Harry S Truman Quotes
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There is no more fundamental axiom of American freedom than the familiar statement: In a free country we punish men for the crimes they commit but never for the opinions they have.
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My favorite animal is the mule. He has more horse sense than a horse. He knows when to stop eating - and he knows when to stop working.
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They said we were soft, that we would not fight, that we could not win. We are not a warlike nation. We do not go to war for gain or for territory; we go to war for principles, and we produce young men like these. I think I told every one of them that I would rather have that medal, the Congressional Medal of Honor, than to be President of the United States.
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A bureaucrat is a Democrat who holds some office that a Republican wants.
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But Quantrill and his men were no more bandits than the men on the other side. I've been to reunions of Quantrill's men two or three times. All they were trying to do was protect the property on the Missouri side of the line.
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There has been a lot of talk lately about the burdens of the Presidency. Decisions that the President has to make often affect the lives of tens of millions of people around the world, but that does not mean that they should take longer to make. Some men can make decisions and some cannot. Some men fret and delay under criticism. I used to have a saying that applies here, and I note that some people have picked it up, If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
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A person who is fundamentally honest doesn't need a code of ethics. The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount are all the ethical code anybody needs.
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Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time.
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We must face the fact that peace must be built on power, as well as upon good will and good deeds.
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This minimum wage legislation, passed by the 81st Congress at its first session, is an important addition to the laws we live by. It is a measure dictated by social justice. It adds to our economic strength. It is founded on the belief that full human dignity requires at least a minimum level of economic sufficiency and security.
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Mama and Papa are more to blame for delinquency than the kids; parents should stay home and raise their children and spend less time in taverns.
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The America to which these Swedish settlers came was a land that needed the hardy qualities they brought. It was not a land that was particularly softhearted towards newcomers, but everyone believed that each should have a fair chance regardless of his origin.
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He was a great president in his first term; in his second term, he wasn't the same Grover Cleveland he was to begin with. ...Cleveland reestablished the presidency by being not only a chief executive but a leader.
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I can deal with Stalin. He is honest, but smart as hell.
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No one in the world can take the place of your mother. Right or wrong, from her viewpoint you are always right. She may scold you for little things, but never for the big ones.
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There isn't any question about Washington's greatness. If his administration had been a failure, there would have been no United States. A lesser man couldn't have done it.... Washington was both a great administrator and a great leader, a truly great man in every way.
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Most of the time most people know the right thing to do ...its the doing of it that gives them trouble...
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If we do not want to die together in war, we must learn to live together in peace.
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Actions are the seed of fate deeds grow into destiny.
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The legislative job of the President is especially important to the people who have no special representatives to plead their cause before Congressand that includes the great majority. I sometimes express it by saying the President is the only lobbyist that one hundred and fifty million Americans have. The other twenty million are able to employ people to represent themand thats all right, its the exercise of the right of petitionbut someone has to look after the interests of the one hundred and fifty million that are left.
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If you can't stand the heat, then move to Minnesota. They have snow in May.
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Being a president is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or he is swallowed.
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There is no gratitude for things past. Gratitude is always for what you're going to do for people in the future.
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There's nothing better than cake but more cake.