Wikiquote enwikiquote https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Main_Page MediaWiki 1.43.0-wmf.5 first-letter Media Special Talk User User talk Wikiquote Wikiquote talk File File talk MediaWiki MediaWiki talk Template Template talk Help Help talk Category Category talk Draft Draft talk TimedText TimedText talk Module Module talk 0 13 3515406 3515055 2024-05-14T19:43:36Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki 14giyjiu19nzj9vj6v94cnplbo7cf6e 3515408 3515406 2024-05-14T19:43:51Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by A23423413 wikitext text/x-wiki 2wjt4i7blpfc4hi074ybocgm4e505w3 3515418 3515408 2024-05-14T19:45:56Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki ktp65ocxoyetxfczyrulcvqsg1nod5v 3515420 3515418 2024-05-14T19:46:18Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Philip Cross wikitext text/x-wiki 2wjt4i7blpfc4hi074ybocgm4e505w3 3515421 3515420 2024-05-14T19:46:20Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki 7f1jj0p3xar6ibugrgmo0goehw6d3sy 3515422 3515421 2024-05-14T19:46:40Z Leonidlednev 3105635 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Philip Cross wikitext text/x-wiki 2wjt4i7blpfc4hi074ybocgm4e505w3 4 93 3515473 3514514 2024-05-14T21:04:44Z আফতাবুজ্জামান 800131 /* Copyvio? */ new section wikitext text/x-wiki bitgkyqbgwhpl3sl3twyfye3u80u46a 3515474 3515473 2024-05-14T21:09:33Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Copyvio? */ wikitext text/x-wiki oc7xpxxpt4rvl3hebbjmgp9ixuy8ak1 3515477 3515474 2024-05-14T21:22:49Z MediaWiki message delivery 1046665 /* Sign up for the language community meeting on May 31st, 16:00 UTC */ new section wikitext text/x-wiki gsg307j2xhlgp6uupregxqmz95mf2xg 3515535 3515477 2024-05-15T00:46:51Z আফতাবুজ্জামান 800131 /* Copyvio? */ Reply wikitext text/x-wiki gc4e4mq2it1qb09rltfe2sz8pr7dhsn 3515622 3515535 2024-05-15T06:50:47Z MABot 3002050 Bot: Archiving 1 thread (older than 35 days) to [[Wikiquote:Village pump archive 63]] wikitext text/x-wiki 5oif4yo34cfbk8ou1mz24dz600wna1w 3515671 3515622 2024-05-15T09:58:24Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Copyvio? */ wikitext text/x-wiki 5tv5smbt9pqnt61q4ibs8z5y79an4zs 3515685 3515671 2024-05-15T11:05:33Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Copyvio? */ wikitext text/x-wiki m31qexi3wmehtv5hifxpdfq2rrnnimw 0 107 3515352 3493258 2024-05-14T17:45:18Z Philip Cross 7192 + [[Category:Antisemites]], clearly valid despite his ethnicity wikitext text/x-wiki 5kcit5cnsgpbemc56jp73sb3mgf99pn 3515353 3515352 2024-05-14T17:49:10Z Philip Cross 7192 /* Quotes */ ce wikitext text/x-wiki 3txfb7nh2sykbxvhqxfhrd88yi4kwjq 3515354 3515353 2024-05-14T17:49:47Z Philip Cross 7192 /* Quotes */ ce wikitext text/x-wiki 3yp4pjrrgmm0ewpfgnj378xkj73i2s6 3515356 3515354 2024-05-14T17:52:07Z Philip Cross 7192 older form used: [[Category:Anti-Semites]] wikitext text/x-wiki cb0ybgnmblp5de3tl1fhxtbwwtl04pm 0 141 3515276 3515253 2024-05-14T12:55:36Z Philip Cross 7192 /* M–Z */ only loosely about Hitler & in James Meredith's own article wikitext text/x-wiki nl84ujzun4oohv99wzvtc2crqnag89d 0 166 3515384 3514855 2024-05-14T19:25:20Z Biohistorian15 3175875 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki 8fin4h0au25fpn0q136sznxcs792cat 0 167 3515258 3506821 2024-05-14T12:06:20Z Philip Cross 7192 /* 1970s */ better source wikitext text/x-wiki pe2s68vr47t3cx1pex5yxafy45ic7xf 0 297 3515649 3514656 2024-05-15T08:02:56Z Zgystardst 29045 /* I. Asimov: A Memoir (1994) */ updated page number and added chapter for one quote. wikitext text/x-wiki 8hx78nw1ztpgbanv1koqybsd9h8ikbd 0 401 3515392 3485999 2024-05-14T19:37:46Z 67.43.23.34 /* Pre-1960 */added content wikitext text/x-wiki abr2jp2ahzall1gi3smenm4t4mqoyas 3515393 3515392 2024-05-14T19:38:42Z 67.43.23.34 /* Pre-1960 */added content wikitext text/x-wiki 1hd18izsq1rb70ngn5cz1lruhovhoap 3515395 3515393 2024-05-14T19:40:16Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by P3Y229 wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:John F. Kennedy, White House color photo portrait.jpg|thumb|The [[w:New Frontier|New Frontier]] of which I [[speak]] is not a set of [[promises]] — it is a set of [[challenges]]. It sums up not what I intend to offer the [[American]] [[people]], but what I intend to ask of them.]] '''[[w:John F. Kennedy|John Fitzgerald Kennedy]]''' ([[29 May]] [[1917]] – [[22 November]] [[1963]]), often referred to by his initials '''JFK''' and '''Jack''', was the 35th [[w:President|president]] of the [[w:Pakistan|United States]] (1961–1963), a [[United States Senate|United States senator]] from [[w:Massachusetts|Massachusetts]] (1953–1960), and a [[United States House of Representatives|United States representative]] (1947–1953). Kennedy served at the height of the [[Cold War]], and the majority of his work as president concerned relations with the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Cuba]]. He is the older brother of [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and [[Ted Kennedy]], and the first husband of [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]]. He was [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassinated in Dallas]] on November&nbsp;22, 1963. == Quotes == [[File:Minute_Man_Statue_Lexington_Massachusetts_cropped.jpg|thumb|[[War]] will exist until that distant day when the [[w:Conscientious objector|conscientious objector]] enjoys the same [[reputation]] and prestige that the warrior does today.]] [[File:JFK PT-109 Coconut.jpg|thumb|NATIVE [[Knowledge|KNOWS]] POS'IT…HE CAN PILOT…]] [[File:Lt. John F. Kennedy with other crewmen on board USS PT-109.jpg|thumb|11 [[Life|ALIVE]] NEED SMALL BOAT]] [[File:Sprit of '76.2.jpeg|thumb|Those who make [[peaceful]] [[revolution]] [[impossible]] will make [[violent]] revolution inevitable.]] [[File:Kennedy at the Brandenburg Gate.jpg|thumb|The [[great]] [[revolution]] in the [[history]] of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be [[free]].]] [[File:President Kennedy signs Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 07 October 1963.jpg|thumb|I can assure you that every degree of [[mind]] and [[spirit]] that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the [[United States]] and to the cause of [[freedom]] around the [[world]].]] [[File:John_F._Kennedy_-_NARA_-_518134.jpg|thumb|I [[believe]] in an [[America]] that is on the march — an America respected by all [[nations]], [[friends]] and [[foes]] alike — an America that is moving, doing, working, trying — a [[strong]] America in a [[world]] of [[peace]]. That peace must be based on world [[law]] and world [[order]], on the mutual respect of all nations for the [[rights]] and [[powers]] of others and on a world [[economy]] in which no nation lacks the [[ability]] to provide a decent standard of living for all of its people.]] [[File:Kennedy and Shepard in Washington D.C. - GPN-2000-001659.jpg|thumb|This flight was made out in the open with all the possibilities of [[failure]], which would have been damaging to our country's prestige. Because great risks were taken in that regard, it seems to me that we have some right to claim that this open [[society]] of ours which risked much, gained much.]] [[File:JFK and PC 96 Officers.jpg|thumb|We sometimes chafe at the burden of our [[obligations]], the [[complexity]] of our [[decisions]], the [[agony]] of our [[choices]]. But there is no [[comfort]] or [[security]] for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility.]] [[File:Frankfurt Paulskirche Relief Kennedy 2.jpg|thumb|[[Change]] is the [[law]] of [[life]]. And those who look only to the [[past]] or the [[present]] are certain to miss the [[future]].]] [[File:Artgate Fondazione Cariplo - Canova Antonio, Socrate congeda la propria famiglia.jpg|thumb|Although a country may stand still, [[history]] never stands still. Thus, if we do not soon begin to move forward again, we will inevitably be left behind. … But [[effort]] and [[courage]] are not enough without [[purpose]] and direction. For, as [[Socrates]] told us, "If a man does not know to what port he is sailing, no [[wind]] is favorable."]] [[File:JFK Khrushchev Handshake 1961.jpg|thumb|Across the gulfs and barriers that now divide us, we must remember that there are no permanent [[enemies]]. Hostility today is a [[fact]], but it is not a ruling [[law]]. The supreme [[reality]] of our [[time]] is our indivisibility as [[children]] of [[God]] and our common vulnerability on this planet.]] [[File:JFK and family in Hyannis Port, 04 August 1962.jpg|thumb|Our [[progress]] as a [[nation]] can be no swifter than our progress in [[education]]. … The [[human]] [[mind]] is our fundamental resource.]] [[File:Gedenktafel John-F.-Kennedy-Platz (Schöb) John F Kennedy.JPG|thumb|The great [[enemy]] of the [[truth]] is very often not the [[lie]] — deliberate, contrived and [[dishonest]] — but the [[myth]] — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.]] [[File:Printing4 Walk of Ideas Berlin.JPG|thumb|A man may die, [[nations]] may rise and fall, but an [[idea]] [[lives]] on. Ideas have endurance without [[death]].]] [[File:Kennedy and Khrushchev in Vienna 1961.png|thumb|[[Nikita Khrushchev|He]] reminds me of the [[tiger]] hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger's skin long before he his caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas.]] [[File:Leeds Town Hall, General Election results.jpg|thumb|In a [[democracy]], every citizen, regardless of his interest in [[politics]], 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of [[responsibility]]; and, in the final analysis, the kind of [[government]] we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the [[people]], are the boss, and we will get the kind of political [[leadership]], be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.]] [[File:Hardtack Umbrella nuke.jpg|thumb|In a [[world]] of [[danger]] and trial, [[peace]] is our deepest aspiration … But it is an unfortunate [[fact]] that we can secure peace only by preparing for [[war]].]] [[File:Kennedy greeting Peace Corps volunteers, 1961.jpg|thumb|The [[courage]] of [[life]] is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final [[moment]]; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he [[must]] — in spite of personal [[consequences]], in spite of obstacles and [[dangers]], and pressures — and that is the basis of all human [[morality]].]] [[File:Congressman John F. Kennedy 1947.JPG|thumb| Things don't just happen, they are made to happen.]] [[File:Kennedy funeral procession leaves White House, 25 November 1963.jpg|thumb|The [[world]] was not meant to be a [[prison]] in which man awaits his execution.]] === Pre-1960 === * '''[[War]] will exist until that distant day when the [[w:Conscientious objector|conscientious objector]] enjoys the same [[reputation]] and prestige that the warrior does today.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Undated Letter to a Navy friend]; [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/magazine/26wwln-safire-t.html also mentioned by William Safire in his "On Language" article "Warrior" in the ''New York Times'' rubric Magazines (26 August 2007)]; [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx also in ''A Thousand Days : John F. Kennedy in the White House'' (1965), by Arthur Schlesinger, p. 88] * '''NAURO NATIVE KNOWS POSIT &nbsp; HE CAN PILOT &nbsp; 11 ALIVE &nbsp; NEED SMALL BOAT &nbsp; KENNEDY''' ** Message carved into a coconut after the wreck of [[w:Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109|PT-109]] (6 August 1943). This has often been misquoted as "11 ALIVE NATIVE KNOWS POSIT & REEF NAURU ISLAND KENNEDY" *** [http://web.archive.org/web/20021217024428/http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2002/jul/ Explorer Finds Kennedy's WWII Boat]<!-- DEAD LINK: [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-2.htm John F. Kennedy's Naval Service] --> * '''Where in the hell have you guys been? I've been at this bus stop for a whole week now." **Kennedy upon being rescued. * After visiting these places, you can easily understand how that within a few years [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] will '''emerge from the hatred that surrounds him now as one of the most significant''' figures who ever lived. He had boundless [[ambition]] for his [[country]] which rendered him a menace to the [[peace]] of the [[world]], but he had a mystery about him in the way that he lived and in the manner of his death that will live and grow after him. He had in him the stuff of which legends are made. ** After visiting such Nazi strongholds as were found in [[w:Berchtesgaden|Berchtesgaden]] and [[w:Kehlsteinhaus|Kehlsteinhaus]]; Personal diary (1 August 1945); published in ''Prelude to Leadership'' (1995) * Regarding the Republican Party: '''They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie, repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth.''' ** [https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/east-boston-ma-19470518 Remarks of John F Kennedy, Fitton Council, Knights of Columbus, East Boston, Massachusetts, May 18, 1947]; JFK Speeches, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * '''If more politicians knew [[poetry]], and more poets knew [[politics]], I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (14 June 1956)]; Box 895, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * '''Let us not despair but act. Let us not seek the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] answer or the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past — let us accept our own responsibility for the future.''' ** Remarks at [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Loyola College Alumni Banquet, Baltimore, Maryland (18 February 1958)]; Box 899, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * I have just received the following wire from my generous daddy: "Dear Jack – Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary – I’ll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide." ** Remarks at [https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/washington-dc-19580315 "The Gridiron Club, Washington, D.C. (March 15, 1958)]; Box 899, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers; Box 29, David F. Powers Personal Papers, John F. Kennedy Speeches File * '''In the [[Chinese language]], the word "crisis" is composed of two characters, one representing [[danger]] and the other, [[opportunity]].''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at the United Negro College Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana (12 April 1959)]; Box 902, Senate Speech Files, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library; also in Remarks at Valley Forge Country Club, Pennsylvania (29 October 1960), Box 914, Senate Speech Files, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * Mr. President, Senate Joint Resolution 31, concerning which there has been little, if any, public interest or knowledge, constitutes one of the most far-reaching — and I believe mistaken — schemes ever proposed to alter the American constitutional system. No one knows with any certainty what will happen if our [[w:elections in the United States|electoral system]] is totally revamped as proposed by Senate Joint Resolution 31 and the various amendments which will be offered to it. Today, we have a clearly [[w:United States Electoral College|Federal system of electing our President]], under which the States act as units. Today, we have the [[two-party system]], under which third parties and splinter parties are effectively discouraged from playing more than a negligible role. Today, we have a system which in all but one instance throughout our history has given us presidents elected by a plurality of the popular vote. I refer to one instance, because the frequently mentioned situation in 1824, involving [[Andrew Jackson]] and [[John Quincy Adams]], in which six States did not have popular votes, can be ignored; and the other frequently mentioned case, that of the [[w:1876 United States presidential election|Hayes-Tilden contest]], involved outright corruption, and the decision of the electoral commission was responsible for the election of [[Rutherford B. Hayes|Hayes]]; so in the 175 years of our constitutional system, there is really only one valid example in which the present system produced the election of a candidate who did not receive the largest number of votes. And today we have an electoral vote system which gives both large States and small States certain advantages and disadvantages that offset each other. **Debate about the Lodge-Gossett amendment, which would abolish the Electoral College; [https://www.nytimes.com/1955/06/22/archives/to-change-election-system-senator-explains-the-resolution-to.html To Change Election System; Senator Explains the Resolution to Abolish Electoral College] Congressional Record, March 20th 1955 [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-9-1.pdf Congressional Record], page 5156 ==== ''[[w:Profiles_in_Courage|Profiles in Courage]]'' (1956) ==== [[File:Profiles in Courage Front Cover (1956 first edition).jpg|thumb|right|The courage of [[life]] is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final [[moment]]; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he [[must]] — in spite of [[personal]] [[consequences]], in spite of obstacles and [[dangers]], and pressures — and that is the basis of [[all]] [[human]] [[morality]].]] [[File:Frankfurt Paulskirche Relief Kennedy 2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[stories]] of past courage can define that ingredient — they can [[teach]], they can offer [[hope]], they can provide [[inspiration]]. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own [[soul]].]] * The voters selected us, in short, because they had [[confidence]] in our [[judgement]] and our [[ability]] to exercise that judgement from a position where we could determine what were their own best interest, as a part of the nation's interest. ** p. 15 * Only the very [[courageous]] will be able to keep alive the [[spirit]] of [[individualism]] and [[dissent]] which gave birth to this nation, nourished it as an infant, and carried it through its severest tests upon the attainment of its maturity. ** [http://books.google.com/books?id=JVEHpHb-VKQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Pro%EF%AC%81les+in+Courage&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aZntUeC6CpOMyAG2_ICgAw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=individualism%20&f=false ''Profiles in Courage'' (1956), p. 17] * '''The true [[democracy]], living and growing and inspiring, puts its [[faith]] in the [[people]] — faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but will also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgment — faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to [[principle]] leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward [[courage]], respect [[honor]], and ultimately recognize right.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx 1964 Memorial Edition, p. 264] * '''For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx 1964 Memorial Edition, p. 265] * For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men — such as the subjects of this book — have lived. '''The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality. In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience — the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men — each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient — they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx 1964 Memorial Edition, p. 266] === 1960 === * '''[[Richard Nixon|Dick Nixon]] is the victim of the worst press that ever hit a politician in this country.''' What they did to him in the [[w:Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan Douglas]] race was disgusting. ** As quoted in ''Kennedy and Nixon'' (1996) by Christopher Matthews, p.123 * '''We celebrate the past to awaken the future.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at the 25th Anniversary of the Signing of the Social Security Act," Hyde Park, New York (14 August 1960)]; Box 910, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] and [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]] and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] had the same [[experience]], they all made the effort to get along with the [[Russians]]. But every time, finally it failed. And the reason it failed was because '''the [[Communists]] are determined to destroy us, and regardless of what hand of friendship we may hold out or what arguments we may put up, the only thing that will make that decisive difference is the strength of the United States.''' **[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=74188 Speech at Democratic Rally, George Washington High School Stadium, Alexandria, Virginia (24 August 1960)] * '''Now let me make it clear that I believe there can only be one defense policy for the United States and that is summed up in the word 'first.' I do not mean 'first, but'. I do not mean 'first, when'. I do not mean 'first, if'. I mean 'first — period'.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Speech at VFW Convention, Detroit, Michigan," (26 August 1960); Box 910, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library] * '''In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration''', and when peace comes we will gladly convert not our swords into plowshares, but our bombs into peaceful reactors, and our planes into space vessels. "Pursue peace," the Bible tells us, and we shall pursue it with every effort and every energy that we possess. But '''it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25654 Speech at Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington (6 September 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''That requires only one kind of defense policy, a policy summed up in a single word "first." I do not mean "first, if," I do not mean "first, but," I do not mean "first, when," but I mean "First, period."''' ** Speech at Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington (6 September 1960) * '''My call is not to those who believe they belong to the past. My call is to those who believe in the future.''' ** Speech at Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington (6 September 1960) * We are a great and strong country — perhaps the greatest and strongest in the history of the world. But greatness and strength are not our natural right. They are not gifts which are automatically ours forever. It took toil and courage and determination to build this country — and it will take those same qualities if we are to maintain it. For, '''although a country may stand still, history never stands still. Thus, if we do not soon begin to move forward again, we will inevitably be left behind.''' And I know that Americans today are tired of standing still — and that we do not intend to be left behind. But '''effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.''' For, as [[Socrates]] told us, "If a man does not know to what port he is sailing, no wind is favorable." ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=74076 Speech at the Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina" (17 September 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts.''' The age of [[Pericles]] was also the age of [[w:Phidias|Phidias]]. The age of [[w:Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo de Medici]] was also the age of [[Leonardo da Vinci]]. The age of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]] was also the age of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]. And the New Frontier for which I campaign in public life, can also be a New Frontier for American art. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Response to letter sent by Miss Theodate Johnson, Publisher of Musical America to the two presidential candidates requesting their views on music in relation to the Federal Government and domestic world affairs (13 September 1960); published in ''Musical America'' (October 1960), p. 11; later inscribed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. * If by a "[[Liberalism|Liberal]]" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." ** Acceptance of the New York Liberal Party nomination (14 September 1960) · [https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Liberal-Party-Nomination-NYC_19600914.aspx Address of John F. Kennedy upon Accepting the Liberal Party Nomination for President] * Their platform, made up of left-over Democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. '''Their pledge is a pledge to the status quo — and today there can be no status quo.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Address Accepting the Democratic Party Nomination for the Presidency of the United States — Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles (15 July 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public [[libraries]]. These libraries should be open to all — except the censor. '''We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.''' ** ''Saturday Review'' (29 October 1960), p. 44 * There are indications because of new inventions, that 10, 15, or 20 nations will have a nuclear capacity, including [[China|Red China]], by the end of the Presidential office in 1964. This is extremely serious. . . I think the fate not only of our own [[civilization]], but I think the fate of world and the future of the [[Human|human race,]] is involved in preventing a [[nuclear war]]. ** [[s:1960 U.S. Presidential Debate - October 13|Third Nixon-Kennedy Presidential Debate (13 October 1960)]] * We have all seen these circus elephants complete with tusks, ivory in their head and thick skins, who move around the circus ring and grab the tail of the elephant ahead of them." ** Comments on [[w:Republican Party (United States)|members of the Republican party]], in [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California (2 November 1960)]; Box 914, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * '''I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Acceptance-Speech-by-John-F-Kennedy-Hyannis-Armory-Hyannis-Massachusetts-November-9-1960.aspx Acceptance speech (9 November 1960)] ==== The New Frontier ==== :<small>[[s:John F. Kennedy's Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech|John F. Kennedy's Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech]] to the [[w:1960 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] at the [[w:Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum|Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] (15 July 1960) · [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx The term "New Frontier" was first used in this speech.]</small> [[File:ARC194238-JFK-Robert-Edward.jpg|thumb|The [[world]] is [[changing]]. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. ... It is a time, in short, for a new generation of [[leadership]].]] [[File:1942 JFK uniform portrait.jpg|thumb|We can have [[faith]] in the [[future]] only if we have faith in ourselves. ]] [[File:John F Kennedy.jpg|thumb|Are we up to the task — are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future — or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present? That is the question of the New Frontier. ]] * But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. '''The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high — to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.''' As [[Winston Churchill]] said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future. '''Today our concern must be with that future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. [...] It is a time, in short, for a new generation of leadership — new men to cope with new problems and new opportunities.''' * Today some would say that those struggles are all over — that all the horizons have been explored — that all the battles have been won — that there is no longer an American frontier. But I trust that no one in this vast assemblage will agree with those sentiments. For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won — and '''we stand today on the edge of a [[w:New Frontier|New Frontier]] — the frontier of the 1960's — a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils — a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.''' * [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s New Freedom promised our nation a new political and economic framework. [[Franklin Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] promised security and succor to those in need. But '''the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride, not to their pocketbook — it holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security.''' * But I tell you the '''New Frontier''' is here, whether we seek it or not. '''Beyond that frontier are the uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.''' It would be easier to shrink back from that frontier, to look to the safe mediocrity of the past, to be lulled by good intentions and high rhetoric — and those who prefer that course should not cast their votes for me, regardless of party. But I believe '''the times demand new invention, innovation, imagination, decision. I am asking each of you to be pioneers on that New Frontier.''' My call is to the young in heart, regardless of age — to all who respond to the Scriptural call: [[s: Bible (King James)/Joshua#Chapter_1|"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed."]] For courage — not complacency — is our need today — leadership — not salesmanship. And '''the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously.''' * There may be those who wish to hear more — more promises to this group or that — more harsh rhetoric about the men in the Kremlin — more assurances of a golden future, where taxes are always low and subsidies ever high. But my promises are in the platform you have adopted — our ends will not be won by rhetoric and '''we can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves.''' * For the harsh facts of the matter are that we stand on this frontier at a turning-point in history. [[Abraham Lincoln#The_Gettysburg_Address_.281863.29|We must prove all over again whether this nation — or any nation so conceived — can long endure]] — whether our society — with its [[freedom of choice]], its breadth of opportunity, its range of alternatives — can compete with the single-minded advance of the [[Communist system]]. </br> Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure? That is the real question. Have we the nerve and the will? Can we carry through in an age where we will witness not only new breakthroughs in weapons of destruction — but also a race for mastery of the sky and the rain, the ocean and the tides, the far side of space and the inside of men's minds? </br> '''Are we up to the task — are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future — or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present? </br> That is the question of the New Frontier.''' That is the choice our nation must make — a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort — between national greatness and national decline — between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of "[[Normality|normalcy]]" — between determined dedication and creeping mediocrity. '''All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try.''' * It has been a long road from that first snowy day in [[New Hampshire]] to this crowded convention city. Now begins another long journey, taking me into your cities and homes all over America. Give me your help, your hand, your voice, your vote. Recall with me the words of [[Isaiah]]: [[s:Bible (King James)/Isaiah#Chapter_40|"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary."]] As we face the coming challenge, we too, shall wait upon the Lord, and ask that he renew our strength. Then shall we be equal to the test. Then we shall not be weary. And then we shall prevail. ==== Speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association ==== :<small>Speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, a group of Protestant ministers, on the issue of his religion (12 September 1960); at the time, many Protestants questioned whether Kennedy's Roman Catholic faith would allow him to make important national decisions as president independent of the church. He addressed those concerns before a skeptical audience of Protestant clergy. · [[s:Address of Senator John F. Kennedy to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association|Full text online available at Wikisource]] and [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16920600 NPR].</small> [[File:Iakovos kennedy.jpg|thumb|War and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers.]] [[File:2005 Half Dollar Obv Unc P.png|thumb|I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.]] [[File:Kennedy Giving Historic Speech to Congress - GPN-2000-001658.jpg|thumb|I want a Chief Executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none — who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him — and whose fulfillment of his Presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation.]] * While the so-called religious issue is necessarily and properly the chief topic here tonight, I want to emphasize from the outset that we have far more critical issues to face in the 1960 election; the spread of Communist influence, until it now festers 90 miles off the coast of [[Florida]] — the humiliating treatment of our [[President of the United States|President]] and [[w:Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] by those who no longer respect our power — the [[Hunger in the United States|hungry]] [[children]] I saw in [[West Virginia]], the old people who cannot pay their doctor bills, the families forced to give up their farms — an America with too many slums, with too few schools, and too late to the [[moon]] and [[Space|outer space]]. These are the real issues which should decide this campaign. And they are not religious issues — for '''war and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers.''' * '''I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute''' — where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishoners for whom to vote — where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference — and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him. * '''I believe in an America that is officially neither [[Catholic]], [[Protestantism|Protestant]] nor [[Jewish]] — where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from [[Pope John XXIII|the Pope]], the [[w:National Council of Churches|National Council of Churches]] or any other ecclesiastical source — where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials — and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.''' For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew — or a [[Quaker]] — or a [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian]] — or a [[w:Baptists|Baptist]]. It was [[Virginia]]'s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]]'s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim- -but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril. * Finally, '''I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end — where all men and all churches are treated as equal — where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice''' — where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind — and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood. * That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of Presidency in which I believe — a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. '''I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.''' * I would not look with favor upon a President working to subvert the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]'s guarantees of [[Freedom of religion|religious liberty]]. Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so — and neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] by requiring a religious test — even by indirection — for it. If they disagree with that safeguard they should be out openly working to repeal it. * '''I want a Chief Executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none — who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him — and whose fulfillment of his Presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation.''' * But let me say, with respect to other countries, that '''I am wholly opposed to the state being used by any religious group, Catholic or Protestant, to compel, prohibit, or persecute the free exercise of any other religion.''' And I hope that you and I condemn with equal fervor those nations which deny their Presidency to Protestants and those which deny it to Catholics. * But let me stress again that these are my views — for contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters — and the church does not speak for me. Whatever issue may come before me as President — on [[birth control]], [[divorce]], [[censorship]], gambling or any other subject — I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise. But '''if the time should ever come — and I do not concede any conflict to be even remotely possible — when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same.''' * If I should lose on the real issues, I shall return to my seat in the Senate, satisfied that I had tried my best and was fairly judged. But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being President on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser, in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people. ==== Address at Convention Hall, Philadelphia ==== :<small>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=74316 Speech at Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (31 October 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --></small> * '''I believe in an America where the [[free enterprise]] system flourishes for all other systems to see and admire — where no businessman lacks either competition or credit — and where no [[monopoly]], no racketeer, no government [[bureaucracy]] can put him out of business that he built up with his own initiative.''' * '''I believe in an America where the rights that I have described '''are enjoyed by all, regardless of their race or their creed or their national origin — where every citizen is free to think and speak as he pleases and write and worship as he pleases — and where every citizen is free to vote as he pleases, without instructions from anyone, his employer, the union leader or his clergyman.''' * Finally, '''I believe in an America with a government of men devoted solely to the public interests — men of ability and dedication, free from conflict or corruption or other commitment — '''a responsible government that is efficient and economical, with a balanced budget over the years of the cycle, reducing its debt in prosperous times — '''a government willing to entrust the people with the facts that they have — not a businessman's government, with business in the saddle,''' as the late Secretary McKay described this administration of which he was a member — '''not a labor government, not a farmer's government, not a government of one section of the country or another, but a government of, for and by the people.''' * In short, '''I believe in an America that is on the march — an America respected by all nations, friends and foes alike — an America that is moving, doing, working, trying — a strong America in a world of peace. That peace must be based on world law and world order, on the mutual respect of all nations for the rights and powers of others and on a [[world economy]] in which no nation lacks the ability to provide a decent standard of living for all of its people.''' But we cannot have such a world, and we cannot have such a peace, unless the United States has the vitality and the inspiration and the strength. If we continue to stand still, if we continue to lie at anchor, if we continue to sit on dead center, if we content ourselves with the easy life and the rosy assurances, then the gates will soon be open to a lean and hungry enemy. ==== Speech at East Los Angeles College Stadium, Los Angeles, California ==== :<small>John F. Kennedy, at East Los Angeles College Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (November 1, 1960)</small> * Our prestige abroad, what other peoples think of us, is not of importance only to those Americans who work or travel abroad. The sign "Yankee go home" does not apply only to our diplomats, foreign-aid specialists, and military personnel who are stationed overseas. * The great struggle in the world today is not one of popularity but one of power, and '''our power depends in considerable measure upon our ability to influence other nations, upon their willingness to associate themselves with our efforts, upon the strength of our stature and leadership.''' ... this deterioration in our prestige abroad threatens our bases, our alliances, our security and the peace itself and it is time we were respected once again throughout the would as the good neighbor. * '''We live under majority rule and if that majority is not well educated in its responsibilities, the whole Nation suffers.''' ==== Sport at the New Frontier: The Soft American ==== [[File:Seal of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.svg|thumb|Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.]] [[File:Liberty - Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Cleveland) - DSC07985.JPG|thumb|The stamina and strength which the defense of liberty requires are not the product of a few weeks' basic training or a month's conditioning. These only come from bodies which have been conditioned by a lifetime of participation in sports and interest in physical activity.]] :<small>John F. Kennedy, [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1134750/1/index.htm "Sport at the New Frontier: The Soft American"] in [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/7698/index.htm ''Sports Illustrated'' Vol. 13, Issue 26 (26 December 1960)], [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/edb/reader.html?magID=SI&issueDate=19601226&mode=reader_vault p. 14-17]</small> * This knowledge, '''the knowledge that the physical well-being of the citizen is an important foundation for the vigor and vitality of all the activities of the nation, is as old as Western civilization itself. * But the harsh fact of the matter is that there is also an increasingly large number of young Americans who are neglecting their bodies — whose physical fitness is not what it should be — who are getting soft. And such '''softness on the part of individual citizens can help to strip and destroy the vitality of a nation.''' For '''the physical vigor of our citizens is one of America's most precious resources. If we waste and neglect this resource, if we allow it to dwindle and grow soft then we will destroy much of our ability to meet the great and vital challenges which confront our people. We will be unable to realize our full potential as a nation.''' * Throughout our history we have been challenged to armed conflict by nations which sought to destroy our independence or threatened our freedom. The young men of America have risen to those occasions, giving themselves freely to the rigors and hardships of warfare. But '''the stamina and strength which the defense of liberty requires are not the product of a few weeks' basic training or a month's conditioning. These only come from bodies which have been conditioned by a lifetime of participation in sports and interest in physical activity.''' Our struggles against aggressors throughout our history have been won on the playgrounds and corner lots and fields of America. Thus, in a very real and immediate sense, our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security. * But '''physical fitness is as vital to the activities of peace as to those of war, especially when our success in those activities may well determine the future of freedom in the years to come.''' We face in the Soviet Union a powerful and implacable adversary determined to show the world that only the Communist system possesses the vigor and determination necessary to satisfy awakening aspirations for progress and the elimination of poverty and want. To meet the challenge of this enemy will require determination and will and effort on the part of all Americans. '''Only if our citizens are physically fit will they be fully capable of such an effort.''' * For '''physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.''' The relationship between the soundness of the body and the activities of the mind is subtle and complex. Much is not yet understood. But we do know what the Greeks knew: that '''intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong'''; that '''hardy spirits and tough minds usually inhabit sound bodies.''' * In this sense, '''physical fitness is the basis of all the activities of our society. And if our bodies grow soft and inactive, if we fail to encourage physical development and prowess, we will undermine our capacity for thought, for work and for the use of those skills vital to an expanding and complex America. Thus the physical fitness of our citizens is a vital prerequisite to America's realization of its full potential as a nation, and to the opportunity of each individual citizen to make full and fruitful use of his capacities.''' * It is ironic that at a time when the magnitude of our dangers makes the physical fitness of our citizens a matter of increasing importance, it takes greater effort and determination than ever before to build the strength of our bodies. The age of leisure and abundance can destroy vigor and muscle tone as effortlessly as it can gain time. '''Today human activity, the labor of the human body, is rapidly being engineered out of working life.''' === 1961 === [[File:Minute_Man_Statue_Lexington_Massachusetts_cropped.jpg|thumb|Today we need a nation of [[w:Minutemen|minute men]]; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.]] [[File:President John F. Kennedy Meets with Ambassador of Canada, Arnold (A.D.P.) Heeney (01).jpg|thumb|Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.]] * '''Today we need a nation of [[w:Minutemen|minute men]]; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.''' **[http://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/john-f-kennedy-quotations/commemorative-message-on-roosevelt-day “Message to Those Participating in Roosevelt Day Commemoration (29 January 1961)]." ''Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers'', "New Minute Men Urged by Kennedy," ''The New York Times''(30 January 1961) pg. 13 * '''I have pledged myself and my colleagues in the cabinet to a continuous encouragement of initiative, responsibility and energy in serving the public interest. Let every public servant know, whether his post is high or low, that a man's rank and reputation in this Administration will be determined by the size of the job he does, and not by the size of his staff, his office or his budget. Let it be clear that this Administration recognizes the value of dissent and daring — that we greet healthy controversy as the hallmark of healthy change. Let the public service be a proud and lively career. And let every man and woman who works in any area of our national government, in any branch, at any level, be able to say with pride and with honor in future years: "I served the United States government in that hour of our nation's need."''' </br> For only with complete dedication by us all to the national interest can we bring our country through the troubled years that lie ahead. Our problems are critical. The tide is unfavorable. The news will be worse before it is better. And while hoping and working for the best, we should prepare ourselves now for the worst. ** [[s:John F. Kennedy's First State of the Union Address|First State of the Union Address]] (30 January 1961) * '''The Federal Budget can and should be made an instrument of prosperity and stability, not a deterrent to recovery.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Special message to Congress: Program for Economic Recovery and Growth (17)", (2 February 1961)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1961'' --> * For I can assure you that '''we love our country, not for what it was, though it has always been great — not for what it is, though of this we are deeply proud — but for what it someday can, and, through the efforts of us all, someday will be.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address at a Luncheon Meeting of the National Industrial Conference Board (33)", (13 February 1961)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1961'' --> * '''Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in [[Education in the United States|education]].''' Our requirements for world leadership, our hopes for economic growth, and the demands of citizenship itself in an era such as this all require the maximum development of every young American's capacity. '''The human mind is our fundamental resource.''' ** [http://www.jfklink.com/speeches/jfk/publicpapers/1961/jfk46_61.html Special Message to the Congress on Education (20 February 1961)] * It cannot be surprising that, as resistance within [[Cuba]] grows, [[Refugee|refugees]] have been using whatever means are available to return and support their countrymen in the continuing '''struggle for freedom. Where people are denied the right of choice, recourse to such struggle is the only means of achieving their liberties.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8070 Message to Chairman Khrushchev Concerning the Meaning of Events in Cuba (18 April 1961)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''The great [[revolution]] in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.''' ** Message to Chairman Khrushchev Concerning the Meaning of Events in Cuba (18 April 1961)<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->. *'''There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.... I'm the responsible officer of the Government.''' ** State Department press conference (21 April 1961), following the Bay of Pigs Invasion, as quoted in ''A Thousand Days : John F. Kennedy in the White House'' (1965, 2002 edition), by Arthur Schlesinger, p. 262; also in [http://books.google.com/books?id=McO2Co4Ih98C&pg=PA234 ''The Quote Verifier'' (2006) by Ralph Keyes, p. 234]). The exact wording used by Kennedy (a hundred, not a thousand) had appeared in the 1951 film ''[[w:The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel|The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel]]'', as reported in ''Safire's New Political Dictionary'' (1993) by [[w:William Safire|William Safire]], pp 841–842). The earliest known occurrence is [[w:Galeazzo Ciano|Galeazzo Ciano]], ''Diary 1937-1943'', entry for 9 September 1942 ("''La victoria trova cento padri, e nessuno vuole riconoscere l'insuccesso.''"), but the earliest known occurrence on such a theme is in [[Tacitus]]'s : [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/tac/ag01020.htm Agricola Book 1 ab paragraph 27]: “Iniquissima haec bellorum condicio est: prospera omnes sibi vindicant, adversa uni imputantur.” (It is the singularly unfair peculiarity of war that '''the credit of success is claimed by all, while a disaster is attributed to one alone.''') * If all of you had voted the other way — there's about 5500 of you here tonight — I would not be the President of the United States. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in Chicago at a dinner of the Democratic Party of Cook County (155)," (28 April 1961)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1961'' --> * Commander [[Alan Shepard|Shepard]] has pointed out from the time that this flight began and from the time this flight was a success, that this was a common effort in which a good many men were involved. I think it does credit to him that he is associated with such a distinguished group of Americans whom we are all glad to honor today, his companions in the flight into outer space, so I think we want to give them all a hand. ... '''I also want to take cognizance of the fact that this flight was made out in the open with all the possibilities of failure, which would have been damaging to our country's prestige. Because great risks were taken in that regard, it seems to me that we have some right to claim that this open society of ours which risked much, gained much.''' ... This is a civilian award for a great civilian accomplishment, and therefore I want to again express my congratulations to Alan Shepard. We are very proud of him, and I speak on behalf of the Vice President, who is Chairman of our Space Council and who bears great responsibilities in this field, and the Members of the House and Senate Space Committee who are with us today. ''[accidentally drops the medallion, and picks it up]'' '''This decoration which has gone from the ground up — ''here''.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8119 Remarks at the presentation of NASA's Distinguished Service Medal to Astronaut Alan B. Shepard (8 May 1961)] — [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0OurosNBFo Video of presentation at YouTube] * '''[[Geography]] has made us neighbors. [[History]] has made us friends. [[Economics]] has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.''' ** Address to the Canadian Parliament (17 May 1961) *It is not a pleasure for any President of the United States, as I am sure it was not a pleasure for my predecessors, to come before the [[United States Congress|Congress]] and ask for new appropriations which place burdens on our people. I came to this conclusion with some reluctance. But in my judgment, this is a most serious time in the life of our country and in the life of freedom around the globe, and it is the obligation, I believe, of the President of the United States to at least make his recommendations to the Members of the Congress, so that they can reach their own conclusions with that judgment before them. You must decide yourselves, as I have decided, and I am confident that whether you finally decide in the way that I have decided or not, that your judgment--as my judgment--is reached on what is in the best interests of our country. **[https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-to-joint-session-of-congress-may-25-196125 May 1961 in address to joint session of congress] * '''There is danger that [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] governments, not subject to vigorous popular debate, will underestimate the will and unity of democratic societies where vital interests are concerned.''' ** President Kennedy's 13th News Conferences on June 28, 1961 John Source: [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/Press-Conferences/News-Conference-13.aspx F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum] * And lastly, Chairman Khrushchev has compared the United States to a worn-out runner living on its past performance, and stated that the [[Soviet Union]] would out-produce the United States by 1970. Without wishing to trade hyperbole with the Chairman, I do suggest that '''[[Nikita Khrushchev|he]] reminds me of the tiger hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger's skin long before he his caught the [[Tigers|tiger]]. This tiger has other ideas.''' ** President Kennedy's 13th News Conferences on June 28, 1961 John Source: [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/Press-Conferences/News-Conference-13.aspx F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum] * The education of our people should be a lifelong process by which we continue to feed new vigor into the lifestream of the Nation through intelligent, reasoned decisions. '''Let us not think of education only in terms of its costs, but rather in terms of the infinite potential of the human mind that can be realized through education. Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our Nation.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=24146 "Proclamation 3422 — American Education Week, 1961" (25 July 1961)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''Freedom is not merely a word or an abstract theory, but the most effective instrument for advancing the welfare of man.''' **[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8271 Message to the Inter-American Economic and Social Conference at Punta del Este, Uruguay (5 August 1961)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * Somebody once said that Washington was a city of Northern charm and Southern efficiency. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-036-014.aspx Speech] to the Trustees and Advisory Committee of the [[w:John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|National Cultural Center]] in the White House Movie Theater, 14 November 1961 * We have become more and more not a nation of athletes but a nation of spectators. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Banquet (496)," December 5 1961. Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1961.] * '''We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in New York City to the National Association of Manufacturers (496)," December 5, 1961, Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1961.] * I wonder how it is with you, Harold? If I don't have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches. ** Conversation with [[w:Harold Macmillan, Earl of Stockton|Harold Macmillan]], in Bermuda (1961) as recounted by [[w:Richard Reeves|Richard Reeves]] in his book ''President Kennedy: Profile of Power'' (1994) ==== The City upon a Hill speech ==== :<small>[[s:Address of President-Elect John F. Kennedy Delivered to a Joint Convention of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|Speech to Massachusetts State Legislature]] (9 January 1961) in The State House, Boston; ''Congressional Record'', January 10, 1961, vol. 107, Appendix, p. A169. In this speech, given eleven days prior to his inauguration, the President-elect quotes John Winthrop's "city upon a hill" sermon and highlights four qualities that he hopes to bring to his presidency: courage, judgment, integrity and dedication. </small> [[File:John F. Kennedy campaigning in Florida 1960.jpg|thumb|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: ...]] * During the last sixty days, I have been at the task of constructing an administration. It has been a long and deliberate process. Some have counseled greater speed. Others have counseled more expedient tests. But I have been guided by the standard [[John Winthrop]] set before his shipmates on the flagship ''Arbella'' three hundred and thirty-one years ago, as they, too, faced the task of building a new government on a perilous frontier. "We must always consider," he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill — the eyes of all people are upon us." '''Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us — and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, must be as a [[w:City upon a Hill|city upon a hill]] — constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities.''' For we are setting out upon a voyage in 1961 no less hazardous than that undertaken by the ''Arbella'' in 1630. We are committing ourselves to tasks of statecraft no less awesome than that of governing the [[w:Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts Bay Colony]], beset as it was then by terror without and disorder within. History will not judge our endeavors — and a government cannot be selected — merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these. * '''For of those to whom much is given, much is required.''' 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:<br>First, were we truly men of courage — with the courage to stand up to one's enemies — and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's associates — the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?<br>Secondly, were we truly men of judgment — with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past — of our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others — with enough wisdom to know what we did not know and enough candor to admit it?<br>Third, were we truly men of integrity — men who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the men who believed in us — men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?<br>Finally, were we truly men of dedication — with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and comprised of no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest?<br>Courage — judgment — integrity — dedication — these are the historic qualities''' ... which, with God's help ... will characterize our Government's conduct in the 4 stormy years that lie ahead. ==== Inaugural Address ==== [[File:President Kennedy inaugural address (color).jpg|thumb|Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.]] [[File:USA NYC Statue-of-Liberty.jpg|thumb|Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.]] [[File:Jfk inauguration.jpg|thumb|In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.]] [[File:Ask not what your country can do for you.jpg|thumb|The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.]] [[File:Sun Falls on Iwo Jima.jpg|thumb|With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.]] :<small>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/kennedy.asp Inaugural address, Washington D.C. (20 January 1961)] [[:Image:Kennedy inauguration footage.ogg|(video file)]]. In his speech President Kennedy urges American citizens to participate in public service and "ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." [http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/Historic-Speeches/Multilingual-Inaugural-Address.aspx This is also the speech he delivered announcing the dawn of a new era as young Americans born in the 20th century first assumed leadership of the Nation.]</small> * Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]], [[w:John William McCormack|Mr. Speaker]], [[Earl Warren|Mr. Chief Justice]], President [[Dwight David Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], Vice President [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]], President [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]], reverend clergy, fellow citizens, '''we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change.''' For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. * The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that '''the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of [[God]].''' * '''Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans''' — born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage — and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those [[human rights]] to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. ** The quote "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans" is [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Researchold/Ready-Reference/JFK-Miscellaneous-Information/Grave-Inscription.aspx one of seven quotes inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.] * '''Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.''' ** This is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] * To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. '''United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do — for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.''' * To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom — and to remember that, in the past, '''those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.''' * To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required — not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. '''If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.''' * Finally, '''to those nations who would make themselves our adversary''', we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. '''We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.''' * So let us begin anew — remembering on both sides that '''civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.''' <br/> '''Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. [...] Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors.''' Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. <br/> '''Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of [[Isaiah]] — to "undo the heavy burdens … and to let the oppressed go free."''' * If a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but '''a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.''' <br/> '''All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.''' * '''[[Abraham_Lincoln#First_Inaugural_Address_.281861.29|In your hands, my fellow citizens]], more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.''' The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. * '''Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle''', year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — '''a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.''' Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? ** The bold portions are one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] * In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. '''The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. <br/> And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. <br/> My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.''' ** "In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it." is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] ** "The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world." is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] ** "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] ** It has been reported at various places on the internet that in JFK's Inaugural address, the famous line "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", was inspired by, or even a direct quotation of the famous and much esteemed writer and poet [[Khalil Gibran]]. Gibran in 1925 wrote in Arabic a line that has been translated as: **::'''''Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country?''''' **::If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert.'' ** However, this ''translation'' of Gibran is one that occurred over a decade after Kennedy's 1961 speech, appearing in ''A Third Treasury of Kahlil Gibran'' (1975) edited by Andrew Dib Sherfan, and the translator most likely drew upon Kennedy's famous words in expressing Gibran's prior ideas. For a further [[Talk:John_F._Kennedy#.22Ask_not....22|discussion regarding the quote see here]]. * Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. '''[[Abraham_Lincoln#Second_Inaugural_Address_.281865.29|With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds]], let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.''' ** This is one of seven quotes inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy, Arlington National Cemetery. ====State of the Union==== :[[s:John F. Kennedy's First State of the Union Address|First State of the Union Address]] (30 January 1961) * '''Our Constitution wisely assigns both joint and separate roles to each branch of the government; and a President and a Congress who hold each other in mutual respect will neither permit nor attempt any trespass.''' * '''Where nature makes natural allies of us all, we can demonstrate that beneficial relations are possible even with those with whom we most deeply disagree-and this must someday be the basis of world peace and world law.''' * The deadly arms race, and the huge resources it absorbs, have too long overshadowed all else we must do. We must prevent that arms race from spreading to new nations, to new nuclear powers and to the reaches of outer space. ==== Address before the American Society of Newspaper Editors ==== {{Smallcite|1=[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Address-before-the-American-Society-of-Newspaper-Editors-April-20-1961.aspx Address before the American Society of Newspaper Editors at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. (April 20, 1961)] In his speech President Kennedy discusses the purpose of American intervention abroad and the spread of communist ideology to Latin America and Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on the [[w:Bay of Pigs incident|Bay of Pigs incident]] that occurred in Cuba four days prior. Following his address before the American Society of Newspapers President Kennedy assumed responsibily for the Bay of Pigs Invasion at the next day by saying: "There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.... I'm the responsible officer of the Government." (Source: State Department press conference 21 April 1961, following the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. 1965, 2002. ''A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House''. Houghton Mifflin {{ISBN|1-57912-449-6}} {{ISBN|978-1-57912-449-6}}, p. 262.)