Calvin Coolidge Quotes

president of the United States from 1923 to 1929

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John Calvin Coolidge Jr. (4 July 1872 – 5 January 1933) was the 30th president of the United States (1923–29). A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state. His response to the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight and gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. Soon after, he was elected as the 29th vice president in 1920 and succeeded to the presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative.

From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Birth Name: John Calvin

Alternative Names: John Calvin Coolidge Jr. • John Calvin Coolidge • President Coolidge • J. C. Coolidge • C. Coolidge • Silent Cal • Silent Cal Coolidge

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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?

Patriotism is easy to understand in America; it means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.

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.

The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.

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.

The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good.

Wealth comes from industry and from the hard experience of human toil. To dissipate it in waste and extravagance is disloyalty to humanity.

This country would not be a land of opportunity, America could not be America, if the people were shackled with government monopolies.

I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people.

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.

If you don't say anything, you won't be called on to repeat it.

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.

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.

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.

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.