Harry S. Truman Quotes

The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know.

Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.

I hope for some sort of peace — but I fear that machines are ahead of morals by some centuries and when morals catch up there'll be no reason for any of it.

I think one man is just as good as another so long as he's honest and decent and not a nigger or a Chinaman. Uncle Wills says that the Lord made a white man from dust, a nigger from mud, and then threw what was left and it came down a Chinaman. He does hate Chinese and Japs. So do I. It is race prejudice I guess. But I am strongly of the opinion that negroes ought to be in Arica, yellow men in Asia, and white men in Europe and America.

Mr. Luce, you've asked a fair question and I'll give you a fair answer. I've been in politics thirty-five years and everything that could be said about a human being has been said about me. But my wife has never been in politics. She has always conducted herself in a circumspect manner and no one has a right to make derogatory remarks about here. Now your wife has said many unkind and untrue things about Mrs. Truman. And as long as I am in residence here, she'll not be a guest in the White House.

No man can get rich in politics unless he's a crook. − Harry S Truman, quoted in Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S Truman by Merle Miller, 1973-1974 SBN 425-02664-7 LOC 73-87198, Berkeley Medallion Edition, October, 1974, Chapter 10. "The Only Defeat − and Then Victory", pg. 134.

Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.

მწამს, რომ ამერიკის პოლიტიკა მიმართული უნდა იყოს თავისუფალი ადამიანების დასახმარებლად, რომელნიც თავს იცავენ შეიარაღებული უმცირესობისა და გარეშე ძალების ზეწოლისგან... თუ ჩვენს ლიდერობას დავთმობთ ამ საქმეში, საფრთხეში ჩავაგდებთ მშვიდობას მსოფლიოში და თანაც საფრთხეში ჩავაგდებთ ჩვენი ქვეყნის კეთილდღეობასაც

Within the first few months I discovered that being President is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed.

But America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.

I doubt if there is any problem in the world today - social, political or economic - that would not find a happy solution if approached in the spirit of the sermon on the mount.

The principles and the purposes expressed in the Charter of the United Nations continue to represent our hope for the eventual establishment of the rule of law in international affairs. The Charter constitutes the basic expression of the code of international ethics to which this country is dedicated. We cannot, however, close our eyes to the harsh fact that through obstruction and even defiance on the part of one nation, this great dream has not yet become a full reality. It is necessary, therefore, that we take additional measures to supplement the work of the United Nations and to support its aims. There are times in world history when it is far wiser to act than to hesitate. There is some risk involved in action — there always is. But there is far more risk in failure to act. For if we act wisely now, we shall strengthen the powerful forces for freedom, justice, and peace which are represented by the United Nations and the free nations of the world.

When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth, then all Americans are in peril.

No government is perfect. One of the chief virtues of a democracy, however, is that its defects are always visible and under democratic processes can be pointed out and corrected.

How many times do you have to get hit over the head until you figure out who’s hitting you.