}} * '''The President of a''' great '''democracy''' such as ours, '''and the editors of''' great '''newspapers''' such as yours, '''owe a common obligation to the people: an obligation to present the facts, to present them with candor, and to present them in perspective.''' * '''If the self-discipline of the free cannot match the iron discipline of the mailed fist'''-in economic, political, scientific and all the other kinds of struggles as well as the military-'''then the peril to freedom will continue to rise.''' * '''The complacent, the self-indulgent, the soft societies are about to be swept away with the debris of history. Only the strong, only the industrious, only the determined, only the courageous, only the visionary who determine the real nature of our struggle can possibly survive.''' ==== Address to ANPA ==== :<small>[https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/American-Newspaper-Publishers-Association_19610427.aspx Address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association (27 April 1961)] [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-025-001.aspx Audio] President Kennedy's address was delivered to the American Newspaper Publishers Association at a Bureau of Advertising dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. In his speech President Kennedy addresses his discontent with the press's news coverage before, during, and after the [[w:Bay of Pigs incident|Bay of Pigs incident]], suggesting that there is a need for "far greater public information" and "far greater official secrecy." </small> [[File:John F Kennedy 1964 Issue-5c.jpg|thumb|The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. ... there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it.]] [[File:DBP 1964 453 John F. Kennedy.jpg|thumb|No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.]] [[File:JFK grave.jpg|thumb|Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive.]] [[File:John F Kennedy 1967 Issue-13c.jpg|thumb|Man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.]] * I appreciate very much your generous invitation to be here tonight. You bear heavy responsibilities these days and an article I read some time ago reminded me of how particularly heavily the burdens of present day events bear upon your profession. You may remember that in 1851 the [[w:New York Herald Tribune|New York Herald Tribune]] under the sponsorship and publishing of [[w:Horace Greeley|Horace Greeley]], employed as its [[w:London|London]] correspondent an obscure journalist by the name of [[w:Karl Marx|Karl Marx]]. <br> We are told that foreign correspondent Marx, stone broke, and with a family ill and undernourished, constantly appealed to Greeley and managing editor [[w:Charles Anderson Dana|Charles Dana]] for an increase in his munificent salary of $5 per installment, a salary which he and [[Friedrich Engels|Engels]] ungratefully labeled as the "lousiest petty bourgeois cheating." <br> But when all his financial appeals were refused, Marx looked around for other means of livelihood and fame, eventually terminating his relationship with the Tribune and devoting his talents full time to the cause that would bequeath the world the seeds of [[w:Leninism|Leninism]], [[w:Stalinism|Stalinism]], [[w:revolution|revolution]] and the [[w:Cold War|cold war]]. <br> If only this [[Capitalism|capitalistic]] [[New York City|New York]] newspaper had treated him more kindly; if only Marx had remained a foreign correspondent, history might have been different. And I hope all publishers will bear this lesson in mind the next time they receive a poverty-stricken appeal for a small increase in the expense account from an obscure newspaper man. * '''I want to talk about our common responsibilities in the face of a common danger. The events of recent weeks may have helped to illuminate that challenge for some; but the dimensions of its threat have loomed large on the horizon for many years.''' Whatever our hopes may be for the future — for reducing this threat or living with it — there is no escaping either the gravity or the totality of its challenge to our survival and to our security — a challenge that confronts us in unaccustomed ways in every sphere of human activity. <br> This deadly challenge imposes upon our society two requirements of direct concern both to the press and to the President — two requirements that may seem almost contradictory in tone, but which must be reconciled and fulfilled if we are to meet this national peril. '''I refer, first, to the need for a far greater public information; and, second, to the need for far greater official secrecy.''' * '''The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings.''' We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, '''there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment.''' That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And '''no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.''' * '''Today no war has been declared — and however fierce the struggle may be, it may never be declared in the traditional fashion. Our way of life is under attack.''' Those who make themselves our enemy are advancing around the globe. '''The survival of our friends is in danger.''' And yet no war has been declared, no borders have been crossed by marching troops, no missiles have been fired. <br> If the press is awaiting a declaration of war before it imposes the self-discipline of combat conditions, then I can only say that no war ever posed a greater threat to our security. '''If you are awaiting a finding of [[w:Clear and present danger|"clear and present danger]]," then I can only say that the danger has never been more clear and its presence has never been more imminent.''' <br> It requires a change in outlook, a change in tactics, a change in missions — by the government, by the people, by every businessman or labor leader, and by every newspaper. For '''we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence — on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.''' It conducts the Cold War, in short, with a war-time discipline no democracy would ever hope or wish to match. <br> Nevertheless, every democracy recognizes the necessary restraints of national security — and the question remains whether those restraints need to be more strictly observed if we are to oppose this kind of attack as well as outright invasion. * '''No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.''' I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed. <br> I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers — I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as '''[[w:Orlando Aloysius Battista|a wise man]] once said: "An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."''' We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them. * '''Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive.''' That is why the Athenian lawmaker [[Solon]] decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. '''And that is why our press was protected by the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]''' — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -'''not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants" — but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion. <br> This means greater coverage and analysis of international news — for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security''' — and we intend to do it. * It was early in the Seventeenth Century that [[Francis Bacon]] remarked on three recent inventions already transforming the world: the compass, gunpowder and the printing press. Now the links between the nations first forged by the compass have made us all citizens of the world, the hopes and threats of one becoming the hopes and threats of us all. In that one world's efforts to live together, the evolution of gunpowder to its ultimate limit has warned mankind of the terrible consequences of failure. <br> And so it is to the printing press — to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news — that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help '''man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.''' ** Kennedy here references [[Francis Bacon]]'s Aphorism 129 of ''[[w:Novum Organum|Novum Organum]]'': [[s:Novum Organum/Book I (Wood)|Again, we should notice the force, effect, and consequences of inventions, which are nowhere more conspicuous than in those three which were unknown to the ancients; namely, printing, gunpowder, and the compass. For these three have changed the appearance and state of the whole world; first in literature, then in warfare, and lastly in navigation: and innumerable changes have been thence derived, so that no empire, sect, or star, appears to have exercised a greater power and influence on human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.]] ==== Speech to Special Joint Session of Congress ==== [[File:USA123.jpg|thumb|We stand, as we have always stood from our earliest beginnings, for the [[independence]] and [[equality]] of all nations. This nation was born of [[revolution]] and raised in [[freedom]]. And we do not intend to leave an open road for [[despotism]].]] [[File:USS Constitution vs Guerriere.jpg|thumb|Experience has taught us that no one nation has the power or the wisdom to solve all the problems of the world or manage its revolutionary tides-that extending our commitments does not always increase our security--that any initiative carries with it the risk of a temporary defeat--that [[nuclear weapons]] cannot prevent subversion--that no free people can be kept free without will and energy of their own-- and that no two nations or situations are exactly alike.]] [[File:USCurrency Federal Reserve.jpg|thumb|Our security and progress cannot be cheaply purchased; and their price must be found in what we all forego as well as what we all must pay.]] [[File:Kennedy Giving Historic Speech to Congress - GPN-2000-001658.jpg|thumb|I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.]] {{original recording|Discurso de Kennedy.ogg}} [[File:Apollo 11 Launch2.jpg|thumb|But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon — if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation.]] [[File:Kennedyallee Plittersdorf.jpg|thumb|If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all.]] [[File:Cropped Earth with Sunburst.PNG|thumb|There is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. ]] [[File:March to Vincennes.jpg|thumb|Our country is united in its commitment to freedom-and is ready to do its duty.]] :<small> [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-urgent-national-needs Address to a Joint Session of Congress (25 May 1961)]; this includes his Special Message to the Congress on urgent national needs the goal of sending a Man to the Moon before the 1960's are over. More specifically President Kennedy asked for an additional $7 billion to $9 billion over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing our lagging space efforts. He did not justify the needed expenditure on the basis of science and exploration, but placed the program clearly in the camp of the competing ideologies of [[democracy]] vs. [[communism]].</small> * '''These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in [[freedom]]'s cause. No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves--that is our only commitment to others. No friend, no neutral and no adversary should think otherwise. We are not against any man--or any nation--or any system--except as it is hostile to freedom. Nor am I here to present a new military doctrine, bearing any one name or aimed at any one area. I am here to promote the freedom doctrine.''' * '''The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is''' the whole southern half of the globe--[[Asia]], [[Latin America]], [[Africa]] and the [[Middle East]]--'''the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human [[history]]. They seek an end to [[injustice]], [[tyranny]], and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning. And theirs is a revolution which we would support regardless of the [[Cold War]], and regardless of which political or economic route they should choose to freedom. For the adversaries of freedom did not create the revolution; nor did they create the conditions which compel it. But they are seeking to ride the crest of its wave--to capture it for themselves. Yet their aggression is more often concealed than open. They have fired no missiles; and their troops are seldom seen. They send arms, agitators, aid, technicians and propaganda to every troubled area. But where fighting is required, it is usually done by others--by guerrillas striking at night, by assassins striking alone'''--assassins who have taken the lives of four thousand civil officers in the last twelve months in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] alone--'''by subversives and saboteurs and insurrectionists, who in some cases control whole areas inside of independent nations. They possess a powerful intercontinental striking force, large forces for conventional war, a well-trained underground in nearly every country, the power to conscript talent and manpower for any purpose, the capacity for quick decisions, a closed society without dissent or free information, and long experience in the techniques of violence and subversion. They make the most of their scientific successes, their economic progress and their pose as a foe of colonialism and friend of popular revolution. They prey on unstable or unpopular governments, unsealed, or unknown boundaries, unfilled hopes, convulsive change, massive poverty, illiteracy, unrest and frustration. With these formidable weapons, the adversaries of freedom plan to consolidate their territory--to exploit, to control, and finally to destroy the hopes of the world's newest nations; and they have ambition to do it before the end of this decade. It is a contest of will and purpose as well as force and violence--a battle for minds and souls as well as lives and territory. And in that contest, we cannot stand aside. We stand, as we have always stood from our earliest beginnings, for the [[independence]] and [[equality]] of all nations. This nation was born of [[revolution]] and raised in [[freedom]]. And we do not intend to leave an open road for [[despotism]].''' * '''There is no single simple policy which meets this challenge. Experience has taught us that no one nation has the power or the wisdom to solve all the problems of the world or manage its revolutionary tides-that extending our commitments does not always increase our security--that any initiative carries with it the risk of a temporary defeat--that [[Nuclear weapons|nuclear weapons]] cannot prevent subversion--that no free people can be kept free without will and energy of their own-- and that no two nations or situations are exactly alike.''' * '''Our security and progress cannot be cheaply purchased; and their price must be found in what we all forego as well as what we all must pay.''' * I stress the strength of our economy because it is essential to the strength of our nation. And what is true in our case is true in the case of other countries. Their strength in the struggle for freedom depends on the strength of their economic and their social progress. We would be badly mistaken to consider their problems in military terms alone. For '''no amount of arms and armies can help stabilize those governments which are unable or unwilling to achieve social and economic reform and development. Military pacts cannot help nations whose social injustice and economic chaos invite insurgency and penetration and subversion.''' The most skillful counter-guerrilla efforts cannot succeed where the local population is too caught up in its own misery to be concerned about the advance of [[communism]].''' * This is also our great '''opportunity''' in 1961. '''If we grasp it, then subversion to prevent its success is exposed as an unjustifiable attempt to keep these nations from either being free or equal. But if we do not pursue it, and if they do not pursue it, the bankruptcy of unstable governments, one by one, and of unfilled hopes will surely lead to a series of totalitarian receiverships.''' * But '''while we talk of sharing and building and the competition of ideas, others talk of arms and threaten war. So we have learned to keep our defenses strong--and to cooperate with others in a partnership of self-defense.''' * '''The main burden of local defense against local attack, subversion, insurrection or guerrilla warfare must of necessity rest with local forces. Where these forces have the necessary will and capacity to cope with such threats, our intervention is rarely necessary or helpful.''' Where the will is present and only capacity is lacking, '''our Military Assistance Program''' can be of help. But this program, like economic assistance, needs a new emphasis. It '''cannot be extended without regard to the social, political and military reforms essential to internal respect and stability. The equipment and training provided must be tailored to legitimate local needs and to our own foreign and military policies, not to our supply of military stocks or a local leader's desire for military display. And military assistance can, in addition to its military purposes, make a contribution to economic progress''', as do our own Army Engineers. * Military and economic assistance has been a heavy burden on our citizens for a long time, and I recognize the strong pressures against it; but this battle is far from over, it is reaching a crucial stage, and I believe we should participate in it. '''We cannot merely state our opposition to totalitarian advance without paying the price of helping those now under the greatest pressure.''' * This Administration has been looking hard at exactly what '''civil defense''' can and cannot do. It '''cannot be obtained cheaply. It cannot give an assurance of blast protection that will be proof against surprise attack or guaranteed against obsolescence or destruction. And it cannot deter a nuclear attack. We will deter an enemy from making a nuclear attack only if our retaliatory power is so strong and so invulnerable that he knows he would be destroyed by our response. If we have that strength, civil defense is not needed to deter an attack. If we should ever lack it, civil defense would not be an adequate substitute. But this deterrent concept assumes rational calculations by rational men. And the history of this planet, and particularly the history of the 20th century, is sufficient to remind us of the possibilities of an irrational attack, a miscalculation, an accidental war, for a war of escalation in which the stakes by each side gradually increase to the point of maximum danger which cannot be either foreseen or deterred. It is on this basis that civil defense can be readily justifiable--as insurance for the civilian population in case of an enemy miscalculation. It is insurance we trust will never be needed--but insurance which we could never forgive ourselves for foregoing in the event of catastrophe.''' Once the validity of this concept is recognized, there is no point in delaying the initiation of a nation-wide long-range program of identifying present fallout shelter capacity and providing shelter in new and existing structures. '''Such a program would protect millions of people against the hazards of radioactive fallout in the event of large-scale nuclear attack.''' Effective performance of the entire program not only requires new legislative authority and more funds, but also sound organizational arrangements. * I cannot end this discussion of defense and armaments without emphasizing '''our strongest hope: the creation of an orderly world where disarmament will be possible. Our aims do not prepare for war--they are efforts to discourage and resist the adventures of others that could end in war. ''' * Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the [[w:Sputnik crisis|Sputnik in 1957]], the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. [...] '''Now it is time to take longer strides — time for a great new American enterprise — time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth. I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary.''' But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to insure theft fulfillment. </br> Recognizing the head start obtained by the Soviets with their large rocket engines, which gives them many months of lead-time, and recognizing the likelihood that they will exploit this lead for some time to come in still more impressive successes, we nevertheless are required to make new efforts on our own. For '''while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but as shown by [[w:Project_Mercury#Space_race|feat]] of [[w:Alan Shepard#Mercury:_Freedom_7_pilot|astronaut Shepard]], this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.''' * '''I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.''' We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations — explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. '''But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon — if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.''' * Let it be clear — and this is a judgment which the Members of the Congress must finally make — let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action — a course which will last for many years and carry very heavy costs: 531 million dollars in fiscal '62 — an estimated seven to nine billion dollars additional over the next five years. '''If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all.''' * '''It is a most important decision that we make as a nation.''' But all of you have lived through the last four years and have seen the significance of space and the adventures in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space. '''I believe we should go to the moon.''' But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and '''there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful.''' If we are not, we should decide today and this year. * '''This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, materiel and facilities''', and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline which have not always characterized our research and development efforts. '''It means we cannot afford undue work stoppages, inflated costs of material or talent, wasteful interagency rivalries, or a high turnover of key personnel. New objectives and new money cannot solve these problems. They could in fact, aggravate them further — unless every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman, every technician, contractor, and civil servant gives his personal pledge that this nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.''' * '''In conclusion, let me emphasize one point:''' that '''we are determined''', as a nation in 1961 '''that freedom shall survive and succeed--and whatever the peril and set-backs, we have some very large advantages. The first is the simple fact that we are on the side of [[liberty]]--and since the beginning of history, and particularly since the end of the [[Second World War]], liberty has been winning out all over the globe. A second great asset is that we are not alone. We have friends and allies all over the world who share our devotion to freedom. [...] A third asset is our desire for peace. It is sincere, and I believe the world knows it. [...] Yet it is important to know that our patience at the bargaining table is nearly inexhaustible, though our credulity is limited-that our hopes for peace are unfailing, while our determination to protect our security is resolute.''' * '''Finally, our greatest asset in this struggle is the American people--their willingness to pay the price for these programs--to understand and accept a long struggle--to share their resources with other less fortunate people-to meet the tax levels and close the tax loopholes I have requested--to exercise self-restraint instead of pushing up wages or prices, or over-producing certain crops, or spreading military secrets, or urging unessential expenditures or improper monopolies or harmful work stoppages--to serve in the Peace Corps or the Armed Services or the Federal Civil Service or the Congress--to strive for excellence in their schools, in their cities and in their physical fitness and that of their children--to take part in Civil Defense-to pay higher postal rates, and higher payroll taxes and higher teachers' salaries, in order to strengthen our society--to show friendship to students and visitors from other lands who visit us and go back in many cases to be the future leaders, with an image of America--and I want that image, and I know you do, to be affirmative and positive-and, finally, to practice [[democracy]] at home, in all States, with all races, to respect each other and to protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens.''' * I have not asked for a single program which did not cause one or all Americans some inconvenience, or some hardship, or some sacrifice. But they have responded-and you in the Congress have responded to your duty--and I feel confident in asking today for a similar response to these new and larger demands. '''It is heartening to know''', as I journey abroad, '''that our country is united in its commitment to freedom-and is ready to do its duty.''' ==== [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|Berlin Crisis]] speech ==== :<small>[https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/berlin-crisis-19610725 "Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Berlin Crisis" (25 July 1961)]; addressing the impending possibility of war between the United States and the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] (USSR) over the [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|crisis in]] [[w:Berlin|Berlin]], [[w:Germany|Germany]]. In his speech the President addresses the Soviet Union's attempts to cut off America's access to West Berlin, thus making it impossible to secure freedom from [[communism]] for the people of Berlin. The President goes on to discuss the imminent threat of [[w:nuclear war|nuclear war]] and his plan to increase funding and manpower for the military, provide appropriate communications for air raid warnings, and ensure that all Americans have access to fall-out shelters should a [[w:nuclear holocaust|nuclear holocaust]] occur. </small> [[File:McAuliffeBastogneChristmasLetter101Airborne.jpg|thumb|Any dangerous spot is tenable if men--brave men--will make it so.]] [[File:NATO flag.svg|thumb|The strength of the alliance on which our security depends is dependent in turn on our willingness to meet our commitments to them.]] [[File:US Army tanks face off against Soviet tanks, Berlin 1961.jpg|thumb|If there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity.]] [[File:JFK speech lch bin ein berliner 1.jpg|thumb|With your help, and the help of other free men, this crisis can be surmounted. Freedom can prevail and peace can endure.]] * '''We are clear about what must be done--and we intend to do it.''' I want to talk frankly with you tonight about the first steps that we shall take. '''These actions will require sacrifice on the part of many of our citizens. More will be required in the future. They will require, from all of us, courage and perseverance in the years to come. But if we and our allies act out of strength and unity of purpose--with calm determination and steady nerves--using restraint in our words as well as our weapons--I am hopeful that both peace and freedom will be sustained.''' * I hear it said that [[w:Battle of Berlin|West Berlin]] is militarily untenable. And so was [[w:Siege of Bastogne|Bastogne]]. And so, in fact, was [[w:Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]]. '''Any dangerous spot is tenable if men--brave men--will make it so.''' * We do not want to fight — but we have fought before. And others in earlier times have made the same dangerous mistake of assuming that the West was too selfish and too soft and too divided to resist invasions of freedom in other lands. Those who threaten to unleash the forces of war on a dispute over West Berlin should recall the words of the ancient philosopher: "[[w:Epicurus |A man who causes fear cannot be free from fear.]]" * '''Everything essential to the security of freedom must be done; and if that should require more men, or more [[Taxation|taxes]], or more controls, or other new powers, I shall not hesitate to ask them. [...] I realize that no public revenue measure is welcomed by everyone. But I am certain that every American wants to pay his fair share, and not leave the burden of defending freedom entirely to those who bear arms. For we have mortgaged our very future on this defense--and we cannot fail to meet our responsibilities.''' * '''We do not intend to abandon our duty to mankind to seek a peaceful solution.''' As signers of the [[Charter of the United Nations|UN Charter]], '''we shall always be prepared to discuss international problems with any and all nations that are willing to talk — and listen — with reason. If they have proposals — not demands — we shall hear them. If they seek genuine understanding — not concessions of our rights — we shall meet with them.''' We have previously indicated our readiness to remove any actual irritants in West Berlin, but '''the freedom''' of that city '''is not negotiable. We cannot negotiate with those who say "What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable." But we are willing to consider any arrangement or treaty''' in [[Germany]] '''consistent with the maintenance of peace and freedom, and with the legitimate security interests of all nations. [...] In short, while we are ready to defend our interests, we shall also be ready to search for peace--in quiet exploratory talks--in formal or informal meetings. ''' * '''The strength of the alliance on which our security depends is dependent in turn on our willingness to meet our commitments to them.''' * We will at all times be ready to talk, if '''talk''' will help. But we must also be ready to resist with '''force''', if force is used upon us. '''Either alone would fail. Together, they can serve the cause of freedom and peace.''' * And as Americans know from our history [[w:American Frontier|on our own old frontier]], '''gun battles are caused by outlaws, and not by officers of the peace.''' * And '''if there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity.''' * '''When I ran for Presidency of the United States, I knew that this country faced serious challenges, but I could not realize — nor could any man realize who does not bear the burdens of this office — how heavy and constant would be those burdens.''' * Now, '''in the [[w:nuclear age|thermonuclear age]], any misjudgment on either side about the intentions of the other could rain more devastation in several hours than has been wrought in all the wars of human history.''' Therefore I, as President and Commander-in-Chief, and all of us as Americans, are moving through serious days. I shall bear this responsibility under our Constitution for the next three and one-half years, but I am sure that '''we all, regardless of our occupations, will do our very best for our country, and for our cause. For all of us want to see our children grow up in a country at peace, and in a world where freedom endures. I know that sometimes we get impatient, we wish for some immediate action that would end our perils. But I must tell you that there is no quick and easy solution. [...] We must look to long days ahead, which if we are courageous and persevering can bring us what we all desire.''' * The steps I have indicated tonight are aimed at avoiding that war. To sum it all up: '''we seek peace — but we shall not surrender.''' That is the central meaning of this crisis, and the meaning of your government's policy. '''With your help, and the help of other free men, this crisis can be surmounted. Freedom can prevail and peace can endure.''' ==== UN speech ==== [[File:Nagasakibomb.jpg|thumb|Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.]] [[File:Castle Romeo.jpg|thumb|The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.]] [[File:Winken ueber die Berliner Mauer.jpg|thumb|Self-determination is but a slogan if the future holds no hope.]] [[File:Tuojiangosaurus multispinus.jpg|thumb|Unless man can match his strides in weaponry and technology with equal strides in social and political development, our great strength, like that of the dinosaur, will become incapable of proper control — and like the dinosaur vanish from the earth.]] [[File:BlueMarble-2001-2002.jpg|thumb|If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.]] [[File:The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg|thumb|Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames.]] :<small>[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Address-Before-the-General-Assembly-of-the-United-Nations-September-25-1961.aspx Address before the General Assembly of the United Nations] (25 September 1961); this addresses the recent death of U.N. Secretary-General [[Dag Hammarskjold]], presents six proposals for the new Disarmament Program, and provides information on the current crises in [[w:Berlin|Berlin]], [[w:Germany|Germany]], [[w:Laos|Laos]], and [[w:South Vietnam|South Vietnam]].</small> * '''We meet in an hour of grief and challenge. [[Dag Hammarskjold]] is dead. But the [[United Nations]] lives. His tragedy is deep in our hearts, but the task for which he died is at the top of our agenda. A noble servant of [[peace]] is gone. But the quest for peace lies before us.''' <br> The problem is not the death of one man — the problem is the life of this organization. It will either grow to meet the challenges of our age, or it will be gone with the wind, without influence, without force, without respect. Were we to let it die, to enfeeble its vigor, to cripple its powers, we would condemn our future. For in the development of this organization rests the only true alternative to war — and war appeals no longer as a rational alternative. Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer concern the great powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by wind and water and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. '''Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind.<br> So let us here resolve that Dag Hammarskjold did not live, or die, in vain. Let us call a truce to terror. Let us invoke the blessings of peace. And as we build an international capacity to keep peace, let us join in dismantling the national capacity to wage war.''' * '''[[Disarmament]] without checks is but a shadow — and a community without law is but a shell.''' * The great question which confronted this body in 1945 is still before us: whether man's cherished hopes for progress and peace are to be destroyed by terror and disruption, whether the "foul winds of war" can be tamed in time to free the cooling winds of reason, and whether the pledges of our Charter are to be fulfilled or defied — pledges to secure peace, progress, human rights and world law. * The Secretary General, in a very real sense, is the servant of the '''General Assembly'''. Diminish his authority and you diminish the authority of '''the only body where all nations, regardless of power, are equal and sovereign. Until all the powerful are just, the weak will be secure only in the strength of this Assembly.''' * Today, every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. '''Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear [[w:sword of Damocles|sword of Damocles]], hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident, or miscalculation, or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.''' * Men no longer debate whether armaments are a symptom or a cause of tension. '''The mere existence of modern weapons''' — ten million times more powerful than any that the world has ever seen, and only minutes away from any target on earth — '''is a source of horror, and discord and distrust.''' Men no longer maintain that disarmament must await the settlement of all disputes — for disarmament must be a part of any permanent settlement. And men may no longer pretend that the quest for disarmament is a sign of weakness — for in a spiraling arms race, a nation's security may well be shrinking even as its arms increase. * For fifteen years this organization has sought the reduction and destruction of arms. Now that goal is no longer a dream — it is a practical matter of life or death. '''The risks inherent in disarmament pale in comparison to the risks inherent in an unlimited arms race.''' <br> In short, general and complete disarmament must no longer be a slogan, used to resist the first steps. It is no longer to be a goal without means of achieving it, without means of verifying its progress, without means of keeping the peace. It is now a realistic plan, and a test — a test of those only willing to talk and a test of those willing to act.<br> Such a plan would not bring a world free from conflict and greed — but it would bring a world free from the terrors of mass destruction. It would not usher in the era of the super state — but it would usher in an era in which no state could annihilate or be annihilated by another. <br> But to halt the spread of these terrible weapons, to halt the contamination of the air, to halt the spiraling nuclear arms race, we remain ready to seek new avenues of agreement, our new Disarmament Program thus includes the following proposals: :First, signing [[w:Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty|the test-ban treaty]] by all nations. This can be done now. Test ban [[negotiations]] need not and should not await general disarmament. :Second, stopping the production of fissionable materials for use in weapons, and preventing their transfer to any nation now lacking in nuclear weapons. :Third, prohibiting the transfer of control over nuclear weapons to states that do not own them. :Fourth, keeping nuclear weapons from seeding new battlegrounds in outer space. :Fifth, gradually destroying existing nuclear weapons and converting their materials to peaceful uses; and :Finally, halting the unlimited testing and production of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, and gradually destroying them as well. * But we are well aware that all issues of principle are not settled, and that principles alone are not enough. '''It is''' therefore '''our intention to challenge the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]], not to an arms race, but to a peace race- -to advance together step by step, stage by stage, until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.''' We invite them now to go beyond agreement in principle to reach agreement on actual plans. * '''Peace is not solely a matter of military or technical problems — it is primarily a problem of politics and people. And unless man can match his strides in weaponry and technology with equal strides in social and political development, our great strength, like that of the dinosaur, will become incapable of proper control — and like the dinosaur vanish from the earth.''' * '''Political sovereignty is but a mockery without the means of meeting poverty and illiteracy and disease. Self-determination is but a slogan if the future holds no hope.''' * I do not ignore '''the remaining problems of [[w:colonialism|traditional colonialism]]''' which still confront this body. '''Those problems will be solved, with patience, good will, and determination.''' Within the limits of our responsibility in such matters, my Country intends to be a participant and not merely an observer, in the peaceful, expeditious movement of nations from the status of colonies to the partnership of equals. That continuing tide of self-determination, which runs so strong, has our sympathy and our support. '''But colonialism in its harshest forms is not only the exploitation of new nations by old, of dark skins by light, or the subjugation of the poor by the rich. My Nation was once a colony, and we know what colonialism means; the exploitation and subjugation of the weak by the powerful, of the many by the few, of the governed who have given no consent to be governed, whatever their continent, their class, their color.''' * '''For a city or a people to be truly free they must have the secure right, without economic, political or police pressure, to make their own choice and to live their own lives.''' * '''The political disposition of peoples should rest upon their own wishes, freely expressed in plebiscites or free elections.''' If there are legal problems, they can be solved by legal means. If there is a threat of force, it must be rejected. If there is desire for change, it must be a subject for [[negotiation]], and if there is negotiation, it must be rooted in mutual respect and concern for the rights of others. * I pledge you that we will neither commit nor provoke aggression, that we shall neither flee nor invoke the threat of force, that '''we shall never negotiate out of fear, we shall never fear to negotiate.''' * '''Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response.''' And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be he friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities. * '''I come here today to look across this world of threats to a world of peace. In that search we cannot expect any final triumph''' — for new problems will always arise. We cannot expect that all nations will adopt like systems — for '''conformity is the jailor of freedom, and the enemy of growth.''' Nor can we expect to reach our goal by contrivance, by fiat or even by the wishes of all.<br> '''But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not stand alone. If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.''' * Ladies and gentlemen of this Assembly, the decision is ours. Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose, or so much to gain. '''Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames. Save it we can — and save it we must — and then shall we earn the eternal thanks of mankind and, as peacemakers, the eternal blessing of [[God]].''' ==== Address at the University of Washington ==== :<small>[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Aw3MwwJMf0631R6JLmAprQ.aspx Address at the University of Washington's 100th Anniversary Program] (16 November 1961). As 1961 drew to an end, the United States and the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] were at the height of the [[w:Cold War|Cold War]], and Cuba and [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|Berlin]] were hot spots. In April 1961, the United States Central Intelligence Agency had organized 1,400 armed Cuban exiles in [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|a failed attempt to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs]]. On August 20, 1961, East Germany erected a five foot high concrete wall dividing East and West Berlin and on October 28, 1961, a tense, 16-hour face off occurred at the Berlin Wall between Soviet and American tanks. On August 31, 1961, the Soviet Union began conducting aboveground nuclear tests, detonating perhaps 15 bombs during September 1961. Local newspapers advised Seattleites on how to construct and stock personal nuclear fallout shelters. It was in this context that President John F. Kennedy arrived at Boeing Airport in Seattle, Washington on November 16, 1961 to deliver a major foreign policy speech at the [[w:University of Washington|University of Washington]] Centennial Convocation. In his speech President Kennedy discusses the creation of [[w:Land-grant university|educational institutions]] through the [[w:Morrill Land-Grant Acts|Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890]]. He also addresses the current state of American international relations, with emphasis on the challenges of defending freedom and maintaining peace as a world power. · [http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/primarysources/coldwar/docs/jfk.html "President John F. Kennedy's University of Washington Speech" in ''Primary Sources: Workshops in American History'' Annenberg Media Learner.org]</small> [[File:President Kennedy American University Commencement Address June 10, 1963.jpg|thumb|The basis of self-government and freedom requires the development of character and self-restraint and perseverance and the long view. And these are qualities which require many years of training and education.]] [[File:UN General Assembly.jpg|thumb|We must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy or quick or permanent solutions … there cannot be an American solution to every world problem...]] [[File:President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson prior to ceremony.jpg|thumb|Diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail. A willingness to resist force, unaccompanied by a willingness to talk, could provoke belligerence — while a willingness to talk, unaccompanied by a willingness to resist force, could invite disaster.]] [[File:Signing Of The Social Security Act.jpg|thumb|We celebrate the past to awaken the future.]] [[File:John Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev 1961.jpg|thumb|While we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom.]] [[File:United States Capitol - west front.jpg|thumb|The business of the Government is the business of the people.]] [[File:Golden statue.jpg|thumb|For to save mankind's future freedom, we must face up to any risk that is necessary. We will always seek peace — but we will never surrender.]] * '''The basis of self-government and freedom requires the development of character and self-restraint and perseverance and the long view. And these are qualities which require many years of training and education.''' * We increase our arms at a heavy cost, primarily to make certain that we will not have to use them. We must face up to the chance of war, if we are to maintain the peace. We must work with certain countries lacking in freedom in order to strengthen the cause of freedom. We find some who call themselves neutral who are our friends and sympathetic to us, and others who call themselves neutral who are unremittingly hostile to us. And as the most powerful defender of freedom on earth, we find ourselves unable to escape the responsibilities of freedom, and yet unable to exercise it without restraints imposed by the very freedoms we seek to protect. </br> We cannot, as a free nation, compete with our adversaries in tactics of terror, assassination, false promises, counterfeit mobs and crises. </br> '''We cannot, under the scrutiny of a free press and public, tell different stories to different audiences, foreign and domestic, friendly and hostile.''' </br> We cannot abandon the slow processes of consulting with our allies to match the swift expediencies of those who merely dictate to their satellites. </br> We can neither abandon nor control the international organization in which we now cast less than 1 percent of the vote in the General Assembly. </br> '''We possess weapons of tremendous power — but they are least effective in combating the weapons most often used by freedom's foes: subversion, infiltration, guerrilla warfare, civil disorder.''' </br> We send arms to other peoples — just as we send them the ideals of democracy in which we believe — but we cannot send them the will to use those arms or to abide by those ideals. </br> And while we believe not only in the force of arms but in the force of right and reason, we have learned that reason does not always appeal to unreasonable men — that it is not always true that [[s:Bible (King James)/Proverbs#Chapter_15|"a soft answer turneth away wrath"]] — and that right does not always make might. </br> In short, '''we must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy or quick or permanent solutions. And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient — that we are only 6 percent of the world's population — that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind — that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity — and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.''' ** Also quoted in [http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1635958_1635999_1634954-6,00.html "Warrior for Peace" by David Talbot, in ''TIME'' (2 July 2007), p. 50] * These burdens and frustrations are accepted by most Americans with maturity and understanding. They may long for the days when war meant charging up [[w:Battle of San Juan Hill|San Juan Hill]]-or when our isolation was guarded by two oceans — or when the atomic bomb was ours alone — or when much of the industrialized world depended upon our resources and our aid. But they now know that those days are gone — and that gone with them are the old policies and the old complacency's. And they know, too, that '''we must make the best of our new problems and our new opportunities, whatever the risk and the cost.''' </br> But there are others who cannot bear the burden of a long twilight struggle. They lack confidence in our long-run capacity to survive and succeed. Hating communism, yet they see communism in the long run, perhaps, as the wave of the future. And they want some quick and easy and final and cheap solution — now. </br> There are two groups of these frustrated citizens, far apart in their views yet very much alike in their approach. On the one hand are those who urge upon us what I regard to be the pathway of surrender-appeasing our enemies, compromising our commitments, purchasing peace at any price, disavowing our arms, our friends, our obligations. If their view had prevailed, the world of free choice would be smaller today. </br> On the other hand are those who urge upon us what I regard to be the pathway of war: equating [[negotiations]] with appeasement and substituting rigidity for firmness. If their view had prevailed, we would be at war today, and in more than one place. </br> It is a curious fact that each of these extreme opposites resembles the other. Each believes that we have only two choices: appeasement or war, suicide or surrender, humiliation or holocaust, to be either Red or dead. Each side sees only "hard" and "soft" nations, hard and soft policies, hard and soft men. Each believes that any departure from its own course inevitably leads to the other: one group believes that any peaceful solution means appeasement; the other believes that any arms build-up means war. One group regards everyone else as warmongers, the other regards everyone else as appeasers. Neither side admits that its path will lead to disaster — but neither can tell us how or where to draw the line once we descend the slippery slopes of appeasement or constant intervention. </br> In short, while both extremes profess to be the true realists of our time, neither could be more unrealistic. While both claim to be doing the nation a service, they could do it no greater disservice. This kind of talk and '''easy solutions to difficult problems, if believed, could inspire a lack of confidence among our people when they must all — above all else — be united in recognizing the long and difficult days that lie ahead. It could inspire uncertainty among our allies when above all else they must be confident in us. And even more dangerously, it could, if believed, inspire doubt among our adversaries when they must above all be convinced that we will defend our vital interests.''' </br> The essential fact that both of these groups fail to grasp is that '''diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail. A willingness to resist force, unaccompanied by a willingness to talk, could provoke belligerence — while a willingness to talk, unaccompanied by a willingness to resist force, could invite disaster.''' * But '''as long as we know what comprises our vital interests and our long-range goals, we have nothing to fear from [[negotiations]] at the appropriate time, and nothing to gain by refusing to take part in them.''' At a time when a single clash could escalate overnight into a holocaust of mushroom clouds, '''a great power does not prove its firmness by leaving the task of exploring the other's intentions to sentries or those without full responsibility. Nor can ultimate weapons rightfully be employed, or the ultimate sacrifice rightfully demanded of our citizens, until every reasonable solution has been explored.''' "How many wars," [[Winston Churchill]] has written, "have been averted by patience and persisting good will! .... How many wars have been precipitated by firebrands!" * '''If vital interests under duress can be preserved by peaceful means, [[negotiations]] will find that out. If our adversary will accept nothing-less than a concession of our rights, negotiations will find that out. And if negotiations are to take place, this nation cannot abdicate to its adversaries the task of choosing the forum and the framework and the time.''' * '''No one should be under the illusion that negotiations for the sake of negotiations always advance the cause of peace. If for lack of preparation they break up in bitterness, the prospects of peace have been endangered. If they are made a forum for propaganda or a cover for aggression, the processes of peace have been abused.''' But it is a test of our national maturity to accept the fact that negotiations are not a contest spelling victory or defeat. They may succeed — they may fail. They are likely to be successful only if both sides reach an agreement which both regard as preferable to the status quo — an agreement in which each side can consider its own situation to be improved. And this is most difficult to obtain. But, '''while we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom.''' Our answer to the classic question of [[Patrick Henry]] is still no-life is not so dear, and peace is not so precious, "as to be purchased at the price of chains and [[slavery]]." And that is our answer even though, for the first time since the ancient battles between Greek city-states, war entails the threat of total annihilation, of everything we know, of society itself. '''For to save mankind's future freedom, we must face up to any risk that is necessary. We will always seek peace — but we will never surrender.''' * '''In short, we are neither "warmongers" nor "appeasers," neither "hard" nor "soft." We are Americans, determined to defend the frontiers of freedom, by an honorable peace if peace is possible, but by arms if arms are used against us.''' And if we are to move forward in that spirit, we shall need all the calm and thoughtful citizens that this great University can produce, all the light they can shed, all the wisdom they can bring to bear. It is customary, both here and around the world, to regard life in the United States as easy. Our advantages are many. But more than any other people on earth, '''we bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish to be free.''' === 1962 === [[File:The Blue Marble.jpg|thumb|The world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution.]] [[File:ARC200454.gif|thumb|We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations, the complexity of our decisions, the agony of our choices. But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility.]] [[File:Black and white copy of frame from "Zapruder film" (z189 from the Zapruder film), showing Presidential limo in Dealey Plaza, CE479.jpg|thumb|Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.]] [[File:JFK limousine.png|thumb|The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.]] [[File:International newspaper, Rome May 2005.jpg|thumb|A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.]] [[File:Henry-Presentation of Colors.JPG|thumb|The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.]] [[File:Diagram of the Federal Government and American Union edit.jpg|thumb|The success of this Government, and thus the success of our Nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality.of our career services.]] [[File:Iwo-Jima-3c.jpg|thumb|What really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out — not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.]] [[File:THE HOPE OF ALL THE WORLD - NARA - 515613.jpg|thumb|The most effective means of upholding the law is not the State policeman or the marshals or the National Guard. It is you. It lies in your courage to accept those laws with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree.]] [[File:Seal of the District of Columbia.svg|thumb|There is such a difference between those who advise or speak or legislate, and between the man who must select from the various alternatives proposed and say that this shall be the policy of the United States. It is much easier to make the speeches than it is to finally make the judgments.]] * '''The success of this Government, and thus the success of our Nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality of our career services. The legislation enacted by the Congress, as well as the decisions made by me and by the department and agency heads, must all be implemented by the career men and women in the Federal service.''' In foreign affairs, national defense, science and technology, and a host of other fields, they face problems of unprecedented importance and perplexity. '''We are all dependent on their sense of loyalty and responsibility as well as their competence and energy.'''" ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Special Message to the Congress on Federal Pay Reform (55)" (20 February 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * We welcome the views of others. We seek a free flow of information across national boundaries and oceans, across iron curtains and stone walls. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For '''a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9075&st=&st1= John F. Kennedy: "Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America" (26 February 1962)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * For '''one true measure of a nation is its success in fulfilling the promise of a better life for each of its members.''' Let this be the measure of our nation. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Special message to the Congress on National Health Needs (65)" (27 February 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''Our deep spiritual confidence that this nation will survive the perils of today''' — which may well be with us for decades to come — '''compels us to invest in our nation's future, to consider and meet our obligations to our children and the numberless generations that will follow.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Special message to the Congress on Conservation (69)" (1 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * ...'''what really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out — not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at the White House to Members of the American Legion (70)" (1 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * ...'''there is always inequity in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded, and some men never leave the country,''' and some men are stationed in the Antarctic and some are stationed in San Francisco. It's very hard in the military or personal life to assure complete equality. '''Life is unfair.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "President's News Conference (107)" (21 March 1962)<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''And Prince [[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck]] was even more specific. One third, he said, of the students of German universities broke down from overwork, another third broked down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in Berkeley at the University of California (109)" (23 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * The [[w:Special Forces (United States Army)|green beret]]' is again becoming a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom. I know the United States Army will live up to its reputation for imagination, resourcefulness, and spirit as we meet this challenge. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Letter to the United States Army" (11 April 1962)]; Box 5, President's Outgoing Executive Correspondence, White House Central Chronological Files, Papers of John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * I think it is most appropriate that the President of the United States, whose business place is in Washington, should come to this city and participate in these rallies. Because '''the business of the Government is the business of the people''' — and the people are right here. ** Speech at [[w:Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]] in [[w:New York City|New York City]] to support his program of "medical care for the aged." (20 May 1962)[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8669][http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-038-023.aspx] * '''The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.''' Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. '''We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.''' ** Commencement address, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (11 June 1962) [http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3370] * '''Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.''' ** [[s:Address on the First Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress|Address on the First Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress at the White House]] (13 March 1962) * I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. ** Address at a White House dinner honoring Nobel Prize winners (29 April 1962), quoted in [http://www.jfklibrary.org/white%20house%20diary/1962/April/29 ''The White House Diary'', at the JFK Library] * While '''geography has made us neighbors, tradition has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies''' — in a vast Alianza para el Progreso. '''Those whom nature has so joined together, let no man put asunder.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8741&st=&st1= Address by the President at a Luncheon Given in His Honor by President Lopez Matcos (29 June 1962)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * I have seen in many places housing which has been developed under government influences, but I have never seen any projects in which governments have played their part which have fountains and statues and grass and trees, which are as important to the concept of the home as the roof itself." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at the Unidad Independencia Housing Project, City of Mexico (269)" (30 June 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''It's only when they join together in a forward movement that this country moves ahead...''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at Los Banos, CA at the Groundbreaking Ceremonies for the San Luis Dam (337)" (18 August 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. '''And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.'''" ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in Newport at the Australian Ambassador's Dinner for the America's Cup Crews (383)" (14 September 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * All students, members of the faculty, and public officials in both Mississippi and the Nation will be able, it is hoped, to return to their normal activities with full confidence in the integrity of American law. This is as it should be, for '''our Nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny.''' The law which we obey includes the final rulings of the courts, as well as the enactments of our legislative bodies. Even among law-abiding men few laws are universally loved, but they are uniformly respected and not resisted. '''Americans are free''', in short, '''to disagree with the law but not to disobey it.''' For '''in a government of laws and not of men, no man, however prominent or powerful, and no mob however unruly or boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law. If this country should ever reach the point where any man or group of men by force or threat of force could long defy the commands of our court and our Constitution, then no law would stand free from doubt, no judge would be sure of his writ, and no citizen would be safe from his neighbors.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Radio-and-Television-Report-to-the-Nation-on-the-Situation-at-the-University-of-Mississippi.aspx Radio and Television Report to the Nation on the Situation at the University of Mississippi (30 September 1962)] * In 1945 a [[Mississippi]] sergeant, Jake Lindsey, was honored by an unusual joint session of the Congress. I close therefore, with this appeal to the students of the University, the people who are most concerned. You have a great tradition to uphold, a tradition of honor and courage won on the field of battle and on the gridiron as well as the University campus. You have a new opportunity to show that you are men of patriotism and integrity. For '''the most effective means of upholding the law is not the State policeman or the marshals or the [[w:United State National Guard|National Guard]]. It is you. It lies in your courage to accept those laws with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree.''' ** Radio and Television Report to the Nation on the Situation at the University of Mississippi (30 September 1962) * Bullfight critics row on row <br/> Fill the enormous Plaza de toros <br/> But only one is there who knows <br/> And he is the one who fights the bull. ** Slightly misquoting [[w:Domingo Ortega|Domingo Ortega]], as translated by the English poet [[Robert Graves]]), in remarks during a Presidential Backgrounder before the National Foreign Policy Conference for Editors and Radio-TV Public Affairs Broadcasters (16 October 1962)]; "Presidential Backgrounder 16 October 1962 #50," Box 134, Classified Background Briefing Material Series, Pierre Salinger Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library ** The original poem: Bullfight critics ranked in rows<br/>Crowd the enormous Plaza full<br/>But only one is there who knows<br/>And he's the man who fights the bull. * '''I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at a Closed-circuit Television Broadcast on Behalf of the National Cultural Center (527)" (29 November 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''There is a limitation''', in other words, '''upon the power of the United States to bring about solutions.''' I think our people get awfully impatient and maybe fatigued and tired, and saying "We have been carrying this burden for 17 years; can we lay it down?" We can't lay it down, and I don't see how we are going to lay it down in this century. '''So that I would say that the problems are more difficult than I had imagined them to be. The responsibilities placed on the United States are greater than I imagined them to be, and there are greater limitations upon our ability to bring about a favorable result than I had imagined them to be. And I think that is probably true of anyone who becomes President, because there is such a difference between those who advise or speak or legislate, and between the man who must select from the various alternatives proposed and say that this shall be the policy of the United States. It is much easier to make the speeches than it is to finally make the judgments, because unfortunately your advisers are frequently divided. If you take the wrong course''', and on occasion I have, '''the President bears the burden of the responsibility quite rightly. The advisers may move on to new advice.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9060 John F. Kennedy: "Television and Radio Interview: "After Two Years — a Conversation With the President" (17 December 1962)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * To further the appreciation of culture among all the people, to increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by all the processes and fulfillments of art — this is one of the fascinating challenges of these days. ** "The Arts in America" in ''LOOK'' magazine (18 December 1962), p. 110; also reported in ''[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1962]'', p. 907 and inscribed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. * '''Too often in the past, we have thought of the artist as an idler and dilettante and of the lover of arts as somehow sissy and effete. We have done both an injustice. The life of the artist is, in relation to his work, stern and lonely. He has labored hard, often amid deprivation, to perfect his skill. He has turned aside from quick success in order to strip his vision of everything secondary or cheapening. His working life is marked by intense application and intense discipline.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "LOOK Magazine Article 'The Arts in America' (552)" (18 December 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation's purpose...and is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "LOOK Magazine Article 'The Arts in America' (552)" (18 December 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' -->; also inscribed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. ==== Second State of the Union Address ==== :<small>[[s:John F. Kennedy's Second State of the Union Address|Second State of the Union Address]] (11 January 1962)</small> * Members of the Congress, '''the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress. We are all trustees for the American people, custodians of the American heritage.''' It is my task to report the State of '''the Union — to improve it is the task of us all.''' * '''The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining''' — by filling three basic gaps in our anti-recession protection. * World order will be secured only when the whole world has laid down these weapons which seem to offer us present security but threaten the future survival of the human race. That armistice day seems very far away. The vast resources of this planet are being devoted more and more to the means of destroying, instead of enriching, human life. <br> But '''the world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution.''' Nor has mankind survived the tests and trials of thousands of years to surrender everything — including its existence — now. This Nation has the will and the faith to make a supreme effort to break the log jam on [[disarmament]] and nuclear tests — and we will persist until we prevail, until the rule of law has replaced the ever dangerous use of force. * These various elements in our [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] lead, as I have said, to a single goal — the goal of a peaceful world of free and independent states. This is our guide for the present and our vision for the future — a free community of nations, independent but interdependent, uniting north and south, east and west, in one great family of man, outgrowing and transcending the hates and fears that rend our age. </br> We will not reach that goal today, or tomorrow. We may not reach it in our own lifetime. But the quest is the greatest adventure of our century. '''We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations, the complexity of our decisions, the agony of our choices. But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility.''' ==== Address at Independence Hall ==== :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/RrjaDhW5B0OYm2zaJbyPgg.aspx Address at Independence Hall by John F. Kennedy in Independence Square at [[w:Independence Hall|Independence Hall]] in Philadelphia] (4 July 1962). In his speech President Kennedy praises the American democratic system which encourages differences and allows for dissent, discusses the enduring relevance of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and addresses the role of the United States in relation to the emerging [[w:European Communities|European Community]].</small> [[File:EXCOMM_meeting,_Cuban_Missile_Crisis,_29_October_1962.jpg|thumb|Our responsibility is one of decision — for to govern is to choose.]] [[File:Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_States.jpg|thumb|As apt and applicable as the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] is today, we would do well to honor that other historic document drafted in this hall — the [[Constitution of the United States]]. For it stressed not independence but interdependence — not the individual liberty of one but the indivisible liberty of all.]] * The necessity for comity between the National Government and the several States is an indelible lesson of our long history. Because our system is designed to encourage both differences and dissent, because its checks and balances are designed to preserve the rights of the individual and the locality against preeminent central authority, you and I, Governors, recognize how dependent we both are, one upon the other, for the successful operation of our unique and happy form of government. Our system and our freedom permit the legislative to be pitted against the executive, the State against the Federal Government, the city against the countryside, party against party, interest against interest, all in competition or in contention one with another. Our task — your task in the State House and my task in [[w:The White House|the White House]] — is to weave from all these tangled threads a fabric of law and progress. We are not permitted the luxury of irresolution. Others may confine themselves to debate, discussion, and that ultimate luxury — free advice. '''Our responsibility is one of decision — for to govern is to choose.''' * The theory of independence is as old as man himself, and it was not invented in this hall. But it was in this hall that the theory became a practice; that the word went out to all, in [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s phrase, that "the God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time." And today this Nation — conceived in revolution, nurtured in liberty, maturing in independence — has no intention of abdicating its leadership in that worldwide movement for independence to any nation or society committed to systematic human oppression. * '''As apt and applicable as the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] is today, we would do well to honor that other historic document drafted in this hall — the [[Constitution of the United States]]. For it stressed not independence but interdependence — not the individual liberty of one but the indivisible liberty of all.''' * A great new edifice is not built overnight. It was 11 years from the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|writing of the Constitution]]. The construction of workable [[Federal government of the United States|federal institutions]] required still another generation. The greatest works of our Nation's founders lay not in documents and in declarations, but in creative, determined action. The building of the new house of [[Europe]] has followed the same practical, purposeful course. Building the [[w:Atlantic Alliance|Atlantic partnership]] now will not be easily or cheaply finished. * In most of the old colonial world, the struggle for independence is coming to an end. Even in areas behind the [[w:Iron Curtain|Curtain]], that which Jefferson called "the disease of liberty" still appears to be infectious. With the passing of ancient empires, today less than 2 percent of the world's population lives in territories officially termed "dependent." As this effort for independence, inspired by the American Declaration of Independence, now approaches a successful close, a great new effort — for interdependence — is transforming the world about us. And the spirit of that new effort is the same spirit which gave birth to the American Constitution. That spirit is today most clearly seen across the Atlantic Ocean. The nations of [[w:Western Europe|Western Europe]], long divided by feuds far more bitter than any which existed among the [[w:Thirteen Colonies|13 colonies]], are today joining together, seeking, as our forefathers sought, to find freedom in diversity and in unity, strength. * '''Acting on our own, by ourselves, we cannot establish justice throughout the world; we cannot insure its domestic tranquility, or provide for its common defense, or promote its general welfare, or secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. But joined with other free nations, we can do all this and more. We can assist the developing nations to throw off the yoke of poverty. We can balance our worldwide trade and payments at the highest possible level of growth. We can mount a deterrent powerful enough to deter any aggression. And ultimately we can help to achieve a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion.''' * '''On this fourth day of July, 1962, we''' who are gathered at this same hall, entrusted with the fate and future of our States and Nation, '''declare''' now '''our vow to do our part to lift the weights from the shoulders of all, to join other men and nations in preserving both peace and freedom, and to regard any threat to the peace or freedom of one as a threat to the peace and freedom of all.''' ==== Rice University speech ==== [[File:JFK inspects Mercury capsule, 23 February 1962.jpg|thumb|The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.]] [[File:Skylab and Earth Limb - GPN-2000-001055.jpg|thumb|We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.]] [[File:Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Commemorative Plaque.jpg|thumb|There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again.]] :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-127-002.aspx Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, Houston, TX] (12 September 1962); addresses the necessity for the United States to become an international leader in space exploration and famously states, "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." · [https://www.historyplace.com/speeches/jfk-space.htm Transcript and audio at The History Place]</small> *'''We meet in an hour of [[change]] and [[challenge]], in a decade of [[hope]] and [[fear]], in an age of both [[knowledge]] and [[ignorance]]. