PRESIDENTIAL QUOTES
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Unions did in fact build the middle class. And here's what that did. That built the United States as we know it.—Joe Biden
Wall Street didn’t build this country. The middle class built this country. And UNIONS built the middle class.--President Joe Biden (2/8/23)
Every advance in this half-century--Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another--came with the support and leadership of American Labor.—Jimmy Carter
Today in America, unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions and depriving working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. I have no use for those -- regardless of their political party -- who hold some vain and foolish dream of spinning the clock back to days when organized labor was huddled, almost as a hapless mass. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice.—Dwight D. Eisenhower
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed; those who are cold and are not clothed.—Dwight D. Eisenhower
Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.--Dwight D. Eisenhower
One man with courage makes a majority.—Andrew Jackson
The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few (born) to ride them.—Thomas Jefferson
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government.—Thomas Jefferson
A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.—Thomas Jefferson
There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve alone.—Lyndon Baines Johnson
Wall Street didn’t build this country. The middle class built this country. And UNIONS built the middle class.--President Joe Biden (2/8/23)
Every advance in this half-century--Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another--came with the support and leadership of American Labor.—Jimmy Carter
Today in America, unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions and depriving working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. I have no use for those -- regardless of their political party -- who hold some vain and foolish dream of spinning the clock back to days when organized labor was huddled, almost as a hapless mass. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice.—Dwight D. Eisenhower
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed; those who are cold and are not clothed.—Dwight D. Eisenhower
Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.--Dwight D. Eisenhower
One man with courage makes a majority.—Andrew Jackson
The mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few (born) to ride them.—Thomas Jefferson
A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned -- this is the sum of good government.—Thomas Jefferson
A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.—Thomas Jefferson
There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve alone.—Lyndon Baines Johnson
...
President John F. Kennedy
The American Labor Movement has consistently demonstrated its devotion to the public interest. It is, and has been, good for all America.—John F. Kennedy
Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.—John F. Kennedy
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.—John F. Kennedy
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.—John F. Kennedy
Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.—John F. Kennedy
One man can make a difference, and every man should try.—John F. Kennedy
And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage... Second, were we truly men of judgment... Third, were we truly men of integrity... Finally, were we truly men of dedication?—John F. Kennedy, 1961
Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor.—John F. Kennedy
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.—John F. Kennedy
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.—John F. Kennedy
Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.—John F. Kennedy
One man can make a difference, and every man should try.—John F. Kennedy
And when at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each of us, recording whether in our brief span of service we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure, in whatever office we hold, will be measured by the answers to four questions: First, were we truly men of courage... Second, were we truly men of judgment... Third, were we truly men of integrity... Finally, were we truly men of dedication?—John F. Kennedy, 1961
...
President Abraham Lincoln
If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates
labor, he is a liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor,
he is a fool.—Abraham Lincoln
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.—Abraham Lincoln
All that harms labor is treason to America.—Abraham Lincoln
Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.—Abraham Lincoln
Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.—Abraham Lincoln
I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.—Abraham Lincoln
That we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.—Abraham Lincoln
There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.—James Madison
You know very well that whether you are on page one or page thirty depends on whether they fear you. It's as simple as that.—Richard Nixon
Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.—Abraham Lincoln
All that harms labor is treason to America.—Abraham Lincoln
Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.—Abraham Lincoln
Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves.—Abraham Lincoln
I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.—Abraham Lincoln
That we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.—Abraham Lincoln
There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.—James Madison
You know very well that whether you are on page one or page thirty depends on whether they fear you. It's as simple as that.—Richard Nixon
...
President Harry S Truman
Ignorance is not a virtue.—Barack Obama, Rutgers Commencement Speech, May 15, 2016
If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I'm in the White House, I will put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself and I will walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America. Because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.—Barack Obama (as candidate), November 3, 2007
It was working men and women who made the 20th century the American century. It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label.—President Barack Obama, speech at Laborfest, September 6, 2010
If I went to work in a factory, the first thing I'd do would be to join a Union.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level --I mean the wages of decent living.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
Goods produced under conditions which do not meet a rudimentary standard to decency should be regarded as contraband and not allowed to pollute the channels of international commerce.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
It is to the real advantage of every producer, every manufacturer and every merchant to cooperate in the improvement of working conditions, because the best customer of American industry is the well-paid worker.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men have died to win them.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.—Theodore Roosevelt
It is time that all Americans realized that the place of labor is side by side with the businessman and with the farmer, and not one-degree lower.—Harry S Truman
If you cannot convince them, confuse them.—Harry S Truman
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.—Harry S Truman
While we are fighting for freedom, we must see, among other things, that labor is free.—Woodrow Wilson
If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I'm in the White House, I will put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself and I will walk on that picket line with you as President of the United States of America. Because workers deserve to know that somebody is standing in their corner.—Barack Obama (as candidate), November 3, 2007
It was working men and women who made the 20th century the American century. It was the labor movement that helped secure so much of what we take for granted today. The 40-hour work week, the minimum wage, family leave, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, retirement plans. The cornerstones of the middle-class security all bear the union label.—President Barack Obama, speech at Laborfest, September 6, 2010
If I went to work in a factory, the first thing I'd do would be to join a Union.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level --I mean the wages of decent living.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
Goods produced under conditions which do not meet a rudimentary standard to decency should be regarded as contraband and not allowed to pollute the channels of international commerce.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
It is to the real advantage of every producer, every manufacturer and every merchant to cooperate in the improvement of working conditions, because the best customer of American industry is the well-paid worker.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy, forget in time that men have died to win them.—Franklin D. Roosevelt
This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.—Theodore Roosevelt
It is time that all Americans realized that the place of labor is side by side with the businessman and with the farmer, and not one-degree lower.—Harry S Truman
If you cannot convince them, confuse them.—Harry S Truman
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.—Harry S Truman
While we are fighting for freedom, we must see, among other things, that labor is free.—Woodrow Wilson