is better off tranquilly considering its blessings and merits, and earnestly striving to secure more of them, than it would be in nursing hostile bitterness about its deficiencies and faults.”
― Calvin Coolidge, Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Goals, Government
“It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”
Calvin Coolidge, Goals, Government
“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.”
― Calvin Coolidge, The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Goals, Government, Success
“It is a very old saying that you never can tell what you can do until you try. The more I see of life the more I am convinced of the wisdom of that observation.”
― Calvin Coolidge, Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Goals, Life
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Goals, Life
“Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.”
Calvin Coolidge, Goals, Life
“If we judge ourselves only by our aspirations and everyone else only their conduct we shall soon reach a very false conclusion.”
Calvin Coolidge, Goals, Life
“About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.”
Calvin Coolidge, Society
“The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.”
Calvin Coolidge, Society
“Civilization and profits go hand in hand.”
Calvin Coolidge, Society
“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.”
― Calvin Coolidge, The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Society
“Chapter 95
Fairfield, Connecticut – May 8, 2015
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Society, Anger and Fighting
“This country would not be a land of opportunity, America could not be America, if the people were shackled with government monopolies.”
Calvin Coolidge, Society, Government
“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.
Until we can reestablish a condition under which the earnings of the people can be kept by the people, we are bound to suffer a very severe and distinct curtailment of our liberty.”
Calvin Coolidge, Society, Government, Goals, Freedom
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Society, Goals, Criticism, Problems
“The words of the President have an enormous weight and ought not to be used indiscriminately. It would be exceedingly easy to set the country all by the ears and foment hatreds and jealousies, which, by destroying faith and confidence, would help nobody and harm everybody. The end would be the destruction of all progress.”
― Calvin Coolidge, Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Government
“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.
― Calvin Coolidge, To his Secret Service man, Edmund Starling”
Calvin Coolidge, Government
“The collection of taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny.”
Calvin Coolidge, Government
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Government
“It is our theory that the people own the government, not that the government should own the people.”
Calvin Coolidge, Government
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Government
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Government
“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people.”
Calvin Coolidge, Government, Goals
“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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Government, Success
“It is a great advantage to a President, and a major source of safety to the country, for him to know that he is not a great man. 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.”
― Calvin Coolidge, Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge, Government, Management
“Economy is idealism in its most practical form.”
Calvin Coolidge, Business
“The business of America is business.”
Calvin Coolidge, Business, Society
“...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.”
Calvin Coolidge, Business, Wealth, Goals, Life
“It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are forever proposing something which is old, and because it has recently come to their own attention, supposing it to be new.”