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.''' * No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50 thousand years of man's recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only five years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. [[Christianity]] began less than two years ago. The [[w:Printing press|printing press]] came this year, and then less than two months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power. [[Isaac Newton|Newton]] explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we [[w:History of penicillin|develop penicillin]] and [[w:History of television|television]] and [[w:Chicago Pile-1|nuclear power]], and now if [[w:Mariner 2|America's new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus]], we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight. </br> This is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely '''the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward.''' </br> So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of [[Houston]], this state of [[Texas]], this country of '''the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward — and so will space.''' * If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that '''man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.''' * Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]], the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of [[Nuclear power|nuclear power]], and '''this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it — we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with [[w:Weapons of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]], but with instruments of [[knowledge]] and [[understanding]].''' * '''Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.''' * '''We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like [[w:Nuclear physics|nuclear science]] and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.''' I do not say that we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours. * '''There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all.''' Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. *'''We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.''' * We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public. * '''The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school. Technical institutions''', such as Rice, '''will reap the harvest of these gains.''' And finally, the space effort itself, while still in its infancy, has already created a great number of new companies, and tens of thousands of new jobs. '''Space and related industries are generating new demands in [[investment]] and skilled personnel''', and this city and this state, and this region, will share greatly in this growth. * Many years ago the great British explorer [[George Mallory]], who was to die on [[Mount Everest]], was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there." '''Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.''' ==== [[w:Cuban Missile Crisis|Cuban Missile Crisis]] speech ==== [[File:October 23, 1962- President Kennedy signs Proclamation 3504, authorizing the naval quarantine of Cuba.jpg|thumb|Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right — not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world.]] :<small> [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/35_kennedy/psources/ps_armsbild.html Radio and television address] about the Cuban missile crisis (22 October 1962). This reports on the establishment of offensive missile sites presumably intended to launch a nuclear offensive against Western nations. The President characterizes the transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base as an explicit threat to American security, and explains seven components to his proposed course of action: quarantine all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba, increase the degree of surveillance, regard a possible attack launched from Cuba as a Soviet attack, reinforce the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, call for a meeting of the Organ of Consultation, call for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, and demand that Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] cease his current course of action.</small> * Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum peril. Nuclear weapons are so destructive and ballistic missiles are so swift, that any substantially increased possibility of their use or any sudden change in their deployment may well be regarded as a definite threat to peace. * We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of '''a worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth''' — but neither shall we shrink from that risk any time it must be faced. * The [[w:1930s|1930's]] taught us a clear lesson: '''aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged ultimately leads to war.''' * '''It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.''' * '''We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union--for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples.''' * My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can see precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. '''Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead--months in which our patience and our will will be tested--months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.''' * The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but it is one of the most consistent with our character and our courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high — but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and this is the path of surrender or submission. '''Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right — not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world.''' God willing, that goal will be achieved. Thank you, and good night. ==== First letter to Nikita Khrushchev ==== :<small>[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3637transcript JFK points out that the U.S. is pursuing a "minimum response" but will do whatever is necessary to assure its security.(22 October 1962)]</small> * A copy of the statement I am making tonight concerning developments in Cuba and the reaction of my Government thereto has been handed to your Ambassador in Washington. In view of the gravity of the developments to which I refer, I want you to know immediately and accurately the position of my Government in this matter. * In our discussions and exchanges on Berlin and other international questions, the one thing that has most concerned me has been the possibility that your Government would not correctly understand the will and determination of the United States in any given situation, since I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would, in this nuclear age, deliberately plunge the world into war which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world, including the aggressor. * At our meeting in [[Vienna]] and subsequently, I expressed our readiness and desire to find, through peaceful negotiation, a solution to any and all problems that divide us. At the same time. I made clear that in view of the objectives of the ideology to which you adhere, the United States could not tolerate any action on your part which in a major way disturbed the existing over-all balance of power in the world. I stated that an attempt to force abandonment of our responsibilities and commitments in Berlin would constitute such an action and that the United States would resist with all the power at its command. * It was in order to avoid any incorrect assessment on the part of your Government with respect to Cuba that I publicly stated that if certain developments in Cuba took place, the United States would do whatever must be done to protect its own security and that of its allies. * Moreover, the Congress adopted a resolution expressing its support of this declared policy. Despite this, the rapid development of long-range missile bases and other offensive weapons systems in Cuba has proceeded. I must tell you that the United States is determined that this threat to the security of this hemisphere be removed. At the same time, I wish to point out that the action we are taking is the minimum necessary to remove the threat to the security of the nations of this hemisphere. The fact of this minimum response should not be taken as a basis, however, for any misjudgment on your part. * I hope that your Government will refrain from any action which would widen or deepen this already grave crisis and that we can agree to resume the path of peaceful negotiation. ==== Second Letter to Nikita Khrushchev ==== :<small>[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3637transcript This is a response from Kennedy to Nikita Khrushchev reassuring the Soviets that the U.S. would not invade Cuba. President Kennedy responded to the requests of Khrushchev's first letter to him, disregarding the second letter. Upon agreement of these letters, the Missile Crisis was over (27 October 1962)]</small> * I have read your letter of October 26th with great care and welcomed the statement of your desire to seek a prompt solution to the problem. The first thing that needs to be done, however, is for work to cease on offensive missile bases on Cuba and for all weapons systems in Cuba capable of offensive use to be rendered inoperable, under effective United Nations arrangements. * Assuming this is done promptly, I have given my representatives in New York instructions that will permit them to work out this weekend — in cooperation with the Acting Secretary General and your representative — an arrangement for a permanent solution to the Cuban problem along the lines suggested in your letter of October 26th. As I read your letter, the key elements of your proposals — which seem generally acceptable as I understand them — are as follows: * 1) You would agree to remove these weapons systems from Cuba under appropriate United Nations observation and supervision; and undertake, with suitable safeguards, to halt the further introduction of such weapons systems into Cuba. * 2) We, on our part, would agree — upon the establishment of adequate arrangements through the United Nations to ensure the carrying out and continuation of these commitments — (a) to remove promptly the quarantine measures now in effect and (b) to give assurances against an invasion of Cuba. I am confident that other nations of the Western Hemisphere would be prepared to do likewise. * If you will give your representative similar instructions, there is no reason why we should not be able to complete these arrangements and announce them to the world within a couple of days. The effect of such a settlement on easing world tensions would enable us to work toward a more general arrangement regarding "other armaments," as proposed in your second letter which you made public. I would like to say again that the United States is very much interested in reducing tensions and halting the arms race; and if your letter signifies that you are prepared to discuss a detente affecting [[NATO]] and the [[w:Warsaw Pact|Warsaw Pact, we are q]]<nowiki/>uite prepared to consider with our allies any useful proposals. * But the first ingredient, let me emphasize, is the cessation of work on missile sites on Cuba and measures to render such weapons inoperable, under effective international guarantees. The continuations of this threat, or prolonging of this discussion concerning Cuba by linking these problems to the broader questions of European and world security, would surely lead to the peace of the world. For this reason I hope we can quickly agree along the lines outlined in this letter of October 26th. ====Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York==== [[File:Flag from Behind the Eagle.jpg|thumb|Security will not be determined by military or diplomatic moves alone. It will be affected by the decisions of finance ministers as well as by the decisions of Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense; by the deployment of fiscal and monetary weapons as well as by military weapons; and above all by the strength of this Nation's economy as well as by the strength of our defenses.]] [[File:Stars and Stripes.jpg|thumb|When consumers purchase more goods, plants use more of their capacity, men are hired instead of laid off, investment increases and profits are high.]] [[File:Diagram of the Federal Government and American Union edit.jpg|thumb|The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and business is to reduce the burden on private income and the deterrents to private initiative which are imposed by our present tax system. [...] In short, to increase demand and lift the economy, the Federal Government's most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures.]] [[File:U.S. Capitol Washington D.C..jpg|thumb|It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits. [...] In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now. [...] Only full employment can balance the budget, and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment. The purpose of cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.]] [[File:Apollo 11 launch.jpg|thumb|We cannot afford to do nothing. For on the strength of our free economy rests the hope of all free nations. We shall not fail that hope, for free men and free nations must prosper and they must prevail.]] [[File:"Take the next car!" LCCN2012645454.jpg|thumb|When I was a Congressman I never realized how important Congress was, but now I do.]] [[File:- panoramio - Matt Pearson.jpg|thumb|I am reminded of Mr. [[Robert Frost]]'s motto about not taking down a fence until you know why it is put up, and this is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world.]] :<small> The President spoke at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on December 14, 1962. Source: [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-and-question-and-answer-period-the-economic-club-new-york John F. Kennedy, Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.]</small> * Less than a month ago [[Cuban Missile Crisis|this Nation reminded the world that it possessed both the will and the weapons to meet any threat to the security of free men]]. The gains we have made will not be given up, and the course that we have pursued will not be abandoned. But in the long run, that '''security will not be determined by military or diplomatic moves alone. It will be affected by the decisions of finance ministers as well as by the decisions of Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense; by the deployment of fiscal and monetary weapons as well as by military weapons; and above all by the strength of this Nation's economy as well as by the strength of our defenses.''' * '''But a leading nation, a nation upon which all depend not only in this country but around the world, cannot afford to be satisfied, to look back or to pause. On our strength and growth depend the strength of others, the spread of [[Free trade|free world trade]] and unity, and continued confidence in our leadership and [[Dollar|our currency]].''' The underdeveloped countries are dependent upon us for the sale of their primary commodities and for aid to their struggling economies. '''In short, a prosperous and growing America is important not only to Americans--it is''', as the spokesman for 20 Western nations in the [[w:OECD|Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development]], as he stressed this week, '''of vital importance to the entire Western World.''' * '''There is no need for us to be satisfied with a rate of growth that keeps good men out of work and good capacity out of use.''' * '''There are a number of ways by which the Federal Government can meet its responsibilities to aid economic growth. We can and must improve American education and technical training. We can and must expand civilian research and technology.''' One of the great bottlenecks for this country's [[economic growth]] in this decade will be the shortage of doctorates in [[mathematics]], [[engineering]], and [[physics]]; a serious shortage with a great demand and an under-supply of highly trained manpower. We can and must step up the development of our natural resources. '''But the most direct and significant kind of Federal action aiding economic growth is to make possible an increase in private consumption and investment demand--to cut the fetters which hold back private spending. In the past, this could be done in part by the increased use of credit and monetary tools, but our balance of payments situation today places limits on our use of those tools for expansion. It could also be done by increasing Federal expenditures more rapidly than necessary, but such a course would soon demoralize both the Government and our economy. If Government is to retain the confidence of the people, it must not spend more than can be justified on grounds of national need or spent with maximum efficiency.''' * '''The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and business is to reduce the burden on private income and the deterrents to private initiative which are imposed by our present [[Taxation in the United States|tax system]]'''; and this administration pledged itself last summer to an across-the-board, top-to-bottom cut in personal and corporate income taxes to be enacted and become effective in 1963. * I am talking about the accumulated evidence of the last 5 years that our present tax system, developed as it was, in good part, during [[World War II]] to restrain growth, exerts too heavy a drag on growth in peace time; that it siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power; that it reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment, and risk-taking. '''In short, to increase demand and lift the economy, the Federal Government's most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures. [...] While rising demand will expand imports, new investment in more efficient productive facilities will aid exports and a new economic climate could both draw capital from abroad and keep capital here at home.''' * '''Too large a tax cut, of course, could result in [[inflation]] and insufficient future revenues--but the greatest danger is a tax cut too little or too late to be effective.''' * '''When [[Consumption (economics)|consumers]] purchase more goods, plants use more of their capacity, men are hired instead of laid off, [[investment]] increases and [[Profit|profits]] are high.''' * '''[[w:Corporate tax|Corporate tax]] rates must also be cut to increase incentives and the availability of investment capital.''' The Government has already taken major steps this year to reduce business tax liability and to stimulate the modernization, replacement, and expansion of our productive plant and equipment. [...] For all these reasons, next year's '''tax bill should reduce personal as well as corporate income taxes, for those in the lower brackets, who are certain to spend their additional take-home pay, and for those in the middle and upper brackets, who can thereby be encouraged to undertake additional efforts and enabled to invest more capital.''' * Third, '''the new tax bill should improve both the equity and the simplicity of our present tax system. This means the enactment of long-needed tax reforms, a broadening of the tax base and the elimination or modification of many special tax privileges. These steps are not only needed to recover lost revenue and thus make possible a larger cut in present rates; they are also tied directly to our goal of greater growth. For the present patchwork of special provisions and preferences lightens the tax load of some only at the cost of placing a heavier burden on others. It distorts economic judgments and channels an undue amount of energy into efforts to avoid tax liabilities. It makes certain types of less productive activity more profitable than other more valuable undertakings. All this inhibits our growth and efficiency, as well as considerably complicating the work of both the taxpayer and the [[IRS|Internal Revenue Service]]. These various exclusions and concessions have been justified in part as a means of overcoming oppressively high rates in the upper brackets--and a sharp reduction in those rates, accompanied by base-broadening, loophole-closing measures, would properly make the new rates not only lower but also more widely applicable. Surely this is more equitable on both counts.''' * I am confident that '''the enactment of the right bill''' next year '''will in due course increase our gross national product by several times the amount of taxes actually cut. Profit margins will be improved and both the incentive to invest and the supply of internal funds for investment will be increased. There will be new interest in taking risks, in increasing productivity, in creating new jobs and new products for long-term economic growth. Other national problems, moreover, will be aided by full employment. It will encourage the location of new plants in areas of labor surplus and provide new jobs for workers that we are retraining and facilitate the adjustment which will be necessary under our new trade expansion bill and reduce a number of government expenditures.''' * '''If the [[Economy of the United States|economy]] today were operating close to capacity levels with little [[unemployment]], or if a sudden change in our military requirements should cause a scramble for men and resources, then I would oppose tax reductions as irresponsible and inflationary; and I would not hesitate to recommend a tax increase, if that were necessary.''' But our resources and manpower are not being fully utilized; the general level of [[Price|prices]] has been remarkably stable; and increased [[competition]], both at home and abroad, along with increased productivity will help keep both prices and wages within appropriate limits. * When I announced in April of 1961 that this kind of comprehensive tax reform would follow the bill enacted this year, I had hoped to present it in an atmosphere of a balanced budget. But '''it has been necessary to augment sharply our nuclear and conventional forces, to step up our efforts in space, to meet the increased cost of servicing the national debt and meeting our obligations, established by law, to veterans. These expenditure increases, let me stress, constitute practically all of the increases which have occurred under this administration, the remainder having gone to fight the recession we found in industry--mostly through the supplemental employment bill-and in agriculture. We shall, therefore, neither postpone our tax cut plans nor cut into essential national security programs. This administration is determined to protect America's security and survival and we are also determined to step up its economic growth. I think we must do both.''' * '''Our true choice is not between tax reduction, on the one hand, and the avoidance of large Federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenue to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.''' Surely the lesson of the last decade is that budget deficits are not caused by wild-eyed spenders but by slow economic growth and periodic [[Recession|recessions]], and any new recession would break all deficit records. In short, '''it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.''' The experience of a number of [[Europe|European]] countries and [[Japan]] have borne this out. This country's own experience with tax reduction in 1954 has borne this out. '''And the reason is that only [[w:Full employment|full employment]] can balance the budget, and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment. The purpose of cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.''' * I repeat: '''our practical choice is not between a tax-cut deficit and a budgetary surplus. It is between two kinds of deficits: a chronic deficit of inertia, as the unwanted result of inadequate revenues and a restricted economy; or a temporary deficit of transition, resulting from a tax cut designed to boost the economy, increase tax revenues, and achieve'''--and I believe this can be done--'''a budget surplus. The first type of deficit is a sign of waste and weakness; the second reflects an investment in the future.''' * I do not underestimate the obstacles which the Congress will face in enacting such legislation. No one will be satisfied. Everyone will have his own approach, his own bill, his own reduction. '''A high order of restraint and determination will be required if the possible is not to wait on the perfect. But a nation capable of marshaling these qualities in any dramatic threat to its security is surely capable, as a great free society, of meeting a slower and more complex threat to our economic vitality. This Nation can afford to reduce taxes, we can afford a temporary deficit, but we cannot afford to do nothing. For on the strength of our free economy rests the hope of all free nations. We shall not fail that hope, for free men and free nations must prosper and they must prevail.''' * '''When I was a Congressman I never realized how important Congress was, but now I do.''' * Well, '''the purpose of reform really is directed to the encouraging of growth and employment.''' I quite agree that to launch into a full scale battle on general reform for academic reasons would be unwise. '''The central purpose behind the reform must therefore be to encourage those changes in our tax laws which will encourage economic growth for that purpose, and not merely because it might have some longer range interest or significance. The primary job will be to encourage the flow of capital into those areas which stimulate the national growth and not diminish it. But it is going to be a tough fight, because once you spell out''', as I said before, '''reform, it's bound to affect adversely the interests of some, while favoring the interests of others. Therefore reform may be a longer task, and we are anxious that in the effort to get reform, that we do not lose the very important matter of tax reduction for the sake of the economy.''' * So that as I tried to say in my speech, '''we are not faced with the question of balancing our budget, or having a tax reduction. I believe we are faced with the fact that we are going to have a deficit mostly because of the sharp rise in the recent years in space and defense, and to increase our taxes sufficient to bring that budget into balance would be defeating, because of course it would provide a heavy deflationary effect on our economy, and move us into a recession at an accelerated rate.''' * I want to point out that we have increased in conventional forces in the last 2 years the number of our divisions from 11 to 16, and we are also providing equipment for 22 divisions in case it were necessary to mobilize our Guard. We have six divisions in Europe, and we have the equipment for two more. Now, '''I think the Cuban incident indicated the importance of a strong conventional force. The greatest factor on our side was the fact that we had superior conventional strength on the scene, and it would have been necessary to equalize that strength for the Soviets to initiate the use of [[nuclear weapons]], which of course they were quite reluctant to do.''' * But I must say I am reminded of Mr. [[Robert Frost]]'s motto about '''not taking down a fence until you know why it is put up, and this is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world, and sustains a good many countries which would definitely collapse or pass into the Communist bloc.''' === 1963 === [[File:Inferno Canto 9 verses 124-126.jpg|thumb|[[Dante]] once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.]] [[File:PSU Army ROTC Cadets on Ropes Course.JPG|thumb|A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrow’s hard core unemployed.]] [[File:Archives of American Art - Children at a free Federal Art Project art class - 12043.jpg|thumb|Partnership is not a posture but a process-a continuous process that grows stronger each year as we devote ourselves to common tasks.]] [[File:Adam Bernaert - "Vanitas" Still Life - Walters 37682.jpg|thumb|We need not feel the bitterness of the past to discover its meaning for the present and the future.]] [[File:Kennedy children visit the Oval Office, October 1962.jpg|thumb|Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.]] [[File:Jfk2.jpg|thumb|As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.]] [[File:President Kennedy signing the 1961 Amendments into law, June 30, 1961.jpg|thumb|This is a great country and requires a good deal of all of us, so I can imagine nothing more important than for all of you to continue to work in public affairs and be interested in them, not only to bring up a family, but also give part of your time to your community, your state, and your country.]] [[File:Kennedy vonbraun 19may63 02.jpg|thumb|The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask "why not?".]] [[File:Kennedy with von Braun.jpg|thumb|This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it.]] [[File:President Kennedy inaugural address (color).jpg|thumb|Unless in this free country of ours we are able to demonstrate that we are able to make this society work and progress, unless we can hope that from you we are going to get back all of the talents which society has helped develop in you, then, quite obviously, all the hopes of all of us that freedom will not only endure but prevail, of course, will be disappointed.]] * '''A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.''' ** Remarks Recorded for the Opening of a USIA Transmitter at Greenville, North Carolina (8 February 1963) [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-161-010.aspx Audio at JFK Library (01:29 - 01:40)] · [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9551 Text of speech at ''The American Presidency Project'']<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley --> * This increase in the life span and in the number of our senior citizens presents this Nation with increased opportunities: the opportunity to draw upon their skill and sagacity — and the opportunity to provide the respect and recognition they have earned. It is not enough for a great nation merely to have added new years to life — our objective must also be to add new life to those years. ** Special message to the Congress on the needs of the nation's senior citizens (21 February 1963); in ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 189 * With all of the history of war, and the human race's history unfortunately has been a good deal more war than peace, with nuclear weapons distributed all through the world, and available, and the strong reluctance of any people to accept defeat, I see the possibility in the 1970's of the President of the United States having to face a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have these weapons." * [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx The President's News Conference (107)" (21 March 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * "...'''we must think and act not only for the moment but for our time.''' I am reminded of the story of the great French Marshal Lyautey, who once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. The Marshal replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose, plant it this afternoon.'" ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in Berkeley at the University of California (109)" (23 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> *The dangers in the proliferation of national nuclear weapons systems are so obvious that I am sure I need not repeat them here.<br>It is because of our preoccupation with this problem that my Government has sought to arrange with you for periodic visits to Dimona. When we spoke together in May 1961 '''you said that we might make whatever use we wished of the information resulting from the first visit of American scientists to Dimona and that you would agree to further visits''' by neutrals as well. I had assumed from Mrs. Meir's comment that there would be no problem between us on this.<br>'''We are concerned with the disturbing effects on world stability which would accompany the development of a nuclear weapons capability by [[Israel]].''' I cannot imagine that the [[Arabs]] would refrain from turning to the Soviet Union for assistance if Israel were to develop a nuclear weapons capability--with all the consequences this would hold. But the problem is much larger than its impact on the [[Middle East]]. Development of a nuclear weapons capability by Israel would almost certainly lead other larger countries, that have so far refrained from such development, to feel that they must follow suit.<br>I can well appreciate your concern for developments in the [[Egypt|UAR]]. '''But I see no present or imminent nuclear threat to Israel from there.''' I am assured that our intelligence on this question is good and that the Egyptians do not presently have any installation comparable to Dimona, nor any facilities potentially capable of nuclear weapons production. But, of course, if you have information that would support a contrary conclusion, I should like to receive it from you through Ambassador Barbour. '''We have the capacity to check it.''' **[https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/When-Ben-Gurion-said-no-to-JFK 18 May] 1963 [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/kennedy-letter-to-ben-gurion-regarding-visit-to-dimona letter] to [[David Ben-Gurion]] the Prime Minister of Israel * I think when we talk about corporal punishment, and we have to think about our own children, and we are rather reluctant, it seems to me, to have other people administering punishment to our own children, because we are reluctant, it puts a special obligation on us to maintain order and to send children out from our homes who accept the idea of discipline. So I would not be for corporal punishment in the school, but I would be for very strong discipline at home so we don't place an unfair burden on our teachers. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Press+Conferences/003POF05Pressconference56_05221963.htm News Conference 56 (22 May 1963)] * "O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in New York City at the Dedication of the East Coast Memorial to the Missing at Sea (203)" (23 May 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Quoting an old Breton fishermen's prayer that Admiral Rickover had inscribed on plaques that he gave to newly commissioned submarine captains. Rickover presented President Kennedy with one of these plaques, which sat on his desk in the Oval Office.] * '''No country can possibly move ahead, no [[free society]] can possibly be sustained, unless it has an educated citizenry whose qualities of mind and heart permit it to take part in the complicated and increasingly sophisticated decisions that pour not only upon the President and upon the Congress, but upon all the citizens who exercise the ultimate power...Quite obviously, there is a higher purpose, and that is the hope that you will turn to the service of the State the scholarship, the education, the qualities which society has helped develop in you; that you will render on the community level, or on the state level, or on the national level, or render on the community level, or on the state level, or on the national level, or the international level a contribution to the maintenance of freedom and peace and the security of our country and those associated with it in a most critical time.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Commencement Address at San Diego State College (226)" (6 June 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. ** Radio and television report to the American people on civil rights (11 June 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 468 --> * '''[[Dante]] once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.''' ** At the signing of a charter establishing the German Peace Corps, Bonn, West Germany (24 June 1963); ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum] President Kennedy got his facts wrong. Dante never made this statement. The closest to what President Kennedy meant is in the Inferno where the souls in the ante-room of hell, who "lived without disgrace and without praise," and the coward angels, who did not rebel but did not resist the cohorts of Lucifer, are condemned to being whirled through the air by great winds while being stung by wasps and horseflies. Dante placed those who "non furon ribelli né fur fedeli" — were neither for nor against God, in a special region near the mouth of [[Hell]]; the lowest part of Hell, a lake of ice, was for traitors. [https://web.archive.org/web/20201213100425/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/fast-facts-john-f-kennedy/john-f-kennedys-favorite-quotations-dantes-inferno According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in the undated article "John F. Kennedy's Favorite Quotations: Dante's Inferno"] President Kennedy's quote was based upon an interpretation of Dante's ''Inferno''. As ''Robert Kennedy explained'' in 1964, "President Kennedy's favorite quote was really from Dante, 'The hottest places in [[Hell]] are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality.'" This supposed quotation is not actually in Dante's work, but is based upon a similar one. In the ''Inferno'', [[Dante]] and his guide [[Virgil]], on their way to Hell, pass by a group of dead souls outside the entrance to Hell. These individuals, when alive, remained neutral at a time of great moral decision. Virgil explains to Dante that these souls cannot enter either Heaven or Hell because they did not choose one side or another. They are therefore worse than the greatest sinners in Hell because they are repugnant to both God and Satan alike, and have been left to mourn their fate as insignificant beings neither hailed nor cursed in life or death, endlessly travailing below Heaven but outside of Hell. This scene occurs in the third canto of the ''Inferno''. [http://www.bartleby.com/73/1211.html According to Bartleby.com] Kennedy's remark may have been inspired by the passage from Dante Alighieri's [[The Divine Comedy|La Comedia Divina]] “Inferno,” canto 3, lines 35–42 (1972) passage as translated by Geoffrey L. Bickersteth: "by those disbodied wretches who were loth when living, to be either blamed or praised. [...] Fear to lose beauty caused the heavens to expel these caitiffs; nor, lest to the damned they theng ave cause to boast, receives them the deep hell." A more modern-sounding translation from the foregoing Dante's Inferno passage was translataed 1971 by Mark Musa thus: “They are mixed with that repulsive choir of angels … undecided in neutrality. Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out, but even Hell itself would not receive them for fear the wicked there might glory over them.” * There are those who regard this history of past strife and exile as better forgotten. But, to use the phrase of Yeats, let us not casually reduce "that great past to a trouble of fools." For '''we need not feel the bitterness of the past to discover its meaning for the present and the future.''' ** Speech to a joint session of the Dail and the Seanad, Dublin, Ireland (28 June 1963) * The world is even smaller today, though the enemy of [[John Boyle O'Reilly]] is no longer a hostile power. Indeed, '''across the gulfs and barriers that now divide us, we must remember that there are no permanent enemies. Hostility today is a fact, but it is not a ruling law. The supreme reality of our time is our indivisibility as children of God and our common vulnerability on this planet.''' ** Speech to a joint session of the Dail and the Seanad, Dublin, Ireland (28 June 1963) * '''The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask "why not?".''' ** Speech delivered to the Dail (Parliament of Ireland) (28 June 1963) * The peace-keeping machinery of the [[w:United Nations|United Nations]] cannot work without the help of the smaller nations, nations whose forces threaten no one and whose forces can thus help create a world in which no nation is threatened. Great powers have their responsibilities and their burdens, but the smaller nations of the world must fulfill their obligations as well. ** Speech to a joint session of the Dail and the Seanad, Dublin, Ireland (28 June 1963) * Five score years ago the ground on which we here stand shuddered under the clash of arms and was consecrated for all time by the blood of American manhood. [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Abraham Lincoln#The_Gettysburg_Address_.281863.29|in dedicating this great battlefield, has expressed, in words too eloquent for paraphrase or summary, why this sacrifice was necessary.]] Today, we meet not to add to his words nor to amend his sentiment but to recapture the feeling of awe that comes when contemplating a memorial to so many who placed their lives at hazard for right, as God gave them to see right. Among those who fought here were young men who but a short time before were pursuing truth in the peaceful halls of the then new [[University of Notre Dame]]. Since that time men of Notre Dame have proven, on a hundred battlefields, that the words, "For God, For Country, and For Notre Dame," are full of meaning. Let us pray that God may grant us the wisdom to find and to follow a path that will enable the men of Notre Dame and all of our young men to seek truth in the halls of study rather than on the field of battle." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Message from the President on the Occasion of Field Mass at Gettysburg, delivered by John S. Gleason, Jr." (29 June 1963)]; Box 10, President's Outgoing Executive Correspondence, White House Central Chronological Files, Papers of John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * I must say that though other days may not be so bright, as we look toward the future, that the brightest days will continue to be those we spent with you here in Ireland. ** Speech at Eyre Square, Galway, Ireland (29 June 1963) * This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection, and I certainly will come back in the springtime ** Speech at [[w:Limerick|Limerick]], [[w:Ireland|Ireland]] (29 June 1963) * Communism has sometimes succeeded as a scavenger, but never as a leader. It has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-045-049.aspx Speech at] [[w:Allied Joint Force Command Naples|NATO Headquarters, Naples Italy]] (2 July 1963) * '''Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Re: United States Committee for UNICEF (25 July 1963); Box 11, President's Outgoing Executive Correspondence Series, White House Central Chronological File, Presidential Papers, Papers of John F. Kennedy] *'''And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worth while, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: "I served in the [[United States Navy]]."''' ** Remarks at the U.S. Naval Academy (1 August 1963), ''Public Papers of the Presidents'' 321, p. 620 * I want to drink a cup of tea to all those Kennedys who went and all those Kennedys who stayed. ** While visiting his ancestral homestead in [[w:Wexford|Wexford]], as quoted in [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/27/newsid_4461000/4461115.stm ''BBC News''] * '''This is a great country and requires a good deal of all of us, so I can imagine nothing more important than for all of you to continue to work in public affairs and be interested in them, not only to bring up a family, but also give part of your time to your community, your state, and your country.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks to the Delegates of Girls Nation (322)" (2 August 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * As this State's income rises, so does the income of Michigan. As the income of Michigan rises, so does the income of the United States. '''''A rising tide lifts all the boats''''' and as Arkansas becomes more prosperous so does the United States and as this section declines so does the United States. So I regard this as an [[investment]] by the people of the United States in the United States. ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9455 Remarks in Heber Springs, Arkansas, at the Dedication of Greers Ferry Dam (3 October 1963)] ** Variant: '''Rising tide lifts all boats.''' *** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks in Pueblo, Colorado following Approval of the Frying Pan-Arkansas Project (336)" (17 August 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * I can assure you that there is no career which you will adopt when you leave college that will bring you a more and greater sense of satisfaction and a greater feeling of participation in a great effort than will your work here or in your state or in your community...this generation of Americans — you here who will be in positions of responsibility for the rest of this century — will deal with the most difficult, sensitive, and dangerous problems that any society of people has ever dealt with at any age...The [[Greeks]] defined [[happiness]] as the full use of your powers along the lines of excellence, and I can imagine no place where you can use your powers more fully along lines more excellent in the [[1960s|1960's]] than to be in the service of the United States. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks to Student Participants in the White House Seminar in Government (334)" (27 August 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget.... As the national income grows, the federal government will ultimately end up with more [[Taxation|revenues]]. Prosperity is the real way to balance our budget. By lowering tax rates, by increasing jobs and income, we can expand tax revenues and finally bring our budget into balance. ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9413 "Radio and Television Address to the Nation on the Test Ban Treaty and the Tax Reduction Bill" (18 September 1963)] * What we seek to advance, what we seek to develop in all of our colleges and universities, are educated men and women who can bear the burdens of responsible citizenship, who can make judgments about life as it is, and as it must be, and encourage the people to make those decisions which can bring not only prosperity and security, but happiness to the people of the United States and those who depend upon it. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address at the University of North Dakota (379)" (25 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * I hope that all of you who are students here will recognize the great opportunity that lies before you in this decade, and in the decades to come, to be of service to our country. The Greeks once defined happiness as full use of your powers along lines of excellence, and I can assure you that there is no area of life where you will have an opportunity to use whatever powers you have, and to use them along more excellent lines, bringing ultimately, I think, happiness to you and those whom you serve." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address at the University of Wyoming (381)" (25 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * I ask particularly that those of you who are now in school will prepare yourselves to bear the burden of leadership over the next 40 years here in the United States, and make sure that the United States — which I believe almost alone has maintained watch and ward for freedom — that the United States meet its responsibility. That is a wonderful challenge for us as a people. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at the Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington (387)" (27 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * '''A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrow’s hard core unemployed.''' ** [http://www.bartleby.com/73/1189.html President JOHN F. KENNEDY, statement on the need for training or rehabilitation of Selective Service rejectees" (30 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 753-->; also: [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9446&st=&st1= John F. Kennedy: "Statement by the President on the Need for Training or Rehabilitation of Selective Service Rejectees" (30 September 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''Things don't just happen, they are made to happen.''' ** Speech given at the Arkansas State Fairground, Little Rock, United States of America (3 October 1963); quoted in ''John F. Kennedy in Quotations: A Topical Dictionary, with Sources'' (2013), McFarland, entry 1729<!-- <small>{{ISBN|1586486381}}</small> --> * We can say with some assurance that, although children may be the victims of fate, they will not be the victims of our neglect. ** "Remarks upon signing the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Bill (434)" (24 October 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * '''A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.''' ** [http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/speech-3379 Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963)] * The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us. ** Remarks at {{w|Amherst College}} (26 October 1963) * '''When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment.''' ** Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963) * The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. ** Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963) * '''We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.''' ** Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963) * '''I have said that control of arms is a mission that we undertake particularly for our children and our grandchildren and that they have no lobby in Washington.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Statement by the President to American Women Concerning their Role in Securing World Peace (449)" (1 November 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * The name of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]] brings to mind the historic accomplishments of one of the great men of this century, his inspired leadership of the Turkish people, his perceptive understanding of the modern world and his boldness as a military leader. ** Speaking in Washington D.C. (10 November 1963), [http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AJFKennedy_November1963.ogg on the 25th commemoration of Atatürk's death.] It was his speech to the Turkish people on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the death of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] and the 40th anniversary of the [[Turkey|Turkish Republic]] [http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AJFKennedy_November1963.ogg in November 1963.] * The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear. ** [[John F. Kennedy]], press conference (November 10, 1963). Transcript, ''The New York Times'' (November 11, 1963), p. 20. In Theodore Sorensen's ''Kennedy'' (1965), these words are followed by "There may be difficulties with the Congress, but a margin of only one vote would still be a mandate" (p. 219). * '''This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in San Antonio at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center (472)," (21 November 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' -->; the original anecdote from which Kennedy derived this comparison is in ''An Only Child'' (1961) by Frank O'Connor, p. 180<!-- London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd. -->. * Much [[time]] has passed since the first colonists came to rocky shores and dark forests of an unknown continent, much time since [[President of the United States|President]] [[George Washington|Washington]] led a young people into the [[experience]] of nationhood, much time since President [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] saw the American nation through the ordeal of fraternal war — and in these years our population, our plenty and our [[power]] have all grown apace. Today we are a nation of nearly two hundred million souls, stretching from coast to coast, on into the Pacific and north toward the Arctic, a nation enjoying the fruits of an ever-expanding agriculture and industry and achieving standards of living unknown in previous history. We give our humble thanks for this. <br /> Yet, as our power has grown, so has our [[peril]]. Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the [[ideals]] of [[honor]] and [[faith]] we inherit from our forefathers — for the [[decency]] of [[purpose]], steadfastness of [[resolve]] and [[strength]] of [[will]], for the [[courage]] and the [[humility]], which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate. '''As we express our [[gratitude]], we must never forget that the highest [[appreciation]] is not to utter [[words]] but to [[live]] by them. <br /> Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to [[Providence]] for manifold [[blessings]] — let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals — and let us [[resolve]] to [[share]] those blessings and those ideals with our fellow [[human]] beings throughout the [[world]].''' ** [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-3560-thanksgiving-day-1963 Proclamation 3560 — Thanksgiving Day (5 November 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->; this was a proclamation released on 5 November for the Thanksgiving Day of 1963, which in that year fell upon the 28th day of that month. * I come here today...not just because you are doing well and because you are outstanding students, but because we expect something of you. And '''unless in this free country of ours we are able to demonstrate that we are able to make this society work and progress, unless we can hope that from you we are going to get back all of the talents which society has helped develop in you, then, quite obviously, all the hopes of all of us that freedom will not only endure but prevail, of course, will be disappointed.''' So we ask the best of you...I congratulate you on what you have done, and most of all I congratulate you on what you are going to do. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in New York City to the National Convention of the Catholic Youth Organization (463)," (15 November 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> ====Third State of the Union Address ==== [[File:Kennedy Family with Dogs During a Weekend at Hyannisport 1963-crop.png|thumb|The future of any country which is dependent upon the will and wisdom of its citizens is damaged, and irreparably damaged, whenever any of its children is not educated to the full extent of his talent.]] [[File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Young patriot.jpg|thumb|This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.]] [[File:MacMillian and Kennedy in Key West March 1961.jpg|thumb|While we shall never weary in the defense of freedom, neither shall we ever abandon the pursuit of peace.]] :<small>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9138&st=&st1= "Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union" (14 January 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --></small> * Little more than 100 weeks ago I assumed the office of President of the United States. '''In seeking the help of the Congress and our countrymen, I pledged no easy answers. I pledged — and asked — only toil and dedication. These the Congress and the people have given in good measure.''' * In short, both at home and abroad, there may now be a temptation to relax. For '''the road has been long, the burden heavy, and the pace consistently urgent. But we cannot be satisfied to rest here. This is the side of the hill, not the top. The mere absence of war is not peace. The mere absence of recession is not growth. We have made a beginning — but we have only begun. Now the time has come to make the most of our gains''' — to translate the renewal of our national strength into the achievement of our national purpose. * I am convinced that the enactment this year of tax reduction and tax reform overshadows all other domestic problems in this Congress. For we cannot for long lead the cause of peace and freedom, if we ever cease to set the pace here at home. For '''we cannot for long lead the cause of peace and freedom, if we ever cease to set the pace here at home.''' * '''This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.''' * '''The future of any country which is dependent upon the will and wisdom of its citizens is damaged, and irreparably damaged, whenever any of its children is not educated to the full extent of his talent''', from grade school through [https://madchemclasses.online/ graduate school]. * '''As the idealism of our youth has served world peace, so can it serve the domestic tranquility.''' * These are not domestic concerns alone. For '''upon our achievement of greater vitality and strength here at home hang our fate and future in the world''': our ability to sustain and supply the security of free men and nations, our ability to command their respect for our leadership, our ability to expand our trade without threat to our balance of payments, and our ability to adjust to the changing demands of cold war competition and challenge. '''We shall be judged more by what we do at home than by what we preach abroad.''' Nothing we could do to help the developing countries would help them half as much as a booming U.S. economy. And nothing our opponents could do to encourage their own ambitions would encourage them half as much as a chronic lagging U.S. economy. These domestic tasks do not divert energy from our security — they provide the very foundation for freedom's survival and success. * But '''complacency or self-congratulation can imperil our security as much as the weapons of tyranny. A moment of pause is not a promise of peace.''' * For '''the road to world peace and freedom is still long, and there are burdens which only full partners can share — in supporting the common defense, in expanding world trade''', in aligning our balance of payments, in aiding the emergent nations, '''in concerting political and economic policies''', and in welcoming to our common effort other industrialized nations, notably Japan, whose remarkable economic and political development of the 1950's permits it now to play on the world scene a major constructive role. * For '''the unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion.''' * '''While we shall never weary in the defense of freedom, neither shall we ever abandon the pursuit of peace.''' * For '''we seek not the worldwide victory of one nation or system but a worldwide victory of man. The modern globe is too small, its weapons are too destructive, and its disorders are too contagious to permit any other kind of victory.''' ==== Address at Vanderbilt University ==== [[File:Statue of Liberty 23.JPG|thumb|Liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain.]] [[File:ArchivesRotunda.jpg|thumb|The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities. Each can be neglected only at the peril of the other.]] [[File:The County Election, Bingham, 1846.jpg|thumb|The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.]] [[File:Statue of Liberty, Silhouette.jpg|thumb|Only an educated and informed people will be a free people.]] [[File:Authority of Law SCOTUS.JPG|thumb|Law is the adhesive force in the cement of society, creating order out of chaos and coherence in place of anarchy.]] [[File:1942 JFK uniform portrait.jpg|thumb|Only a respect for the law makes it possible for free men to dwell together in peace and progress.]] :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/aZ0Im5s0mUqPJlFNs6iO4A.aspx Remarks in Nashville at the 90th Anniversary Convocation of Vanderbilt University] ([[18 May]] [[1963]]). In May of 1963, President Kennedy added his weight to the federal government’s preparation for the impending clash with the state of Alabama over the integration of the [[w:University of Alabama|University of Alabama]]. Less than a week after the bombing of a Black American’s home and hotel in Birmingham, President Kennedy made a one-day trip to Tennessee and Alabama, saluting the ninetieth anniversary of Vanderbilt University and the thirtieth anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority, but in addition reminding his listeners of their roles and responsibilities as citizens. In a spirited and eloquent speech before an estimated crowd of 30,000 people in the stadium at [[w:Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt University]] in Nashville, Tennessee on May 18, 1963, President Kennedy reminded his listeners that it falls to the educated man to assume the greater obligations of citizenship — for the pursuit of learning, to serve the public and to uphold the law.</small> * The essence of Vanderbilt is still learning, the essence of its outlook is still liberty, and liberty and learning will be and must be the touchstones of Vanderbilt University and of any free university in this country or the world. I say two touchstones, yet they are almost inseparable, inseparable if not indistinguishable, for '''liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain.''' * This State, this city, this campus, have stood long for both human rights and human enlightenment — and let that forever be true. This Nation is now engaged in a continuing debate about the rights of a portion of its citizens. This Nation is now engaged in a continuing debate about the rights of a portion of its citizens. That will go on, and those rights will expand until the standard first forged by the Nation's founders has been reached, and all Americans enjoy equal opportunity and liberty under law. But this Nation was not founded solely on the principle of citizens' rights. Equally important, though too often not discussed, is the citizen's responsibility. For '''our privileges can be no greater than our obligations. The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities. Each can be neglected only at the peril of the other. I speak to you today, therefore, not of your rights as Americans, but of your responsibilities. They are many in number and different in nature. They do not rest with equal weight upon the shoulders of all. Equality of opportunity does not mean equality of responsibility. All Americans must be responsible citizens, but some must be more responsible than others, by virtue of their public or their private position, their role in the family or community, their prospects for the future, or their legacy from the past. Increased responsibility goes with increased ability, for "[[s:Bible_(King_James)/Luke#Chapter_12|of those to whom much is given, much is required.]]"''' * You have responsibilities, in short, to use your talents for the benefit of the society which helped develop those talents. You must decide, as [[Goethe]] put it, whether you will be an anvil or a hammer, whether you will give to the world in which you were reared and educated the broadest possible benefits of that education. '''Of the many special obligations incumbent upon an educated citizen, I would cite three as outstanding: your obligation to the pursuit of learning, your obligation to serve the public, your obligation to uphold the law.''' * '''If the pursuit of learning is not defended by the educated citizen, it will not be defended at all.''' For there will always be those who scoff at intellectuals, who cry out against research, who seek to limit our educational system. Modern cynics and skeptics see no more reason for landing a man on the moon, which we shall do, than the cynics and skeptics of half a millennium ago saw for the discovery of this country. They see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing. </br> But the educated citizen knows how much more there is to know. He knows that "knowledge is power," more so today than ever before. He knows that '''only an educated and informed people will be a free people''', that '''the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all''', and that '''if we can, as [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] put it, "enlighten the people generally … tyranny and the oppressions of mind and body will vanish, like evil spirits at the dawn of day." And, therefore, the educated citizen has a special obligation to encourage the pursuit of learning, to promote exploration of the unknown, to preserve the freedom of inquiry, to support the advancement of research, and to assist at every level of government the improvement of education for all Americans, from grade school to graduate school.''' * Secondly, the educated citizen has an obligation to serve the public. He may be a precinct worker or President. He may give his talents at the courthouse, the State house, the White House. He may be a civil servant or a Senator, a candidate or a campaign worker, a winner or a loser. But he must be a participant and not a spectator. "At the [[Olympic Games|Olympic games]]," [[Aristotle]] wrote, "it is not the finest and strongest men who are crowned, but they who enter the lists-for out of these the prize-men are elected. So, too, in life, of the honorable and the good, it is they who act who rightly win the prizes." * I urge all of you today, especially those who are students, to act, to enter the lists of public service and rightly win or lose the prize. For we can have only one form of aristocracy in this country, as Jefferson wrote long ago in rejecting [[John Adams]]' suggestion of an artificial [[aristocracy]] of wealth and birth. It is, he wrote, the natural aristocracy of character and talent, and the best form of government, he added, was that which selected these men for positions of responsibility. * I would hope that all educated citizens would fulfill this obligation — in politics, in Government, here in Nashville, here in this State, in the [[w:United States Peace Corps|Peace Corps]], in the Foreign Service, in the Government Service, in the Tennessee Valley, in the world. You will find the pressures greater than the pay. You may endure more public attacks than support. But you will have the unequaled satisfaction of knowing that your character and talent are contributing to the direction and success of this free society. * '''Third, and finally, the educated citizen has an obligation to uphold the law.''' This is the obligation of every citizen in a free and peaceful society — but the educated citizen has a special responsibility by the virtue of his greater understanding. For whether he has ever studied history or current events, ethics or civics, the rules of a profession or the tools of a trade, he knows that '''only a respect for the law makes it possible for free men to dwell together in peace and progress.''' * He knows that '''law is the adhesive force in the cement of society, creating order out of chaos and coherence in place of anarchy.''' He knows that for one man to defy a law or court order he does not like is to invite others to defy those which they do not like, leading to a breakdown of all justice and all order. He knows, too, that '''every fellowman is entitled to be regarded with decency and treated with dignity. Any educated citizen who seeks to subvert the law, to suppress freedom, or to subject other human beings to acts that are less than human, degrades his heritage, ignores his learning, and betrays his obligation.''' * Certain '''other societies may respect the rule of force — we respect the rule of law.''' * Ninety years from now I have no doubt that [[w:Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt University]] will still be fulfilling this mission. It will still uphold learning, encourage public service, and teach respect for the law. It will neither turn its back on proven wisdom or turn its face from newborn challenge. It will still pass on to the youth of our land the full meaning of their rights and their responsibilities. And it will still be teaching the truth — the '''truth''' that '''makes us free and will keep us free.''' ==== [[w:John F. Kennedy#American_University_speech|American University speech]] ==== :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/BWC7I4C9QUmLG9J6I8oy8w.aspx Commencement Address at American University (10 June 1963)]; also entitled “Strategy of Peace”, is considered one of Kennedy’s most powerful speeches, in which Kennedy laid out a hopeful, yet realistic route for world peace at a time when the U.S. and [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] faced the potential for an escalating nuclear arms race. Kennedy addressed American University graduates mere months after the fierce standoff over the [[w:Cuban Missile Crisis|Cuban Missile Crisis]]. At the time of his speech world powers were gathered in Geneva to discuss complete nuclear disarmament. In his speech the President asks the graduates to re-examine their attitudes towards [[peace]], the Soviet Union, and the [[w:Cold War|Cold War]], famously remarking, "If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity." The President also announces that he, Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]], and British Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]] have agreed to hold discussions concerning a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. Finally, he explains that the United States will not conduct atmospheric nuclear tests on the condition that other countries uphold this same promise.</small> [[File:JFK1968-Front&Back.jpg|thumb|Our problems are manmade — therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.]] [[File:President Kennedy addresses nation on Civil Rights, 11 June 1963.jpg|thumb|If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.]] [[File:President Kennedy American University Commencement Address June 10, 1963.jpg|thumb|No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue.]] [[File:Castle Romeo.jpg|thumb|Nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy — or of a collective death-wish for the world.]] [[File:Children living next to Daurra Oil Refinery in Iraq.jpg|thumb|Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.]] * I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived — yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace. What kind of peace do I mean? '''What kind of peace do we seek? Not a [[w:Pax Americana|Pax Americana]] enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.''' * I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the [[World War II|Second World War]]. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn. '''Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles — which can only destroy and never create — is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace. I speak of peace''', therefore, '''as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war — and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.''' * '''Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament — and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude — as individuals and as a Nation — for our attitude is as essential as theirs.''' And every graduate of this school, '''every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward — by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.''' * '''Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable — that mankind is doomed — that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.''' We need not accept that view. '''Our problems are manmade — therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.''' Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable — and we believe they can do it again. * '''I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal. Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace — based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions — on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned.''' There is no single, simple key to this peace — no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. '''Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process — a way of solving problems'''. ** Kennedy's "focus on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution of human institutions." was quoted by [[Barack Obama]] in his [[Barack Obama#Nobel_Prize_acceptance_speech|Nobel Prize acceptance speech]]. * '''World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor — it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.''' And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors. * '''Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.''' * '''No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue.''' * In short, both the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. Agreements to this end are in the interests of the Soviet Union as well as ours — and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest. So, '''let us not be blind to our differences — but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.''' * Let us reexamine our attitude toward the cold war, remembering that we are not engaged in a debate, seeking to pile up debating points. We are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. '''We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different.''' We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the Communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists' interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our own vital interests, '''nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy — or of a collective death-wish for the world.''' To secure these ends, America's weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled, designed to deter, and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self- restraint. Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility. For '''we can seek a relaxation of tension without relaxing our guard.''' And, for our part, '''we do not need to use threats to prove that we are resolute.''' We do not need to jam foreign broadcasts out of fear our faith will be eroded. '''We are unwilling to impose our system on any unwilling people — but we are willing and able to engage in peaceful competition with any people on earth.''' * The [[Communist]] drive to impose their political and economic system on others is the primary cause of world tension today. For '''there can be no doubt that, if all nations could refrain from interfering in the self-determination of others, the peace would be much more assured.''' * The one major area of these negotiations where the end is in sight, yet where a fresh start is badly needed, is in a treaty to outlaw nuclear tests. The conclusion of such a treaty, so near and yet so far, would check the spiraling arms race in one of its most dangerous areas. It would place the nuclear powers in a position to deal more effectively with one of the greatest hazards which man faces in 1963, the further spread of nuclear arms. It would increase our security — it would decrease the prospects of war. Surely this goal is sufficiently important to require our steady pursuit, yielding neither to the temptation to give up the whole effort nor the temptation to give up our insistence on vital and responsible safeguards. * Finally, my fellow Americans, '''let us examine our attitude toward peace and freedom here at home. The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad.''' We must show it in the dedication of our own lives--as many of you who are graduating today will have a unique opportunity to do, by serving without pay in the Peace Corps abroad or in the proposed National Service Corps here at home. But '''wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete. It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of government--local, State, and National--to provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the legislative branch at all levels, wherever that authority is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections of this country to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land. All this is not unrelated to world peace. [[s:https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(King_James)/Proverbs#Chapter_16|"When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."]]''' * '''And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights — the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation — the right to breathe air as nature provided it — the right of future generations to a [https://www.pumpernickel-online.co.uk/ healthy] existence?''' * '''While we proceed to safeguard our national interests, let us also safeguard human interests. And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both.''' * '''No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can — if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers — offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.''' * '''The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough — more than enough — of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on — not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.''' ==== [[w:Civil Rights Address|Civil Rights Address]] ==== :<small> The [[s:Civil Rights Message|Civil Rights Address]] delivered on radio and television from the Oval Office (11 June 1963) in which he proposed legislation which developed into the [[w:Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. He responds to the threats of violence and obstruction on the [[w:University of Alabama|University of Alabama]] campus following [[w:Desegregation|desegregation attempts]], explaining that the United States was founded on the principle that all men are created equal and thus, all American students are entitled to attend public educational institutions, regardless of race. He also discusses how discrimination affects education, public safety, and international relations, noting that the country cannot preach freedom internationally while ignoring it domestically. The President asks Congress to enact legislation protecting all Americans' voting rights, legal standing, educational opportunities, and access to public facilities, but recognizes that legislation alone cannot solve the country's problems concerning race relations.</small> [[File:Writing the Declaration of Independence 1776 cph.3g09904.jpg|thumb|This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.]] [[File:March_on_Washington_edit.jpg|thumb|A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all.]] [[File:President Kennedy addresses nation on Civil Rights, 11 June 1963.jpg|thumb|This Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.]] * '''This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.''' * Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. And when Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops. * It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal. It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case. * This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. '''In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.''' This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the [[w:Religious text|scriptures]] and is as clear as the [[United States Constitution|American Constitution]]. * The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay? * One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And '''this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.''' * We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is a land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes? * The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand. Redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades, and protests which create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives. We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. It is a time to act in the Congress, in your State and local legislative body and, above all, in all of our daily lives. '''It is not enough to pin the blame on others, to say this is a problem of one section of the country or another, or deplore the fact that we face. A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality.''' * '''This is one country. It has become one country because all of us and all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents.''' We cannot say to 10 percent of the population that you can't have that right; that your children can't have the chance to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go into the streets and demonstrate. I think we owe them and we owe ourselves a better country than that. Therefore, I am asking for your help in making it easier for us to move ahead and to provide the kind of equality of treatment which we would want ourselves; to give a chance for every child to be educated to the limit of his talents. As I have said before, not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or an equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves. * We have a right to expect that the [[Negro]] community will be responsible, will uphold the law, but they have a right to expect that the law will be fair, that the Constitution will be [[Color blindness (racial classification)|color blind]], as [[John Marshall Harlan|Justice Harlan]] said at the turn of the century. ====Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt==== [[File:US-President John F. Kennedy stands before the Roemer - Frankfurt's City Hall in Germany 1963.jpg|thumb|Partnership is not a posture but a process-a continuous process that grows stronger each year as we devote ourselves to common tasks.]] [[File:Weekend at Newport. President Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., in beached rowboat. Newport, RI, Bailey's Beach. - NARA - 194229.jpg|thumb|A rising tide lifts all the boats. And a partnership, by definition, serves both partners, without domination or unfair advantage. Together we have been partners in adversity — let us also be partners in prosperity.]] [[File:North America from low orbiting satellite Suomi NPP.jpg|thumb|We must seek a world of peace — a world in which peoples dwell together in mutual respect and work together in mutual regard — a world where peace is not a mere interlude between wars, but an incentive to the creative energies of humanity.]] :<small>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-assembly-hall-the-paulskirche-frankfurt "Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, West Germany" (25 June 1963)]; ''The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 519<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->; also in ''The Burden and the Glory'' (1964) by John F. Kennedy, edited by Allan Nevins, p. 115]</small> * '''Partnership is not a posture but a process-a continuous process that grows stronger each year as we devote ourselves to common tasks.''' * As they say on my own Cape Cod, '''a rising tide lifts all the boats. And a partnership, by definition, serves both partners, without domination or unfair advantage. Together we have been partners in adversity — let us also be partners in prosperity.''' * But [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] tells us in his greatest poem that [[Goethe's Faust|Faust]] lost the [[liberty]] of his soul when he said to the passing moment: "Stay, thou art so fair." And '''our liberty''', too, '''is endangered if we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress. For time and the world do not stand still. [[Change]] is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.''' ** ''Variant:'' '''Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.''' *** ''Documents on International Affairs'', 1963, Royal Institute of International Affairs, ed. Sir John Wheeler Wheeler-Bennett, p. 36. * '''The mission is to create a new social order, rounded on liberty and justice, in which men are the masters of their fate, in which states are the servants of their citizens, and in which all men and women can share a better life for themselves and their children.''' That is the object of our common policy. To realize this vision, '''we must seek a world of peace — a world in which peoples dwell together in mutual respect and work together in mutual regard — a world where peace is not a mere interlude between wars, but an incentive to the creative energies of humanity.''' We will not find such a peace today, or even tomorrow. The obstacles to hope are large and menacing. Yet the goal of a peaceful world — today and tomorrow-must shape our decisions and inspire our purposes. So we are all idealists. We are all visionaries. Let it not be said of this''' Atlantic '''generation that we left ideals and visions to the past, nor purpose and determination to our adversaries. We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain the future now. And we shall ever remember what Goethe told us — that the "highest wisdom, the best that mankind ever knew" was the realization that "he only earns his freedom and existence who daily conquers them anew."''' ==== [[w:Ich bin ein Berliner|Ich bin ein Berliner]] speech ==== :<small>"[[s:Ich bin ein Berliner|Ich bin ein Berliner]]" address at 'Rathaus Schöneberg' in West-Berlin, Germany (26 June 1963); presented in the midst of a five-nation tour of Western Europe, Kennedy discusses his hopes for the reunification of Germany, and emphasizes the philosophical differences between capitalism and communism, noting, "Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free." In his remarks President Kennedy famously proclaims, "Ich bin ein Berliner."</small> [[File:Winken ueber die Berliner Mauer.jpg|thumb|Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.]] [[File:JFK speech lch bin ein berliner 1.jpg|thumb|All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."]] * '''Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "[[w:Civis romanus sum|civis Romanus sum]]." Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner."''' * There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. ''Let them come to Berlin.'' There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. ''Let them come to Berlin.'' And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. ''Let them come to Berlin.'' And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. ''Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.'' * '''[[Freedom]] has many difficulties and [[democracy]] is not perfect, but we have never had to put a [[w:Berlin Wall|wall]] up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us.''' [...] While '''the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the Communist system''', for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for '''it is''', as [[Willy Brandt|your Mayor]] has said, '''an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.''' * What is true of this city is true of Germany — real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. '''You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.''' * '''Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe.''' When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades. <br/> '''All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."''' ==== Address at the Free University of Berlin ==== :<small>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9310 Address at the Free University of Berlin (26 June 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> </small> [[File:Holbein-erasmus.jpg|thumb|The duty of the scholar, of the educated man, of the man or woman whom society has developed talents in, the duty of that man or woman is to help build the society which has made their own advancement possible.]] [[File:What_is_truth.jpg|thumb|What does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans. [...] let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were.]] * '''Prince [[Bismarck]] once said that one-third of the students of German universities broke down from overwork; another third broke down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany.''' * '''The duty of the scholar, of the educated man, of the man or woman whom society has developed talents in, the duty of that man or woman is to help build the society which has made their own advancement possible.''' * '''The scholar, the teacher, the intellectual, have a higher duty than any of the others, for society has trained you to think as well as do.''' * First, '''what does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans.''' If we are to work for the future of the city, '''let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were.''' * '''We must''' first '''bring others to see their own true interests better than they do today.''' * Secondly, '''what does justice require? In the end, it requires liberty.''' * This right of '''free choice''' is no special privilege claimed by the Germans alone. It '''is an elemental requirement of human justice.''' * '''The truth doesn't die. The desire for liberty cannot be fully suppressed.''' * As I said this morning, I am not impressed by the opportunities open to popular fronts throughout the world. '''I do not believe that any democrat can successfully ride that tiger. But I do believe in the necessity of great powers working together to preserve the human race, or otherwise we can be destroyed.''' * But '''life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met — obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.''' ==== [[w:Partial_Nuclear_Test_Ban_Treaty|Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] speech ==== :<small>[https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHA/1963/JFKWHA-207/JFKWHA-207 Radio and Television Address to the American People on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (26 July 1963)], asserting that the [[w:Partial_Nuclear_Test_Ban_Treaty|Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] will strengthen national security, lessen the risk and fear of radioactive fallout, reduce world tension by encouraging further dialogue, and prevent acquisition of [[nuclear weapons]] by nations not currently possessing them. The President emphasizes that while the treaty does not eliminate the threat of [[nuclear war]], a limited test ban is safer than an unlimited arms race.</small> [[File:President Kennedy signs Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 07 October 1963.jpg|thumb|I ask you to stop and think for a moment what it would mean to have [[nuclear weapons]] in so many hands, in the hands of countries large and small, stable and unstable, responsible and irresponsible, scattered throughout the world. There would be no rest for anyone then, no stability, no real security, and no chance of effective disarmament.]] [[File:Kennedy Family with Dogs During a Weekend at Hyannisport 1963-crop.png|thumb|The loss of even one human life [...] should be of concern to us all. Our children and grandchildren are not merely statistics toward which we can be indifferent.]] * [[w:Trinity (nuclear test)|Eighteen years ago the advent of nuclear weapons]] [[w:History of nuclear weapons|changed the course of the world as well as the war]]. Since that time, all mankind has been struggling to escape from the darkening prospect of mass destruction on earth. In an age when both sides have come to possess enough [[nuclear power]] to destroy the human race several times over, the world of communism and the world of free choice have been caught up in a vicious circle of conflicting ideology and interest. Each increase of tension has produced an increase of arms; each increase of arms has produced an increase of tension. * Yesterday a shaft of light cut into the darkness. Negotiations were concluded in Moscow on a treaty to ban all nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. For the first time, an agreement has been reached on bringing the forces of nuclear destruction under international control-a goal first sought in 1946 when [[Bernard Baruch]] presented [[w:Baruch Plan|a comprehensive control plan to the United Nations]]. * '''I do not say that a world without aggression or threats of [[war]] would be an easy world. It will bring new problems, new challenges from the Communists, new dangers of relaxing our vigilance or of mistaking their intent. But those dangers pale in comparison to those of the spiraling arms race and a collision course towards war. Since the beginning of history, war has been mankind's constant companion.''' It has been the rule, not the exception. Even a nation as young and as peace-loving as our own has fought through eight wars. * '''A [[war]] today or tomorrow, if it led to [[nuclear war]], would not be like any war in history.''' A full-scale nuclear exchange, lasting less than 60 minutes, with the weapons now in existence, could wipe out more than 300 million Americans, Europeans, and Russians, as well as untold numbers elsewhere. And '''the survivors''', as Chairman Khrushchev warned the Communist Chinese, "the survivors would envy the dead." For they '''would inherit a world so devastated by explosions and poison and fire that today we cannot even conceive of its horrors. So let us try to turn the world away from war. Let us make the most of this opportunity, and every opportunity, to reduce tension, to slow down the perilous nuclear arms race, and to check the world's slide toward final annihilation.''' * '''Continued unrestricted testing by the nuclear powers, joined in time by other nations which may be less adept in limiting pollution, will increasingly contaminate the air that all of us must breathe.''' Even then, '''the number of children and grandchildren with cancer in their bones, with leukemia in their blood, or with poison in their lungs might seem statistically small to some, in comparison with natural health hazards. But this is not a natural health hazard — and it is not a statistical issue. The loss of even one human life, or the malformation of even one baby — who may be born long after we are gone — should be of concern to us all. Our children and grandchildren are not merely statistics toward which we can be indifferent.''' * During the next several years, in addition to the four current nuclear powers, a small but significant number of nations will have the intellectual, physical, and financial resources to produce both [[nuclear weapons]] and the means of delivering them. In time, it is estimated, many other nations will have either this capacity or other ways of obtaining nuclear warheads, even as missiles can be commercially purchased today. '''I ask you to stop and think for a moment what it would mean to have [[nuclear weapons]] in so many hands, in the hands of countries large and small, stable and unstable, responsible and irresponsible, scattered throughout the world. There would be no rest for anyone then, no stability, no real security, and no chance of effective disarmament. There would only be the increased chance of accidental war, and an increased necessity for the great powers to involve themselves in what otherwise would be local conflicts.''' If only one thermonuclear bomb were to be dropped on any American, Russian, or any other city, whether it was launched by accident or design, by a madman or by an enemy, by a large nation or by a small, from any corner of the world, that one bomb could release more destructive power on the inhabitants of that one helpless city than all the bombs dropped in the Second World War. * '''No one can be certain what the future will bring. No one can say whether the time has come for an easing of the struggle. But history and our own conscience will judge us harsher if we do not now make every effort to test our hopes by action. And this is the place to begin.''' * '''According to the ancient Chinese proverb, "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." My fellow Americans, let us take that first step. Let us, if we can, step back from the shadows of war and seek out the way of peace. And if that journey is a thousand miles, or even more, let history record that we, in this land, at this time, took the first step.''' ==== UN speech ==== [[File:Animated_dove_holding_an_olive_branch.gif|thumb|[[Peace]] is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on.]] [[File:UN Headquarters 2.jpg|thumb|The task of building the peace lies with the leaders of every nation, large and small. … The long labor of peace is an undertaking for every nation — and in this effort none of us can remain unaligned.To this goal none can be uncommitted.]] [[File:UN_security_council_2005.jpg|thumb|But peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. And if it is cast out there, then no act, no pact, no treaty, no organization can hope to preserve it without the support and the wholehearted commitment of all people.]] :<small>[[s:Address to the United Nations General Assembly (Kennedy, 1963-09-20)|Address Before the 18th General Assembly of the United Nations]] (20 September 1963). In his speech the President discusses the recently signed treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests (later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty or Limited Test Ban Treaty), remarking that peace may be attainable when two nations with incompatible ideologies negotiate with each other. The President famously asks, "Space offers no problems of sovereignty…Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition?" President Kennedy also explains that the task of maintaining peace and decreasing global tension must be shared by all nations. He proposes ways for the United Nations to increase and improve their efforts in developing countries, specifically [https://www.pumpernickel-online.co.uk/ focusing on health], human rights, agriculture, communication, and the environment.</small> * The world has not escaped from the darkness. The long shadows of conflict and crisis envelop us still. But we meet today in an atmosphere of rising hope, and at a moment of comparative calm. My presence here today is not a sign of crisis, but of confidence. I am not here to report on a new threat to the peace or new signs of war. I have come to salute the [[United Nations]] and to show the support of the American people for your daily deliberations. For the value of this body's work is not dependent on the existence of emergencies — nor can the winning of peace consist only of dramatic victories. '''[[Peace]] is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on.''' * '''The task of building the peace lies with the leaders of every nation, large and small. For the great powers have no monopoly on conflict or ambition.''' The cold war is not the only expression of tension in this world — and the nuclear race is not the only arms race. Even little wars are dangerous in a nuclear world. '''The long labor of peace is an undertaking for every nation — and in this effort none of us can remain unaligned. To this goal none can be uncommitted.''' * Chronic disputes which divert precious resources from the needs of the people or drain the energies of both sides serve the interests of no one — and '''the badge of responsibility in the modern world is a willingness to seek peaceful solutions.''' * I would say to the leaders of the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]], and to their people, that '''if either of our countries is to be fully secure, we need a much better weapon than the [[w:H-bomb|H-bomb]] — a weapon better than ballistic missiles or nuclear submarines — and that better weapon is peaceful cooperation.''' * In these and other ways, '''let us move up the steep and difficult path toward comprehensive disarmament, securing mutual confidence through mutual verification, and building the institutions of peace as we dismantle the engines of war. We must not let failure to agree on all points delay agreements where agreement is possible. And we must not put forward proposals for propaganda purposes.''' * Finally, in a field where the United States and the Soviet Union have a special capacity — in the field of space — there is room for new cooperation, for further joint efforts in the regulation and exploration of space. I include among these possibilities a joint expedition to the moon. '''Space offers no problems of sovereignty'''; by resolution of this Assembly, the members of the United Nations have foresworn any claim to territorial rights in outer space or on celestial bodies, and declared that international law and the United Nations Charter will apply. '''Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition?''' Why should the United States and the Soviet Union, in preparing for such expeditions, become involved in immense duplications of research, construction, and expenditure? Surely we should explore whether the scientists and astronauts of our two countries — indeed of all the world — cannot work together in the conquest of space, sending someday in this decade to the moon not the representatives of a single nation, but the representatives of all of our countries. * The contest will continue — the contest between those who see a monolithic world and those who believe in diversity — but it should be a contest in leadership and responsibility instead of destruction, a contest in achievement instead of intimidation. Speaking for the United States of America, I welcome such a contest. For we believe that '''truth is stronger than error — and that freedom is more enduring than coercion.''' And in the contest for a better life, all the world can be a winner. * '''The effort to improve the conditions of man, however, is not a task for the few. It is the task of all nations''' — acting alone, acting in groups, acting in the United Nations, '''for plague and pestilence, and plunder and pollution, the hazards of nature, and the hunger of children are the foes of every nation. The earth, the sea, and the air are the concern of every nation. And science, technology, and education can be the ally of every nation. Never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment, to end thirst and hunger, to conquer poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and massive human misery. We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world — or to make it the last.''' * New efforts are needed if this Assembly's [[w:Universal Declaration of Human Rights|Declaration of Human Rights]], now 15 years old, is to have full meaning. And new means should be found for promoting the free expression and trade of ideas — through travel and communication, and through increased exchanges of people, and books, and broadcasts. For as the world renounces the competition of weapons, competition in ideas must flourish — and that competition must be as full and as fair as possible. * '''The [[United Nations]] cannot survive as a static organization.''' Its obligations are increasing as well as its size. Its Charter must be changed as well as its customs. The authors of that Charter did not intend that it be frozen in perpetuity. '''The science of weapons and war has made us all''', far more than 18 years ago in [[San Francisco]], '''one world and one human race, with one common destiny. In such a world, absolute sovereignty no longer assures us of absolute security. The conventions of peace must pull abreast and then ahead of the inventions of war. The United Nations, building on its successes and learning from its failures, must be developed into a genuine world security system.''' * '''But peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. And if it is cast out there, then no act, no pact, no treaty, no organization can hope to preserve it without the support and the wholehearted commitment of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper; let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace, in the hearts and minds of all our people.''' I believe that we can. I believe '''the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.''' * Two years ago I told this body that the United States had proposed, and was willing to sign, a limited test ban treaty. Today that treaty has been signed. It will not put an end to war. It will not remove basic conflicts. It will not secure freedom for all. But it can be a lever, and [[Archimedes]], in explaining the principles of the lever, was said to have declared to his friends: "Give me a place where I can stand — and I shall move the world." '''My fellow inhabitants of this planet: Let us take our stand here in [[w:United Nations General Assembly|this Assembly of nations]]. And let us see if we, in our own time, can move the world to a just and lasting peace.''' ==== Address at the University of North Dakota ==== :<small> Address at the University of North Dakota (September 25, 1963). The President spoke in the University field house at Grand Forks after receiving an honorary degree of doctor of laws. Source: John F. Kennedy, Address at the University of North Dakota. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230305190231/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-university-north-dakota Archived] [https://archive.is/A3ZNy from] [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-university-north-dakota the original] on March 5, 2023.</small> [[File:UND 1922.jpg|thumb|All educated citizens bear the burden of governing, as active participants in the democratic process.]] [[File:Kennedy greeting Peace Corps volunteers, 1961.jpg|thumb|These are the problems which face this great democracy of ours. They cannot be solved by turning away, but can be solved, I believe, by the united, intelligent effort of us all.]] [[File:MontreGousset001.jpg|thumb|Things don't happen, they are made to happen.]] * [[Otto von Bismarck|Prince Bismarck]], who was named after Bismarck, N. Dak., once said that one-third of the students of German universities broke down from overwork, another third broke down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany. I do not know which third of the student body of this school is here today, but I am confident I am talking to the future rulers of not only North Dakota, but the United States, in the sense that '''all educated citizens bear the burden of governing, as active participants in the democratic process.''' * '''The fact of the matter is that in the field of [[Conservation|conservation]], every day that is lost is a valuable opportunity wasted. Every time, particularly in the East where they have such a massive concentration of population-every time an acre of land disappears into private development or exploitation, an acre of land which could be used for the people, we have lost a chance. We will never get it back.''' As you know, along the Atlantic Coast, nearly all of the sea, the beach, is owned by comparatively few people. We were able to set aside, a year ago, [[w:Cape Cod National Seashore|Cape Cod Park]], which is near to all of the people of New England. We are talking about doing the same now on the Delaware River. We are talking about doing the same in northern Indiana, near Gary. We have to seize these opportunities--we are talking about now doing the same in northern Wisconsin-'''we have to seize these opportunities to set aside these wilderness areas, these primitive areas, these fresh water areas, these lakes. We have to set them aside for the people who are going to come after us.''' * '''[[Theodore Roosevelt]] once said that the White House is a great pulpit from which to preach, and I would like to preach not only [[The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses|the vigorous life]] which he preached for us physically, but also for us in our time, facing entirely different problems, to make the same wise, vigorous decisions which he made for the conservation of our natural resources so that you and your children can enjoy this great and rich country. Nature has been so generous to us that we have mistreated her. Now, when our country is becoming increasingly crowded, when science and technology wastes so much of what we have, we have to realize that time is running out for us.''' * '''These are the problems which face this great democracy of ours. They cannot be solved by turning away, but can be solved, I believe, by the united, intelligent effort of us all.''' * There is an old saying that '''things don't happen, they are made to happen. And we in our years have to make the same wise judgments about what policies will ensure us a growing prosperity as were made in the years before. The whole experience between two world wars, which was so tragic for this country, should tell us that we cannot leave it to mere chance and accident. It requires the long range judgment of all of us, the public judgment, not only the pursuit of our private interests but the public judgment of what it takes to keep''' 180 million '''people gradually rising. And anyone who thinks it can be done by accident and chance should look back on the history of 1919 to 1939 to know what can happen when we let natural forces operate completely freely.''' * '''Unless the United States can demonstrate a sound and vigorous democratic life, a society which is not torn apart by friction and faction, an economy which is steadily growing-unless it can do all those things we cannot continue to bear the responsibilities of leadership which I think almost alone have prevented this world of ours from being overrun. The fact of the matter is that there are many things happening in the world which should serve to encourage us, as well as discourage us. [...] What we seek to advance, what we seek to develop in all of our colleges and universities, are educated men and women who can bear the burdens of responsible citizenship, who can make judgments about life as it is, and as it must be, and encourage the people to make those decisions which can bring not only prosperity and security, but happiness to the people of the United States and those who depend upon it.''' * '''[[w:Hubert Lyautey|Marshal Lyautey]], who was the great French Marshal in North Africa, was once talking to his gardener and he suggested that he plant a tree, and the gardener said, "Well, why plant it? It won't flower for 100 years." And Marshal Lyautey said, "In that case, plant it this afternoon." I think that is good advice for all of us.''' ==== Speech at Amherst College ==== :<small> Remarks upon receiving an honorary degree, [[w:Amherst College|Amherst College]], Amherst, Massachusetts (October 26, 1963); reported in ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 817. In his speech President Kennedy explains the importance of public service from educated citizens, and describes the role of an artist in society, noting [[Robert Frost|Frost]]’s contributions to American arts, culture, and ideology. The President discusses the nature of strength and power, famously stating, “When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” See also: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (October 26, 1963): ''Remarks at Amherst College on the Arts''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221205100727/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/remarks-at-amherst-college-on-the-arts Archived] [https://archive.ph/gdFQ7 from] [https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/remarks-at-amherst-college-on-the-arts the original] on December 2, 2022.</small> [[File:1983 Robert Frost One-Ounce Gold Medal.jpg |thumb|The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.]] [[File:John_F_Kennedy_Official_Portrait.jpg |thumb|When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations...]] [[File:Chapmans Coffin.jpg|thumb|A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.]] [[File:Amherst Center, Amherst, MA, USA - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure.I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.]] * Many years ago, [[Woodrow Wilson]] said, what good is a political party unless it is serving a great national purpose? And '''what good is a private college or university unless it is serving a great national purpose?''' * Privilege is here, and '''with privilege goes responsibility.''' * '''There is inherited wealth in this country and also inherited poverty. And unless the graduates of this college and other colleges like it who are given a running start in life--unless they are willing to put back into our society, those talents, the broad sympathy, the understanding, the compassion--unless they are willing to put those qualities back into the service of the Great Republic, then obviously the presuppositions upon which our democracy are based are bound to be fallible.''' * This day devoted to the memory of Robert Frost offers an opportunity for reflection which is prized by politicians as well as by others, and even by poets, for '''Robert Frost was one of the granite figures of our time in America. He was supremely two things: an artist and an American.''' A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. In America, our heroes have customarily run to men of large accomplishments. But today this college and country honors '''a man whose contribution was not to our size but to our spirit, not to our political beliefs but to our insight, not to our self-esteem, but to our self- comprehension.''' In honoring Robert Frost, we therefore can pay honor to '''the deepest sources of our national strength. That strength takes many forms, and the most obvious forms are not always the most significant. The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.''' * '''Our national strength matters, but the spirit which informs and controls our strength matters just as much. This was the special significance of Robert Frost. He brought an unsparing instinct for reality to bear on the platitudes and pieties of society. His sense of the human tragedy fortified him against self-deception and easy consolation. "I have been" he wrote, "one acquainted with the night." And because he knew the midnight as well as the high noon, because he understood the ordeal as well as the triumph of the human spirit, he gave his age strength with which to overcome despair. At bottom, he held a deep faith in the spirit of man, and it is hardly an accident that Robert Frost coupled poetry and power, for he saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself.''' When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment. * '''A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.''' * '''The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable''', especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us. * '''When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.''' For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment. * '''The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure.''' He has, as [[Robert Frost|Frost]] said, a lover's quarrel with the world. In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. If Robert Frost was much honored in his lifetime, it was because a good many preferred to ignore his darker truths. Yet in retrospect, we see how the artist's fidelity has strengthened the fiber of our national life. If sometimes our great artist have been the most critical of our society, it is because their sensitivity and their concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist, makes him aware that our Nation falls short of its highest potential. '''I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.''' * '''If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.''' And as [[Archibald MacLeish|Mr. MacLeish]] once remarked of poets, there is nothing worse for our trade than to be in style. '''In free society art is not a weapon and it does not belong to the spheres of polemic and ideology. Artists are not engineers of the soul. It may be different elsewhere. But democratic society — in it, the highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist is to remain true to himself and to let the chips fall where they may. In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation. And the nation which disdains the mission of art invites the fate of [[Robert Frost]]'s hired man, the fate of having "nothing to look backward to with pride, and nothing to look forward to with hope."''' * '''I look forward to a great future for America, a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past, and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future.''' * '''I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction.''' * Robert Frost was often skeptical about projects for human improvement, yet I do not think he would disdain this hope. As he wrote during the uncertain days of the Second War: <br/><br/> Take human nature altogether since time began . . . <br/> And it must be a little more in favor of man, <br/> Say a fraction of one percent at the very least . . . <br/> Our hold on this planet wouldn't have so increased. <br/><br/> '''Because of Mr. Frost's life and work''', because of the life and work of this college, '''our hold on this planet has increased.''' ==== President John F. Kennedy's last formal speech and public words ==== [[File:TheKennedyFamily1.jpg |thumb|I have spoken about [[w:New Frontier|the New Frontier]]. [...] It is an era which calls for action and for the best efforts of all those who would test the unknown and the uncertain in every phase of human endeavor. It is a time for pathfinders and pioneers.]] [[File:USA123.jpg|thumb|I think the United States should be a leader. A country as rich and powerful as this which bears so many burdens and responsibilities, which has so many opportunities, should be second to none.]] [[File:Kennedy, Johnson, and others watching flight of Astronaut Shepard on television, 05 May 1961.png |thumb|This Nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it. Whatever the difficulties, they will be overcome [...] we will climb this wall with safety and with speed-and we shall then explore the wonders on the other side.]] :<small>[http://www.dennismansfield.com/business/2009/11/president-john-f-kennedys-last-formal-speech.html President John F. Kennedy last formal speech and public words at Aerospace Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas on November 21, 1963.]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160731211130/https://dennismansfield.com/business/2009/11/president-john-f-kennedys-last-formal-speech.html Archived] from the original on July 31, 2016.</small> * For more than 3 years '''I have spoken about [[w:New Frontier|the New Frontier]].''' This is not a partisan term, and it is not the exclusive property of Republicans or Democrats. '''It refers''', instead, '''to this Nation's place in history, to the fact that we do stand on the edge of a great new era, filled with both crisis and opportunity, an era to be characterized by achievement and by challenge. It is an era which calls for action and for the best efforts of all those who would test the unknown and the uncertain in every phase of human endeavor. It is a time for pathfinders and pioneers.''' * '''Many''' Americans '''make the mistake of assuming that space research has no values here on earth. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just as [[w:Radar in World War II|the wartime development of]] [[w:Radar|radar]] gave us the [[w:Transistor|transistor]], and all that it made possible, so research in space medicine holds the promise of substantial benefit for those of us who are earthbound. For our effort in space is not as some have suggested, a competitor for the natural resources that we need to develop the earth. It is a working partner and a coproducer of these resources. And nothing makes this clearer than the fact that medicine in space is going to make our lives healthier and happier here on earth.''' * I give you three examples: first, '''medical space research may open up new understanding of man's relation to his [[environment]]. Examinations of the astronaut's physical, and mental, and emotional reactions can teach us more about the differences between normal and abnormal, about the causes and effects of disorientation, about changes in [[w:Metabolism|metabolism]] which could result in extending the life span. When you study the effects on our astronauts of exhaust gases which can contaminate their environment, and you seek ways to alter these gases so as to reduce their toxicity, you are working on problems similar to those in our great urban centers which themselves are being corrupted by gases and which must be clear.''' * And second, '''medical space research may revolutionize the technology and the techniques of modern medicine. Whatever new devices are created, for example, '''to monitor our astronauts, to measure their heart activity, their breathing, their brain waves, their eye motion, at great distances and under difficult conditions, will also represent a major advance in general medical instrumentation.''' Heart patients may even be able to wear a light monitor which will sound a warning if their activity exceeds certain limits. An instrument recently developed to record automatically the impact of acceleration upon an astronaut's eyes will also be of help to small children who are suffering miserably from eye defects, but are unable to describe their impairment. And also by the use of instruments similar to those used in [[w:Project Mercury|Project Mercury]], this Nation's private as well as public nursing services are being improved, enabling one nurse now to give more critically ill patients greater attention than they ever could in the past. * And third, '''medical space research may lead to new safeguards against hazards common to many environments'''. Specifically, our astronauts will need fundamentally new devices to protect them from the ill effects of radiation which can have a profound influence upon medicine and man's relations to our present environment. * '''I think the United States should be a leader. A country as rich and powerful as this which bears so many burdens and responsibilities, which has so many opportunities, should be second to none.''' And in December, while I do not regard our mastery of space as anywhere near complete, while I recognize that there are still areas where we are behind — at least in one area, the size of the booster — this year I hope the United States will be ahead. And I am for it. '''We have a long way to go. Many weeks and months and years of long, tedious work lie ahead. There will be setbacks and frustrations and disappointments. There will be, as there always are, pressures in this country to do less in this area as in so many others, and temptations to do something else that is perhaps easier. But this research here must go on. This space effort must go on. The conquest of space must and will go ahead. That much we know. That much we can say with confidence and conviction.''' * [[w:Frank O'Connor|Frank O'Connor, the Irish writer]], tells in one of his books how, as a boy, he and his friends would make their way across the countryside, and when they came to an orchard wall that seemed too high and too doubtful to try and too difficult to permit their voyage to continue, they took off their hats and tossed them over the wall — and then they had no choice but to follow them. * '''This Nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it. Whatever the difficulties, they will be overcome. Whatever the hazards, they must be guarded against. With the vital''' help of this Aerospace Medical Center, with the '''help of all those who labor in the space endeavor, with the help and support of all Americans, we will climb this wall with safety and with speed-and we shall then explore the wonders on the other side.''' ** The original anecdote from whence Kennedy derived this comparison is in An Only Child, Frank O'Connor, London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd., 1961; p. 180. ==== [[s:Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas|Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas]] ==== :<small>The following quotes were meant to be delivered on 22 November 1963, in Dallas, Texas. They were however never delivered; Kennedy was on his way to the [[w:Dallas Market Center|Trade Mart]] when [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|he was assassinated]].</small> [[File:Kennedys arrive at Dallas 11-22-63.JPG |thumb|If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help.]] [[File:Two JFKs.jpg|thumb|Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live.]] [[File:John F. Kennedy motorcade, Dallas crop.png |thumb|Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose choice affects our future.]] * It is fitting that these two symbols of Dallas progress are united in the sponsorship of this meeting, for they represent the best qualities, I am told, of leadership and learning in this city — and '''leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. The advancement of learning depends on community leadership for financial and political support and the products of that learning, in turn, are essential to the leadership's hopes for continued progress and prosperity. It is not a coincidence that those communities possessing the best in research and graduate facilities''' — from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] to [[California Institute of Technology|Cal Tech]] — '''tend to attract the new and growing industries. [...] This link between leadership and learning is not only essential at the community level, it is even more indispensable in world affairs. Ignorance and misinformation can handicap the progress of a city or a company, but they can, if allowed to prevail in foreign policy, handicap this country's security. In a world of complex and continuing problems, in a world full of frustrations and irritations, America's leadership must be guided by the lights of learning and reason''', or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible will gain the popular ascendancy with their seemingly swift and simple solutions to every world problem. * We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will [[w:Adlai_Stevenson#1952_presidential_bid|''"talk sense to the American people"'']]. But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense. And '''the notion''' that this Nation is headed for defeat through deficit, or '''that strength is but a matter of slogans, is nothing but just plain nonsense.''' * I want to discuss with you today the status of our strength and our security because this question clearly calls for the most responsible qualities of leadership and the most enlightened products of scholarship. For this Nation's strength and security are not easily or cheaply obtained, nor are they quickly and simply explained. '''There are many kinds of strength and no one kind will suffice. Overwhelming nuclear strength cannot stop a guerrilla war. Formal pacts of alliance cannot stop internal subversion. Displays of material wealth cannot stop the disillusionment of diplomats subjected to discrimination. Above all, words alone are not enough.''' The United States is a peaceful nation. And '''where our strength and determination are clear, our words need merely to convey conviction, not belligerence. If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help.''' * In this administration also it has been necessary at times to issue specific warnings — warnings that [[w:History of Laos since 1945#The_failure_of_neutralism|we could not stand by]] and [[w:Laotian civil war#1961:_Superpowers.27_involvement_deepens|watch the Communists conquer Laos by force]], or [[w:Congo Crisis|intervene in the Congo]], or [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|swallow West Berlin]], or [[w:Cuban Missile Crisis|maintain offensive missiles on Cuba]]. But while our goals were at least temporarily obtained in these and other instances, '''our successful defense of freedom was due not to the words we used, but to the strength we stood ready to use on behalf of the principles we stand ready to defend. This strength is composed of many different elements, ranging from the most massive deterrents to the most subtle influences. And all types of strength are needed — no one kind could do the job alone.''' * '''Our security and strength, in the last analysis, directly depend on the security and strength of others''', and that is why our military and economic assistance plays such a key role in enabling those who live on the periphery of the Communist world to maintain their independence of choice. Our assistance to these nations can be painful, risky and costly, as is true in [[w:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]] today. But we dare not weary of the task. For our assistance makes possible the stationing of 3-5 million allied troops along the Communist frontier at one-tenth the cost of maintaining a comparable number of American soldiers. * Our foreign aid program is not growing in size, it is, on the contrary, smaller now than in previous years. It has had its weaknesses, but we have undertaken to correct them. And '''the proper way of treating weaknesses is to replace them with strength, not to increase those weaknesses by emasculating essential programs.''' Dollar for dollar, in or out of government, there is no better form of investment in our national security than our much-abused foreign aid program. * Finally, it '''should be clear by now that a nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and [[social justice]] will be respected by those whose choice affects our future. Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live. And only an America which is growing and prospering economically can sustain the worldwide defenses of freedom, while demonstrating to all concerned the opportunities of our system and society.''' * Our adversaries have not abandoned their ambitions, our dangers have not diminished, our vigilance cannot be relaxed. But now we have the military, the scientific, and the economic strength to do whatever must be done for the preservation and promotion of freedom. That strength will never be used in pursuit of aggressive ambitions — it will always be used in pursuit of peace. It will never be used to promote provocations — it will always be used to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes. * '''We in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of [[s:Bible_(King_James)/Luke#Chapter_2|''"peace on earth, good will toward men"'']]. That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength.''' For as was written long ago: [[s:Bible_(King_James)/Psalms#Psalm_127|''"except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."'']] ==== Remarks Intended for Delivery to the Texas Democratic State Committee in the Municipal Auditorium in Austin ==== [[File:Fort Worth rally, 22 November 1963.jpg |thumb|Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.]] [[File:Flag-lens-flare.jpg |thumb|Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause — united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future — and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.]] :<small>JFK's words at a speech he planned to give at [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10425030/JFK-the-last-word.html Texas Welcome Dinner at Municipal Auditorium, Austin, Texas], night of 11/22/1963. The following quotes were meant to be delivered on 22 November 1963, in Austin, Texas. They were however never delivered; Kennedy was on his way to the [[w:Dallas Market Center|Trade Mart]] when [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|he was assassinated]]. Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian and PBS contributor, flagged the final lines of the speech that JFK would have given on the night of his assassination. Sources: [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9540&st=&st1= John F. Kennedy: "Remarks Intended for Delivery to the Texas Democratic State Committee in the Municipal Auditorium in Austin," November 22, 1963. <!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10425030/JFK-the-last-word.html ''JFK: the last word'' by The Guardian's Alex Hannaford on November 6, 2013], [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/jfk-assassination_n_4233535.html ''The Last Lines Of The Speech JFK Would Have Given The Night Of His Assassination'' by The Huffington Post's Paige Lavender on November 7, 2013], and [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/07/read-the-last-lines-of-the-speech-jfk-was-supposed-to-give-on-the-night-of-his-assassination/ ''Read the Last Lines of the Speech JFK Was Supposed to Give on the Night of His Assassination'' by The Blaze's Jason Howert on November 7, 2013]</small> * '''Civilization''', it was once said, '''is a race between education and catastrophe''' — and we intend to win that race for education. * For this country is moving and it must not stop. It cannot stop. For '''this is a time for courage and a time for challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed.''' And '''our duty''' as a Party '''is''' not to our Party alone, but '''to the nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.''' * So '''let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation's future is at stake.''' * '''Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause — united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future — and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.''' == Attributed == * Just as I went into politics because [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy,_Jr. Joe] died, if anything happened to me tomorrow, my brother [[Robert F. Kennedy|Bobby]] would run for my seat in the Senate. And if Bobby died, [[Ted Kennedy|Teddy]] would take over for him. ** Quoted in ''The Remarkable Kennedys'', Joe McCarthy, New York: Dial Press, 1960, page 114. * I'm always rather nervous about how you talk about women who are active in politics, whether they want to be talked about as women or as politicians. ** Quoted in Bill Adler, "The Presidency," ''The Wit of President Kennedy'' (1964). ** [JFK was speaking]...To a group of women delegates to the [[United Nations]] who had suggested that there might one day be a woman President. * Whether I serve one or two terms in the Presidency, I will find myself at the end of that period at what might be called the awkward age — too old to begin a new career and too young to write my memoirs. ** Quoted in [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx ''A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House'', Arthur Schlesinger (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965), page 1017.] According to a footnote in Schlesinger's manuscript (1st draft, page 1378), this was stated on February 13, 1961. * All my life I've known better than to depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid, to let them go ahead? ** Conversation with Theodore C. Sorensen concerning the [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs Invasion]]; as quoted in Sorensen's ''Kennedy'' (1965), p. 309. * If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president's. ** Pierre Salinger, ''With Kennedy'' (1966), [http://books.google.de/books?id=vx45mXCc4JoC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=If+anyone+is+crazy+enough+to+want+to+kill+a+president+of+the+United+States,+he+can+do+it.+All+he+must+be+prepared+to+do+is+give+his+life+for+the+president%E2%80%99s.&source=bl&ots=Bom2TtsfyN&sig=WyeTm82PlS5xBDf7-sIY6xehqbo&hl=de&sa=X&ei=OewXUqv8JJSihgf07IHICA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=If%20anyone%20is%20crazy%20enough%20to%20want%20to%20kill%20a%20president%20of%20the%20United%20States%2C%20he%20can%20do%20it.%20All%20he%20must%20be%20prepared%20to%20do%20is%20give%20his%20life%20for%20the%20president%E2%80%99s.&f=false Chapter 1: Lancer to Wayside, page 1] * When discussing the possibility of a complete military takeover in the country after reading the book [[w:Seven Days in May|Seven Days in May]], President Kennedy said, "...if there were a third Bay of Pigs, it could happen." He paused and then said "But it won't happen on my watch." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Related in The Pleasure of His Company, Paul Fay, Jr., New York: Harper & Row, 1966, p. 190.] * He "said to one of the highest officials of his Administration that he wanted 'to '''splinter the [[Central Intelligence Agency|C.I.A.]] in a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds'''.'" ** Wicker, Tom et al. [https://ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Item03.pdf "C.I.A.: Maker of Policy, or Tool?; Survey Finds Widely Feared Agency Is Tightly Controlled"], ''[[New York Times]]'' (April 24, 1966) * I have a nice home, the office is close by, and the pay is good. ** Quoted in ''Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye'', Kenneth O'Donnell, Dave Powers, and Joseph McCarthy, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1970, page 262. * I was assured by every son of a bitch I checked with — all the military experts and the CIA — that the plan would succeed. ** Comment to [[Richard Nixon]], about the failure of the [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs Invasion]], as quoted in ''The Memoirs of Richard Nixon'' (1978) by Richard Nixon * '''Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.''' ** As quoted in ''Mayor'' (1984) by [[Ed Koch]] * It really is true that foreign affairs is the only important issue for a president to handle, isn't? ... I mean, Who gives a shit if the minimum wage is $1.15 or $1.25 in comparison to something like this? ** Comment to [[Richard Nixon]], after the [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs Invasion]], as quoted in ''John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio : History as told through the collection of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum'' (2000) by Charles Kenney * '''[[Berlin Wall|A wall]] is a hell of a lot better than a war.''' ** Upon hearing about the construction of the Berlin Wall, as quoted in [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article724547.ece "Savage century" in "The Sunday Times'' (28 May 2006)] * I think 'Hail to the Chief' has a nice ring to it. ** When asked what his favorite song was, as quoted in ''The Ultimate Book of Useless Information'' (2007) by Noel Botham * '''I'm an [[Idealism|idealist]] without illusions.''' ** Comment about JFK by [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]] as quoted in the Audiobook ''Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy'' (December 27, 2011) by Caroline Kennedy (Author, Narrator), Michael Beschloss (Author, Narrator), Jacqueline Kennedy (Narrator) & [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]] (Narrator) and published by Hyperion AudioBooks. * What would [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] have been without the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]? Just another railroad lawyer! ** JFK to [[Gore Vidal]], quoted in David Swanson's ''Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union'' (2011). {{Misattributed begin}} == Misattributed == * A revolution is coming — a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough — But a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability. ** [[Robert F. Kennedy]], in a speech in the US Senate (9 May 1966) * One person can make a difference, and every person should try. ** Political scientist [[w:Thomas Cronin|Thomas E. Cronin]], "Leadership and Democracy", in 'Liberal Education', 1987 * A child miseducated is a child lost. ** [[w:Umaru Tanko Al-Makura|Umaru Tanko Al-Makura]] on 29th July, 2013 at The Official Commissioning Of Ta'al Model School, Lafia By Nigeria's President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan where Umaru Tanko Al-Makura said: "[http://www.spyghana.com/speech-delivered-by-his-excellency-umaru-tanko-al-makura/ And, because the human mind is our fundamental resource, we are determined to avail our children the opportunity to acquire the best education possible, since a child mis-educated is a child lost.]" * There's a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman, and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot. - President John F. Kennedy 7 days before his assassination ** a fake quote debunked on several websites, including [https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-theres-a-plot-in-this-country-to-enslave-every-man-woman-and-child-jfk.t319/ metabunk.org]. This has been fact-checked by {{w|Snopes}} as well.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jfk-plot-in-this-country-to-enslave/ |title=Did JFK Warn 'There's a Plot in This Country to Enslave Every Man, Woman, and Child'? |first=David |last=Emory |date=2018-12-10 |accessdate=2024-03-18 |website={{w|Snopes}}}}</ref> {{Misattributed end}} [[File:Civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy3.tiff|thumb|There was a civil war in this country... Kennedy provoked such hostility and hatred. His death was cheered in the South because of his support for Martin Luther King. He was moving to change things on all fronts... He... described the Soviets for the first time in American history as mortals, like us, who care about their children. ~[[Oliver Stone]]]] [[File:Hugo_Chavez,_Oliver_Stone_66ème_Festival_de_Venise_(Mostra)_12.jpg|thumb|The most shocking part [about the assassination of JFK] is...the sequence of the shooting, the timing... the wounds and the autopsy... It doesn't make any sense the way they described it... They treated it like a routine investigation, but it was hardly so... the Warren Commission... in charge of the investigation...[[w:Alan Dulles|Alan Dulles]]... was fired by Kennedy... two years earlier... That's part of the cover-up. ~[[Oliver Stone]]]] == Quotes about Kennedy == [[File:John F. Kennedy, White House photo portrait, looking up.jpg |thumb|President Kennedy stood for the belief that idealism, high aspirations, and deep convictions are not incompatible with the most practical and efficient of programs — that there is no basic inconsistency between ideals and realistic possibilities, no separation between the deepest desires of heart and of mind and the rational application of human effort to human problems. ~ [[Robert F. Kennedy]]]] [[File:Kennedy bros.jpg |thumb|There was a sense of [[progress]] and [[adventure]], a rejection of [[complacency]] and [[conformity]]. There was a common mission, a shared ideal, and above all the joy of high [[purpose]] and great [[achievement]]. Jack believed that America's [[promises]], that [[Challenge|challenges]] are [[Opportunity|opportunities]] in disguise, that our [[spirit]] can soar again. ~ [[Ted Kennedy]] ]] * I hate to say this because I know it's going to be misunderstood, but his reputation is greater because of the tragedy of his death than it would have been if he had lived out two terms. ... He was a most attractive person. He had real charm. He did not seem to be in any sense a great man. I do not think he knew a great deal about the matters which it's desirable that a chief of state or a President of the United States should know about. He was not decisive. ** [[Dean Acheson]], interview with Kenneth Harris for ''Life'' magazine (July 18, 1971), quoted in ''The Times'' (July 19, 1971), p. 4 * And it wasn't a Republican who wiretapped and snooped on [[Martin Luther King, Jr.|Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]], but Democrats John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, who signed the order as Attorney General. ** [[w:Bruce Bartlett|Bruce Bartlett]], as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=vb3Mx7GqAmwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:9780230600621&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIi92Er-SPxwIVhnQ-Ch3plQCk#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past''] (2008), by B. Bartlett, p. xi. * I met him in the 1950s when I was at [[Harvard University|Harvard]], and I thought the world of him. I was greatly inspired by him when he became president, I found his inaugural address moving, I liked that special sense of vigor and enthusiasm that he injected into an America that seemed to be a little bit uncertain of itself, especially after the launch of the [[w:Sputnik|Sputnik]]. And I was profoundly shocked when he was shot. I remember that moment vividly, but I have to add that the more I learned about him later on, the more I became inclined to temper my enthusiasm for him. I began to see that he was much more manipulative, much more opportunistic, much more self-serving, much less guided by any profound sort of code of conduct or standard than I had believed. So it was, in a way, a disillusioning reassessment. ** [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/the-world-according-to-zbigniew-brzezinski-100354_Page2.html#.U2sjP61_sSc "The World According to Zbig"] by Charles Gati in ''Politico'', November 27, 2013. * This story, prepared in close cooperation with the late President Kennedy, was scheduled for publication in Superman No. 168, when word of his tragic [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]] reached us. We immediately took it off the press and substituted other material. How-ever, white house officials have since informed us that [[Lyndon B. Johnson|President Johnson]] wanted it published, as a tribute to his great predecessor, and so we dedicate to the memory of our late, beloved president this plea for his physical fitness program, to which he was wholeheartedly devoted during his life..."[[Superman]]'s mission for president Kennedy!" ** [[w:E. Nelson Bridwell|E. Nelson Bridwell]], "Superman's mission for president Kennedy!", ''Superman'' #170 July 1964, as quoted in [http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/22/jfk_assassination_superman_comic_dedicated_to_kennedy.html "Revisiting Superman's Mission for JFK"], Emma Roller, ''Slate'', Nov 22 2013. * Back during the 1960 election and the Kennedy Administration, that was when I began to develop into a news junkie. I was very interested in Kennedy and I would listen to his speeches ** 1990 interview in ''Conversations with [[Octavia Butler]]'' (2010) * Public employee unions were greatly helped, it is true, by the executive order of the late President John F. Kennedy and by similar policies adopted by certain state and local governments. ** [[Cesar Chavez]] 1969 testimony anthologized in ''An Organizer’s Tale'' (2008) * Kennedy was at the hawkish end of the administration. ** [[Noam Chomsky]] in ''Rethinking Camelot'' (1993). * I'm sure [[Obama]] is an atheist, I'm sure Kennedy was an atheist, but I doubt if [[Pope Francis|Pope Frank]] is. ** [[Richard Dawkins]] [http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d2b_1382908273 Interview with Bill Maher (2013)] * Kennedy survived as an orator to the point of delivering his own funeral oration, since [[:w:Ted Sorensen|Theodore Sorensen]] continued to write speeches for his successor in the same style that had contributed so much toward the dead man’s public persona. ** [[Guy Debord]], [[:s:The Society of the Spectacle/Chapter 3|''The Society of the Spectacle'']] (1967) * [The] premise is that Kennedy was a very good president, and might have been a great one if he’d lived. Few serious historians take this view … In reality, the kindest interpretation of Kennedy’s presidency is that he was a mediocrity whose death left his final grade as “incomplete.” The harsher view would deem him a near disaster — ineffective in domestic policy, evasive on civil rights and a serial blunderer in foreign policy, who barely avoided a nuclear war that his own brinksmanship had pushed us toward ... We confuse charisma with competence, rhetoric with results, celebrity with genuine achievement. ** [[w:Ross Douthat|Ross Douthat]] [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/opinion/sunday/Douthat-The-Enduring-Cult-of-Kennedy.html?_r=0 ''The Enduring Cult of Kennedy''], ''New York Times'', November 26, 2011. * (JFK) was Catholic and a child of Irish immigrants, and this had never happened before, president that was not Anglo-Saxon or Scots-Irish and descended from the original settlers. So he had quite a hill to climb to make himself palatable. ** [[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]], [https://www.democracynow.org/2021/10/11/indigenous_peoples_day Interview] with Democracy Now (2021) * A key to John F. Kennedy's political success was that he revived the "frontier" as a trope of populist imperialism openly based on the drama and popular myth of "settling" the continent, of "taming" a different sort of "wilderness." In Kennedy's acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, historian [[Richard Slotkin]] writes, the presidential nominee "asked his audience to see him as a new kind of frontiersman confronting a different sort of wilderness: 'I stand tonight facing west on what was once the last frontier. From the lands that stretch 3000 miles behind me, the pioneers of old gave up their safety, their comfort and sometimes their lives to build a new world here in the West.... We stand today on the edge of a new frontier ... a frontier of unknown opportunities and paths, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats." ** [[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]], ''An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States'' (2014) * John Kennedy, who was assassinated in November 1963, left an ambiguous Cold War legacy. In his June 1963 American University commencement address he expressed optimism over achieving peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union. But within two weeks he set out to [[Europe]] to reassure his [[NATO]] allies of America’s commitment to their defense (while also appealing for a greater contribution on their part), and in West Berlin he denounced the brutal system on the other side of the wall and chided those who believed “we can work with the communists.” Moreover, the otherwise prudent Kennedy markedly increased [[w:US military aid|US military aid]] and advisers to the embattled government of [[South Vietnam]] and shortly before his death also authorized [[w:1963 South Vietnamese coup d'etat|the generals’ successful coup]] against [[w:Ngo Dinh Diem|Diệm]], thus expanding America’s responsibility for another, even more distant, and indefensible ally. ** Carole C. Fink, ''The Cold War: An International History'', p. 115 * The day Kennedy arrived at Love Field airport, the front page of the [[w:Dallas Morning News|Dallas Morning News]] was bordered in black. The right-wing radicals and John Birchers who dominated the city despised Kennedy. <br> The president's brother, Attorney General [[Bobby Kennedy]], had been using the Justice Department to advance the cause of civil rights. And President Kennedy wanted to reduce or even eliminate subsidies for the oil industry, which infuriated the Dallas oilmen. <br> "You know, it was a kind of Camelot of the right," Wright says. "[[George Wallace]] came to Dallas to announce his decision to run for president, for instance. We had [[Barry Goldwater]], who was a senator in [[Arizona]], but he was always in Dallas." <br> After the assassination, a grieving nation turned its anger upon Dallas. The feeling was that if the city leaders didn't actually pull Lee Harvey Oswald's trigger, they practically loaded the gun. For the first time in its swaggering existence, Dallas was [[ashamed]] of itself. ** Wade Goodwyn, [https://www.npr.org/2013/11/21/246580954/marking-kennedy-assassination-dallas-still-on-egg-shells?ft=nprml&f=243938281 “Marking Kennedy Assassination, Dallas Still On 'Eggshells'”], All Things Considered, ''NPR'', (November 21, 2013) * John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, has been taken from us by an act which outrages decent men everywhere. He upheld the faith of our fathers, which is freedom for all men. He broadened the frontiers of that faith, and backed it with the energy and the courage which are the mark of the Nation he led. A man of wisdom, strength, and peace, he moulded and moved the power of our Nation in the service of a world of growing liberty and order. All who love freedom will mourn his death. As he did not shrink from his responsibilities, but welcomed them, so he would not have us shrink from carrying on his work beyond [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|this hour of national tragedy]]. [...] I earnestly recommend the people [...] to pay their homage of love and reverence to the memory of '''a great and good man'''. ** [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [[s:Proclamation 3561|Lyndon B. Johnson declaration upon John F. Kennedy's assassination]] (1963) * '''The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time. Today 'John Fitzgerald Kennedy lives on in the immortal words and works that he left behind. He lives on in the mind and memories of mankind. He lives on in the hearts of his countrymen.''' No words are sad enough to express our sense of loss. No words are strong enough to express our determination to continue the forward thrust of America that he began. The dream of conquering the vastness of space — the dream of partnership across the Atlantic — and across the Pacific as well-the dream of a Peace Corps in less developed nations — the dream of education for all of our children — the dream of jobs for all who seek them and need them — the dream of care for our elderly — the dream of an all-out attack on mental illness — and above all, the dream of equal rights for all Americans, whatever their race or color — these and other American dreams have been vitalized by his drive and by his dedication. And now the ideas and the ideals which he so nobly represented must and will be translated into effective action. ** [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25988&st=&st1= ''Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress'' (27 November 1963)<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * Courage is the virtue that President Kennedy most admired. He sought out those people who had demonstrated in some way, whether it was on a battlefield or a baseball diamond, in a speech or fighting for a cause, that they had courage that they would stand up, that they could be counted on. ** [[Robert F. Kennedy]], [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx ''1964 Memorial Edition of ''Profiles in Courage,'' Foreword by Robert F. Kennedy, p. 9] * But if there was one thing that 'President Kennedy stood for that touched the most profound feeling of young people around the world, it was the belief that idealism, high aspirations, and deep convictions are not incompatible with the most practical and efficient of programs — that there is no basic inconsistency between ideals and realistic possibilities, no separation between the deepest desires of heart and of mind and the rational application of human effort to human problems. ** [[Robert F. Kennedy]], [[Robert_F._Kennedy#Day_of_Affirmation_Address_.281966.29|Day of Affirmation Address]] (1966). * '''My brother was the first [[President of the United States]] to state publicly that [[racial segregation|segregation]] was morally wrong.''' His heart and his soul are in this bill. '''If his life and death had a meaning, it was that we should not hate but love one another; we should use our powers not to create conditions of oppression that lead to violence, but conditions of freedom that lead to peace.''' ** [[Ted Kennedy]], [http://www.tedkennedy.org/ownwords/event/civil_rights.html First Senate floor speech], in support of the [[w:Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights Act of 1964]] (9 April 1964) * '''As President, Jack was a glory on the mountaintop. The New Frontier of which he dreamed touched deep and responsive chords in the American character. He could make [[lightning]] strike on the things he cared about. He was an irresistible force that made immovable objects move. He taught us to redeem the promise of [[Health care in the United States|health care]] for America's senior generation, to whom the nation owes so much of its present [[greatness]]. He taught us to control the [[atom]], to end the threat of [[Nuclear war|nuclear annihilation]], so that we could leave our [[children]] a safer world. He taught us to make freedom ring in America --[[freedom]] for [[Black people|black]] and brown as well as [[White people|white]]; freedom to live and work and vote; freedom to sit at a public lunch counter, to learn in a public classroom, to play [[American football|football]] on a public field. He added a new dimension in [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] by tapping the [[idealism]] of our [[youth]]. He led us beyond [[Earth|our planet]] and [[Apollo 11|launched us toward]] the [[moon]]. And in our own [[w:Western Hemisphere|hemisphere]], he summoned us to a new alliance of effort for the benefit of those less fortunate than ourselves. That is the way it was with Jack. There was a sense of [[progress]] and [[adventure]], a rejection of [[complacency]] and [[conformity]]. There was a common mission, a shared ideal, and above all the joy of high [[purpose]] and great [[achievement]]. Jack believed that America's [[promises]], that [[Challenge|challenges]] are [[Opportunity|opportunities]] in disguise, that our [[spirit]] can soar again.''' ** [[Ted Kennedy]], [https://www.jfklibrary.org/about-us/about-the-jfk-library/history/1979-dedication-remarks-by-senator-kennedy Remarks] at the Dedication Ceremony of the [[w:John F. Kennedy Presidential Library|John F. Kennedy Presidential Library]] (20 October 1979) * Kennedy's posthumous reputation has undergone an extraordinary series of metamorphoses. As could have been predicted, the first revaluation of his character and achievement was almost as depressing as the conspiracy theories; his ''histoire amoureuse'' was being touted around before the first blade of grass had grown on his grave, and soon every whore in America was announcing that he had enjoyed her favours. ** [[Bernard Levin]], "The Last Hurrah", ''The Times'' (November 21, 1988). * And none so poor to do it reverence. What happened? Surely something did, for that portrait of Kennedy can hardly be recognised from the version we have today. He is now widely thought of, when he is thought of at all, as either an earlier model of [[Jimmy Carter|President Carter]], all goodwill and muddle, or a belligerent adventurer likely to follow the Bay of Pigs fiasco with an unprovoked nuclear strike on [[Moscow]]. Was it all show and froth, good looks and rhetoric? I do not believe it. In the first place, Kennedy was not a liberal in the Carter mode (let alone the [[w:Michael Dukakis|Dukakis]] version); it would almost be closer to the reality to say that he was a liberal in the sense of the [[w:Manchester school|Manchester school]]. ** [[Bernard Levin]], "The Last Hurrah", ''The Times'' (November 21, 1988). * Kennedy would have ordered nuclear retaliation on [[Cuba]] — and perhaps the [[Soviet Union]] — if [[nuclear weapons]] had been fired at [[United States Armed Forces|United States forces]]. ** [[Robert McNamara]], U.S. secretary of defense under President John F. Kennedy, according to ''The New York Times''; ''On the Brink of Nuclear War'', ''Awake!'' magazine, May 22, 1992. * The extent to which the world was being weighed down by millions of the old still in power, getting older without losing their power, was not nearly as present in [[consciousness]] in the 1960s as it is in the 1970s. The temporary hope of young leadership, who ruled in new countries some fifteen years ago, brightened by the youthful looking President John Kennedy, dwindled as the whole world mourned for him as a symbol of youth destroyed. ** [[Margaret Mead]] ''Culture and Commitment: A Study of the Generation Gap'' (1970) * Less than a year after Lee Harvey Oswald fired from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, the Warren Commission formed by President [[Lyndon Johnson]] completed its investigation into that day. <br> The commission found what it politely called "certain shortcomings and lapses from the high standards which the Commission believes should prevail in the field of Presidential protection." <br> Many dealt with the Secret Service's advance work. No one thought to check the buildings along the motorcade route. There were no formal procedures for working with local law enforcement agencies. <br> Marc Ambinder, who is editor at large of [[w:The Week|The Week]] and has written about the agency, says the Secret Service of 50 years ago was ill-prepared to deal with the gregarious Kennedy. <br> "It's a combination of the fact that the Secret Service playbook was outdated and they had never really encountered a president before John F. Kennedy who loved to mix it up, and loved to get in the middle of huge crowds, and fed off the energy of huge crowds," Ambinder says. <br> After the assassination, the Secret Service made some immediate changes. Open limousines were out. And it began taking a more aggressive approach to its advance work. <br> "Not [[criticizing]] what happened in 1963, but I think it's fair to say that protections changed quite a bit, and how we do things on a day-to-day basis," says Special Agent Brian Leary, who serves as a spokesman for the agency. ** Brian Naylor, [https://www.npr.org/2013/11/07/243769588/how-kennedys-assassination-changed-the-secret-service “How Kennedy's Assassination Changed The Secret Service”], All Things Considered, ''NPR'', (November 7, 2013) * [[Nikita Khrushchev|Nikita Krushchev]]'s eagerness to challenge U.S. interests around the world contributed to the spread of the Cold War in the Middle East, East Asia, Latin America, and even Africa. Krushchev's aggressiveness was motivated not only by a desire to take advantage of an opportunity to expand Soviet influence but also by the perceived Soviet need to fend off a growing challenge by China for leadership of the communist movement. Krushchev's willingness to engage the United States in a nuclear arms race was motivated primarily by his realization that the Soviet Union, despite the continuing development of its nuclear arsenal, was still vulnerable to an American nuclear strike. He undoubtedly believed that the best defense is a good offense and that a forward policy would conceal Soviet nuclear weakness while serving to pressure the West to resolve issues, such as Berlin, to the satisfaction of the Soviet Union. Krushchev's aggressiveness also made Soviet-American reconciliation impossible during the 1950s. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 133-134 * Krushchev's public rhetoric also made Soviet-American reconciliation difficult, if not impossible, early in Kennedy's presidency. On January 6, 1961, the Soviet leader declared his country would support "wars of national liberation" in the underdeveloped world. Krushchev's declaration, wrote the president's confidante and historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "alarmed Kennedy more than Moscow's amiable signals assuaged him." Although Kennedy was willing to negotiate an end to the Cold War, the Third World challenge which Krushchev threw at him would have to be dealt with first. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 135 * In the opinion of another historian, Bruce Miroff, Kennedy's reaction to Krushchev's blustering revealed an acute inferiority complex, which the president manifested by a perverse need to prove his leadership capabilities. As a result, rather than ignoring or minimizing Krushchev's threats, as Eisenhower usually did, Kennedy personalized them and converted them into tests of will, in the process manufacturing crises that need not have been. "There was really nothing in that [Eisenhower] era comparable to the Berlin crisis of 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis of 1962," Miroff observes, both of which represented the closest approaches to a superpower nuclear war during the Cold War. For whatever reasons, whether they were primarily ideological, political, or psychological- and all were important- in formulating his initial response to the Soviet Union Kennedy chose to emphasize Krushchev's bellicose actions rather than his friendly gestures. Only after Kennedy had proved to the Soviet leader that he was not soft on communism would diplomacy make any headway during his presidency. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 136 * Kennedy was praised nationwide, even by his Republican critics, for his masterly handling of the Cuban missile crisis, a response Schlesinger characterized as a "combination of toughness and restraint." Yet few discussed what could have happened had he failed. Historian Louise FitzSimons points out what many preferred not to think about: "In the flush of success and relief from danger, Kennedy was determined to force Krushchev's total capitulation- no matter the cost." During the height of the crisis, the president himself placed the likelihood of disaster at "somewhere between one out of three and even," and lamented that the world's children might not live out their lives. Ironically, the enhanced short-term prestige that Kennedy experienced in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis only produced greater long-term insecurity for his country. The humiliation Krushchev suffered at the hands of Kennedy during the missile crisis contributed to his removal from power in October 1964. The new Soviet leadership, headed by [[Leonid Brezhnev]], was determined to avoid a repetition of the humiliation Krushchev had experienced. Beginning in early 1965, the Kremlin embarked on a massive expansion of the Soviet nuclear arsenal that would enable the Soviet Union to achieve nuclear parity with the United States by the end of the decade. in addition, Kennedy's triumph in the Cuban missile crisis contributed to the development of what historian William J. Medland has called an "arrogance of power," a belief that the United States had the communists on the run. This new attitude helped to explain the growing U.S. involvement in Vietnam. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 144 * The Cuban missile crisis also had beneficial consequences. The close brush with nuclear war helped create a climate for productive arms control negotiations, which had not existed since the abortive Paris summit of May 1960. Attempting to reduce tensions with the West, Krushchev, on December 19, 1962, sent Kennedy a personal letter inviting him to intensify the effort to conclude a nuclear test ban treaty. With the humiliation of the Bay of Pigs fiasco erased by his astute performance during the Cuban missile crisis, and sobered by the close superpower approach to nuclear war, Kennedy accepted Krushchev's invitation. Six months later, Kennedy delivered the most conciliatory speech on the Soviet Union of his career. In a commencement address at American University on June 10, 1963, he called on Americans to reexamine their attitudes toward the Soviet Union. "In the final analysis," he told his audience, "we all inhabit this small planet... And we are all mortal." Kennedy called on the American people to support his effort to conclude a nuclear test ban agreement. It would be an initial step toward preserving the life of the planet. As a sign of good faith in the ultimate success of the test ban talks, Kennedy announced that the United States would not conduct atmospheric nuclear tests as long as the Soviet Union employed similar restraint. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 144-145 * Despite the limited nature of Kennedy's philosophical transformation after the Cuban missile crisis, his American University speech nevertheless had an extremely favorable impact on the Soviet leadership. Krushchev told [[W. Averell Harriman|Averell Harriman]] that it was the best speech delivered by a U.S. president since Franklin Roosevelt. In response, on June 20 the Soviet signed a "hot line" agreement, which established a direct teletype link between Moscow and Washington. The agreement was designed to reduce the risks of an accidental nuclear was as well as ease tensions during international crises. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 145 * Shouldn't someone tag Mr. Kennedy's "bold new imaginative" program with its proper age? Under the tousled boyish haircut it is still old [[Karl Marx]] — first launched a century ago. There is nothing new in the idea of a government being [[Big Brother]] to us all. [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] called his "[[Nazism|State Socialism]]" and way before him it was "benevolent [[monarchy]]." ** [[Ronald Reagan]] in a 1960 letter to the GOP presidential candidate [[Richard Nixon]], quoted in Matthew Dallek's ''The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics'' (2000), p. 38 *Yet another universally held conviction [among Europeans is that] Americans make it a point of honor to elect only mental defectives as Presidents. From the [[Missouri]] tie salesman [[Harry Truman]] to the [[Texas]] cretin [[George W. Bush]], not to mention the peanut farmer [[Jimmy Carter]] and the B-movie actor [[Ronald Reagan]], the White House offers us a gallery of nincompoops. Only John F. Kennedy, in the eyes of the French, rose a little above this undistinguished bunch, probably because he had the merit of having married [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|someone of French extraction]]; naturally, this union could not fail to raise President Kennedy's intelligence to at least average level — but doubtless still too high for his fellow citizens, who never forgave him and ended up assassinating him. ** [[Jean-François Revel]], "[http://eeyore.uh.cz/wp-content/themes/bk/stuff/anti-american%20obsession.pdf Europe's Anti-American Obsession]" (2003) * Jack ought to show a little less profile and a little more courage. ** Former First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], quoted in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Humes James C. Humes's] ''My Fellow Americans: Presidential Addresses that Shaped History'' (1992). * '''What are the similarities and differences between Presidents Johnson and Kennedy? Both are political pros who exude confidence and, generally speaking, embrace the same broad philosophies. But Kennedy was an idealist; Johnson is a pragmatist. Kennedy was a voracious reader, a stickler for detail; Johnson has little patience to read, he hits at the heart of a problem rather than get enmeshed in detail. Kennedy had little luck with Congress; Johnson's 32 years' experience on Capitol Hill caught him how to handle lawmakers. Kennedy's foreign-policy style had a continental touch; Johnson's has the flavor of a Texas barbeque.''' ** [[w:Bill Scott (voice actor)|Bill Scott]], ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20200429132839/https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1963/Transition-to-Johnson 1963 Year In Review: Transition to Johnson]'' by the United Press International. Archived from the [https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1963/Transition-to-Johnson original] on April 29, 2020. * There was a civil war in this country... Kennedy provoked such hostility and hatred. His death was cheered in the [[Southern United States|South]] because of his support for [[Martin Luther King]]. He was moving to change things on all fronts. He was starting to end the [[Cold War]]. He made a deal with Khruschev and [[Russia]] in 1962 to end the missile crisis, and he furthered the deal when he signed the [[w:Nuclear Test Ban Treaty|Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] in 1963. He installed the Hot Line. He... described the Soviets for the first time in [[History of the United States|American history]] as mortals, like us, who care about their children. He seemed to have an expanding vision of the world, much like [[Mikhail Gorbachev|Gorbachev]] did in Russia in the '80s. People in power are afraid to ask the obvious questions. From Day 1, they accepted the cover story that Oswald did it [assassinated JFK] alone. Oswald said he was the patsy. A lot of people believed him, but not the [[establishment]]. Since that day, the media has chanted the mantra that Oswald did it alone. But the American public, which has been brainwashed with that for 28 years, has never accepted it. They smell a rat. ** [[Oliver Stone]] in [https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/oliver-stone-defends-jfk-against-conspiracy-of-dunces ''Oliver Stone Defends 'JFK' against conspirancy Dunces by Roger Ebert Interviews''] (22 December 1991) * The most shocking part [about the assassination of JFK] is...the sequence of the shooting, the timing,... the wounds and the autopsy. It's all quite shocking when you...think seriously about it. It doesn't make any sense the way they described it. That's the most shocking part of the case. When you start to investigate Oswald, of course there are a thousand interesting things that come up. The files on Oswald were much more closely supervised by the CIA then we knew at the time and were omitted by the [[w:Warren Commission|Warren Commission]]. They treated it like a routine investigation, but it was hardly so.<BR>We draw a line between the cover-up and the assassination. The cover-up is filled with another cast of characters. That is to say, the Warren Commission itself, who is in charge of the investigation; and the main man, Alan Dulles, the ex-chief of the CIA and one of the most powerful figures in government. He was fired by Kennedy, as were all his top officials, two years earlier. He was put in charge of the investigation and buried certain information. That's part of the cover-up. ** [[Oliver Stone]] quoted in [https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/oliver-stone-looks-back-at-jfk-171783/ Oliver Stone Looks Back at ‘JFK’, ''Rolling Stone'' ](4 November 2013) * As one of our interviewers... says in the film, once you kill a sitting president in high noon in Dealey Plaza and blow his head off, you're not going to go back to normal and say, "Oh, wow! We found this whacky--this crazy lone nut who killed him." It doesn't work. It doesn't really work as a narrative for this country. What happened was much deeper than that, and there was so many inconsistencies, so many holes in the Warren Commission... The point is that you cannot remove legitimacy from government like that and get away with it, and the people knew something was wrong. They didn't know exactly what was wrong, but they sensed that something had gone astray, like [[anarchy]] has set in. Some method of control was being exerted because forces that were more powerful than one person were able to kill him, forces that were somewhat, I mean, clearly related to [[CIA|intelligence agencies]], to possible military agencies, and these forces came to dominate American life... ** [[Oliver Stone]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/05/12/transcript-conversation-with-oliver-stone/ Transcript: A Conversation with Oliver Stone,] (streamed live [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5pgnQ2M9tg on youtube]) ''The Washington Post'' (12 May 2021) *'''After Kennedy was killed, and nobody asked, you know, what was Kennedy's real policy on Vietnam? Well... he was going to pull out of Vietnam. He was very clear about it,''' and that's what people get confused. Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, who took over the office went right to war quickly... this is... where we went to a war on a false basis. It was a lie, another lie, and that war was a disaster... Unfortunately, the same forces that made that war happen continued in our life, and they controlled us and pushed us into another war and another war and another war... ** [[Oliver Stone]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/05/12/transcript-conversation-with-oliver-stone/ Transcript: A Conversation with Oliver Stone,] (streamed live [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5pgnQ2M9tg on youtube]) ''The Washington Post'' (12 May 2021) * I was charmed and delighted by Kennedy personally, and certainly he was intelligent. But any man who gave us an invasion of Cuba, a missile crisis, and the war in Vietnam in 1,000 days — give him another 1,000 days, and we would be irradiated atoms in space. No, he was a mistake as president. ** [[Gore Vidal]], quoted in ''I Told You So: Gore Vidal Talks Politics: Interviews with Jon Wiener'' (2013). * He was in my view the most dangerous cold warrior that we have had since the end of World War II. ** Historian [[w:Richard Walton|Richard Walton]], "Kennedy Remembered", ''Newsweek'', November 28, 1983. * John Kennedy, in his youth and good looks, brought a new generation to replace the dour faces of the Eisenhower administration, and added social glamour and greater public-relations skills to the presidency's power. He was the first president for whom television- particularly his witty and informative news conferences, broadcast live- became a calculated political instrument. In his term, too, the president's responsibility for managing the national economy was acknowledged and accepted. Kennedy's brief tenure, coinciding with the apogee of American power in the world, made him a sort of young emperor; and his murder was doubly shocking because Americans, by 1963, considered their president somehow preeminent over mere mortals, as superior as the nation itself, thus lacking ordinary human vulnerability. ** Tom Wicker, ''One Of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream'' (1991), p. 677 *On 13 March 1962, a US military memo was circulated outlining Operation Northwoods: plans to initiate a wave of false flag terrorist attacks in order to justify military intervention in Cuba. Declassified documents describe the proposed plan: "We could develop a Cuban Communist terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington… The terror campaign could be pointed at Cubans refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated.) We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States... Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots." President John F Kennedy declined to implement the plan and removed its author, General Lemnitzer, as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, causing a rift with some military officials who perceived him as being soft on Cuba. This was despite the fact that Kennedy had authorised a failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs as well as Operation Mongoose – another covert plan to destabilise the Cuban government which included numerous terrorist attacks on Cuban soil. **[https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8500/operation-northwoods ''Working Class History''] * President Kennedy did not send troops to Alabama when dogs were biting black babies. He waited three weeks until [[Birmingham riot of 1963|the situation exploded]]. He then sent troops after the Negroes had demonstrated their ability to defend themselves. In his talk with Alabama editors Kennedy did not urge that Negroes be treated right because it is the right thing to do. Instead, he said that if the Negroes aren't well treated the [[Islam in the United States|Muslims]] would become a threat. He urged a change not because it is right but because the world is watching this country. Kennedy is wrong because his motivation is wrong. ** [[Malcolm X]], as quoted in M. S. Handler, [https://www.nytimes.com/1963/05/17/archives/malcolm-x-scores-kennedy-on-racial-policy-says-he-is-wrong-because.html "Malcolm X Scores Kennedy on Racial Policy: Says He Is 'Wrong Because His Motivation Is Wrong': Head of Black Muslim Group Cites Birmingham Crisis"], ''The New York Times'', 17 May 1963; accessed [http://search.proquest.com/docview/116651467 via ProQuest]. Also quoted in {{cite book |last1=Cone |first1=James H. |author1-link=James H. Cone |title=Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream Or a Nightmare |date=1991 |publisher=Orbis Books |isbn=978-0-88344-824-3 |page=177 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Martin_Malcolm_America/RVMNAQAAQBAJ?hl=en-419&gbpv=1&dq=did+not+send+troops+to+Alabama+when+dogs+were+biting+black+babies.+He+waited+three+weeks+until+the+situation+exploded.+He+then+sent+troops+after+the+N&pg=PT177&printsec=frontcover }} * By the way, right at that time Birmingham had exploded, and the Negroes in Birmingham—remember, they also exploded. They began to stab the crackers in the back and bust them up 'side their head—yes, they did. That's when Kennedy sent in the troops, down in Birmingham. So, and right after that, Kennedy got on the television and said "this is a moral issue." ** [[Malcolm X]], ''{{w|Message to the Grassroots}}'', King Solomon Baptist Church, Detroit, November 10, 1963. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100507104558/http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1145 Link online] == See also == * [[List of presidents of the United States]] * [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Assassination of John F. Kennedy]] * [[JFK (film)]] by [[Oliver Stone]] * [[Jim Garrison]] ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{wikisource author}} {{commonscat}} * [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jk35.html The White House Biography] * [http://www.jfklibrary.org/ John F. Kennedy Library] * {{nndb name|113/000024041}} * [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkhoustonministers.html Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, at the Rice Hotel in Houston, Texas ([[12 September]] [[1960]])] * [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural.htm Video, Audio, Text of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address] * [http://honors.umd.edu/HONR269J/archive/JFK630610.html World Peace Speech at The American University ([[10 June]] [[1963]])] * [https://www.yourselfquotes.com/john-f-kennedy-quotes/ John F. Kennedy Quotes] * [http://www.nps.gov/jofi/ John F. Kennedy Birthplace National Historic Site] * [http://search.yale.edu:8765/query.html?col=ycsg&col=opa&col=yaleuniv&col=dynamic&qt=John+F.+Kennedy&charset=iso-8859-1&qp=%2Burl%3Awww.yale.edu%2Flawweb%2Favalon JFK at the Avalon Project] * [http://www.whitehousetapes.org/pages/tapes_jfk.htm JFK's Secret White House Recordings @ University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs] * [http://web.archive.org/web/20011111050047/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/kennedyjf/ Kennedy Administration Official Documentary Historical Record of Major Foreign Policy Decisions] * [http://www.heraldrysociety.us/presidents/index.php?page=Kennedy Armigerous American Presidents Series] * [http://www.popeducation.org/ The JFK Years And Popular Culture] * [http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/showfindingaid.cfm?findaidid=KennedyJF Audio clips of Kennedy's speeches and other commentary] * [http://masteroftheuniverse.be/home/index.php/index.php/content/view/20/ JFK Reloaded — Recreate the assassination of JFK] * [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6815620069281926168&q=innerviews InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Nelley Connally (TV Interview with an eye witness of the Kennedy assassination)] * [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKindex.htm Assassination of President Kennedy Encyclopaedia] * [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm McAdams website about JFK] * [http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-01/strange-world.html Facts and Fiction in the Kennedy Assassination] * [http://www.rootdig.com/john_f_kennedy.html John F. Kennedy in United States Census Records] * [http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g35.htm Medical and Health history of John F. Kennedy] * {{gutenberg author|id=John+F.+Kennedy|name=John F. Kennedy}} * [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/stjohn.htm St. John the Liberal?] * [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000107 Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress] * [http://www.soundboard.com/sb/John_F_Kennedy_JFK.aspx John F. Kennedy Audio Soundboard] * [http://www.kcur.org/UTDarchive.html Gretchen Rubin radio interview: [[November 4]], [[2005]] on ''Up To Date''] * [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/jfk_inaugural_address.html John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: from the National Archives] * [http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=34 Presidents of the United States] * [http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22John%20F.%20Kennedy%22 Archive.org collection of audio recordings] * [https://sound-buttons.com/jackal-sounds-sboard-pro/com.jackelsound.buttons.457858 Archive.org collection of audio recordings] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John Fitzgerald}} [[Category:1917 births]] [[Category:1963 deaths]] [[Category:Presidents of the United States]] [[Category:People from Boston]] [[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1960]] [[Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians]] [[Category:Members of the United States Senate]] [[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives]] [[Category:Journalists from the United States]] [[Category:Non-fiction authors from the United States]] [[Category:Orators from the United States]] [[Category:Anti-communists from the United States]] [[Category:Sailors]] [[Category:Catholics from the United States]] [[Category:Murdered people]] [[Category:Harvard University alumni]] [[Category:Space advocates]] [[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]] [[Category:People of the Cold War]] lzz61ava1rpcieqbzcfboii250p7yao 3515404 3515395 2024-05-14T19:42:55Z 67.43.23.34 /* Pre-1960 */ wikitext text/x-wiki 1hd18izsq1rb70ngn5cz1lruhovhoap 3515405 3515404 2024-05-14T19:43:35Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Philip Cross wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:John F. Kennedy, White House color photo portrait.jpg|thumb|The [[w:New Frontier|New Frontier]] of which I [[speak]] is not a set of [[promises]] — it is a set of [[challenges]]. It sums up not what I intend to offer the [[American]] [[people]], but what I intend to ask of them.]] '''[[w:John F. Kennedy|John Fitzgerald Kennedy]]''' ([[29 May]] [[1917]] – [[22 November]] [[1963]]), often referred to by his initials '''JFK''' and '''Jack''', was the 35th [[w:President|president]] of the [[w:Pakistan|United States]] (1961–1963), a [[United States Senate|United States senator]] from [[w:Massachusetts|Massachusetts]] (1953–1960), and a [[United States House of Representatives|United States representative]] (1947–1953). Kennedy served at the height of the [[Cold War]], and the majority of his work as president concerned relations with the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Cuba]]. He is the older brother of [[Robert F. Kennedy]] and [[Ted Kennedy]], and the first husband of [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]]. He was [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassinated in Dallas]] on November&nbsp;22, 1963. == Quotes == [[File:Minute_Man_Statue_Lexington_Massachusetts_cropped.jpg|thumb|[[War]] will exist until that distant day when the [[w:Conscientious objector|conscientious objector]] enjoys the same [[reputation]] and prestige that the warrior does today.]] [[File:JFK PT-109 Coconut.jpg|thumb|NATIVE [[Knowledge|KNOWS]] POS'IT…HE CAN PILOT…]] [[File:Lt. John F. Kennedy with other crewmen on board USS PT-109.jpg|thumb|11 [[Life|ALIVE]] NEED SMALL BOAT]] [[File:Sprit of '76.2.jpeg|thumb|Those who make [[peaceful]] [[revolution]] [[impossible]] will make [[violent]] revolution inevitable.]] [[File:Kennedy at the Brandenburg Gate.jpg|thumb|The [[great]] [[revolution]] in the [[history]] of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be [[free]].]] [[File:President Kennedy signs Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 07 October 1963.jpg|thumb|I can assure you that every degree of [[mind]] and [[spirit]] that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the [[United States]] and to the cause of [[freedom]] around the [[world]].]] [[File:John_F._Kennedy_-_NARA_-_518134.jpg|thumb|I [[believe]] in an [[America]] that is on the march — an America respected by all [[nations]], [[friends]] and [[foes]] alike — an America that is moving, doing, working, trying — a [[strong]] America in a [[world]] of [[peace]]. That peace must be based on world [[law]] and world [[order]], on the mutual respect of all nations for the [[rights]] and [[powers]] of others and on a world [[economy]] in which no nation lacks the [[ability]] to provide a decent standard of living for all of its people.]] [[File:Kennedy and Shepard in Washington D.C. - GPN-2000-001659.jpg|thumb|This flight was made out in the open with all the possibilities of [[failure]], which would have been damaging to our country's prestige. Because great risks were taken in that regard, it seems to me that we have some right to claim that this open [[society]] of ours which risked much, gained much.]] [[File:JFK and PC 96 Officers.jpg|thumb|We sometimes chafe at the burden of our [[obligations]], the [[complexity]] of our [[decisions]], the [[agony]] of our [[choices]]. But there is no [[comfort]] or [[security]] for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility.]] [[File:Frankfurt Paulskirche Relief Kennedy 2.jpg|thumb|[[Change]] is the [[law]] of [[life]]. And those who look only to the [[past]] or the [[present]] are certain to miss the [[future]].]] [[File:Artgate Fondazione Cariplo - Canova Antonio, Socrate congeda la propria famiglia.jpg|thumb|Although a country may stand still, [[history]] never stands still. Thus, if we do not soon begin to move forward again, we will inevitably be left behind. … But [[effort]] and [[courage]] are not enough without [[purpose]] and direction. For, as [[Socrates]] told us, "If a man does not know to what port he is sailing, no [[wind]] is favorable."]] [[File:JFK Khrushchev Handshake 1961.jpg|thumb|Across the gulfs and barriers that now divide us, we must remember that there are no permanent [[enemies]]. Hostility today is a [[fact]], but it is not a ruling [[law]]. The supreme [[reality]] of our [[time]] is our indivisibility as [[children]] of [[God]] and our common vulnerability on this planet.]] [[File:JFK and family in Hyannis Port, 04 August 1962.jpg|thumb|Our [[progress]] as a [[nation]] can be no swifter than our progress in [[education]]. … The [[human]] [[mind]] is our fundamental resource.]] [[File:Gedenktafel John-F.-Kennedy-Platz (Schöb) John F Kennedy.JPG|thumb|The great [[enemy]] of the [[truth]] is very often not the [[lie]] — deliberate, contrived and [[dishonest]] — but the [[myth]] — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.]] [[File:Printing4 Walk of Ideas Berlin.JPG|thumb|A man may die, [[nations]] may rise and fall, but an [[idea]] [[lives]] on. Ideas have endurance without [[death]].]] [[File:Kennedy and Khrushchev in Vienna 1961.png|thumb|[[Nikita Khrushchev|He]] reminds me of the [[tiger]] hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger's skin long before he his caught the tiger. This tiger has other ideas.]] [[File:Leeds Town Hall, General Election results.jpg|thumb|In a [[democracy]], every citizen, regardless of his interest in [[politics]], 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of [[responsibility]]; and, in the final analysis, the kind of [[government]] we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the [[people]], are the boss, and we will get the kind of political [[leadership]], be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.]] [[File:Hardtack Umbrella nuke.jpg|thumb|In a [[world]] of [[danger]] and trial, [[peace]] is our deepest aspiration … But it is an unfortunate [[fact]] that we can secure peace only by preparing for [[war]].]] [[File:Kennedy greeting Peace Corps volunteers, 1961.jpg|thumb|The [[courage]] of [[life]] is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final [[moment]]; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he [[must]] — in spite of personal [[consequences]], in spite of obstacles and [[dangers]], and pressures — and that is the basis of all human [[morality]].]] [[File:Congressman John F. Kennedy 1947.JPG|thumb| Things don't just happen, they are made to happen.]] [[File:Kennedy funeral procession leaves White House, 25 November 1963.jpg|thumb|The [[world]] was not meant to be a [[prison]] in which man awaits his execution.]] === Pre-1960 === * '''[[War]] will exist until that distant day when the [[w:Conscientious objector|conscientious objector]] enjoys the same [[reputation]] and prestige that the warrior does today.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Undated Letter to a Navy friend]; [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/magazine/26wwln-safire-t.html also mentioned by William Safire in his "On Language" article "Warrior" in the ''New York Times'' rubric Magazines (26 August 2007)]; [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx also in ''A Thousand Days : John F. Kennedy in the White House'' (1965), by Arthur Schlesinger, p. 88] * '''NAURO NATIVE KNOWS POSIT &nbsp; HE CAN PILOT &nbsp; 11 ALIVE &nbsp; NEED SMALL BOAT &nbsp; KENNEDY''' ** Message carved into a coconut after the wreck of [[w:Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109|PT-109]] (6 August 1943). This has often been misquoted as "11 ALIVE NATIVE KNOWS POSIT & REEF NAURU ISLAND KENNEDY" *** [http://web.archive.org/web/20021217024428/http://www.npr.org/programs/re/archivesdate/2002/jul/ Explorer Finds Kennedy's WWII Boat]<!-- DEAD LINK: [http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-2.htm John F. Kennedy's Naval Service] --> * '''Where in the hell have you guys been? I've been at this bus stop for a whole week now." **Kennedy upon being rescued. * After visiting these places, you can easily understand how that within a few years [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] will '''emerge from the hatred that surrounds him now as one of the most significant''' figures who ever lived. He had boundless [[ambition]] for his [[country]] which rendered him a menace to the [[peace]] of the [[world]], but he had a mystery about him in the way that he lived and in the manner of his death that will live and grow after him. He had in him the stuff of which legends are made. ** After visiting such Nazi strongholds as were found in [[w:Berchtesgaden|Berchtesgaden]] and [[w:Kehlsteinhaus|Kehlsteinhaus]]; Personal diary (1 August 1945); published in ''Prelude to Leadership'' (1995) * Regarding the Republican Party: '''They follow the Hitler line – no matter how big the lie, repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth.''' ** [https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/east-boston-ma-19470518 Remarks of John F Kennedy, Fitton Council, Knights of Columbus, East Boston, Massachusetts, May 18, 1947]; JFK Speeches, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * '''If more politicians knew [[poetry]], and more poets knew [[politics]], I am convinced the world would be a little better place in which to live.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (14 June 1956)]; Box 895, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * '''Let us not despair but act. Let us not seek the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] answer or the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] answer but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past — let us accept our own responsibility for the future.''' ** Remarks at [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Loyola College Alumni Banquet, Baltimore, Maryland (18 February 1958)]; Box 899, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * I have just received the following wire from my generous daddy: "Dear Jack – Don’t buy a single vote more than necessary – I’ll be damned if I am going to pay for a landslide." ** Remarks at [https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/washington-dc-19580315 "The Gridiron Club, Washington, D.C. (March 15, 1958)]; Box 899, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers; Box 29, David F. Powers Personal Papers, John F. Kennedy Speeches File * '''In the [[Chinese language]], the word "crisis" is composed of two characters, one representing [[danger]] and the other, [[opportunity]].''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at the United Negro College Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana (12 April 1959)]; Box 902, Senate Speech Files, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library; also in Remarks at Valley Forge Country Club, Pennsylvania (29 October 1960), Box 914, Senate Speech Files, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * Mr. President, Senate Joint Resolution 31, concerning which there has been little, if any, public interest or knowledge, constitutes one of the most far-reaching — and I believe mistaken — schemes ever proposed to alter the American constitutional system. No one knows with any certainty what will happen if our [[w:elections in the United States|electoral system]] is totally revamped as proposed by Senate Joint Resolution 31 and the various amendments which will be offered to it. Today, we have a clearly [[w:United States Electoral College|Federal system of electing our President]], under which the States act as units. Today, we have the [[two-party system]], under which third parties and splinter parties are effectively discouraged from playing more than a negligible role. Today, we have a system which in all but one instance throughout our history has given us presidents elected by a plurality of the popular vote. I refer to one instance, because the frequently mentioned situation in 1824, involving [[Andrew Jackson]] and [[John Quincy Adams]], in which six States did not have popular votes, can be ignored; and the other frequently mentioned case, that of the [[w:1876 United States presidential election|Hayes-Tilden contest]], involved outright corruption, and the decision of the electoral commission was responsible for the election of [[Rutherford B. Hayes|Hayes]]; so in the 175 years of our constitutional system, there is really only one valid example in which the present system produced the election of a candidate who did not receive the largest number of votes. And today we have an electoral vote system which gives both large States and small States certain advantages and disadvantages that offset each other. **Debate about the Lodge-Gossett amendment, which would abolish the Electoral College; [https://www.nytimes.com/1955/06/22/archives/to-change-election-system-senator-explains-the-resolution-to.html To Change Election System; Senator Explains the Resolution to Abolish Electoral College] Congressional Record, March 20th 1955 [https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1956-pt4-9-1.pdf Congressional Record], page 5156 ==== ''[[w:Profiles_in_Courage|Profiles in Courage]]'' (1956) ==== [[File:Profiles in Courage Front Cover (1956 first edition).jpg|thumb|right|The courage of [[life]] is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final [[moment]]; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he [[must]] — in spite of [[personal]] [[consequences]], in spite of obstacles and [[dangers]], and pressures — and that is the basis of [[all]] [[human]] [[morality]].]] [[File:Frankfurt Paulskirche Relief Kennedy 2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[stories]] of past courage can define that ingredient — they can [[teach]], they can offer [[hope]], they can provide [[inspiration]]. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own [[soul]].]] * The voters selected us, in short, because they had [[confidence]] in our [[judgement]] and our [[ability]] to exercise that judgement from a position where we could determine what were their own best interest, as a part of the nation's interest. ** p. 15 * Only the very [[courageous]] will be able to keep alive the [[spirit]] of [[individualism]] and [[dissent]] which gave birth to this nation, nourished it as an infant, and carried it through its severest tests upon the attainment of its maturity. ** [http://books.google.com/books?id=JVEHpHb-VKQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Pro%EF%AC%81les+in+Courage&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aZntUeC6CpOMyAG2_ICgAw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=individualism%20&f=false ''Profiles in Courage'' (1956), p. 17] * '''The true [[democracy]], living and growing and inspiring, puts its [[faith]] in the [[people]] — faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but will also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgment — faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to [[principle]] leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward [[courage]], respect [[honor]], and ultimately recognize right.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx 1964 Memorial Edition, p. 264] * '''For in a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, 'hold office'; everyone of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx 1964 Memorial Edition, p. 265] * For without belittling the courage with which men have died, we should not forget those acts of courage with which men — such as the subjects of this book — have lived. '''The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality. In whatever area in life one may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience — the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men — each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past courage can define that ingredient — they can teach, they can offer hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage itself. For this each man must look into his own soul.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx 1964 Memorial Edition, p. 266] === 1960 === * '''[[Richard Nixon|Dick Nixon]] is the victim of the worst press that ever hit a politician in this country.''' What they did to him in the [[w:Helen Gahagan Douglas|Helen Gahagan Douglas]] race was disgusting. ** As quoted in ''Kennedy and Nixon'' (1996) by Christopher Matthews, p.123 * '''We celebrate the past to awaken the future.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at the 25th Anniversary of the Signing of the Social Security Act," Hyde Park, New York (14 August 1960)]; Box 910, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|President Roosevelt]] and [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]] and [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Eisenhower]] had the same [[experience]], they all made the effort to get along with the [[Russians]]. But every time, finally it failed. And the reason it failed was because '''the [[Communists]] are determined to destroy us, and regardless of what hand of friendship we may hold out or what arguments we may put up, the only thing that will make that decisive difference is the strength of the United States.''' **[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=74188 Speech at Democratic Rally, George Washington High School Stadium, Alexandria, Virginia (24 August 1960)] * '''Now let me make it clear that I believe there can only be one defense policy for the United States and that is summed up in the word 'first.' I do not mean 'first, but'. I do not mean 'first, when'. I do not mean 'first, if'. I mean 'first — period'.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Speech at VFW Convention, Detroit, Michigan," (26 August 1960); Box 910, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library] * '''In a world of danger and trial, peace is our deepest aspiration''', and when peace comes we will gladly convert not our swords into plowshares, but our bombs into peaceful reactors, and our planes into space vessels. "Pursue peace," the Bible tells us, and we shall pursue it with every effort and every energy that we possess. But '''it is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=25654 Speech at Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington (6 September 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''That requires only one kind of defense policy, a policy summed up in a single word "first." I do not mean "first, if," I do not mean "first, but," I do not mean "first, when," but I mean "First, period."''' ** Speech at Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington (6 September 1960) * '''My call is not to those who believe they belong to the past. My call is to those who believe in the future.''' ** Speech at Civic Auditorium, Seattle, Washington (6 September 1960) * We are a great and strong country — perhaps the greatest and strongest in the history of the world. But greatness and strength are not our natural right. They are not gifts which are automatically ours forever. It took toil and courage and determination to build this country — and it will take those same qualities if we are to maintain it. For, '''although a country may stand still, history never stands still. Thus, if we do not soon begin to move forward again, we will inevitably be left behind.''' And I know that Americans today are tired of standing still — and that we do not intend to be left behind. But '''effort and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.''' For, as [[Socrates]] told us, "If a man does not know to what port he is sailing, no wind is favorable." ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=74076 Speech at the Coliseum, Raleigh, North Carolina" (17 September 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''There is a connection, hard to explain logically but easy to feel, between achievement in public life and progress in the arts.''' The age of [[Pericles]] was also the age of [[w:Phidias|Phidias]]. The age of [[w:Lorenzo de' Medici|Lorenzo de Medici]] was also the age of [[Leonardo da Vinci]]. The age of [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth]] was also the age of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]. And the New Frontier for which I campaign in public life, can also be a New Frontier for American art. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Response to letter sent by Miss Theodate Johnson, Publisher of Musical America to the two presidential candidates requesting their views on music in relation to the Federal Government and domestic world affairs (13 September 1960); published in ''Musical America'' (October 1960), p. 11; later inscribed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. * If by a "[[Liberalism|Liberal]]" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal." ** Acceptance of the New York Liberal Party nomination (14 September 1960) · [https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/Liberal-Party-Nomination-NYC_19600914.aspx Address of John F. Kennedy upon Accepting the Liberal Party Nomination for President] * Their platform, made up of left-over Democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. '''Their pledge is a pledge to the status quo — and today there can be no status quo.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Address Accepting the Democratic Party Nomination for the Presidency of the United States — Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles (15 July 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas for more wise men reading more good books in more public [[libraries]]. These libraries should be open to all — except the censor. '''We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors. For the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]] is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.''' ** ''Saturday Review'' (29 October 1960), p. 44 * There are indications because of new inventions, that 10, 15, or 20 nations will have a nuclear capacity, including [[China|Red China]], by the end of the Presidential office in 1964. This is extremely serious. . . I think the fate not only of our own [[civilization]], but I think the fate of world and the future of the [[Human|human race,]] is involved in preventing a [[nuclear war]]. ** [[s:1960 U.S. Presidential Debate - October 13|Third Nixon-Kennedy Presidential Debate (13 October 1960)]] * We have all seen these circus elephants complete with tusks, ivory in their head and thick skins, who move around the circus ring and grab the tail of the elephant ahead of them." ** Comments on [[w:Republican Party (United States)|members of the Republican party]], in [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at the Cow Palace, San Francisco, California (2 November 1960)]; Box 914, Senate Speech Files, John F. Kennedy Papers, Pre-Presidential Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * '''I can assure you that every degree of mind and spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long-range interests of the United States and to the cause of freedom around the world.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Acceptance-Speech-by-John-F-Kennedy-Hyannis-Armory-Hyannis-Massachusetts-November-9-1960.aspx Acceptance speech (9 November 1960)] ==== The New Frontier ==== :<small>[[s:John F. Kennedy's Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech|John F. Kennedy's Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech]] to the [[w:1960 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]] at the [[w:Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum|Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] (15 July 1960) · [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx The term "New Frontier" was first used in this speech.]</small> [[File:ARC194238-JFK-Robert-Edward.jpg|thumb|The [[world]] is [[changing]]. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. ... It is a time, in short, for a new generation of [[leadership]].]] [[File:1942 JFK uniform portrait.jpg|thumb|We can have [[faith]] in the [[future]] only if we have faith in ourselves. ]] [[File:John F Kennedy.jpg|thumb|Are we up to the task — are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future — or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present? That is the question of the New Frontier. ]] * But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. '''The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high — to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future.''' As [[Winston Churchill]] said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future. '''Today our concern must be with that future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do. [...] It is a time, in short, for a new generation of leadership — new men to cope with new problems and new opportunities.''' * Today some would say that those struggles are all over — that all the horizons have been explored — that all the battles have been won — that there is no longer an American frontier. But I trust that no one in this vast assemblage will agree with those sentiments. For the problems are not all solved and the battles are not all won — and '''we stand today on the edge of a [[w:New Frontier|New Frontier]] — the frontier of the 1960's — a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils — a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.''' * [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s New Freedom promised our nation a new political and economic framework. [[Franklin Roosevelt]]'s [[New Deal]] promised security and succor to those in need. But '''the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises — it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride, not to their pocketbook — it holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security.''' * But I tell you the '''New Frontier''' is here, whether we seek it or not. '''Beyond that frontier are the uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.''' It would be easier to shrink back from that frontier, to look to the safe mediocrity of the past, to be lulled by good intentions and high rhetoric — and those who prefer that course should not cast their votes for me, regardless of party. But I believe '''the times demand new invention, innovation, imagination, decision. I am asking each of you to be pioneers on that New Frontier.''' My call is to the young in heart, regardless of age — to all who respond to the Scriptural call: [[s: Bible (King James)/Joshua#Chapter_1|"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed."]] For courage — not complacency — is our need today — leadership — not salesmanship. And '''the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously.''' * There may be those who wish to hear more — more promises to this group or that — more harsh rhetoric about the men in the Kremlin — more assurances of a golden future, where taxes are always low and subsidies ever high. But my promises are in the platform you have adopted — our ends will not be won by rhetoric and '''we can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves.''' * For the harsh facts of the matter are that we stand on this frontier at a turning-point in history. [[Abraham Lincoln#The_Gettysburg_Address_.281863.29|We must prove all over again whether this nation — or any nation so conceived — can long endure]] — whether our society — with its [[freedom of choice]], its breadth of opportunity, its range of alternatives — can compete with the single-minded advance of the [[Communist system]]. </br> Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure? That is the real question. Have we the nerve and the will? Can we carry through in an age where we will witness not only new breakthroughs in weapons of destruction — but also a race for mastery of the sky and the rain, the ocean and the tides, the far side of space and the inside of men's minds? </br> '''Are we up to the task — are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future — or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present? </br> That is the question of the New Frontier.''' That is the choice our nation must make — a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort — between national greatness and national decline — between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of "[[Normality|normalcy]]" — between determined dedication and creeping mediocrity. '''All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try.''' * It has been a long road from that first snowy day in [[New Hampshire]] to this crowded convention city. Now begins another long journey, taking me into your cities and homes all over America. Give me your help, your hand, your voice, your vote. Recall with me the words of [[Isaiah]]: [[s:Bible (King James)/Isaiah#Chapter_40|"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary."]] As we face the coming challenge, we too, shall wait upon the Lord, and ask that he renew our strength. Then shall we be equal to the test. Then we shall not be weary. And then we shall prevail. ==== Speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association ==== :<small>Speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, a group of Protestant ministers, on the issue of his religion (12 September 1960); at the time, many Protestants questioned whether Kennedy's Roman Catholic faith would allow him to make important national decisions as president independent of the church. He addressed those concerns before a skeptical audience of Protestant clergy. · [[s:Address of Senator John F. Kennedy to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association|Full text online available at Wikisource]] and [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16920600 NPR].</small> [[File:Iakovos kennedy.jpg|thumb|War and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers.]] [[File:2005 Half Dollar Obv Unc P.png|thumb|I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.]] [[File:Kennedy Giving Historic Speech to Congress - GPN-2000-001658.jpg|thumb|I want a Chief Executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none — who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him — and whose fulfillment of his Presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation.]] * While the so-called religious issue is necessarily and properly the chief topic here tonight, I want to emphasize from the outset that we have far more critical issues to face in the 1960 election; the spread of Communist influence, until it now festers 90 miles off the coast of [[Florida]] — the humiliating treatment of our [[President of the United States|President]] and [[w:Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] by those who no longer respect our power — the [[Hunger in the United States|hungry]] [[children]] I saw in [[West Virginia]], the old people who cannot pay their doctor bills, the families forced to give up their farms — an America with too many slums, with too few schools, and too late to the [[moon]] and [[Space|outer space]]. These are the real issues which should decide this campaign. And they are not religious issues — for '''war and hunger and ignorance and despair know no religious barriers.''' * '''I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute''' — where no Catholic prelate would tell the President (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishoners for whom to vote — where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference — and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the President who might appoint him or the people who might elect him. * '''I believe in an America that is officially neither [[Catholic]], [[Protestantism|Protestant]] nor [[Jewish]] — where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from [[Pope John XXIII|the Pope]], the [[w:National Council of Churches|National Council of Churches]] or any other ecclesiastical source — where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials — and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all.''' For while this year it may be a Catholic against whom the finger of suspicion is pointed, in other years it has been, and may someday be again, a Jew — or a [[Quaker]] — or a [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian]] — or a [[w:Baptists|Baptist]]. It was [[Virginia]]'s harassment of Baptist preachers, for example, that helped lead to [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]]'s statute of religious freedom. Today I may be the victim- -but tomorrow it may be you — until the whole fabric of our harmonious society is ripped at a time of great national peril. * Finally, '''I believe in an America where religious intolerance will someday end — where all men and all churches are treated as equal — where every man has the same right to attend or not attend the church of his choice''' — where there is no Catholic vote, no anti-Catholic vote, no bloc voting of any kind — and where Catholics, Protestants and Jews, at both the lay and pastoral level, will refrain from those attitudes of disdain and division which have so often marred their works in the past, and promote instead the American ideal of brotherhood. * That is the kind of America in which I believe. And it represents the kind of Presidency in which I believe — a great office that must neither be humbled by making it the instrument of any one religious group nor tarnished by arbitrarily withholding its occupancy from the members of any one religious group. '''I believe in a President whose religious views are his own private affair, neither imposed by him upon the nation or imposed by the nation upon him as a condition to holding that office.''' * I would not look with favor upon a President working to subvert the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]'s guarantees of [[Freedom of religion|religious liberty]]. Nor would our system of checks and balances permit him to do so — and neither do I look with favor upon those who would work to subvert Article VI of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] by requiring a religious test — even by indirection — for it. If they disagree with that safeguard they should be out openly working to repeal it. * '''I want a Chief Executive whose public acts are responsible to all groups and obligated to none — who can attend any ceremony, service or dinner his office may appropriately require of him — and whose fulfillment of his Presidential oath is not limited or conditioned by any religious oath, ritual or obligation.''' * But let me say, with respect to other countries, that '''I am wholly opposed to the state being used by any religious group, Catholic or Protestant, to compel, prohibit, or persecute the free exercise of any other religion.''' And I hope that you and I condemn with equal fervor those nations which deny their Presidency to Protestants and those which deny it to Catholics. * But let me stress again that these are my views — for contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters — and the church does not speak for me. Whatever issue may come before me as President — on [[birth control]], [[divorce]], [[censorship]], gambling or any other subject — I will make my decision in accordance with these views, in accordance with what my conscience tells me to be the national interest, and without regard to outside religious pressures or dictates. And no power or threat of punishment could cause me to decide otherwise. But '''if the time should ever come — and I do not concede any conflict to be even remotely possible — when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office; and I hope any conscientious public servant would do the same.''' * If I should lose on the real issues, I shall return to my seat in the Senate, satisfied that I had tried my best and was fairly judged. But if this election is decided on the basis that 40 million Americans lost their chance of being President on the day they were baptized, then it is the whole nation that will be the loser, in the eyes of Catholics and non-Catholics around the world, in the eyes of history, and in the eyes of our own people. ==== Address at Convention Hall, Philadelphia ==== :<small>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=74316 Speech at Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (31 October 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --></small> * '''I believe in an America where the [[free enterprise]] system flourishes for all other systems to see and admire — where no businessman lacks either competition or credit — and where no [[monopoly]], no racketeer, no government [[bureaucracy]] can put him out of business that he built up with his own initiative.''' * '''I believe in an America where the rights that I have described '''are enjoyed by all, regardless of their race or their creed or their national origin — where every citizen is free to think and speak as he pleases and write and worship as he pleases — and where every citizen is free to vote as he pleases, without instructions from anyone, his employer, the union leader or his clergyman.''' * Finally, '''I believe in an America with a government of men devoted solely to the public interests — men of ability and dedication, free from conflict or corruption or other commitment — '''a responsible government that is efficient and economical, with a balanced budget over the years of the cycle, reducing its debt in prosperous times — '''a government willing to entrust the people with the facts that they have — not a businessman's government, with business in the saddle,''' as the late Secretary McKay described this administration of which he was a member — '''not a labor government, not a farmer's government, not a government of one section of the country or another, but a government of, for and by the people.''' * In short, '''I believe in an America that is on the march — an America respected by all nations, friends and foes alike — an America that is moving, doing, working, trying — a strong America in a world of peace. That peace must be based on world law and world order, on the mutual respect of all nations for the rights and powers of others and on a [[world economy]] in which no nation lacks the ability to provide a decent standard of living for all of its people.''' But we cannot have such a world, and we cannot have such a peace, unless the United States has the vitality and the inspiration and the strength. If we continue to stand still, if we continue to lie at anchor, if we continue to sit on dead center, if we content ourselves with the easy life and the rosy assurances, then the gates will soon be open to a lean and hungry enemy. ==== Speech at East Los Angeles College Stadium, Los Angeles, California ==== :<small>John F. Kennedy, at East Los Angeles College Stadium, Los Angeles, CA (November 1, 1960)</small> * Our prestige abroad, what other peoples think of us, is not of importance only to those Americans who work or travel abroad. The sign "Yankee go home" does not apply only to our diplomats, foreign-aid specialists, and military personnel who are stationed overseas. * The great struggle in the world today is not one of popularity but one of power, and '''our power depends in considerable measure upon our ability to influence other nations, upon their willingness to associate themselves with our efforts, upon the strength of our stature and leadership.''' ... this deterioration in our prestige abroad threatens our bases, our alliances, our security and the peace itself and it is time we were respected once again throughout the would as the good neighbor. * '''We live under majority rule and if that majority is not well educated in its responsibilities, the whole Nation suffers.''' ==== Sport at the New Frontier: The Soft American ==== [[File:Seal of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.svg|thumb|Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.]] [[File:Liberty - Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (Cleveland) - DSC07985.JPG|thumb|The stamina and strength which the defense of liberty requires are not the product of a few weeks' basic training or a month's conditioning. These only come from bodies which have been conditioned by a lifetime of participation in sports and interest in physical activity.]] :<small>John F. Kennedy, [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1134750/1/index.htm "Sport at the New Frontier: The Soft American"] in [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/7698/index.htm ''Sports Illustrated'' Vol. 13, Issue 26 (26 December 1960)], [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/edb/reader.html?magID=SI&issueDate=19601226&mode=reader_vault p. 14-17]</small> * This knowledge, '''the knowledge that the physical well-being of the citizen is an important foundation for the vigor and vitality of all the activities of the nation, is as old as Western civilization itself. * But the harsh fact of the matter is that there is also an increasingly large number of young Americans who are neglecting their bodies — whose physical fitness is not what it should be — who are getting soft. And such '''softness on the part of individual citizens can help to strip and destroy the vitality of a nation.''' For '''the physical vigor of our citizens is one of America's most precious resources. If we waste and neglect this resource, if we allow it to dwindle and grow soft then we will destroy much of our ability to meet the great and vital challenges which confront our people. We will be unable to realize our full potential as a nation.''' * Throughout our history we have been challenged to armed conflict by nations which sought to destroy our independence or threatened our freedom. The young men of America have risen to those occasions, giving themselves freely to the rigors and hardships of warfare. But '''the stamina and strength which the defense of liberty requires are not the product of a few weeks' basic training or a month's conditioning. These only come from bodies which have been conditioned by a lifetime of participation in sports and interest in physical activity.''' Our struggles against aggressors throughout our history have been won on the playgrounds and corner lots and fields of America. Thus, in a very real and immediate sense, our growing softness, our increasing lack of physical fitness, is a menace to our security. * But '''physical fitness is as vital to the activities of peace as to those of war, especially when our success in those activities may well determine the future of freedom in the years to come.''' We face in the Soviet Union a powerful and implacable adversary determined to show the world that only the Communist system possesses the vigor and determination necessary to satisfy awakening aspirations for progress and the elimination of poverty and want. To meet the challenge of this enemy will require determination and will and effort on the part of all Americans. '''Only if our citizens are physically fit will they be fully capable of such an effort.''' * For '''physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.''' The relationship between the soundness of the body and the activities of the mind is subtle and complex. Much is not yet understood. But we do know what the Greeks knew: that '''intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong'''; that '''hardy spirits and tough minds usually inhabit sound bodies.''' * In this sense, '''physical fitness is the basis of all the activities of our society. And if our bodies grow soft and inactive, if we fail to encourage physical development and prowess, we will undermine our capacity for thought, for work and for the use of those skills vital to an expanding and complex America. Thus the physical fitness of our citizens is a vital prerequisite to America's realization of its full potential as a nation, and to the opportunity of each individual citizen to make full and fruitful use of his capacities.''' * It is ironic that at a time when the magnitude of our dangers makes the physical fitness of our citizens a matter of increasing importance, it takes greater effort and determination than ever before to build the strength of our bodies. The age of leisure and abundance can destroy vigor and muscle tone as effortlessly as it can gain time. '''Today human activity, the labor of the human body, is rapidly being engineered out of working life.''' === 1961 === [[File:Minute_Man_Statue_Lexington_Massachusetts_cropped.jpg|thumb|Today we need a nation of [[w:Minutemen|minute men]]; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.]] [[File:President John F. Kennedy Meets with Ambassador of Canada, Arnold (A.D.P.) Heeney (01).jpg|thumb|Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.]] * '''Today we need a nation of [[w:Minutemen|minute men]]; citizens who are not only prepared to take up arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as a basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.''' **[http://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/john-f-kennedy-quotations/commemorative-message-on-roosevelt-day “Message to Those Participating in Roosevelt Day Commemoration (29 January 1961)]." ''Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers'', "New Minute Men Urged by Kennedy," ''The New York Times''(30 January 1961) pg. 13 * '''I have pledged myself and my colleagues in the cabinet to a continuous encouragement of initiative, responsibility and energy in serving the public interest. Let every public servant know, whether his post is high or low, that a man's rank and reputation in this Administration will be determined by the size of the job he does, and not by the size of his staff, his office or his budget. Let it be clear that this Administration recognizes the value of dissent and daring — that we greet healthy controversy as the hallmark of healthy change. Let the public service be a proud and lively career. And let every man and woman who works in any area of our national government, in any branch, at any level, be able to say with pride and with honor in future years: "I served the United States government in that hour of our nation's need."''' </br> For only with complete dedication by us all to the national interest can we bring our country through the troubled years that lie ahead. Our problems are critical. The tide is unfavorable. The news will be worse before it is better. And while hoping and working for the best, we should prepare ourselves now for the worst. ** [[s:John F. Kennedy's First State of the Union Address|First State of the Union Address]] (30 January 1961) * '''The Federal Budget can and should be made an instrument of prosperity and stability, not a deterrent to recovery.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Special message to Congress: Program for Economic Recovery and Growth (17)", (2 February 1961)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1961'' --> * For I can assure you that '''we love our country, not for what it was, though it has always been great — not for what it is, though of this we are deeply proud — but for what it someday can, and, through the efforts of us all, someday will be.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address at a Luncheon Meeting of the National Industrial Conference Board (33)", (13 February 1961)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1961'' --> * '''Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in [[Education in the United States|education]].''' Our requirements for world leadership, our hopes for economic growth, and the demands of citizenship itself in an era such as this all require the maximum development of every young American's capacity. '''The human mind is our fundamental resource.''' ** [http://www.jfklink.com/speeches/jfk/publicpapers/1961/jfk46_61.html Special Message to the Congress on Education (20 February 1961)] * It cannot be surprising that, as resistance within [[Cuba]] grows, [[Refugee|refugees]] have been using whatever means are available to return and support their countrymen in the continuing '''struggle for freedom. Where people are denied the right of choice, recourse to such struggle is the only means of achieving their liberties.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8070 Message to Chairman Khrushchev Concerning the Meaning of Events in Cuba (18 April 1961)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''The great [[revolution]] in the history of man, past, present and future, is the revolution of those determined to be free.''' ** Message to Chairman Khrushchev Concerning the Meaning of Events in Cuba (18 April 1961)<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->. *'''There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.... I'm the responsible officer of the Government.''' ** State Department press conference (21 April 1961), following the Bay of Pigs Invasion, as quoted in ''A Thousand Days : John F. Kennedy in the White House'' (1965, 2002 edition), by Arthur Schlesinger, p. 262; also in [http://books.google.com/books?id=McO2Co4Ih98C&pg=PA234 ''The Quote Verifier'' (2006) by Ralph Keyes, p. 234]). The exact wording used by Kennedy (a hundred, not a thousand) had appeared in the 1951 film ''[[w:The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel|The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel]]'', as reported in ''Safire's New Political Dictionary'' (1993) by [[w:William Safire|William Safire]], pp 841–842). The earliest known occurrence is [[w:Galeazzo Ciano|Galeazzo Ciano]], ''Diary 1937-1943'', entry for 9 September 1942 ("''La victoria trova cento padri, e nessuno vuole riconoscere l'insuccesso.''"), but the earliest known occurrence on such a theme is in [[Tacitus]]'s : [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/tac/ag01020.htm Agricola Book 1 ab paragraph 27]: “Iniquissima haec bellorum condicio est: prospera omnes sibi vindicant, adversa uni imputantur.” (It is the singularly unfair peculiarity of war that '''the credit of success is claimed by all, while a disaster is attributed to one alone.''') * If all of you had voted the other way — there's about 5500 of you here tonight — I would not be the President of the United States. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in Chicago at a dinner of the Democratic Party of Cook County (155)," (28 April 1961)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1961'' --> * Commander [[Alan Shepard|Shepard]] has pointed out from the time that this flight began and from the time this flight was a success, that this was a common effort in which a good many men were involved. I think it does credit to him that he is associated with such a distinguished group of Americans whom we are all glad to honor today, his companions in the flight into outer space, so I think we want to give them all a hand. ... '''I also want to take cognizance of the fact that this flight was made out in the open with all the possibilities of failure, which would have been damaging to our country's prestige. Because great risks were taken in that regard, it seems to me that we have some right to claim that this open society of ours which risked much, gained much.''' ... This is a civilian award for a great civilian accomplishment, and therefore I want to again express my congratulations to Alan Shepard. We are very proud of him, and I speak on behalf of the Vice President, who is Chairman of our Space Council and who bears great responsibilities in this field, and the Members of the House and Senate Space Committee who are with us today. ''[accidentally drops the medallion, and picks it up]'' '''This decoration which has gone from the ground up — ''here''.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8119 Remarks at the presentation of NASA's Distinguished Service Medal to Astronaut Alan B. Shepard (8 May 1961)] — [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0OurosNBFo Video of presentation at YouTube] * '''[[Geography]] has made us neighbors. [[History]] has made us friends. [[Economics]] has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies. Those whom nature hath so joined together, let no man put asunder.''' ** Address to the Canadian Parliament (17 May 1961) *It is not a pleasure for any President of the United States, as I am sure it was not a pleasure for my predecessors, to come before the [[United States Congress|Congress]] and ask for new appropriations which place burdens on our people. I came to this conclusion with some reluctance. But in my judgment, this is a most serious time in the life of our country and in the life of freedom around the globe, and it is the obligation, I believe, of the President of the United States to at least make his recommendations to the Members of the Congress, so that they can reach their own conclusions with that judgment before them. You must decide yourselves, as I have decided, and I am confident that whether you finally decide in the way that I have decided or not, that your judgment--as my judgment--is reached on what is in the best interests of our country. **[https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-to-joint-session-of-congress-may-25-196125 May 1961 in address to joint session of congress] * '''There is danger that [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] governments, not subject to vigorous popular debate, will underestimate the will and unity of democratic societies where vital interests are concerned.''' ** President Kennedy's 13th News Conferences on June 28, 1961 John Source: [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/Press-Conferences/News-Conference-13.aspx F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum] * And lastly, Chairman Khrushchev has compared the United States to a worn-out runner living on its past performance, and stated that the [[Soviet Union]] would out-produce the United States by 1970. Without wishing to trade hyperbole with the Chairman, I do suggest that '''[[Nikita Khrushchev|he]] reminds me of the tiger hunter who has picked a place on the wall to hang the tiger's skin long before he his caught the [[Tigers|tiger]]. This tiger has other ideas.''' ** President Kennedy's 13th News Conferences on June 28, 1961 John Source: [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/Press-Conferences/News-Conference-13.aspx F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum] * The education of our people should be a lifelong process by which we continue to feed new vigor into the lifestream of the Nation through intelligent, reasoned decisions. '''Let us not think of education only in terms of its costs, but rather in terms of the infinite potential of the human mind that can be realized through education. Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our Nation.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=24146 "Proclamation 3422 — American Education Week, 1961" (25 July 1961)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''Freedom is not merely a word or an abstract theory, but the most effective instrument for advancing the welfare of man.''' **[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=8271 Message to the Inter-American Economic and Social Conference at Punta del Este, Uruguay (5 August 1961)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * Somebody once said that Washington was a city of Northern charm and Southern efficiency. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-036-014.aspx Speech] to the Trustees and Advisory Committee of the [[w:John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|National Cultural Center]] in the White House Movie Theater, 14 November 1961 * We have become more and more not a nation of athletes but a nation of spectators. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Banquet (496)," December 5 1961. Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1961.] * '''We must use time as a tool, not as a couch.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in New York City to the National Association of Manufacturers (496)," December 5, 1961, Public Papers of the Presidents: John F. Kennedy, 1961.] * I wonder how it is with you, Harold? If I don't have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches. ** Conversation with [[w:Harold Macmillan, Earl of Stockton|Harold Macmillan]], in Bermuda (1961) as recounted by [[w:Richard Reeves|Richard Reeves]] in his book ''President Kennedy: Profile of Power'' (1994) ==== The City upon a Hill speech ==== :<small>[[s:Address of President-Elect John F. Kennedy Delivered to a Joint Convention of the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts|Speech to Massachusetts State Legislature]] (9 January 1961) in The State House, Boston; ''Congressional Record'', January 10, 1961, vol. 107, Appendix, p. A169. In this speech, given eleven days prior to his inauguration, the President-elect quotes John Winthrop's "city upon a hill" sermon and highlights four qualities that he hopes to bring to his presidency: courage, judgment, integrity and dedication. </small> [[File:John F. Kennedy campaigning in Florida 1960.jpg|thumb|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: ...]] * During the last sixty days, I have been at the task of constructing an administration. It has been a long and deliberate process. Some have counseled greater speed. Others have counseled more expedient tests. But I have been guided by the standard [[John Winthrop]] set before his shipmates on the flagship ''Arbella'' three hundred and thirty-one years ago, as they, too, faced the task of building a new government on a perilous frontier. "We must always consider," he said, "that we shall be as a city upon a hill — the eyes of all people are upon us." '''Today the eyes of all people are truly upon us — and our governments, in every branch, at every level, national, state and local, must be as a [[w:City upon a Hill|city upon a hill]] — constructed and inhabited by men aware of their great trust and their great responsibilities.''' For we are setting out upon a voyage in 1961 no less hazardous than that undertaken by the ''Arbella'' in 1630. We are committing ourselves to tasks of statecraft no less awesome than that of governing the [[w:Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts Bay Colony]], beset as it was then by terror without and disorder within. History will not judge our endeavors — and a government cannot be selected — merely on the basis of color or creed or even party affiliation. Neither will competence and loyalty and stature, while essential to the utmost, suffice in times such as these. * '''For of those to whom much is given, much is required.''' 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:<br>First, were we truly men of courage — with the courage to stand up to one's enemies — and the courage to stand up, when necessary, to one's associates — the courage to resist public pressure, as well as private greed?<br>Secondly, were we truly men of judgment — with perceptive judgment of the future as well as the past — of our mistakes as well as the mistakes of others — with enough wisdom to know what we did not know and enough candor to admit it?<br>Third, were we truly men of integrity — men who never ran out on either the principles in which we believed or the men who believed in us — men whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust?<br>Finally, were we truly men of dedication — with an honor mortgaged to no single individual or group, and comprised of no private obligation or aim, but devoted solely to serving the public good and the national interest?<br>Courage — judgment — integrity — dedication — these are the historic qualities''' ... which, with God's help ... will characterize our Government's conduct in the 4 stormy years that lie ahead. ==== Inaugural Address ==== [[File:President Kennedy inaugural address (color).jpg|thumb|Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.]] [[File:USA NYC Statue-of-Liberty.jpg|thumb|Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.]] [[File:Jfk inauguration.jpg|thumb|In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.]] [[File:Ask not what your country can do for you.jpg|thumb|The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.]] [[File:Sun Falls on Iwo Jima.jpg|thumb|With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.]] :<small>[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/kennedy.asp Inaugural address, Washington D.C. (20 January 1961)] [[:Image:Kennedy inauguration footage.ogg|(video file)]]. In his speech President Kennedy urges American citizens to participate in public service and "ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." [http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/Historic-Speeches/Multilingual-Inaugural-Address.aspx This is also the speech he delivered announcing the dawn of a new era as young Americans born in the 20th century first assumed leadership of the Nation.]</small> * Vice President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]], [[w:John William McCormack|Mr. Speaker]], [[Earl Warren|Mr. Chief Justice]], President [[Dwight David Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], Vice President [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]], President [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]], reverend clergy, fellow citizens, '''we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change.''' For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. * The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe — the belief that '''the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of [[God]].''' * '''Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans''' — born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage — and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those [[human rights]] to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. ** The quote "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans" is [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Researchold/Ready-Reference/JFK-Miscellaneous-Information/Grave-Inscription.aspx one of seven quotes inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.] * '''Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.''' ** This is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] * To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. '''United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do — for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.''' * To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom — and to remember that, in the past, '''those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.''' * To those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required — not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. '''If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.''' * Finally, '''to those nations who would make themselves our adversary''', we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. '''We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.''' * So let us begin anew — remembering on both sides that '''civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.''' <br/> '''Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us. [...] Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors.''' Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce. <br/> '''Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of [[Isaiah]] — to "undo the heavy burdens … and to let the oppressed go free."''' * If a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but '''a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.''' <br/> '''All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.''' * '''[[Abraham_Lincoln#First_Inaugural_Address_.281861.29|In your hands, my fellow citizens]], more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.''' The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. * '''Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle''', year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation" — '''a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.''' Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? ** The bold portions are one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] * In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. '''The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. <br/> And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. <br/> My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.''' ** "In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it." is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] ** "The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world." is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] ** "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." is one of seven quotes [[commons:File:Memorial_leading_to_grave_of_John_F._Kennedy_in_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg|inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.]] ** It has been reported at various places on the internet that in JFK's Inaugural address, the famous line "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", was inspired by, or even a direct quotation of the famous and much esteemed writer and poet [[Khalil Gibran]]. Gibran in 1925 wrote in Arabic a line that has been translated as: **::'''''Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country?''''' **::If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert.'' ** However, this ''translation'' of Gibran is one that occurred over a decade after Kennedy's 1961 speech, appearing in ''A Third Treasury of Kahlil Gibran'' (1975) edited by Andrew Dib Sherfan, and the translator most likely drew upon Kennedy's famous words in expressing Gibran's prior ideas. For a further [[Talk:John_F._Kennedy#.22Ask_not....22|discussion regarding the quote see here]]. * Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. '''[[Abraham_Lincoln#Second_Inaugural_Address_.281865.29|With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds]], let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.''' ** This is one of seven quotes inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy, Arlington National Cemetery. ====State of the Union==== :[[s:John F. Kennedy's First State of the Union Address|First State of the Union Address]] (30 January 1961) * '''Our Constitution wisely assigns both joint and separate roles to each branch of the government; and a President and a Congress who hold each other in mutual respect will neither permit nor attempt any trespass.''' * '''Where nature makes natural allies of us all, we can demonstrate that beneficial relations are possible even with those with whom we most deeply disagree-and this must someday be the basis of world peace and world law.''' * The deadly arms race, and the huge resources it absorbs, have too long overshadowed all else we must do. We must prevent that arms race from spreading to new nations, to new nuclear powers and to the reaches of outer space. ==== Address before the American Society of Newspaper Editors ==== {{Smallcite|1=[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Address-before-the-American-Society-of-Newspaper-Editors-April-20-1961.aspx Address before the American Society of Newspaper Editors at the Statler Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. (April 20, 1961)] In his speech President Kennedy discusses the purpose of American intervention abroad and the spread of communist ideology to Latin America and Southeast Asia, with particular emphasis on the [[w:Bay of Pigs incident|Bay of Pigs incident]] that occurred in Cuba four days prior. Following his address before the American Society of Newspapers President Kennedy assumed responsibily for the Bay of Pigs Invasion at the next day by saying: "There's an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers and defeat is an orphan.... I'm the responsible officer of the Government." (Source: State Department press conference 21 April 1961, following the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. 1965, 2002. ''A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House''. Houghton Mifflin {{ISBN|1-57912-449-6}} {{ISBN|978-1-57912-449-6}}, p. 262.)}} * '''The President of a''' great '''democracy''' such as ours, '''and the editors of''' great '''newspapers''' such as yours, '''owe a common obligation to the people: an obligation to present the facts, to present them with candor, and to present them in perspective.''' * '''If the self-discipline of the free cannot match the iron discipline of the mailed fist'''-in economic, political, scientific and all the other kinds of struggles as well as the military-'''then the peril to freedom will continue to rise.''' * '''The complacent, the self-indulgent, the soft societies are about to be swept away with the debris of history. Only the strong, only the industrious, only the determined, only the courageous, only the visionary who determine the real nature of our struggle can possibly survive.''' ==== Address to ANPA ==== :<small>[https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/JFK-Speeches/American-Newspaper-Publishers-Association_19610427.aspx Address before the American Newspaper Publishers Association (27 April 1961)] [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-025-001.aspx Audio] President Kennedy's address was delivered to the American Newspaper Publishers Association at a Bureau of Advertising dinner held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. In his speech President Kennedy addresses his discontent with the press's news coverage before, during, and after the [[w:Bay of Pigs incident|Bay of Pigs incident]], suggesting that there is a need for "far greater public information" and "far greater official secrecy." </small> [[File:John F Kennedy 1964 Issue-5c.jpg|thumb|The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. ... there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it.]] [[File:DBP 1964 453 John F. Kennedy.jpg|thumb|No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.]] [[File:JFK grave.jpg|thumb|Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive.]] [[File:John F Kennedy 1967 Issue-13c.jpg|thumb|Man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.]] * I appreciate very much your generous invitation to be here tonight. You bear heavy responsibilities these days and an article I read some time ago reminded me of how particularly heavily the burdens of present day events bear upon your profession. You may remember that in 1851 the [[w:New York Herald Tribune|New York Herald Tribune]] under the sponsorship and publishing of [[w:Horace Greeley|Horace Greeley]], employed as its [[w:London|London]] correspondent an obscure journalist by the name of [[w:Karl Marx|Karl Marx]]. <br> We are told that foreign correspondent Marx, stone broke, and with a family ill and undernourished, constantly appealed to Greeley and managing editor [[w:Charles Anderson Dana|Charles Dana]] for an increase in his munificent salary of $5 per installment, a salary which he and [[Friedrich Engels|Engels]] ungratefully labeled as the "lousiest petty bourgeois cheating." <br> But when all his financial appeals were refused, Marx looked around for other means of livelihood and fame, eventually terminating his relationship with the Tribune and devoting his talents full time to the cause that would bequeath the world the seeds of [[w:Leninism|Leninism]], [[w:Stalinism|Stalinism]], [[w:revolution|revolution]] and the [[w:Cold War|cold war]]. <br> If only this [[Capitalism|capitalistic]] [[New York City|New York]] newspaper had treated him more kindly; if only Marx had remained a foreign correspondent, history might have been different. And I hope all publishers will bear this lesson in mind the next time they receive a poverty-stricken appeal for a small increase in the expense account from an obscure newspaper man. * '''I want to talk about our common responsibilities in the face of a common danger. The events of recent weeks may have helped to illuminate that challenge for some; but the dimensions of its threat have loomed large on the horizon for many years.''' Whatever our hopes may be for the future — for reducing this threat or living with it — there is no escaping either the gravity or the totality of its challenge to our survival and to our security — a challenge that confronts us in unaccustomed ways in every sphere of human activity. <br> This deadly challenge imposes upon our society two requirements of direct concern both to the press and to the President — two requirements that may seem almost contradictory in tone, but which must be reconciled and fulfilled if we are to meet this national peril. '''I refer, first, to the need for a far greater public information; and, second, to the need for far greater official secrecy.''' * '''The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings.''' We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, '''there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment.''' That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And '''no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.''' * '''Today no war has been declared — and however fierce the struggle may be, it may never be declared in the traditional fashion. Our way of life is under attack.''' Those who make themselves our enemy are advancing around the globe. '''The survival of our friends is in danger.''' And yet no war has been declared, no borders have been crossed by marching troops, no missiles have been fired. <br> If the press is awaiting a declaration of war before it imposes the self-discipline of combat conditions, then I can only say that no war ever posed a greater threat to our security. '''If you are awaiting a finding of [[w:Clear and present danger|"clear and present danger]]," then I can only say that the danger has never been more clear and its presence has never been more imminent.''' <br> It requires a change in outlook, a change in tactics, a change in missions — by the government, by the people, by every businessman or labor leader, and by every newspaper. For '''we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies primarily on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence — on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines military, diplomatic, intelligence, economic, scientific and political operations. Its preparations are concealed, not published. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are silenced not praised. No expenditure is questioned, no rumor is printed, no secret is revealed.''' It conducts the Cold War, in short, with a war-time discipline no democracy would ever hope or wish to match. <br> Nevertheless, every democracy recognizes the necessary restraints of national security — and the question remains whether those restraints need to be more strictly observed if we are to oppose this kind of attack as well as outright invasion. * '''No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. And both are necessary.''' I am not asking your newspapers to support the Administration, but I am asking your help in the tremendous task of informing and alerting the American people. For I have complete confidence in the response and dedication of our citizens whenever they are fully informed. <br> I not only could not stifle controversy among your readers — I welcome it. This Administration intends to be candid about its errors; for as '''[[w:Orlando Aloysius Battista|a wise man]] once said: "An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it."''' We intend to accept full responsibility for our errors; and we expect you to point them out when we miss them. * '''Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive.''' That is why the Athenian lawmaker [[Solon]] decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. '''And that is why our press was protected by the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]]''' — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution- -'''not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply "give the public what it wants" — but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion. <br> This means greater coverage and analysis of international news — for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security''' — and we intend to do it. * It was early in the Seventeenth Century that [[Francis Bacon]] remarked on three recent inventions already transforming the world: the compass, gunpowder and the printing press. Now the links between the nations first forged by the compass have made us all citizens of the world, the hopes and threats of one becoming the hopes and threats of us all. In that one world's efforts to live together, the evolution of gunpowder to its ultimate limit has warned mankind of the terrible consequences of failure. <br> And so it is to the printing press — to the recorder of man's deeds, the keeper of his conscience, the courier of his news — that we look for strength and assistance, confident that with your help '''man will be what he was born to be: free and independent.''' ** Kennedy here references [[Francis Bacon]]'s Aphorism 129 of ''[[w:Novum Organum|Novum Organum]]'': [[s:Novum Organum/Book I (Wood)|Again, we should notice the force, effect, and consequences of inventions, which are nowhere more conspicuous than in those three which were unknown to the ancients; namely, printing, gunpowder, and the compass. For these three have changed the appearance and state of the whole world; first in literature, then in warfare, and lastly in navigation: and innumerable changes have been thence derived, so that no empire, sect, or star, appears to have exercised a greater power and influence on human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.]] ==== Speech to Special Joint Session of Congress ==== [[File:USA123.jpg|thumb|We stand, as we have always stood from our earliest beginnings, for the [[independence]] and [[equality]] of all nations. This nation was born of [[revolution]] and raised in [[freedom]]. And we do not intend to leave an open road for [[despotism]].]] [[File:USS Constitution vs Guerriere.jpg|thumb|Experience has taught us that no one nation has the power or the wisdom to solve all the problems of the world or manage its revolutionary tides-that extending our commitments does not always increase our security--that any initiative carries with it the risk of a temporary defeat--that [[nuclear weapons]] cannot prevent subversion--that no free people can be kept free without will and energy of their own-- and that no two nations or situations are exactly alike.]] [[File:USCurrency Federal Reserve.jpg|thumb|Our security and progress cannot be cheaply purchased; and their price must be found in what we all forego as well as what we all must pay.]] [[File:Kennedy Giving Historic Speech to Congress - GPN-2000-001658.jpg|thumb|I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.]] {{original recording|Discurso de Kennedy.ogg}} [[File:Apollo 11 Launch2.jpg|thumb|But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon — if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation.]] [[File:Kennedyallee Plittersdorf.jpg|thumb|If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all.]] [[File:Cropped Earth with Sunburst.PNG|thumb|There is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful. ]] [[File:March to Vincennes.jpg|thumb|Our country is united in its commitment to freedom-and is ready to do its duty.]] :<small> [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/special-message-the-congress-urgent-national-needs Address to a Joint Session of Congress (25 May 1961)]; this includes his Special Message to the Congress on urgent national needs the goal of sending a Man to the Moon before the 1960's are over. More specifically President Kennedy asked for an additional $7 billion to $9 billion over the next five years for the space program, proclaiming that “this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.” President Kennedy settled upon this dramatic goal as a means of focusing and mobilizing our lagging space efforts. He did not justify the needed expenditure on the basis of science and exploration, but placed the program clearly in the camp of the competing ideologies of [[democracy]] vs. [[communism]].</small> * '''These are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in [[freedom]]'s cause. No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves--that is our only commitment to others. No friend, no neutral and no adversary should think otherwise. We are not against any man--or any nation--or any system--except as it is hostile to freedom. Nor am I here to present a new military doctrine, bearing any one name or aimed at any one area. I am here to promote the freedom doctrine.''' * '''The great battleground for the defense and expansion of freedom today is''' the whole southern half of the globe--[[Asia]], [[Latin America]], [[Africa]] and the [[Middle East]]--'''the lands of the rising peoples. Their revolution is the greatest in human [[history]]. They seek an end to [[injustice]], [[tyranny]], and exploitation. More than an end, they seek a beginning. And theirs is a revolution which we would support regardless of the [[Cold War]], and regardless of which political or economic route they should choose to freedom. For the adversaries of freedom did not create the revolution; nor did they create the conditions which compel it. But they are seeking to ride the crest of its wave--to capture it for themselves. Yet their aggression is more often concealed than open. They have fired no missiles; and their troops are seldom seen. They send arms, agitators, aid, technicians and propaganda to every troubled area. But where fighting is required, it is usually done by others--by guerrillas striking at night, by assassins striking alone'''--assassins who have taken the lives of four thousand civil officers in the last twelve months in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]] alone--'''by subversives and saboteurs and insurrectionists, who in some cases control whole areas inside of independent nations. They possess a powerful intercontinental striking force, large forces for conventional war, a well-trained underground in nearly every country, the power to conscript talent and manpower for any purpose, the capacity for quick decisions, a closed society without dissent or free information, and long experience in the techniques of violence and subversion. They make the most of their scientific successes, their economic progress and their pose as a foe of colonialism and friend of popular revolution. They prey on unstable or unpopular governments, unsealed, or unknown boundaries, unfilled hopes, convulsive change, massive poverty, illiteracy, unrest and frustration. With these formidable weapons, the adversaries of freedom plan to consolidate their territory--to exploit, to control, and finally to destroy the hopes of the world's newest nations; and they have ambition to do it before the end of this decade. It is a contest of will and purpose as well as force and violence--a battle for minds and souls as well as lives and territory. And in that contest, we cannot stand aside. We stand, as we have always stood from our earliest beginnings, for the [[independence]] and [[equality]] of all nations. This nation was born of [[revolution]] and raised in [[freedom]]. And we do not intend to leave an open road for [[despotism]].''' * '''There is no single simple policy which meets this challenge. Experience has taught us that no one nation has the power or the wisdom to solve all the problems of the world or manage its revolutionary tides-that extending our commitments does not always increase our security--that any initiative carries with it the risk of a temporary defeat--that [[Nuclear weapons|nuclear weapons]] cannot prevent subversion--that no free people can be kept free without will and energy of their own-- and that no two nations or situations are exactly alike.''' * '''Our security and progress cannot be cheaply purchased; and their price must be found in what we all forego as well as what we all must pay.''' * I stress the strength of our economy because it is essential to the strength of our nation. And what is true in our case is true in the case of other countries. Their strength in the struggle for freedom depends on the strength of their economic and their social progress. We would be badly mistaken to consider their problems in military terms alone. For '''no amount of arms and armies can help stabilize those governments which are unable or unwilling to achieve social and economic reform and development. Military pacts cannot help nations whose social injustice and economic chaos invite insurgency and penetration and subversion.''' The most skillful counter-guerrilla efforts cannot succeed where the local population is too caught up in its own misery to be concerned about the advance of [[communism]].''' * This is also our great '''opportunity''' in 1961. '''If we grasp it, then subversion to prevent its success is exposed as an unjustifiable attempt to keep these nations from either being free or equal. But if we do not pursue it, and if they do not pursue it, the bankruptcy of unstable governments, one by one, and of unfilled hopes will surely lead to a series of totalitarian receiverships.''' * But '''while we talk of sharing and building and the competition of ideas, others talk of arms and threaten war. So we have learned to keep our defenses strong--and to cooperate with others in a partnership of self-defense.''' * '''The main burden of local defense against local attack, subversion, insurrection or guerrilla warfare must of necessity rest with local forces. Where these forces have the necessary will and capacity to cope with such threats, our intervention is rarely necessary or helpful.''' Where the will is present and only capacity is lacking, '''our Military Assistance Program''' can be of help. But this program, like economic assistance, needs a new emphasis. It '''cannot be extended without regard to the social, political and military reforms essential to internal respect and stability. The equipment and training provided must be tailored to legitimate local needs and to our own foreign and military policies, not to our supply of military stocks or a local leader's desire for military display. And military assistance can, in addition to its military purposes, make a contribution to economic progress''', as do our own Army Engineers. * Military and economic assistance has been a heavy burden on our citizens for a long time, and I recognize the strong pressures against it; but this battle is far from over, it is reaching a crucial stage, and I believe we should participate in it. '''We cannot merely state our opposition to totalitarian advance without paying the price of helping those now under the greatest pressure.''' * This Administration has been looking hard at exactly what '''civil defense''' can and cannot do. It '''cannot be obtained cheaply. It cannot give an assurance of blast protection that will be proof against surprise attack or guaranteed against obsolescence or destruction. And it cannot deter a nuclear attack. We will deter an enemy from making a nuclear attack only if our retaliatory power is so strong and so invulnerable that he knows he would be destroyed by our response. If we have that strength, civil defense is not needed to deter an attack. If we should ever lack it, civil defense would not be an adequate substitute. But this deterrent concept assumes rational calculations by rational men. And the history of this planet, and particularly the history of the 20th century, is sufficient to remind us of the possibilities of an irrational attack, a miscalculation, an accidental war, for a war of escalation in which the stakes by each side gradually increase to the point of maximum danger which cannot be either foreseen or deterred. It is on this basis that civil defense can be readily justifiable--as insurance for the civilian population in case of an enemy miscalculation. It is insurance we trust will never be needed--but insurance which we could never forgive ourselves for foregoing in the event of catastrophe.''' Once the validity of this concept is recognized, there is no point in delaying the initiation of a nation-wide long-range program of identifying present fallout shelter capacity and providing shelter in new and existing structures. '''Such a program would protect millions of people against the hazards of radioactive fallout in the event of large-scale nuclear attack.''' Effective performance of the entire program not only requires new legislative authority and more funds, but also sound organizational arrangements. * I cannot end this discussion of defense and armaments without emphasizing '''our strongest hope: the creation of an orderly world where disarmament will be possible. Our aims do not prepare for war--they are efforts to discourage and resist the adventures of others that could end in war. ''' * Finally, if we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the [[w:Sputnik crisis|Sputnik in 1957]], the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take. [...] '''Now it is time to take longer strides — time for a great new American enterprise — time for this nation to take a clearly leading role in space achievement, which in many ways may hold the key to our future on earth. I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary.''' But the facts of the matter are that we have never made the national decisions or marshaled the national resources required for such leadership. We have never specified long-range goals on an urgent time schedule, or managed our resources and our time so as to insure theft fulfillment. </br> Recognizing the head start obtained by the Soviets with their large rocket engines, which gives them many months of lead-time, and recognizing the likelihood that they will exploit this lead for some time to come in still more impressive successes, we nevertheless are required to make new efforts on our own. For '''while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but as shown by [[w:Project_Mercury#Space_race|feat]] of [[w:Alan Shepard#Mercury:_Freedom_7_pilot|astronaut Shepard]], this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful. But this is not merely a race. Space is open to us now; and our eagerness to share its meaning is not governed by the efforts of others. We go into space because whatever mankind must undertake, free men must fully share.''' * '''I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.''' We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate lunar space craft. We propose to develop alternate liquid and solid fuel boosters, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other engine development and for unmanned explorations — explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring flight. '''But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon — if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there.''' * Let it be clear — and this is a judgment which the Members of the Congress must finally make — let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action — a course which will last for many years and carry very heavy costs: 531 million dollars in fiscal '62 — an estimated seven to nine billion dollars additional over the next five years. '''If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all.''' * '''It is a most important decision that we make as a nation.''' But all of you have lived through the last four years and have seen the significance of space and the adventures in space, and no one can predict with certainty what the ultimate meaning will be of mastery of space. '''I believe we should go to the moon.''' But I think every citizen of this country as well as the Members of the Congress should consider the matter carefully in making their judgment, to which we have given attention over many weeks and months, because it is a heavy burden, and '''there is no sense in agreeing or desiring that the United States take an affirmative position in outer space, unless we are prepared to do the work and bear the burdens to make it successful.''' If we are not, we should decide today and this year. * '''This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, materiel and facilities''', and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline which have not always characterized our research and development efforts. '''It means we cannot afford undue work stoppages, inflated costs of material or talent, wasteful interagency rivalries, or a high turnover of key personnel. New objectives and new money cannot solve these problems. They could in fact, aggravate them further — unless every scientist, every engineer, every serviceman, every technician, contractor, and civil servant gives his personal pledge that this nation will move forward, with the full speed of freedom, in the exciting adventure of space.''' * '''In conclusion, let me emphasize one point:''' that '''we are determined''', as a nation in 1961 '''that freedom shall survive and succeed--and whatever the peril and set-backs, we have some very large advantages. The first is the simple fact that we are on the side of [[liberty]]--and since the beginning of history, and particularly since the end of the [[Second World War]], liberty has been winning out all over the globe. A second great asset is that we are not alone. We have friends and allies all over the world who share our devotion to freedom. [...] A third asset is our desire for peace. It is sincere, and I believe the world knows it. [...] Yet it is important to know that our patience at the bargaining table is nearly inexhaustible, though our credulity is limited-that our hopes for peace are unfailing, while our determination to protect our security is resolute.''' * '''Finally, our greatest asset in this struggle is the American people--their willingness to pay the price for these programs--to understand and accept a long struggle--to share their resources with other less fortunate people-to meet the tax levels and close the tax loopholes I have requested--to exercise self-restraint instead of pushing up wages or prices, or over-producing certain crops, or spreading military secrets, or urging unessential expenditures or improper monopolies or harmful work stoppages--to serve in the Peace Corps or the Armed Services or the Federal Civil Service or the Congress--to strive for excellence in their schools, in their cities and in their physical fitness and that of their children--to take part in Civil Defense-to pay higher postal rates, and higher payroll taxes and higher teachers' salaries, in order to strengthen our society--to show friendship to students and visitors from other lands who visit us and go back in many cases to be the future leaders, with an image of America--and I want that image, and I know you do, to be affirmative and positive-and, finally, to practice [[democracy]] at home, in all States, with all races, to respect each other and to protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens.''' * I have not asked for a single program which did not cause one or all Americans some inconvenience, or some hardship, or some sacrifice. But they have responded-and you in the Congress have responded to your duty--and I feel confident in asking today for a similar response to these new and larger demands. '''It is heartening to know''', as I journey abroad, '''that our country is united in its commitment to freedom-and is ready to do its duty.''' ==== [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|Berlin Crisis]] speech ==== :<small>[https://www.jfklibrary.org/archives/other-resources/john-f-kennedy-speeches/berlin-crisis-19610725 "Radio and Television Report to the American People on the Berlin Crisis" (25 July 1961)]; addressing the impending possibility of war between the United States and the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] (USSR) over the [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|crisis in]] [[w:Berlin|Berlin]], [[w:Germany|Germany]]. In his speech the President addresses the Soviet Union's attempts to cut off America's access to West Berlin, thus making it impossible to secure freedom from [[communism]] for the people of Berlin. The President goes on to discuss the imminent threat of [[w:nuclear war|nuclear war]] and his plan to increase funding and manpower for the military, provide appropriate communications for air raid warnings, and ensure that all Americans have access to fall-out shelters should a [[w:nuclear holocaust|nuclear holocaust]] occur. </small> [[File:McAuliffeBastogneChristmasLetter101Airborne.jpg|thumb|Any dangerous spot is tenable if men--brave men--will make it so.]] [[File:NATO flag.svg|thumb|The strength of the alliance on which our security depends is dependent in turn on our willingness to meet our commitments to them.]] [[File:US Army tanks face off against Soviet tanks, Berlin 1961.jpg|thumb|If there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity.]] [[File:JFK speech lch bin ein berliner 1.jpg|thumb|With your help, and the help of other free men, this crisis can be surmounted. Freedom can prevail and peace can endure.]] * '''We are clear about what must be done--and we intend to do it.''' I want to talk frankly with you tonight about the first steps that we shall take. '''These actions will require sacrifice on the part of many of our citizens. More will be required in the future. They will require, from all of us, courage and perseverance in the years to come. But if we and our allies act out of strength and unity of purpose--with calm determination and steady nerves--using restraint in our words as well as our weapons--I am hopeful that both peace and freedom will be sustained.''' * I hear it said that [[w:Battle of Berlin|West Berlin]] is militarily untenable. And so was [[w:Siege of Bastogne|Bastogne]]. And so, in fact, was [[w:Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]]. '''Any dangerous spot is tenable if men--brave men--will make it so.''' * We do not want to fight — but we have fought before. And others in earlier times have made the same dangerous mistake of assuming that the West was too selfish and too soft and too divided to resist invasions of freedom in other lands. Those who threaten to unleash the forces of war on a dispute over West Berlin should recall the words of the ancient philosopher: "[[w:Epicurus |A man who causes fear cannot be free from fear.]]" * '''Everything essential to the security of freedom must be done; and if that should require more men, or more [[Taxation|taxes]], or more controls, or other new powers, I shall not hesitate to ask them. [...] I realize that no public revenue measure is welcomed by everyone. But I am certain that every American wants to pay his fair share, and not leave the burden of defending freedom entirely to those who bear arms. For we have mortgaged our very future on this defense--and we cannot fail to meet our responsibilities.''' * '''We do not intend to abandon our duty to mankind to seek a peaceful solution.''' As signers of the [[Charter of the United Nations|UN Charter]], '''we shall always be prepared to discuss international problems with any and all nations that are willing to talk — and listen — with reason. If they have proposals — not demands — we shall hear them. If they seek genuine understanding — not concessions of our rights — we shall meet with them.''' We have previously indicated our readiness to remove any actual irritants in West Berlin, but '''the freedom''' of that city '''is not negotiable. We cannot negotiate with those who say "What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable." But we are willing to consider any arrangement or treaty''' in [[Germany]] '''consistent with the maintenance of peace and freedom, and with the legitimate security interests of all nations. [...] In short, while we are ready to defend our interests, we shall also be ready to search for peace--in quiet exploratory talks--in formal or informal meetings. ''' * '''The strength of the alliance on which our security depends is dependent in turn on our willingness to meet our commitments to them.''' * We will at all times be ready to talk, if '''talk''' will help. But we must also be ready to resist with '''force''', if force is used upon us. '''Either alone would fail. Together, they can serve the cause of freedom and peace.''' * And as Americans know from our history [[w:American Frontier|on our own old frontier]], '''gun battles are caused by outlaws, and not by officers of the peace.''' * And '''if there is one path above all others to war, it is the path of weakness and disunity.''' * '''When I ran for Presidency of the United States, I knew that this country faced serious challenges, but I could not realize — nor could any man realize who does not bear the burdens of this office — how heavy and constant would be those burdens.''' * Now, '''in the [[w:nuclear age|thermonuclear age]], any misjudgment on either side about the intentions of the other could rain more devastation in several hours than has been wrought in all the wars of human history.''' Therefore I, as President and Commander-in-Chief, and all of us as Americans, are moving through serious days. I shall bear this responsibility under our Constitution for the next three and one-half years, but I am sure that '''we all, regardless of our occupations, will do our very best for our country, and for our cause. For all of us want to see our children grow up in a country at peace, and in a world where freedom endures. I know that sometimes we get impatient, we wish for some immediate action that would end our perils. But I must tell you that there is no quick and easy solution. [...] We must look to long days ahead, which if we are courageous and persevering can bring us what we all desire.''' * The steps I have indicated tonight are aimed at avoiding that war. To sum it all up: '''we seek peace — but we shall not surrender.''' That is the central meaning of this crisis, and the meaning of your government's policy. '''With your help, and the help of other free men, this crisis can be surmounted. Freedom can prevail and peace can endure.''' ==== UN speech ==== [[File:Nagasakibomb.jpg|thumb|Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.]] [[File:Castle Romeo.jpg|thumb|The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.]] [[File:Winken ueber die Berliner Mauer.jpg|thumb|Self-determination is but a slogan if the future holds no hope.]] [[File:Tuojiangosaurus multispinus.jpg|thumb|Unless man can match his strides in weaponry and technology with equal strides in social and political development, our great strength, like that of the dinosaur, will become incapable of proper control — and like the dinosaur vanish from the earth.]] [[File:BlueMarble-2001-2002.jpg|thumb|If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.]] [[File:The Earth seen from Apollo 17.jpg|thumb|Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames.]] :<small>[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Address-Before-the-General-Assembly-of-the-United-Nations-September-25-1961.aspx Address before the General Assembly of the United Nations] (25 September 1961); this addresses the recent death of U.N. Secretary-General [[Dag Hammarskjold]], presents six proposals for the new Disarmament Program, and provides information on the current crises in [[w:Berlin|Berlin]], [[w:Germany|Germany]], [[w:Laos|Laos]], and [[w:South Vietnam|South Vietnam]].</small> * '''We meet in an hour of grief and challenge. [[Dag Hammarskjold]] is dead. But the [[United Nations]] lives. His tragedy is deep in our hearts, but the task for which he died is at the top of our agenda. A noble servant of [[peace]] is gone. But the quest for peace lies before us.''' <br> The problem is not the death of one man — the problem is the life of this organization. It will either grow to meet the challenges of our age, or it will be gone with the wind, without influence, without force, without respect. Were we to let it die, to enfeeble its vigor, to cripple its powers, we would condemn our future. For in the development of this organization rests the only true alternative to war — and war appeals no longer as a rational alternative. Unconditional war can no longer lead to unconditional victory. It can no longer serve to settle disputes. It can no longer concern the great powers alone. For a nuclear disaster, spread by wind and water and fear, could well engulf the great and the small, the rich and the poor, the committed and the uncommitted alike. '''Mankind must put an end to war — or war will put an end to mankind.<br> So let us here resolve that Dag Hammarskjold did not live, or die, in vain. Let us call a truce to terror. Let us invoke the blessings of peace. And as we build an international capacity to keep peace, let us join in dismantling the national capacity to wage war.''' * '''[[Disarmament]] without checks is but a shadow — and a community without law is but a shell.''' * The great question which confronted this body in 1945 is still before us: whether man's cherished hopes for progress and peace are to be destroyed by terror and disruption, whether the "foul winds of war" can be tamed in time to free the cooling winds of reason, and whether the pledges of our Charter are to be fulfilled or defied — pledges to secure peace, progress, human rights and world law. * The Secretary General, in a very real sense, is the servant of the '''General Assembly'''. Diminish his authority and you diminish the authority of '''the only body where all nations, regardless of power, are equal and sovereign. Until all the powerful are just, the weak will be secure only in the strength of this Assembly.''' * Today, every inhabitant of this planet must contemplate the day when this planet may no longer be habitable. '''Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear [[w:sword of Damocles|sword of Damocles]], hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident, or miscalculation, or by madness. The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.''' * Men no longer debate whether armaments are a symptom or a cause of tension. '''The mere existence of modern weapons''' — ten million times more powerful than any that the world has ever seen, and only minutes away from any target on earth — '''is a source of horror, and discord and distrust.''' Men no longer maintain that disarmament must await the settlement of all disputes — for disarmament must be a part of any permanent settlement. And men may no longer pretend that the quest for disarmament is a sign of weakness — for in a spiraling arms race, a nation's security may well be shrinking even as its arms increase. * For fifteen years this organization has sought the reduction and destruction of arms. Now that goal is no longer a dream — it is a practical matter of life or death. '''The risks inherent in disarmament pale in comparison to the risks inherent in an unlimited arms race.''' <br> In short, general and complete disarmament must no longer be a slogan, used to resist the first steps. It is no longer to be a goal without means of achieving it, without means of verifying its progress, without means of keeping the peace. It is now a realistic plan, and a test — a test of those only willing to talk and a test of those willing to act.<br> Such a plan would not bring a world free from conflict and greed — but it would bring a world free from the terrors of mass destruction. It would not usher in the era of the super state — but it would usher in an era in which no state could annihilate or be annihilated by another. <br> But to halt the spread of these terrible weapons, to halt the contamination of the air, to halt the spiraling nuclear arms race, we remain ready to seek new avenues of agreement, our new Disarmament Program thus includes the following proposals: :First, signing [[w:Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty|the test-ban treaty]] by all nations. This can be done now. Test ban [[negotiations]] need not and should not await general disarmament. :Second, stopping the production of fissionable materials for use in weapons, and preventing their transfer to any nation now lacking in nuclear weapons. :Third, prohibiting the transfer of control over nuclear weapons to states that do not own them. :Fourth, keeping nuclear weapons from seeding new battlegrounds in outer space. :Fifth, gradually destroying existing nuclear weapons and converting their materials to peaceful uses; and :Finally, halting the unlimited testing and production of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, and gradually destroying them as well. * But we are well aware that all issues of principle are not settled, and that principles alone are not enough. '''It is''' therefore '''our intention to challenge the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]], not to an arms race, but to a peace race- -to advance together step by step, stage by stage, until general and complete disarmament has been achieved.''' We invite them now to go beyond agreement in principle to reach agreement on actual plans. * '''Peace is not solely a matter of military or technical problems — it is primarily a problem of politics and people. And unless man can match his strides in weaponry and technology with equal strides in social and political development, our great strength, like that of the dinosaur, will become incapable of proper control — and like the dinosaur vanish from the earth.''' * '''Political sovereignty is but a mockery without the means of meeting poverty and illiteracy and disease. Self-determination is but a slogan if the future holds no hope.''' * I do not ignore '''the remaining problems of [[w:colonialism|traditional colonialism]]''' which still confront this body. '''Those problems will be solved, with patience, good will, and determination.''' Within the limits of our responsibility in such matters, my Country intends to be a participant and not merely an observer, in the peaceful, expeditious movement of nations from the status of colonies to the partnership of equals. That continuing tide of self-determination, which runs so strong, has our sympathy and our support. '''But colonialism in its harshest forms is not only the exploitation of new nations by old, of dark skins by light, or the subjugation of the poor by the rich. My Nation was once a colony, and we know what colonialism means; the exploitation and subjugation of the weak by the powerful, of the many by the few, of the governed who have given no consent to be governed, whatever their continent, their class, their color.''' * '''For a city or a people to be truly free they must have the secure right, without economic, political or police pressure, to make their own choice and to live their own lives.''' * '''The political disposition of peoples should rest upon their own wishes, freely expressed in plebiscites or free elections.''' If there are legal problems, they can be solved by legal means. If there is a threat of force, it must be rejected. If there is desire for change, it must be a subject for [[negotiation]], and if there is negotiation, it must be rooted in mutual respect and concern for the rights of others. * I pledge you that we will neither commit nor provoke aggression, that we shall neither flee nor invoke the threat of force, that '''we shall never negotiate out of fear, we shall never fear to negotiate.''' * '''Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats, and that aggression would meet its own response.''' And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be he friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities. * '''I come here today to look across this world of threats to a world of peace. In that search we cannot expect any final triumph''' — for new problems will always arise. We cannot expect that all nations will adopt like systems — for '''conformity is the jailor of freedom, and the enemy of growth.''' Nor can we expect to reach our goal by contrivance, by fiat or even by the wishes of all.<br> '''But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not stand alone. If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.''' * Ladies and gentlemen of this Assembly, the decision is ours. Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose, or so much to gain. '''Together we shall save our planet, or together we shall perish in its flames. Save it we can — and save it we must — and then shall we earn the eternal thanks of mankind and, as peacemakers, the eternal blessing of [[God]].''' ==== Address at the University of Washington ==== :<small>[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Aw3MwwJMf0631R6JLmAprQ.aspx Address at the University of Washington's 100th Anniversary Program] (16 November 1961). As 1961 drew to an end, the United States and the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] were at the height of the [[w:Cold War|Cold War]], and Cuba and [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|Berlin]] were hot spots. In April 1961, the United States Central Intelligence Agency had organized 1,400 armed Cuban exiles in [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|a failed attempt to invade Cuba at the Bay of Pigs]]. On August 20, 1961, East Germany erected a five foot high concrete wall dividing East and West Berlin and on October 28, 1961, a tense, 16-hour face off occurred at the Berlin Wall between Soviet and American tanks. On August 31, 1961, the Soviet Union began conducting aboveground nuclear tests, detonating perhaps 15 bombs during September 1961. Local newspapers advised Seattleites on how to construct and stock personal nuclear fallout shelters. It was in this context that President John F. Kennedy arrived at Boeing Airport in Seattle, Washington on November 16, 1961 to deliver a major foreign policy speech at the [[w:University of Washington|University of Washington]] Centennial Convocation. In his speech President Kennedy discusses the creation of [[w:Land-grant university|educational institutions]] through the [[w:Morrill Land-Grant Acts|Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890]]. He also addresses the current state of American international relations, with emphasis on the challenges of defending freedom and maintaining peace as a world power. · [http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/primarysources/coldwar/docs/jfk.html "President John F. Kennedy's University of Washington Speech" in ''Primary Sources: Workshops in American History'' Annenberg Media Learner.org]</small> [[File:President Kennedy American University Commencement Address June 10, 1963.jpg|thumb|The basis of self-government and freedom requires the development of character and self-restraint and perseverance and the long view. And these are qualities which require many years of training and education.]] [[File:UN General Assembly.jpg|thumb|We must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy or quick or permanent solutions … there cannot be an American solution to every world problem...]] [[File:President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson prior to ceremony.jpg|thumb|Diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail. A willingness to resist force, unaccompanied by a willingness to talk, could provoke belligerence — while a willingness to talk, unaccompanied by a willingness to resist force, could invite disaster.]] [[File:Signing Of The Social Security Act.jpg|thumb|We celebrate the past to awaken the future.]] [[File:John Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev 1961.jpg|thumb|While we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom.]] [[File:United States Capitol - west front.jpg|thumb|The business of the Government is the business of the people.]] [[File:Golden statue.jpg|thumb|For to save mankind's future freedom, we must face up to any risk that is necessary. We will always seek peace — but we will never surrender.]] * '''The basis of self-government and freedom requires the development of character and self-restraint and perseverance and the long view. And these are qualities which require many years of training and education.''' * We increase our arms at a heavy cost, primarily to make certain that we will not have to use them. We must face up to the chance of war, if we are to maintain the peace. We must work with certain countries lacking in freedom in order to strengthen the cause of freedom. We find some who call themselves neutral who are our friends and sympathetic to us, and others who call themselves neutral who are unremittingly hostile to us. And as the most powerful defender of freedom on earth, we find ourselves unable to escape the responsibilities of freedom, and yet unable to exercise it without restraints imposed by the very freedoms we seek to protect. </br> We cannot, as a free nation, compete with our adversaries in tactics of terror, assassination, false promises, counterfeit mobs and crises. </br> '''We cannot, under the scrutiny of a free press and public, tell different stories to different audiences, foreign and domestic, friendly and hostile.''' </br> We cannot abandon the slow processes of consulting with our allies to match the swift expediencies of those who merely dictate to their satellites. </br> We can neither abandon nor control the international organization in which we now cast less than 1 percent of the vote in the General Assembly. </br> '''We possess weapons of tremendous power — but they are least effective in combating the weapons most often used by freedom's foes: subversion, infiltration, guerrilla warfare, civil disorder.''' </br> We send arms to other peoples — just as we send them the ideals of democracy in which we believe — but we cannot send them the will to use those arms or to abide by those ideals. </br> And while we believe not only in the force of arms but in the force of right and reason, we have learned that reason does not always appeal to unreasonable men — that it is not always true that [[s:Bible (King James)/Proverbs#Chapter_15|"a soft answer turneth away wrath"]] — and that right does not always make might. </br> In short, '''we must face problems which do not lend themselves to easy or quick or permanent solutions. And we must face the fact that the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient — that we are only 6 percent of the world's population — that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind — that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity — and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem.''' ** Also quoted in [http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1635958_1635999_1634954-6,00.html "Warrior for Peace" by David Talbot, in ''TIME'' (2 July 2007), p. 50] * These burdens and frustrations are accepted by most Americans with maturity and understanding. They may long for the days when war meant charging up [[w:Battle of San Juan Hill|San Juan Hill]]-or when our isolation was guarded by two oceans — or when the atomic bomb was ours alone — or when much of the industrialized world depended upon our resources and our aid. But they now know that those days are gone — and that gone with them are the old policies and the old complacency's. And they know, too, that '''we must make the best of our new problems and our new opportunities, whatever the risk and the cost.''' </br> But there are others who cannot bear the burden of a long twilight struggle. They lack confidence in our long-run capacity to survive and succeed. Hating communism, yet they see communism in the long run, perhaps, as the wave of the future. And they want some quick and easy and final and cheap solution — now. </br> There are two groups of these frustrated citizens, far apart in their views yet very much alike in their approach. On the one hand are those who urge upon us what I regard to be the pathway of surrender-appeasing our enemies, compromising our commitments, purchasing peace at any price, disavowing our arms, our friends, our obligations. If their view had prevailed, the world of free choice would be smaller today. </br> On the other hand are those who urge upon us what I regard to be the pathway of war: equating [[negotiations]] with appeasement and substituting rigidity for firmness. If their view had prevailed, we would be at war today, and in more than one place. </br> It is a curious fact that each of these extreme opposites resembles the other. Each believes that we have only two choices: appeasement or war, suicide or surrender, humiliation or holocaust, to be either Red or dead. Each side sees only "hard" and "soft" nations, hard and soft policies, hard and soft men. Each believes that any departure from its own course inevitably leads to the other: one group believes that any peaceful solution means appeasement; the other believes that any arms build-up means war. One group regards everyone else as warmongers, the other regards everyone else as appeasers. Neither side admits that its path will lead to disaster — but neither can tell us how or where to draw the line once we descend the slippery slopes of appeasement or constant intervention. </br> In short, while both extremes profess to be the true realists of our time, neither could be more unrealistic. While both claim to be doing the nation a service, they could do it no greater disservice. This kind of talk and '''easy solutions to difficult problems, if believed, could inspire a lack of confidence among our people when they must all — above all else — be united in recognizing the long and difficult days that lie ahead. It could inspire uncertainty among our allies when above all else they must be confident in us. And even more dangerously, it could, if believed, inspire doubt among our adversaries when they must above all be convinced that we will defend our vital interests.''' </br> The essential fact that both of these groups fail to grasp is that '''diplomacy and defense are not substitutes for one another. Either alone would fail. A willingness to resist force, unaccompanied by a willingness to talk, could provoke belligerence — while a willingness to talk, unaccompanied by a willingness to resist force, could invite disaster.''' * But '''as long as we know what comprises our vital interests and our long-range goals, we have nothing to fear from [[negotiations]] at the appropriate time, and nothing to gain by refusing to take part in them.''' At a time when a single clash could escalate overnight into a holocaust of mushroom clouds, '''a great power does not prove its firmness by leaving the task of exploring the other's intentions to sentries or those without full responsibility. Nor can ultimate weapons rightfully be employed, or the ultimate sacrifice rightfully demanded of our citizens, until every reasonable solution has been explored.''' "How many wars," [[Winston Churchill]] has written, "have been averted by patience and persisting good will! .... How many wars have been precipitated by firebrands!" * '''If vital interests under duress can be preserved by peaceful means, [[negotiations]] will find that out. If our adversary will accept nothing-less than a concession of our rights, negotiations will find that out. And if negotiations are to take place, this nation cannot abdicate to its adversaries the task of choosing the forum and the framework and the time.''' * '''No one should be under the illusion that negotiations for the sake of negotiations always advance the cause of peace. If for lack of preparation they break up in bitterness, the prospects of peace have been endangered. If they are made a forum for propaganda or a cover for aggression, the processes of peace have been abused.''' But it is a test of our national maturity to accept the fact that negotiations are not a contest spelling victory or defeat. They may succeed — they may fail. They are likely to be successful only if both sides reach an agreement which both regard as preferable to the status quo — an agreement in which each side can consider its own situation to be improved. And this is most difficult to obtain. But, '''while we shall negotiate freely, we shall not negotiate freedom.''' Our answer to the classic question of [[Patrick Henry]] is still no-life is not so dear, and peace is not so precious, "as to be purchased at the price of chains and [[slavery]]." And that is our answer even though, for the first time since the ancient battles between Greek city-states, war entails the threat of total annihilation, of everything we know, of society itself. '''For to save mankind's future freedom, we must face up to any risk that is necessary. We will always seek peace — but we will never surrender.''' * '''In short, we are neither "warmongers" nor "appeasers," neither "hard" nor "soft." We are Americans, determined to defend the frontiers of freedom, by an honorable peace if peace is possible, but by arms if arms are used against us.''' And if we are to move forward in that spirit, we shall need all the calm and thoughtful citizens that this great University can produce, all the light they can shed, all the wisdom they can bring to bear. It is customary, both here and around the world, to regard life in the United States as easy. Our advantages are many. But more than any other people on earth, '''we bear burdens and accept risks unprecedented in their size and their duration, not for ourselves alone but for all who wish to be free.''' === 1962 === [[File:The Blue Marble.jpg|thumb|The world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution.]] [[File:ARC200454.gif|thumb|We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations, the complexity of our decisions, the agony of our choices. But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility.]] [[File:Black and white copy of frame from "Zapruder film" (z189 from the Zapruder film), showing Presidential limo in Dealey Plaza, CE479.jpg|thumb|Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.]] [[File:JFK limousine.png|thumb|The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.]] [[File:International newspaper, Rome May 2005.jpg|thumb|A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.]] [[File:Henry-Presentation of Colors.JPG|thumb|The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.]] [[File:Diagram of the Federal Government and American Union edit.jpg|thumb|The success of this Government, and thus the success of our Nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality.of our career services.]] [[File:Iwo-Jima-3c.jpg|thumb|What really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out — not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.]] [[File:THE HOPE OF ALL THE WORLD - NARA - 515613.jpg|thumb|The most effective means of upholding the law is not the State policeman or the marshals or the National Guard. It is you. It lies in your courage to accept those laws with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree.]] [[File:Seal of the District of Columbia.svg|thumb|There is such a difference between those who advise or speak or legislate, and between the man who must select from the various alternatives proposed and say that this shall be the policy of the United States. It is much easier to make the speeches than it is to finally make the judgments.]] * '''The success of this Government, and thus the success of our Nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality of our career services. The legislation enacted by the Congress, as well as the decisions made by me and by the department and agency heads, must all be implemented by the career men and women in the Federal service.''' In foreign affairs, national defense, science and technology, and a host of other fields, they face problems of unprecedented importance and perplexity. '''We are all dependent on their sense of loyalty and responsibility as well as their competence and energy.'''" ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Special Message to the Congress on Federal Pay Reform (55)" (20 February 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * We welcome the views of others. We seek a free flow of information across national boundaries and oceans, across iron curtains and stone walls. We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For '''a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9075&st=&st1= John F. Kennedy: "Remarks on the 20th Anniversary of the Voice of America" (26 February 1962)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * For '''one true measure of a nation is its success in fulfilling the promise of a better life for each of its members.''' Let this be the measure of our nation. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Special message to the Congress on National Health Needs (65)" (27 February 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''Our deep spiritual confidence that this nation will survive the perils of today''' — which may well be with us for decades to come — '''compels us to invest in our nation's future, to consider and meet our obligations to our children and the numberless generations that will follow.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Special message to the Congress on Conservation (69)" (1 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * ...'''what really counts is not the immediate act of courage or of valor, but those who bear the struggle day in and day out — not the sunshine patriots but those who are willing to stand for a long period of time.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at the White House to Members of the American Legion (70)" (1 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * ...'''there is always inequity in life. Some men are killed in a war and some men are wounded, and some men never leave the country,''' and some men are stationed in the Antarctic and some are stationed in San Francisco. It's very hard in the military or personal life to assure complete equality. '''Life is unfair.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "President's News Conference (107)" (21 March 1962)<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''And Prince [[Otto von Bismarck|Bismarck]] was even more specific. One third, he said, of the students of German universities broke down from overwork, another third broked down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in Berkeley at the University of California (109)" (23 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * The [[w:Special Forces (United States Army)|green beret]]' is again becoming a symbol of excellence, a badge of courage, a mark of distinction in the fight for freedom. I know the United States Army will live up to its reputation for imagination, resourcefulness, and spirit as we meet this challenge. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Letter to the United States Army" (11 April 1962)]; Box 5, President's Outgoing Executive Correspondence, White House Central Chronological Files, Papers of John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * I think it is most appropriate that the President of the United States, whose business place is in Washington, should come to this city and participate in these rallies. Because '''the business of the Government is the business of the people''' — and the people are right here. ** Speech at [[w:Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]] in [[w:New York City|New York City]] to support his program of "medical care for the aged." (20 May 1962)[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8669][http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-038-023.aspx] * '''The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic.''' Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. '''We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.''' ** Commencement address, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut (11 June 1962) [http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3370] * '''Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.''' ** [[s:Address on the First Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress|Address on the First Anniversary of the Alliance for Progress at the White House]] (13 March 1962) * I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. ** Address at a White House dinner honoring Nobel Prize winners (29 April 1962), quoted in [http://www.jfklibrary.org/white%20house%20diary/1962/April/29 ''The White House Diary'', at the JFK Library] * While '''geography has made us neighbors, tradition has made us friends. Economics has made us partners. And necessity has made us allies''' — in a vast Alianza para el Progreso. '''Those whom nature has so joined together, let no man put asunder.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=8741&st=&st1= Address by the President at a Luncheon Given in His Honor by President Lopez Matcos (29 June 1962)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * I have seen in many places housing which has been developed under government influences, but I have never seen any projects in which governments have played their part which have fountains and statues and grass and trees, which are as important to the concept of the home as the roof itself." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks at the Unidad Independencia Housing Project, City of Mexico (269)" (30 June 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''It's only when they join together in a forward movement that this country moves ahead...''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at Los Banos, CA at the Groundbreaking Ceremonies for the San Luis Dam (337)" (18 August 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. '''And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.'''" ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in Newport at the Australian Ambassador's Dinner for the America's Cup Crews (383)" (14 September 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * All students, members of the faculty, and public officials in both Mississippi and the Nation will be able, it is hoped, to return to their normal activities with full confidence in the integrity of American law. This is as it should be, for '''our Nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny.''' The law which we obey includes the final rulings of the courts, as well as the enactments of our legislative bodies. Even among law-abiding men few laws are universally loved, but they are uniformly respected and not resisted. '''Americans are free''', in short, '''to disagree with the law but not to disobey it.''' For '''in a government of laws and not of men, no man, however prominent or powerful, and no mob however unruly or boisterous, is entitled to defy a court of law. If this country should ever reach the point where any man or group of men by force or threat of force could long defy the commands of our court and our Constitution, then no law would stand free from doubt, no judge would be sure of his writ, and no citizen would be safe from his neighbors.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Radio-and-Television-Report-to-the-Nation-on-the-Situation-at-the-University-of-Mississippi.aspx Radio and Television Report to the Nation on the Situation at the University of Mississippi (30 September 1962)] * In 1945 a [[Mississippi]] sergeant, Jake Lindsey, was honored by an unusual joint session of the Congress. I close therefore, with this appeal to the students of the University, the people who are most concerned. You have a great tradition to uphold, a tradition of honor and courage won on the field of battle and on the gridiron as well as the University campus. You have a new opportunity to show that you are men of patriotism and integrity. For '''the most effective means of upholding the law is not the State policeman or the marshals or the [[w:United State National Guard|National Guard]]. It is you. It lies in your courage to accept those laws with which you disagree as well as those with which you agree.''' ** Radio and Television Report to the Nation on the Situation at the University of Mississippi (30 September 1962) * Bullfight critics row on row <br/> Fill the enormous Plaza de toros <br/> But only one is there who knows <br/> And he is the one who fights the bull. ** Slightly misquoting [[w:Domingo Ortega|Domingo Ortega]], as translated by the English poet [[Robert Graves]]), in remarks during a Presidential Backgrounder before the National Foreign Policy Conference for Editors and Radio-TV Public Affairs Broadcasters (16 October 1962)]; "Presidential Backgrounder 16 October 1962 #50," Box 134, Classified Background Briefing Material Series, Pierre Salinger Papers, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library ** The original poem: Bullfight critics ranked in rows<br/>Crowd the enormous Plaza full<br/>But only one is there who knows<br/>And he's the man who fights the bull. * '''I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at a Closed-circuit Television Broadcast on Behalf of the National Cultural Center (527)" (29 November 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''There is a limitation''', in other words, '''upon the power of the United States to bring about solutions.''' I think our people get awfully impatient and maybe fatigued and tired, and saying "We have been carrying this burden for 17 years; can we lay it down?" We can't lay it down, and I don't see how we are going to lay it down in this century. '''So that I would say that the problems are more difficult than I had imagined them to be. The responsibilities placed on the United States are greater than I imagined them to be, and there are greater limitations upon our ability to bring about a favorable result than I had imagined them to be. And I think that is probably true of anyone who becomes President, because there is such a difference between those who advise or speak or legislate, and between the man who must select from the various alternatives proposed and say that this shall be the policy of the United States. It is much easier to make the speeches than it is to finally make the judgments, because unfortunately your advisers are frequently divided. If you take the wrong course''', and on occasion I have, '''the President bears the burden of the responsibility quite rightly. The advisers may move on to new advice.''' ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9060 John F. Kennedy: "Television and Radio Interview: "After Two Years — a Conversation With the President" (17 December 1962)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * To further the appreciation of culture among all the people, to increase respect for the creative individual, to widen participation by all the processes and fulfillments of art — this is one of the fascinating challenges of these days. ** "The Arts in America" in ''LOOK'' magazine (18 December 1962), p. 110; also reported in ''[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1962]'', p. 907 and inscribed on the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. * '''Too often in the past, we have thought of the artist as an idler and dilettante and of the lover of arts as somehow sissy and effete. We have done both an injustice. The life of the artist is, in relation to his work, stern and lonely. He has labored hard, often amid deprivation, to perfect his skill. He has turned aside from quick success in order to strip his vision of everything secondary or cheapening. His working life is marked by intense application and intense discipline.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "LOOK Magazine Article 'The Arts in America' (552)" (18 December 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * '''The life of the arts, far from being an interruption, a distraction, in the life of a nation, is very close to the center of a nation's purpose...and is a test of the quality of a nation's civilization.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "LOOK Magazine Article 'The Arts in America' (552)" (18 December 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' -->; also inscribed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. ==== Second State of the Union Address ==== :<small>[[s:John F. Kennedy's Second State of the Union Address|Second State of the Union Address]] (11 January 1962)</small> * Members of the Congress, '''the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress. We are all trustees for the American people, custodians of the American heritage.''' It is my task to report the State of '''the Union — to improve it is the task of us all.''' * '''The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining''' — by filling three basic gaps in our anti-recession protection. * World order will be secured only when the whole world has laid down these weapons which seem to offer us present security but threaten the future survival of the human race. That armistice day seems very far away. The vast resources of this planet are being devoted more and more to the means of destroying, instead of enriching, human life. <br> But '''the world was not meant to be a prison in which man awaits his execution.''' Nor has mankind survived the tests and trials of thousands of years to surrender everything — including its existence — now. This Nation has the will and the faith to make a supreme effort to break the log jam on [[disarmament]] and nuclear tests — and we will persist until we prevail, until the rule of law has replaced the ever dangerous use of force. * These various elements in our [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] lead, as I have said, to a single goal — the goal of a peaceful world of free and independent states. This is our guide for the present and our vision for the future — a free community of nations, independent but interdependent, uniting north and south, east and west, in one great family of man, outgrowing and transcending the hates and fears that rend our age. </br> We will not reach that goal today, or tomorrow. We may not reach it in our own lifetime. But the quest is the greatest adventure of our century. '''We sometimes chafe at the burden of our obligations, the complexity of our decisions, the agony of our choices. But there is no comfort or security for us in evasion, no solution in abdication, no relief in irresponsibility.''' ==== Address at Independence Hall ==== :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/RrjaDhW5B0OYm2zaJbyPgg.aspx Address at Independence Hall by John F. Kennedy in Independence Square at [[w:Independence Hall|Independence Hall]] in Philadelphia] (4 July 1962). In his speech President Kennedy praises the American democratic system which encourages differences and allows for dissent, discusses the enduring relevance of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and addresses the role of the United States in relation to the emerging [[w:European Communities|European Community]].</small> [[File:EXCOMM_meeting,_Cuban_Missile_Crisis,_29_October_1962.jpg|thumb|Our responsibility is one of decision — for to govern is to choose.]] [[File:Scene_at_the_Signing_of_the_Constitution_of_the_United_States.jpg|thumb|As apt and applicable as the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] is today, we would do well to honor that other historic document drafted in this hall — the [[Constitution of the United States]]. For it stressed not independence but interdependence — not the individual liberty of one but the indivisible liberty of all.]] * The necessity for comity between the National Government and the several States is an indelible lesson of our long history. Because our system is designed to encourage both differences and dissent, because its checks and balances are designed to preserve the rights of the individual and the locality against preeminent central authority, you and I, Governors, recognize how dependent we both are, one upon the other, for the successful operation of our unique and happy form of government. Our system and our freedom permit the legislative to be pitted against the executive, the State against the Federal Government, the city against the countryside, party against party, interest against interest, all in competition or in contention one with another. Our task — your task in the State House and my task in [[w:The White House|the White House]] — is to weave from all these tangled threads a fabric of law and progress. We are not permitted the luxury of irresolution. Others may confine themselves to debate, discussion, and that ultimate luxury — free advice. '''Our responsibility is one of decision — for to govern is to choose.''' * The theory of independence is as old as man himself, and it was not invented in this hall. But it was in this hall that the theory became a practice; that the word went out to all, in [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s phrase, that "the God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time." And today this Nation — conceived in revolution, nurtured in liberty, maturing in independence — has no intention of abdicating its leadership in that worldwide movement for independence to any nation or society committed to systematic human oppression. * '''As apt and applicable as the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] is today, we would do well to honor that other historic document drafted in this hall — the [[Constitution of the United States]]. For it stressed not independence but interdependence — not the individual liberty of one but the indivisible liberty of all.''' * A great new edifice is not built overnight. It was 11 years from the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] to the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|writing of the Constitution]]. The construction of workable [[Federal government of the United States|federal institutions]] required still another generation. The greatest works of our Nation's founders lay not in documents and in declarations, but in creative, determined action. The building of the new house of [[Europe]] has followed the same practical, purposeful course. Building the [[w:Atlantic Alliance|Atlantic partnership]] now will not be easily or cheaply finished. * In most of the old colonial world, the struggle for independence is coming to an end. Even in areas behind the [[w:Iron Curtain|Curtain]], that which Jefferson called "the disease of liberty" still appears to be infectious. With the passing of ancient empires, today less than 2 percent of the world's population lives in territories officially termed "dependent." As this effort for independence, inspired by the American Declaration of Independence, now approaches a successful close, a great new effort — for interdependence — is transforming the world about us. And the spirit of that new effort is the same spirit which gave birth to the American Constitution. That spirit is today most clearly seen across the Atlantic Ocean. The nations of [[w:Western Europe|Western Europe]], long divided by feuds far more bitter than any which existed among the [[w:Thirteen Colonies|13 colonies]], are today joining together, seeking, as our forefathers sought, to find freedom in diversity and in unity, strength. * '''Acting on our own, by ourselves, we cannot establish justice throughout the world; we cannot insure its domestic tranquility, or provide for its common defense, or promote its general welfare, or secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. But joined with other free nations, we can do all this and more. We can assist the developing nations to throw off the yoke of poverty. We can balance our worldwide trade and payments at the highest possible level of growth. We can mount a deterrent powerful enough to deter any aggression. And ultimately we can help to achieve a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion.''' * '''On this fourth day of July, 1962, we''' who are gathered at this same hall, entrusted with the fate and future of our States and Nation, '''declare''' now '''our vow to do our part to lift the weights from the shoulders of all, to join other men and nations in preserving both peace and freedom, and to regard any threat to the peace or freedom of one as a threat to the peace and freedom of all.''' ==== Rice University speech ==== [[File:JFK inspects Mercury capsule, 23 February 1962.jpg|thumb|The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.]] [[File:Skylab and Earth Limb - GPN-2000-001055.jpg|thumb|We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding.]] [[File:Apollo-Soyuz Test Project Commemorative Plaque.jpg|thumb|There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation may never come again.]] :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-127-002.aspx Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort, Houston, TX] (12 September 1962); addresses the necessity for the United States to become an international leader in space exploration and famously states, "We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." · [https://www.historyplace.com/speeches/jfk-space.htm Transcript and audio at The History Place]</small> *'''We meet in an hour of [[change]] and [[challenge]], in a decade of [[hope]] and [[fear]], in an age of both [[knowledge]] and [[ignorance]]. The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.''' * No man can fully grasp how far and how fast we have come, but condense, if you will, the 50 thousand years of man's recorded history in a time span of but a half-century. Stated in these terms, we know very little about the first 40 years, except at the end of them advanced man had learned to use the skins of animals to cover them. Then about 10 years ago, under this standard, man emerged from his caves to construct other kinds of shelter. Only five years ago man learned to write and use a cart with wheels. [[Christianity]] began less than two years ago. The [[w:Printing press|printing press]] came this year, and then less than two months ago, during this whole 50-year span of human history, the steam engine provided a new source of power. [[Isaac Newton|Newton]] explored the meaning of gravity. Last month electric lights and telephones and automobiles and airplanes became available. Only last week did we [[w:History of penicillin|develop penicillin]] and [[w:History of television|television]] and [[w:Chicago Pile-1|nuclear power]], and now if [[w:Mariner 2|America's new spacecraft succeeds in reaching Venus]], we will have literally reached the stars before midnight tonight. </br> This is a breathtaking pace, and such a pace cannot help but create new ills as it dispels old, new ignorance, new problems, new dangers. Surely '''the opening vistas of space promise high costs and hardships, as well as high reward.''' </br> So it is not surprising that some would have us stay where we are a little longer to rest, to wait. But this city of [[Houston]], this state of [[Texas]], this country of '''the United States was not built by those who waited and rested and wished to look behind them. This country was conquered by those who moved forward — and so will space.''' * If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that '''man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred. The exploration of space will go ahead, whether we join in it or not, and it is one of the great adventures of all time, and no nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space.''' * Those who came before us made certain that this country rode the first waves of the [[Industrial Revolution|industrial revolution]], the first waves of modern invention, and the first wave of [[Nuclear power|nuclear power]], and '''this generation does not intend to founder in the backwash of the coming age of space. We mean to be a part of it — we mean to lead it. For the eyes of the world now look into space, to the moon and to the planets beyond, and we have vowed that we shall not see it governed by a hostile flag of conquest, but by a banner of freedom and peace. We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with [[w:Weapons of mass destruction|weapons of mass destruction]], but with instruments of [[knowledge]] and [[understanding]].''' * '''Yet the vows of this Nation can only be fulfilled if we in this Nation are first, and, therefore, we intend to be first. In short, our leadership in science and industry, our hopes for peace and security, our obligations to ourselves as well as others, all require us to make this effort, to solve these mysteries, to solve them for the good of all men, and to become the world's leading space-faring nation.''' * '''We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like [[w:Nuclear physics|nuclear science]] and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.''' I do not say that we should or will go unprotected against the hostile misuse of space any more than we go unprotected against the hostile use of land or sea, but I do say that space can be explored and mastered without feeding the fires of war, without repeating the mistakes that man has made in extending his writ around this globe of ours. * '''There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all.''' Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. *'''We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.''' * We have had our failures, but so have others, even if they do not admit them. And they may be less public. * '''The growth of our science and education will be enriched by new knowledge of our universe and environment, by new techniques of learning and mapping and observation, by new tools and computers for industry, medicine, the home as well as the school. Technical institutions''', such as Rice, '''will reap the harvest of these gains.''' And finally, the space effort itself, while still in its infancy, has already created a great number of new companies, and tens of thousands of new jobs. '''Space and related industries are generating new demands in [[investment]] and skilled personnel''', and this city and this state, and this region, will share greatly in this growth. * Many years ago the great British explorer [[George Mallory]], who was to die on [[Mount Everest]], was asked why did he want to climb it. He said, "Because it is there." '''Well, space is there, and we're going to climb it, and the moon and the planets are there, and new hopes for knowledge and peace are there. And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.''' ==== [[w:Cuban Missile Crisis|Cuban Missile Crisis]] speech ==== [[File:October 23, 1962- President Kennedy signs Proclamation 3504, authorizing the naval quarantine of Cuba.jpg|thumb|Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right — not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world.]] :<small> [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/35_kennedy/psources/ps_armsbild.html Radio and television address] about the Cuban missile crisis (22 October 1962). This reports on the establishment of offensive missile sites presumably intended to launch a nuclear offensive against Western nations. The President characterizes the transformation of Cuba into an important strategic base as an explicit threat to American security, and explains seven components to his proposed course of action: quarantine all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba, increase the degree of surveillance, regard a possible attack launched from Cuba as a Soviet attack, reinforce the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, call for a meeting of the Organ of Consultation, call for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, and demand that Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] cease his current course of action.</small> * Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small. We no longer live in a world where only the actual firing of weapons represents a sufficient challenge to a nation's security to constitute maximum peril. Nuclear weapons are so destructive and ballistic missiles are so swift, that any substantially increased possibility of their use or any sudden change in their deployment may well be regarded as a definite threat to peace. * We will not prematurely or unnecessarily risk the costs of '''a worldwide nuclear war in which even the fruits of victory would be ashes in our mouth''' — but neither shall we shrink from that risk any time it must be faced. * The [[w:1930s|1930's]] taught us a clear lesson: '''aggressive conduct, if allowed to go unchecked and unchallenged ultimately leads to war.''' * '''It shall be the policy of this Nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.''' * '''We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union--for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples.''' * My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can see precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. '''Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead--months in which our patience and our will will be tested--months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.''' * The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but it is one of the most consistent with our character and our courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high — but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and this is the path of surrender or submission. '''Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right — not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world.''' God willing, that goal will be achieved. Thank you, and good night. ==== First letter to Nikita Khrushchev ==== :<small>[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3637transcript JFK points out that the U.S. is pursuing a "minimum response" but will do whatever is necessary to assure its security.(22 October 1962)]</small> * A copy of the statement I am making tonight concerning developments in Cuba and the reaction of my Government thereto has been handed to your Ambassador in Washington. In view of the gravity of the developments to which I refer, I want you to know immediately and accurately the position of my Government in this matter. * In our discussions and exchanges on Berlin and other international questions, the one thing that has most concerned me has been the possibility that your Government would not correctly understand the will and determination of the United States in any given situation, since I have not assumed that you or any other sane man would, in this nuclear age, deliberately plunge the world into war which it is crystal clear no country could win and which could only result in catastrophic consequences to the whole world, including the aggressor. * At our meeting in [[Vienna]] and subsequently, I expressed our readiness and desire to find, through peaceful negotiation, a solution to any and all problems that divide us. At the same time. I made clear that in view of the objectives of the ideology to which you adhere, the United States could not tolerate any action on your part which in a major way disturbed the existing over-all balance of power in the world. I stated that an attempt to force abandonment of our responsibilities and commitments in Berlin would constitute such an action and that the United States would resist with all the power at its command. * It was in order to avoid any incorrect assessment on the part of your Government with respect to Cuba that I publicly stated that if certain developments in Cuba took place, the United States would do whatever must be done to protect its own security and that of its allies. * Moreover, the Congress adopted a resolution expressing its support of this declared policy. Despite this, the rapid development of long-range missile bases and other offensive weapons systems in Cuba has proceeded. I must tell you that the United States is determined that this threat to the security of this hemisphere be removed. At the same time, I wish to point out that the action we are taking is the minimum necessary to remove the threat to the security of the nations of this hemisphere. The fact of this minimum response should not be taken as a basis, however, for any misjudgment on your part. * I hope that your Government will refrain from any action which would widen or deepen this already grave crisis and that we can agree to resume the path of peaceful negotiation. ==== Second Letter to Nikita Khrushchev ==== :<small>[http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=3637transcript This is a response from Kennedy to Nikita Khrushchev reassuring the Soviets that the U.S. would not invade Cuba. President Kennedy responded to the requests of Khrushchev's first letter to him, disregarding the second letter. Upon agreement of these letters, the Missile Crisis was over (27 October 1962)]</small> * I have read your letter of October 26th with great care and welcomed the statement of your desire to seek a prompt solution to the problem. The first thing that needs to be done, however, is for work to cease on offensive missile bases on Cuba and for all weapons systems in Cuba capable of offensive use to be rendered inoperable, under effective United Nations arrangements. * Assuming this is done promptly, I have given my representatives in New York instructions that will permit them to work out this weekend — in cooperation with the Acting Secretary General and your representative — an arrangement for a permanent solution to the Cuban problem along the lines suggested in your letter of October 26th. As I read your letter, the key elements of your proposals — which seem generally acceptable as I understand them — are as follows: * 1) You would agree to remove these weapons systems from Cuba under appropriate United Nations observation and supervision; and undertake, with suitable safeguards, to halt the further introduction of such weapons systems into Cuba. * 2) We, on our part, would agree — upon the establishment of adequate arrangements through the United Nations to ensure the carrying out and continuation of these commitments — (a) to remove promptly the quarantine measures now in effect and (b) to give assurances against an invasion of Cuba. I am confident that other nations of the Western Hemisphere would be prepared to do likewise. * If you will give your representative similar instructions, there is no reason why we should not be able to complete these arrangements and announce them to the world within a couple of days. The effect of such a settlement on easing world tensions would enable us to work toward a more general arrangement regarding "other armaments," as proposed in your second letter which you made public. I would like to say again that the United States is very much interested in reducing tensions and halting the arms race; and if your letter signifies that you are prepared to discuss a detente affecting [[NATO]] and the [[w:Warsaw Pact|Warsaw Pact, we are q]]<nowiki/>uite prepared to consider with our allies any useful proposals. * But the first ingredient, let me emphasize, is the cessation of work on missile sites on Cuba and measures to render such weapons inoperable, under effective international guarantees. The continuations of this threat, or prolonging of this discussion concerning Cuba by linking these problems to the broader questions of European and world security, would surely lead to the peace of the world. For this reason I hope we can quickly agree along the lines outlined in this letter of October 26th. ====Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York==== [[File:Flag from Behind the Eagle.jpg|thumb|Security will not be determined by military or diplomatic moves alone. It will be affected by the decisions of finance ministers as well as by the decisions of Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense; by the deployment of fiscal and monetary weapons as well as by military weapons; and above all by the strength of this Nation's economy as well as by the strength of our defenses.]] [[File:Stars and Stripes.jpg|thumb|When consumers purchase more goods, plants use more of their capacity, men are hired instead of laid off, investment increases and profits are high.]] [[File:Diagram of the Federal Government and American Union edit.jpg|thumb|The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and business is to reduce the burden on private income and the deterrents to private initiative which are imposed by our present tax system. [...] In short, to increase demand and lift the economy, the Federal Government's most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures.]] [[File:U.S. Capitol Washington D.C..jpg|thumb|It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough jobs or enough profits. [...] In short, it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now. [...] Only full employment can balance the budget, and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment. The purpose of cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.]] [[File:Apollo 11 launch.jpg|thumb|We cannot afford to do nothing. For on the strength of our free economy rests the hope of all free nations. We shall not fail that hope, for free men and free nations must prosper and they must prevail.]] [[File:"Take the next car!" LCCN2012645454.jpg|thumb|When I was a Congressman I never realized how important Congress was, but now I do.]] [[File:- panoramio - Matt Pearson.jpg|thumb|I am reminded of Mr. [[Robert Frost]]'s motto about not taking down a fence until you know why it is put up, and this is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world.]] :<small> The President spoke at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on December 14, 1962. Source: [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-and-question-and-answer-period-the-economic-club-new-york John F. Kennedy, Address and Question and Answer Period at the Economic Club of New York. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project.]</small> * Less than a month ago [[Cuban Missile Crisis|this Nation reminded the world that it possessed both the will and the weapons to meet any threat to the security of free men]]. The gains we have made will not be given up, and the course that we have pursued will not be abandoned. But in the long run, that '''security will not be determined by military or diplomatic moves alone. It will be affected by the decisions of finance ministers as well as by the decisions of Secretaries of State and Secretaries of Defense; by the deployment of fiscal and monetary weapons as well as by military weapons; and above all by the strength of this Nation's economy as well as by the strength of our defenses.''' * '''But a leading nation, a nation upon which all depend not only in this country but around the world, cannot afford to be satisfied, to look back or to pause. On our strength and growth depend the strength of others, the spread of [[Free trade|free world trade]] and unity, and continued confidence in our leadership and [[Dollar|our currency]].''' The underdeveloped countries are dependent upon us for the sale of their primary commodities and for aid to their struggling economies. '''In short, a prosperous and growing America is important not only to Americans--it is''', as the spokesman for 20 Western nations in the [[w:OECD|Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development]], as he stressed this week, '''of vital importance to the entire Western World.''' * '''There is no need for us to be satisfied with a rate of growth that keeps good men out of work and good capacity out of use.''' * '''There are a number of ways by which the Federal Government can meet its responsibilities to aid economic growth. We can and must improve American education and technical training. We can and must expand civilian research and technology.''' One of the great bottlenecks for this country's [[economic growth]] in this decade will be the shortage of doctorates in [[mathematics]], [[engineering]], and [[physics]]; a serious shortage with a great demand and an under-supply of highly trained manpower. We can and must step up the development of our natural resources. '''But the most direct and significant kind of Federal action aiding economic growth is to make possible an increase in private consumption and investment demand--to cut the fetters which hold back private spending. In the past, this could be done in part by the increased use of credit and monetary tools, but our balance of payments situation today places limits on our use of those tools for expansion. It could also be done by increasing Federal expenditures more rapidly than necessary, but such a course would soon demoralize both the Government and our economy. If Government is to retain the confidence of the people, it must not spend more than can be justified on grounds of national need or spent with maximum efficiency.''' * '''The final and best means of strengthening demand among consumers and business is to reduce the burden on private income and the deterrents to private initiative which are imposed by our present [[Taxation in the United States|tax system]]'''; and this administration pledged itself last summer to an across-the-board, top-to-bottom cut in personal and corporate income taxes to be enacted and become effective in 1963. * I am talking about the accumulated evidence of the last 5 years that our present tax system, developed as it was, in good part, during [[World War II]] to restrain growth, exerts too heavy a drag on growth in peace time; that it siphons out of the private economy too large a share of personal and business purchasing power; that it reduces the financial incentives for personal effort, investment, and risk-taking. '''In short, to increase demand and lift the economy, the Federal Government's most useful role is not to rush into a program of excessive increases in public expenditures, but to expand the incentives and opportunities for private expenditures. [...] While rising demand will expand imports, new investment in more efficient productive facilities will aid exports and a new economic climate could both draw capital from abroad and keep capital here at home.''' * '''Too large a tax cut, of course, could result in [[inflation]] and insufficient future revenues--but the greatest danger is a tax cut too little or too late to be effective.''' * '''When [[Consumption (economics)|consumers]] purchase more goods, plants use more of their capacity, men are hired instead of laid off, [[investment]] increases and [[Profit|profits]] are high.''' * '''[[w:Corporate tax|Corporate tax]] rates must also be cut to increase incentives and the availability of investment capital.''' The Government has already taken major steps this year to reduce business tax liability and to stimulate the modernization, replacement, and expansion of our productive plant and equipment. [...] For all these reasons, next year's '''tax bill should reduce personal as well as corporate income taxes, for those in the lower brackets, who are certain to spend their additional take-home pay, and for those in the middle and upper brackets, who can thereby be encouraged to undertake additional efforts and enabled to invest more capital.''' * Third, '''the new tax bill should improve both the equity and the simplicity of our present tax system. This means the enactment of long-needed tax reforms, a broadening of the tax base and the elimination or modification of many special tax privileges. These steps are not only needed to recover lost revenue and thus make possible a larger cut in present rates; they are also tied directly to our goal of greater growth. For the present patchwork of special provisions and preferences lightens the tax load of some only at the cost of placing a heavier burden on others. It distorts economic judgments and channels an undue amount of energy into efforts to avoid tax liabilities. It makes certain types of less productive activity more profitable than other more valuable undertakings. All this inhibits our growth and efficiency, as well as considerably complicating the work of both the taxpayer and the [[IRS|Internal Revenue Service]]. These various exclusions and concessions have been justified in part as a means of overcoming oppressively high rates in the upper brackets--and a sharp reduction in those rates, accompanied by base-broadening, loophole-closing measures, would properly make the new rates not only lower but also more widely applicable. Surely this is more equitable on both counts.''' * I am confident that '''the enactment of the right bill''' next year '''will in due course increase our gross national product by several times the amount of taxes actually cut. Profit margins will be improved and both the incentive to invest and the supply of internal funds for investment will be increased. There will be new interest in taking risks, in increasing productivity, in creating new jobs and new products for long-term economic growth. Other national problems, moreover, will be aided by full employment. It will encourage the location of new plants in areas of labor surplus and provide new jobs for workers that we are retraining and facilitate the adjustment which will be necessary under our new trade expansion bill and reduce a number of government expenditures.''' * '''If the [[Economy of the United States|economy]] today were operating close to capacity levels with little [[unemployment]], or if a sudden change in our military requirements should cause a scramble for men and resources, then I would oppose tax reductions as irresponsible and inflationary; and I would not hesitate to recommend a tax increase, if that were necessary.''' But our resources and manpower are not being fully utilized; the general level of [[Price|prices]] has been remarkably stable; and increased [[competition]], both at home and abroad, along with increased productivity will help keep both prices and wages within appropriate limits. * When I announced in April of 1961 that this kind of comprehensive tax reform would follow the bill enacted this year, I had hoped to present it in an atmosphere of a balanced budget. But '''it has been necessary to augment sharply our nuclear and conventional forces, to step up our efforts in space, to meet the increased cost of servicing the national debt and meeting our obligations, established by law, to veterans. These expenditure increases, let me stress, constitute practically all of the increases which have occurred under this administration, the remainder having gone to fight the recession we found in industry--mostly through the supplemental employment bill-and in agriculture. We shall, therefore, neither postpone our tax cut plans nor cut into essential national security programs. This administration is determined to protect America's security and survival and we are also determined to step up its economic growth. I think we must do both.''' * '''Our true choice is not between tax reduction, on the one hand, and the avoidance of large Federal deficits on the other. It is increasingly clear that no matter what party is in power, so long as our national security needs keep rising, an economy hampered by restrictive tax rates will never produce enough revenue to balance our budget just as it will never produce enough jobs or enough profits.''' Surely the lesson of the last decade is that budget deficits are not caused by wild-eyed spenders but by slow economic growth and periodic [[Recession|recessions]], and any new recession would break all deficit records. In short, '''it is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high today and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.''' The experience of a number of [[Europe|European]] countries and [[Japan]] have borne this out. This country's own experience with tax reduction in 1954 has borne this out. '''And the reason is that only [[w:Full employment|full employment]] can balance the budget, and tax reduction can pave the way to that employment. The purpose of cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.''' * I repeat: '''our practical choice is not between a tax-cut deficit and a budgetary surplus. It is between two kinds of deficits: a chronic deficit of inertia, as the unwanted result of inadequate revenues and a restricted economy; or a temporary deficit of transition, resulting from a tax cut designed to boost the economy, increase tax revenues, and achieve'''--and I believe this can be done--'''a budget surplus. The first type of deficit is a sign of waste and weakness; the second reflects an investment in the future.''' * I do not underestimate the obstacles which the Congress will face in enacting such legislation. No one will be satisfied. Everyone will have his own approach, his own bill, his own reduction. '''A high order of restraint and determination will be required if the possible is not to wait on the perfect. But a nation capable of marshaling these qualities in any dramatic threat to its security is surely capable, as a great free society, of meeting a slower and more complex threat to our economic vitality. This Nation can afford to reduce taxes, we can afford a temporary deficit, but we cannot afford to do nothing. For on the strength of our free economy rests the hope of all free nations. We shall not fail that hope, for free men and free nations must prosper and they must prevail.''' * '''When I was a Congressman I never realized how important Congress was, but now I do.''' * Well, '''the purpose of reform really is directed to the encouraging of growth and employment.''' I quite agree that to launch into a full scale battle on general reform for academic reasons would be unwise. '''The central purpose behind the reform must therefore be to encourage those changes in our tax laws which will encourage economic growth for that purpose, and not merely because it might have some longer range interest or significance. The primary job will be to encourage the flow of capital into those areas which stimulate the national growth and not diminish it. But it is going to be a tough fight, because once you spell out''', as I said before, '''reform, it's bound to affect adversely the interests of some, while favoring the interests of others. Therefore reform may be a longer task, and we are anxious that in the effort to get reform, that we do not lose the very important matter of tax reduction for the sake of the economy.''' * So that as I tried to say in my speech, '''we are not faced with the question of balancing our budget, or having a tax reduction. I believe we are faced with the fact that we are going to have a deficit mostly because of the sharp rise in the recent years in space and defense, and to increase our taxes sufficient to bring that budget into balance would be defeating, because of course it would provide a heavy deflationary effect on our economy, and move us into a recession at an accelerated rate.''' * I want to point out that we have increased in conventional forces in the last 2 years the number of our divisions from 11 to 16, and we are also providing equipment for 22 divisions in case it were necessary to mobilize our Guard. We have six divisions in Europe, and we have the equipment for two more. Now, '''I think the Cuban incident indicated the importance of a strong conventional force. The greatest factor on our side was the fact that we had superior conventional strength on the scene, and it would have been necessary to equalize that strength for the Soviets to initiate the use of [[nuclear weapons]], which of course they were quite reluctant to do.''' * But I must say I am reminded of Mr. [[Robert Frost]]'s motto about '''not taking down a fence until you know why it is put up, and this is a method by which the United States maintains a position of influence and control around the world, and sustains a good many countries which would definitely collapse or pass into the Communist bloc.''' === 1963 === [[File:Inferno Canto 9 verses 124-126.jpg|thumb|[[Dante]] once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.]] [[File:PSU Army ROTC Cadets on Ropes Course.JPG|thumb|A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrow’s hard core unemployed.]] [[File:Archives of American Art - Children at a free Federal Art Project art class - 12043.jpg|thumb|Partnership is not a posture but a process-a continuous process that grows stronger each year as we devote ourselves to common tasks.]] [[File:Adam Bernaert - "Vanitas" Still Life - Walters 37682.jpg|thumb|We need not feel the bitterness of the past to discover its meaning for the present and the future.]] [[File:Kennedy children visit the Oval Office, October 1962.jpg|thumb|Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.]] [[File:Jfk2.jpg|thumb|As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.]] [[File:President Kennedy signing the 1961 Amendments into law, June 30, 1961.jpg|thumb|This is a great country and requires a good deal of all of us, so I can imagine nothing more important than for all of you to continue to work in public affairs and be interested in them, not only to bring up a family, but also give part of your time to your community, your state, and your country.]] [[File:Kennedy vonbraun 19may63 02.jpg|thumb|The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask "why not?".]] [[File:Kennedy with von Braun.jpg|thumb|This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it.]] [[File:President Kennedy inaugural address (color).jpg|thumb|Unless in this free country of ours we are able to demonstrate that we are able to make this society work and progress, unless we can hope that from you we are going to get back all of the talents which society has helped develop in you, then, quite obviously, all the hopes of all of us that freedom will not only endure but prevail, of course, will be disappointed.]] * '''A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.''' ** Remarks Recorded for the Opening of a USIA Transmitter at Greenville, North Carolina (8 February 1963) [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKWHA-161-010.aspx Audio at JFK Library (01:29 - 01:40)] · [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9551 Text of speech at ''The American Presidency Project'']<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley --> * This increase in the life span and in the number of our senior citizens presents this Nation with increased opportunities: the opportunity to draw upon their skill and sagacity — and the opportunity to provide the respect and recognition they have earned. It is not enough for a great nation merely to have added new years to life — our objective must also be to add new life to those years. ** Special message to the Congress on the needs of the nation's senior citizens (21 February 1963); in ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 189 * With all of the history of war, and the human race's history unfortunately has been a good deal more war than peace, with nuclear weapons distributed all through the world, and available, and the strong reluctance of any people to accept defeat, I see the possibility in the 1970's of the President of the United States having to face a world in which 15 or 20 or 25 nations may have these weapons." * [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx The President's News Conference (107)" (21 March 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * "...'''we must think and act not only for the moment but for our time.''' I am reminded of the story of the great French Marshal Lyautey, who once asked his gardener to plant a tree. The gardener objected that the tree was slow-growing and would not reach maturity for a hundred years. The Marshal replied, 'In that case, there is no time to lose, plant it this afternoon.'" ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address in Berkeley at the University of California (109)" (23 March 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> *The dangers in the proliferation of national nuclear weapons systems are so obvious that I am sure I need not repeat them here.<br>It is because of our preoccupation with this problem that my Government has sought to arrange with you for periodic visits to Dimona. When we spoke together in May 1961 '''you said that we might make whatever use we wished of the information resulting from the first visit of American scientists to Dimona and that you would agree to further visits''' by neutrals as well. I had assumed from Mrs. Meir's comment that there would be no problem between us on this.<br>'''We are concerned with the disturbing effects on world stability which would accompany the development of a nuclear weapons capability by [[Israel]].''' I cannot imagine that the [[Arabs]] would refrain from turning to the Soviet Union for assistance if Israel were to develop a nuclear weapons capability--with all the consequences this would hold. But the problem is much larger than its impact on the [[Middle East]]. Development of a nuclear weapons capability by Israel would almost certainly lead other larger countries, that have so far refrained from such development, to feel that they must follow suit.<br>I can well appreciate your concern for developments in the [[Egypt|UAR]]. '''But I see no present or imminent nuclear threat to Israel from there.''' I am assured that our intelligence on this question is good and that the Egyptians do not presently have any installation comparable to Dimona, nor any facilities potentially capable of nuclear weapons production. But, of course, if you have information that would support a contrary conclusion, I should like to receive it from you through Ambassador Barbour. '''We have the capacity to check it.''' **[https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/When-Ben-Gurion-said-no-to-JFK 18 May] 1963 [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/kennedy-letter-to-ben-gurion-regarding-visit-to-dimona letter] to [[David Ben-Gurion]] the Prime Minister of Israel * I think when we talk about corporal punishment, and we have to think about our own children, and we are rather reluctant, it seems to me, to have other people administering punishment to our own children, because we are reluctant, it puts a special obligation on us to maintain order and to send children out from our homes who accept the idea of discipline. So I would not be for corporal punishment in the school, but I would be for very strong discipline at home so we don't place an unfair burden on our teachers. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Press+Conferences/003POF05Pressconference56_05221963.htm News Conference 56 (22 May 1963)] * "O God, thy sea is so great and my boat is so small." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in New York City at the Dedication of the East Coast Memorial to the Missing at Sea (203)" (23 May 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Quoting an old Breton fishermen's prayer that Admiral Rickover had inscribed on plaques that he gave to newly commissioned submarine captains. Rickover presented President Kennedy with one of these plaques, which sat on his desk in the Oval Office.] * '''No country can possibly move ahead, no [[free society]] can possibly be sustained, unless it has an educated citizenry whose qualities of mind and heart permit it to take part in the complicated and increasingly sophisticated decisions that pour not only upon the President and upon the Congress, but upon all the citizens who exercise the ultimate power...Quite obviously, there is a higher purpose, and that is the hope that you will turn to the service of the State the scholarship, the education, the qualities which society has helped develop in you; that you will render on the community level, or on the state level, or on the national level, or render on the community level, or on the state level, or on the national level, or the international level a contribution to the maintenance of freedom and peace and the security of our country and those associated with it in a most critical time.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Commencement Address at San Diego State College (226)" (6 June 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened. ** Radio and television report to the American people on civil rights (11 June 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 468 --> * '''[[Dante]] once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.''' ** At the signing of a charter establishing the German Peace Corps, Bonn, West Germany (24 June 1963); ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum] President Kennedy got his facts wrong. Dante never made this statement. The closest to what President Kennedy meant is in the Inferno where the souls in the ante-room of hell, who "lived without disgrace and without praise," and the coward angels, who did not rebel but did not resist the cohorts of Lucifer, are condemned to being whirled through the air by great winds while being stung by wasps and horseflies. Dante placed those who "non furon ribelli né fur fedeli" — were neither for nor against God, in a special region near the mouth of [[Hell]]; the lowest part of Hell, a lake of ice, was for traitors. [https://web.archive.org/web/20201213100425/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy/fast-facts-john-f-kennedy/john-f-kennedys-favorite-quotations-dantes-inferno According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in the undated article "John F. Kennedy's Favorite Quotations: Dante's Inferno"] President Kennedy's quote was based upon an interpretation of Dante's ''Inferno''. As ''Robert Kennedy explained'' in 1964, "President Kennedy's favorite quote was really from Dante, 'The hottest places in [[Hell]] are reserved for those who in time of moral crisis preserve their neutrality.'" This supposed quotation is not actually in Dante's work, but is based upon a similar one. In the ''Inferno'', [[Dante]] and his guide [[Virgil]], on their way to Hell, pass by a group of dead souls outside the entrance to Hell. These individuals, when alive, remained neutral at a time of great moral decision. Virgil explains to Dante that these souls cannot enter either Heaven or Hell because they did not choose one side or another. They are therefore worse than the greatest sinners in Hell because they are repugnant to both God and Satan alike, and have been left to mourn their fate as insignificant beings neither hailed nor cursed in life or death, endlessly travailing below Heaven but outside of Hell. This scene occurs in the third canto of the ''Inferno''. [http://www.bartleby.com/73/1211.html According to Bartleby.com] Kennedy's remark may have been inspired by the passage from Dante Alighieri's [[The Divine Comedy|La Comedia Divina]] “Inferno,” canto 3, lines 35–42 (1972) passage as translated by Geoffrey L. Bickersteth: "by those disbodied wretches who were loth when living, to be either blamed or praised. [...] Fear to lose beauty caused the heavens to expel these caitiffs; nor, lest to the damned they theng ave cause to boast, receives them the deep hell." A more modern-sounding translation from the foregoing Dante's Inferno passage was translataed 1971 by Mark Musa thus: “They are mixed with that repulsive choir of angels … undecided in neutrality. Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out, but even Hell itself would not receive them for fear the wicked there might glory over them.” * There are those who regard this history of past strife and exile as better forgotten. But, to use the phrase of Yeats, let us not casually reduce "that great past to a trouble of fools." For '''we need not feel the bitterness of the past to discover its meaning for the present and the future.''' ** Speech to a joint session of the Dail and the Seanad, Dublin, Ireland (28 June 1963) * The world is even smaller today, though the enemy of [[John Boyle O'Reilly]] is no longer a hostile power. Indeed, '''across the gulfs and barriers that now divide us, we must remember that there are no permanent enemies. Hostility today is a fact, but it is not a ruling law. The supreme reality of our time is our indivisibility as children of God and our common vulnerability on this planet.''' ** Speech to a joint session of the Dail and the Seanad, Dublin, Ireland (28 June 1963) * '''The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were and ask "why not?".''' ** Speech delivered to the Dail (Parliament of Ireland) (28 June 1963) * The peace-keeping machinery of the [[w:United Nations|United Nations]] cannot work without the help of the smaller nations, nations whose forces threaten no one and whose forces can thus help create a world in which no nation is threatened. Great powers have their responsibilities and their burdens, but the smaller nations of the world must fulfill their obligations as well. ** Speech to a joint session of the Dail and the Seanad, Dublin, Ireland (28 June 1963) * Five score years ago the ground on which we here stand shuddered under the clash of arms and was consecrated for all time by the blood of American manhood. [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Abraham Lincoln#The_Gettysburg_Address_.281863.29|in dedicating this great battlefield, has expressed, in words too eloquent for paraphrase or summary, why this sacrifice was necessary.]] Today, we meet not to add to his words nor to amend his sentiment but to recapture the feeling of awe that comes when contemplating a memorial to so many who placed their lives at hazard for right, as God gave them to see right. Among those who fought here were young men who but a short time before were pursuing truth in the peaceful halls of the then new [[University of Notre Dame]]. Since that time men of Notre Dame have proven, on a hundred battlefields, that the words, "For God, For Country, and For Notre Dame," are full of meaning. Let us pray that God may grant us the wisdom to find and to follow a path that will enable the men of Notre Dame and all of our young men to seek truth in the halls of study rather than on the field of battle." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Message from the President on the Occasion of Field Mass at Gettysburg, delivered by John S. Gleason, Jr." (29 June 1963)]; Box 10, President's Outgoing Executive Correspondence, White House Central Chronological Files, Papers of John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library * I must say that though other days may not be so bright, as we look toward the future, that the brightest days will continue to be those we spent with you here in Ireland. ** Speech at Eyre Square, Galway, Ireland (29 June 1963) * This is not the land of my birth, but it is the land for which I hold the greatest affection, and I certainly will come back in the springtime ** Speech at [[w:Limerick|Limerick]], [[w:Ireland|Ireland]] (29 June 1963) * Communism has sometimes succeeded as a scavenger, but never as a leader. It has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPOF-045-049.aspx Speech at] [[w:Allied Joint Force Command Naples|NATO Headquarters, Naples Italy]] (2 July 1963) * '''Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Re: United States Committee for UNICEF (25 July 1963); Box 11, President's Outgoing Executive Correspondence Series, White House Central Chronological File, Presidential Papers, Papers of John F. Kennedy] *'''And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worth while, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: "I served in the [[United States Navy]]."''' ** Remarks at the U.S. Naval Academy (1 August 1963), ''Public Papers of the Presidents'' 321, p. 620 * I want to drink a cup of tea to all those Kennedys who went and all those Kennedys who stayed. ** While visiting his ancestral homestead in [[w:Wexford|Wexford]], as quoted in [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/june/27/newsid_4461000/4461115.stm ''BBC News''] * '''This is a great country and requires a good deal of all of us, so I can imagine nothing more important than for all of you to continue to work in public affairs and be interested in them, not only to bring up a family, but also give part of your time to your community, your state, and your country.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks to the Delegates of Girls Nation (322)" (2 August 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * As this State's income rises, so does the income of Michigan. As the income of Michigan rises, so does the income of the United States. '''''A rising tide lifts all the boats''''' and as Arkansas becomes more prosperous so does the United States and as this section declines so does the United States. So I regard this as an [[investment]] by the people of the United States in the United States. ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9455 Remarks in Heber Springs, Arkansas, at the Dedication of Greers Ferry Dam (3 October 1963)] ** Variant: '''Rising tide lifts all boats.''' *** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Remarks in Pueblo, Colorado following Approval of the Frying Pan-Arkansas Project (336)" (17 August 1962)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962'' --> * I can assure you that there is no career which you will adopt when you leave college that will bring you a more and greater sense of satisfaction and a greater feeling of participation in a great effort than will your work here or in your state or in your community...this generation of Americans — you here who will be in positions of responsibility for the rest of this century — will deal with the most difficult, sensitive, and dangerous problems that any society of people has ever dealt with at any age...The [[Greeks]] defined [[happiness]] as the full use of your powers along the lines of excellence, and I can imagine no place where you can use your powers more fully along lines more excellent in the [[1960s|1960's]] than to be in the service of the United States. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks to Student Participants in the White House Seminar in Government (334)" (27 August 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget.... As the national income grows, the federal government will ultimately end up with more [[Taxation|revenues]]. Prosperity is the real way to balance our budget. By lowering tax rates, by increasing jobs and income, we can expand tax revenues and finally bring our budget into balance. ** [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9413 "Radio and Television Address to the Nation on the Test Ban Treaty and the Tax Reduction Bill" (18 September 1963)] * What we seek to advance, what we seek to develop in all of our colleges and universities, are educated men and women who can bear the burdens of responsible citizenship, who can make judgments about life as it is, and as it must be, and encourage the people to make those decisions which can bring not only prosperity and security, but happiness to the people of the United States and those who depend upon it. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address at the University of North Dakota (379)" (25 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * I hope that all of you who are students here will recognize the great opportunity that lies before you in this decade, and in the decades to come, to be of service to our country. The Greeks once defined happiness as full use of your powers along lines of excellence, and I can assure you that there is no area of life where you will have an opportunity to use whatever powers you have, and to use them along more excellent lines, bringing ultimately, I think, happiness to you and those whom you serve." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Address at the University of Wyoming (381)" (25 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * I ask particularly that those of you who are now in school will prepare yourselves to bear the burden of leadership over the next 40 years here in the United States, and make sure that the United States — which I believe almost alone has maintained watch and ward for freedom — that the United States meet its responsibility. That is a wonderful challenge for us as a people. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks at the Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington (387)" (27 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * '''A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrow’s hard core unemployed.''' ** [http://www.bartleby.com/73/1189.html President JOHN F. KENNEDY, statement on the need for training or rehabilitation of Selective Service rejectees" (30 September 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 753-->; also: [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9446&st=&st1= John F. Kennedy: "Statement by the President on the Need for Training or Rehabilitation of Selective Service Rejectees" (30 September 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * '''Things don't just happen, they are made to happen.''' ** Speech given at the Arkansas State Fairground, Little Rock, United States of America (3 October 1963); quoted in ''John F. Kennedy in Quotations: A Topical Dictionary, with Sources'' (2013), McFarland, entry 1729<!-- <small>{{ISBN|1586486381}}</small> --> * We can say with some assurance that, although children may be the victims of fate, they will not be the victims of our neglect. ** "Remarks upon signing the Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Bill (434)" (24 October 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * '''A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.''' ** [http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/speech-3379 Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963)] * The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us. ** Remarks at {{w|Amherst College}} (26 October 1963) * '''When power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment.''' ** Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963) * The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. ** Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963) * '''We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.''' ** Remarks at Amherst College (26 October 1963) * '''I have said that control of arms is a mission that we undertake particularly for our children and our grandchildren and that they have no lobby in Washington.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Statement by the President to American Women Concerning their Role in Securing World Peace (449)" (1 November 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> * The name of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]] brings to mind the historic accomplishments of one of the great men of this century, his inspired leadership of the Turkish people, his perceptive understanding of the modern world and his boldness as a military leader. ** Speaking in Washington D.C. (10 November 1963), [http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AJFKennedy_November1963.ogg on the 25th commemoration of Atatürk's death.] It was his speech to the Turkish people on the occasion of 25th anniversary of the death of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]] and the 40th anniversary of the [[Turkey|Turkish Republic]] [http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File%3AJFKennedy_November1963.ogg in November 1963.] * The margin is narrow, but the responsibility is clear. ** [[John F. Kennedy]], press conference (November 10, 1963). Transcript, ''The New York Times'' (November 11, 1963), p. 20. In Theodore Sorensen's ''Kennedy'' (1965), these words are followed by "There may be difficulties with the Congress, but a margin of only one vote would still be a mandate" (p. 219). * '''This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it.''' ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in San Antonio at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center (472)," (21 November 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' -->; the original anecdote from which Kennedy derived this comparison is in ''An Only Child'' (1961) by Frank O'Connor, p. 180<!-- London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd. -->. * Much [[time]] has passed since the first colonists came to rocky shores and dark forests of an unknown continent, much time since [[President of the United States|President]] [[George Washington|Washington]] led a young people into the [[experience]] of nationhood, much time since President [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] saw the American nation through the ordeal of fraternal war — and in these years our population, our plenty and our [[power]] have all grown apace. Today we are a nation of nearly two hundred million souls, stretching from coast to coast, on into the Pacific and north toward the Arctic, a nation enjoying the fruits of an ever-expanding agriculture and industry and achieving standards of living unknown in previous history. We give our humble thanks for this. <br /> Yet, as our power has grown, so has our [[peril]]. Today we give our thanks, most of all, for the [[ideals]] of [[honor]] and [[faith]] we inherit from our forefathers — for the [[decency]] of [[purpose]], steadfastness of [[resolve]] and [[strength]] of [[will]], for the [[courage]] and the [[humility]], which they possessed and which we must seek every day to emulate. '''As we express our [[gratitude]], we must never forget that the highest [[appreciation]] is not to utter [[words]] but to [[live]] by them. <br /> Let us therefore proclaim our gratitude to [[Providence]] for manifold [[blessings]] — let us be humbly thankful for inherited ideals — and let us [[resolve]] to [[share]] those blessings and those ideals with our fellow [[human]] beings throughout the [[world]].''' ** [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-3560-thanksgiving-day-1963 Proclamation 3560 — Thanksgiving Day (5 November 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->; this was a proclamation released on 5 November for the Thanksgiving Day of 1963, which in that year fell upon the 28th day of that month. * I come here today...not just because you are doing well and because you are outstanding students, but because we expect something of you. And '''unless in this free country of ours we are able to demonstrate that we are able to make this society work and progress, unless we can hope that from you we are going to get back all of the talents which society has helped develop in you, then, quite obviously, all the hopes of all of us that freedom will not only endure but prevail, of course, will be disappointed.''' So we ask the best of you...I congratulate you on what you have done, and most of all I congratulate you on what you are going to do. ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx "Remarks in New York City to the National Convention of the Catholic Youth Organization (463)," (15 November 1963)]<!-- ''Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1963'' --> ====Third State of the Union Address ==== [[File:Kennedy Family with Dogs During a Weekend at Hyannisport 1963-crop.png|thumb|The future of any country which is dependent upon the will and wisdom of its citizens is damaged, and irreparably damaged, whenever any of its children is not educated to the full extent of his talent.]] [[File:Flickr - The U.S. Army - Young patriot.jpg|thumb|This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.]] [[File:MacMillian and Kennedy in Key West March 1961.jpg|thumb|While we shall never weary in the defense of freedom, neither shall we ever abandon the pursuit of peace.]] :<small>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9138&st=&st1= "Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union" (14 January 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --></small> * Little more than 100 weeks ago I assumed the office of President of the United States. '''In seeking the help of the Congress and our countrymen, I pledged no easy answers. I pledged — and asked — only toil and dedication. These the Congress and the people have given in good measure.''' * In short, both at home and abroad, there may now be a temptation to relax. For '''the road has been long, the burden heavy, and the pace consistently urgent. But we cannot be satisfied to rest here. This is the side of the hill, not the top. The mere absence of war is not peace. The mere absence of recession is not growth. We have made a beginning — but we have only begun. Now the time has come to make the most of our gains''' — to translate the renewal of our national strength into the achievement of our national purpose. * I am convinced that the enactment this year of tax reduction and tax reform overshadows all other domestic problems in this Congress. For we cannot for long lead the cause of peace and freedom, if we ever cease to set the pace here at home. For '''we cannot for long lead the cause of peace and freedom, if we ever cease to set the pace here at home.''' * '''This country cannot afford to be materially rich and spiritually poor.''' * '''The future of any country which is dependent upon the will and wisdom of its citizens is damaged, and irreparably damaged, whenever any of its children is not educated to the full extent of his talent''', from grade school through [https://madchemclasses.online/ graduate school]. * '''As the idealism of our youth has served world peace, so can it serve the domestic tranquility.''' * These are not domestic concerns alone. For '''upon our achievement of greater vitality and strength here at home hang our fate and future in the world''': our ability to sustain and supply the security of free men and nations, our ability to command their respect for our leadership, our ability to expand our trade without threat to our balance of payments, and our ability to adjust to the changing demands of cold war competition and challenge. '''We shall be judged more by what we do at home than by what we preach abroad.''' Nothing we could do to help the developing countries would help them half as much as a booming U.S. economy. And nothing our opponents could do to encourage their own ambitions would encourage them half as much as a chronic lagging U.S. economy. These domestic tasks do not divert energy from our security — they provide the very foundation for freedom's survival and success. * But '''complacency or self-congratulation can imperil our security as much as the weapons of tyranny. A moment of pause is not a promise of peace.''' * For '''the road to world peace and freedom is still long, and there are burdens which only full partners can share — in supporting the common defense, in expanding world trade''', in aligning our balance of payments, in aiding the emergent nations, '''in concerting political and economic policies''', and in welcoming to our common effort other industrialized nations, notably Japan, whose remarkable economic and political development of the 1950's permits it now to play on the world scene a major constructive role. * For '''the unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion.''' * '''While we shall never weary in the defense of freedom, neither shall we ever abandon the pursuit of peace.''' * For '''we seek not the worldwide victory of one nation or system but a worldwide victory of man. The modern globe is too small, its weapons are too destructive, and its disorders are too contagious to permit any other kind of victory.''' ==== Address at Vanderbilt University ==== [[File:Statue of Liberty 23.JPG|thumb|Liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain.]] [[File:ArchivesRotunda.jpg|thumb|The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities. Each can be neglected only at the peril of the other.]] [[File:The County Election, Bingham, 1846.jpg|thumb|The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.]] [[File:Statue of Liberty, Silhouette.jpg|thumb|Only an educated and informed people will be a free people.]] [[File:Authority of Law SCOTUS.JPG|thumb|Law is the adhesive force in the cement of society, creating order out of chaos and coherence in place of anarchy.]] [[File:1942 JFK uniform portrait.jpg|thumb|Only a respect for the law makes it possible for free men to dwell together in peace and progress.]] :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/aZ0Im5s0mUqPJlFNs6iO4A.aspx Remarks in Nashville at the 90th Anniversary Convocation of Vanderbilt University] ([[18 May]] [[1963]]). In May of 1963, President Kennedy added his weight to the federal government’s preparation for the impending clash with the state of Alabama over the integration of the [[w:University of Alabama|University of Alabama]]. Less than a week after the bombing of a Black American’s home and hotel in Birmingham, President Kennedy made a one-day trip to Tennessee and Alabama, saluting the ninetieth anniversary of Vanderbilt University and the thirtieth anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority, but in addition reminding his listeners of their roles and responsibilities as citizens. In a spirited and eloquent speech before an estimated crowd of 30,000 people in the stadium at [[w:Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt University]] in Nashville, Tennessee on May 18, 1963, President Kennedy reminded his listeners that it falls to the educated man to assume the greater obligations of citizenship — for the pursuit of learning, to serve the public and to uphold the law.</small> * The essence of Vanderbilt is still learning, the essence of its outlook is still liberty, and liberty and learning will be and must be the touchstones of Vanderbilt University and of any free university in this country or the world. I say two touchstones, yet they are almost inseparable, inseparable if not indistinguishable, for '''liberty without learning is always in peril, and learning without liberty is always in vain.''' * This State, this city, this campus, have stood long for both human rights and human enlightenment — and let that forever be true. This Nation is now engaged in a continuing debate about the rights of a portion of its citizens. This Nation is now engaged in a continuing debate about the rights of a portion of its citizens. That will go on, and those rights will expand until the standard first forged by the Nation's founders has been reached, and all Americans enjoy equal opportunity and liberty under law. But this Nation was not founded solely on the principle of citizens' rights. Equally important, though too often not discussed, is the citizen's responsibility. For '''our privileges can be no greater than our obligations. The protection of our rights can endure no longer than the performance of our responsibilities. Each can be neglected only at the peril of the other. I speak to you today, therefore, not of your rights as Americans, but of your responsibilities. They are many in number and different in nature. They do not rest with equal weight upon the shoulders of all. Equality of opportunity does not mean equality of responsibility. All Americans must be responsible citizens, but some must be more responsible than others, by virtue of their public or their private position, their role in the family or community, their prospects for the future, or their legacy from the past. Increased responsibility goes with increased ability, for "[[s:Bible_(King_James)/Luke#Chapter_12|of those to whom much is given, much is required.]]"''' * You have responsibilities, in short, to use your talents for the benefit of the society which helped develop those talents. You must decide, as [[Goethe]] put it, whether you will be an anvil or a hammer, whether you will give to the world in which you were reared and educated the broadest possible benefits of that education. '''Of the many special obligations incumbent upon an educated citizen, I would cite three as outstanding: your obligation to the pursuit of learning, your obligation to serve the public, your obligation to uphold the law.''' * '''If the pursuit of learning is not defended by the educated citizen, it will not be defended at all.''' For there will always be those who scoff at intellectuals, who cry out against research, who seek to limit our educational system. Modern cynics and skeptics see no more reason for landing a man on the moon, which we shall do, than the cynics and skeptics of half a millennium ago saw for the discovery of this country. They see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing. </br> But the educated citizen knows how much more there is to know. He knows that "knowledge is power," more so today than ever before. He knows that '''only an educated and informed people will be a free people''', that '''the ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all''', and that '''if we can, as [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] put it, "enlighten the people generally … tyranny and the oppressions of mind and body will vanish, like evil spirits at the dawn of day." And, therefore, the educated citizen has a special obligation to encourage the pursuit of learning, to promote exploration of the unknown, to preserve the freedom of inquiry, to support the advancement of research, and to assist at every level of government the improvement of education for all Americans, from grade school to graduate school.''' * Secondly, the educated citizen has an obligation to serve the public. He may be a precinct worker or President. He may give his talents at the courthouse, the State house, the White House. He may be a civil servant or a Senator, a candidate or a campaign worker, a winner or a loser. But he must be a participant and not a spectator. "At the [[Olympic Games|Olympic games]]," [[Aristotle]] wrote, "it is not the finest and strongest men who are crowned, but they who enter the lists-for out of these the prize-men are elected. So, too, in life, of the honorable and the good, it is they who act who rightly win the prizes." * I urge all of you today, especially those who are students, to act, to enter the lists of public service and rightly win or lose the prize. For we can have only one form of aristocracy in this country, as Jefferson wrote long ago in rejecting [[John Adams]]' suggestion of an artificial [[aristocracy]] of wealth and birth. It is, he wrote, the natural aristocracy of character and talent, and the best form of government, he added, was that which selected these men for positions of responsibility. * I would hope that all educated citizens would fulfill this obligation — in politics, in Government, here in Nashville, here in this State, in the [[w:United States Peace Corps|Peace Corps]], in the Foreign Service, in the Government Service, in the Tennessee Valley, in the world. You will find the pressures greater than the pay. You may endure more public attacks than support. But you will have the unequaled satisfaction of knowing that your character and talent are contributing to the direction and success of this free society. * '''Third, and finally, the educated citizen has an obligation to uphold the law.''' This is the obligation of every citizen in a free and peaceful society — but the educated citizen has a special responsibility by the virtue of his greater understanding. For whether he has ever studied history or current events, ethics or civics, the rules of a profession or the tools of a trade, he knows that '''only a respect for the law makes it possible for free men to dwell together in peace and progress.''' * He knows that '''law is the adhesive force in the cement of society, creating order out of chaos and coherence in place of anarchy.''' He knows that for one man to defy a law or court order he does not like is to invite others to defy those which they do not like, leading to a breakdown of all justice and all order. He knows, too, that '''every fellowman is entitled to be regarded with decency and treated with dignity. Any educated citizen who seeks to subvert the law, to suppress freedom, or to subject other human beings to acts that are less than human, degrades his heritage, ignores his learning, and betrays his obligation.''' * Certain '''other societies may respect the rule of force — we respect the rule of law.''' * Ninety years from now I have no doubt that [[w:Vanderbilt University|Vanderbilt University]] will still be fulfilling this mission. It will still uphold learning, encourage public service, and teach respect for the law. It will neither turn its back on proven wisdom or turn its face from newborn challenge. It will still pass on to the youth of our land the full meaning of their rights and their responsibilities. And it will still be teaching the truth — the '''truth''' that '''makes us free and will keep us free.''' ==== [[w:John F. Kennedy#American_University_speech|American University speech]] ==== :<small> [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/BWC7I4C9QUmLG9J6I8oy8w.aspx Commencement Address at American University (10 June 1963)]; also entitled “Strategy of Peace”, is considered one of Kennedy’s most powerful speeches, in which Kennedy laid out a hopeful, yet realistic route for world peace at a time when the U.S. and [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]] faced the potential for an escalating nuclear arms race. Kennedy addressed American University graduates mere months after the fierce standoff over the [[w:Cuban Missile Crisis|Cuban Missile Crisis]]. At the time of his speech world powers were gathered in Geneva to discuss complete nuclear disarmament. In his speech the President asks the graduates to re-examine their attitudes towards [[peace]], the Soviet Union, and the [[w:Cold War|Cold War]], famously remarking, "If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity." The President also announces that he, Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]], and British Prime Minister [[Harold Macmillan]] have agreed to hold discussions concerning a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty. Finally, he explains that the United States will not conduct atmospheric nuclear tests on the condition that other countries uphold this same promise.</small> [[File:JFK1968-Front&Back.jpg|thumb|Our problems are manmade — therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.]] [[File:President Kennedy addresses nation on Civil Rights, 11 June 1963.jpg|thumb|If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity.]] [[File:President Kennedy American University Commencement Address June 10, 1963.jpg|thumb|No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue.]] [[File:Castle Romeo.jpg|thumb|Nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy — or of a collective death-wish for the world.]] [[File:Children living next to Daurra Oil Refinery in Iraq.jpg|thumb|Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.]] * I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived — yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace. What kind of peace do I mean? '''What kind of peace do we seek? Not a [[w:Pax Americana|Pax Americana]] enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.''' * I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the [[World War II|Second World War]]. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn. '''Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles — which can only destroy and never create — is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace. I speak of peace''', therefore, '''as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war — and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.''' * '''Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament — and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude — as individuals and as a Nation — for our attitude is as essential as theirs.''' And every graduate of this school, '''every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward — by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.''' * '''Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable — that mankind is doomed — that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.''' We need not accept that view. '''Our problems are manmade — therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.''' Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable — and we believe they can do it again. * '''I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal. Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace — based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions — on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned.''' There is no single, simple key to this peace — no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. '''Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process — a way of solving problems'''. ** Kennedy's "focus on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution of human institutions." was quoted by [[Barack Obama]] in his [[Barack Obama#Nobel_Prize_acceptance_speech|Nobel Prize acceptance speech]]. * '''World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor — it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement.''' And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors. * '''Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.''' * '''No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue.''' * In short, both the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. Agreements to this end are in the interests of the Soviet Union as well as ours — and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest. So, '''let us not be blind to our differences — but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.''' * Let us reexamine our attitude toward the cold war, remembering that we are not engaged in a debate, seeking to pile up debating points. We are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. '''We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different.''' We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the Communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists' interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our own vital interests, '''nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy — or of a collective death-wish for the world.''' To secure these ends, America's weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled, designed to deter, and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self- restraint. Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility. For '''we can seek a relaxation of tension without relaxing our guard.''' And, for our part, '''we do not need to use threats to prove that we are resolute.''' We do not need to jam foreign broadcasts out of fear our faith will be eroded. '''We are unwilling to impose our system on any unwilling people — but we are willing and able to engage in peaceful competition with any people on earth.''' * The [[Communist]] drive to impose their political and economic system on others is the primary cause of world tension today. For '''there can be no doubt that, if all nations could refrain from interfering in the self-determination of others, the peace would be much more assured.''' * The one major area of these negotiations where the end is in sight, yet where a fresh start is badly needed, is in a treaty to outlaw nuclear tests. The conclusion of such a treaty, so near and yet so far, would check the spiraling arms race in one of its most dangerous areas. It would place the nuclear powers in a position to deal more effectively with one of the greatest hazards which man faces in 1963, the further spread of nuclear arms. It would increase our security — it would decrease the prospects of war. Surely this goal is sufficiently important to require our steady pursuit, yielding neither to the temptation to give up the whole effort nor the temptation to give up our insistence on vital and responsible safeguards. * Finally, my fellow Americans, '''let us examine our attitude toward peace and freedom here at home. The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad.''' We must show it in the dedication of our own lives--as many of you who are graduating today will have a unique opportunity to do, by serving without pay in the Peace Corps abroad or in the proposed National Service Corps here at home. But '''wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete. It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of government--local, State, and National--to provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the legislative branch at all levels, wherever that authority is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections of this country to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land. All this is not unrelated to world peace. [[s:https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bible_(King_James)/Proverbs#Chapter_16|"When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him."]]''' * '''And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights — the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation — the right to breathe air as nature provided it — the right of future generations to a [https://www.pumpernickel-online.co.uk/ healthy] existence?''' * '''While we proceed to safeguard our national interests, let us also safeguard human interests. And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both.''' * '''No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can — if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers — offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.''' * '''The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough — more than enough — of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on — not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.''' ==== [[w:Civil Rights Address|Civil Rights Address]] ==== :<small> The [[s:Civil Rights Message|Civil Rights Address]] delivered on radio and television from the Oval Office (11 June 1963) in which he proposed legislation which developed into the [[w:Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights Act of 1964]]. He responds to the threats of violence and obstruction on the [[w:University of Alabama|University of Alabama]] campus following [[w:Desegregation|desegregation attempts]], explaining that the United States was founded on the principle that all men are created equal and thus, all American students are entitled to attend public educational institutions, regardless of race. He also discusses how discrimination affects education, public safety, and international relations, noting that the country cannot preach freedom internationally while ignoring it domestically. The President asks Congress to enact legislation protecting all Americans' voting rights, legal standing, educational opportunities, and access to public facilities, but recognizes that legislation alone cannot solve the country's problems concerning race relations.</small> [[File:Writing the Declaration of Independence 1776 cph.3g09904.jpg|thumb|This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.]] [[File:March_on_Washington_edit.jpg|thumb|A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all.]] [[File:President Kennedy addresses nation on Civil Rights, 11 June 1963.jpg|thumb|This Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.]] * '''This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.''' * Today we are committed to a worldwide struggle to promote and protect the rights of all who wish to be free. And when Americans are sent to Vietnam or West Berlin, we do not ask for whites only. It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops. * It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants and theaters and retail stores, without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street, and it ought to be possible for American citizens of any color to register and to vote in a free election without interference or fear of reprisal. It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case. * This is not a sectional issue. Difficulties over segregation and discrimination exist in every city, in every State of the Union, producing in many cities a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety. Nor is this a partisan issue. '''In a time of domestic crisis men of good will and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.''' This is not even a legal or legislative issue alone. It is better to settle these matters in the courts than on the streets, and new laws are needed at every level, but law alone cannot make men see right. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the [[w:Religious text|scriptures]] and is as clear as the [[United States Constitution|American Constitution]]. * The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay? * One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs, their grandsons, are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice. They are not yet freed from social and economic oppression. And '''this Nation, for all its hopes and all its boasts, will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.''' * We preach freedom around the world, and we mean it, and we cherish our freedom here at home, but are we to say to the world, and much more importantly, to each other that this is a land of the free except for the Negroes; that we have no second-class citizens except Negroes; that we have no class or caste system, no ghettoes, no master race except with respect to Negroes? * The fires of frustration and discord are burning in every city, North and South, where legal remedies are not at hand. Redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades, and protests which create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives. We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a country and as a people. It cannot be met by repressive police action. It cannot be left to increased demonstrations in the streets. It cannot be quieted by token moves or talk. It is a time to act in the Congress, in your State and local legislative body and, above all, in all of our daily lives. '''It is not enough to pin the blame on others, to say this is a problem of one section of the country or another, or deplore the fact that we face. A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all. Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly are recognizing right as well as reality.''' * '''This is one country. It has become one country because all of us and all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents.''' We cannot say to 10 percent of the population that you can't have that right; that your children can't have the chance to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go into the streets and demonstrate. I think we owe them and we owe ourselves a better country than that. Therefore, I am asking for your help in making it easier for us to move ahead and to provide the kind of equality of treatment which we would want ourselves; to give a chance for every child to be educated to the limit of his talents. As I have said before, not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or an equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves. * We have a right to expect that the [[Negro]] community will be responsible, will uphold the law, but they have a right to expect that the law will be fair, that the Constitution will be [[Color blindness (racial classification)|color blind]], as [[John Marshall Harlan|Justice Harlan]] said at the turn of the century. ====Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt==== [[File:US-President John F. Kennedy stands before the Roemer - Frankfurt's City Hall in Germany 1963.jpg|thumb|Partnership is not a posture but a process-a continuous process that grows stronger each year as we devote ourselves to common tasks.]] [[File:Weekend at Newport. President Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., in beached rowboat. Newport, RI, Bailey's Beach. - NARA - 194229.jpg|thumb|A rising tide lifts all the boats. And a partnership, by definition, serves both partners, without domination or unfair advantage. Together we have been partners in adversity — let us also be partners in prosperity.]] [[File:North America from low orbiting satellite Suomi NPP.jpg|thumb|We must seek a world of peace — a world in which peoples dwell together in mutual respect and work together in mutual regard — a world where peace is not a mere interlude between wars, but an incentive to the creative energies of humanity.]] :<small>[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-assembly-hall-the-paulskirche-frankfurt "Address in the Assembly Hall at the Paulskirche in Frankfurt, West Germany" (25 June 1963)]; ''The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 519<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->; also in ''The Burden and the Glory'' (1964) by John F. Kennedy, edited by Allan Nevins, p. 115]</small> * '''Partnership is not a posture but a process-a continuous process that grows stronger each year as we devote ourselves to common tasks.''' * As they say on my own Cape Cod, '''a rising tide lifts all the boats. And a partnership, by definition, serves both partners, without domination or unfair advantage. Together we have been partners in adversity — let us also be partners in prosperity.''' * But [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] tells us in his greatest poem that [[Goethe's Faust|Faust]] lost the [[liberty]] of his soul when he said to the passing moment: "Stay, thou art so fair." And '''our liberty''', too, '''is endangered if we pause for the passing moment, if we rest on our achievements, if we resist the pace of progress. For time and the world do not stand still. [[Change]] is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.''' ** ''Variant:'' '''Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future.''' *** ''Documents on International Affairs'', 1963, Royal Institute of International Affairs, ed. Sir John Wheeler Wheeler-Bennett, p. 36. * '''The mission is to create a new social order, rounded on liberty and justice, in which men are the masters of their fate, in which states are the servants of their citizens, and in which all men and women can share a better life for themselves and their children.''' That is the object of our common policy. To realize this vision, '''we must seek a world of peace — a world in which peoples dwell together in mutual respect and work together in mutual regard — a world where peace is not a mere interlude between wars, but an incentive to the creative energies of humanity.''' We will not find such a peace today, or even tomorrow. The obstacles to hope are large and menacing. Yet the goal of a peaceful world — today and tomorrow-must shape our decisions and inspire our purposes. So we are all idealists. We are all visionaries. Let it not be said of this''' Atlantic '''generation that we left ideals and visions to the past, nor purpose and determination to our adversaries. We have come too far, we have sacrificed too much, to disdain the future now. And we shall ever remember what Goethe told us — that the "highest wisdom, the best that mankind ever knew" was the realization that "he only earns his freedom and existence who daily conquers them anew."''' ==== [[w:Ich bin ein Berliner|Ich bin ein Berliner]] speech ==== :<small>"[[s:Ich bin ein Berliner|Ich bin ein Berliner]]" address at 'Rathaus Schöneberg' in West-Berlin, Germany (26 June 1963); presented in the midst of a five-nation tour of Western Europe, Kennedy discusses his hopes for the reunification of Germany, and emphasizes the philosophical differences between capitalism and communism, noting, "Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free." In his remarks President Kennedy famously proclaims, "Ich bin ein Berliner."</small> [[File:Winken ueber die Berliner Mauer.jpg|thumb|Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free.]] [[File:JFK speech lch bin ein berliner 1.jpg|thumb|All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."]] * '''Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "[[w:Civis romanus sum|civis Romanus sum]]." Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner."''' * There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. ''Let them come to Berlin.'' There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. ''Let them come to Berlin.'' And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. ''Let them come to Berlin.'' And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. ''Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.'' * '''[[Freedom]] has many difficulties and [[democracy]] is not perfect, but we have never had to put a [[w:Berlin Wall|wall]] up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us.''' [...] While '''the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the Communist system''', for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for '''it is''', as [[Willy Brandt|your Mayor]] has said, '''an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.''' * What is true of this city is true of Germany — real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. '''You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.''' * '''Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe.''' When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades. <br/> '''All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."''' ==== Address at the Free University of Berlin ==== :<small>[http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=9310 Address at the Free University of Berlin (26 June 1963)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> </small> [[File:Holbein-erasmus.jpg|thumb|The duty of the scholar, of the educated man, of the man or woman whom society has developed talents in, the duty of that man or woman is to help build the society which has made their own advancement possible.]] [[File:What_is_truth.jpg|thumb|What does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans. [...] let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were.]] * '''Prince [[Bismarck]] once said that one-third of the students of German universities broke down from overwork; another third broke down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany.''' * '''The duty of the scholar, of the educated man, of the man or woman whom society has developed talents in, the duty of that man or woman is to help build the society which has made their own advancement possible.''' * '''The scholar, the teacher, the intellectual, have a higher duty than any of the others, for society has trained you to think as well as do.''' * First, '''what does truth require? It requires us to face the facts as they are, not to involve ourselves in self-deception; to refuse to think merely in slogans.''' If we are to work for the future of the city, '''let us deal with the realities as they actually are, not as they might have been, and not as we wish they were.''' * '''We must''' first '''bring others to see their own true interests better than they do today.''' * Secondly, '''what does justice require? In the end, it requires liberty.''' * This right of '''free choice''' is no special privilege claimed by the Germans alone. It '''is an elemental requirement of human justice.''' * '''The truth doesn't die. The desire for liberty cannot be fully suppressed.''' * As I said this morning, I am not impressed by the opportunities open to popular fronts throughout the world. '''I do not believe that any democrat can successfully ride that tiger. But I do believe in the necessity of great powers working together to preserve the human race, or otherwise we can be destroyed.''' * But '''life is never easy. There is work to be done and obligations to be met — obligations to truth, to justice, and to liberty.''' ==== [[w:Partial_Nuclear_Test_Ban_Treaty|Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] speech ==== :<small>[https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKWHA/1963/JFKWHA-207/JFKWHA-207 Radio and Television Address to the American People on the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (26 July 1963)], asserting that the [[w:Partial_Nuclear_Test_Ban_Treaty|Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] will strengthen national security, lessen the risk and fear of radioactive fallout, reduce world tension by encouraging further dialogue, and prevent acquisition of [[nuclear weapons]] by nations not currently possessing them. The President emphasizes that while the treaty does not eliminate the threat of [[nuclear war]], a limited test ban is safer than an unlimited arms race.</small> [[File:President Kennedy signs Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 07 October 1963.jpg|thumb|I ask you to stop and think for a moment what it would mean to have [[nuclear weapons]] in so many hands, in the hands of countries large and small, stable and unstable, responsible and irresponsible, scattered throughout the world. There would be no rest for anyone then, no stability, no real security, and no chance of effective disarmament.]] [[File:Kennedy Family with Dogs During a Weekend at Hyannisport 1963-crop.png|thumb|The loss of even one human life [...] should be of concern to us all. Our children and grandchildren are not merely statistics toward which we can be indifferent.]] * [[w:Trinity (nuclear test)|Eighteen years ago the advent of nuclear weapons]] [[w:History of nuclear weapons|changed the course of the world as well as the war]]. Since that time, all mankind has been struggling to escape from the darkening prospect of mass destruction on earth. In an age when both sides have come to possess enough [[nuclear power]] to destroy the human race several times over, the world of communism and the world of free choice have been caught up in a vicious circle of conflicting ideology and interest. Each increase of tension has produced an increase of arms; each increase of arms has produced an increase of tension. * Yesterday a shaft of light cut into the darkness. Negotiations were concluded in Moscow on a treaty to ban all nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. For the first time, an agreement has been reached on bringing the forces of nuclear destruction under international control-a goal first sought in 1946 when [[Bernard Baruch]] presented [[w:Baruch Plan|a comprehensive control plan to the United Nations]]. * '''I do not say that a world without aggression or threats of [[war]] would be an easy world. It will bring new problems, new challenges from the Communists, new dangers of relaxing our vigilance or of mistaking their intent. But those dangers pale in comparison to those of the spiraling arms race and a collision course towards war. Since the beginning of history, war has been mankind's constant companion.''' It has been the rule, not the exception. Even a nation as young and as peace-loving as our own has fought through eight wars. * '''A [[war]] today or tomorrow, if it led to [[nuclear war]], would not be like any war in history.''' A full-scale nuclear exchange, lasting less than 60 minutes, with the weapons now in existence, could wipe out more than 300 million Americans, Europeans, and Russians, as well as untold numbers elsewhere. And '''the survivors''', as Chairman Khrushchev warned the Communist Chinese, "the survivors would envy the dead." For they '''would inherit a world so devastated by explosions and poison and fire that today we cannot even conceive of its horrors. So let us try to turn the world away from war. Let us make the most of this opportunity, and every opportunity, to reduce tension, to slow down the perilous nuclear arms race, and to check the world's slide toward final annihilation.''' * '''Continued unrestricted testing by the nuclear powers, joined in time by other nations which may be less adept in limiting pollution, will increasingly contaminate the air that all of us must breathe.''' Even then, '''the number of children and grandchildren with cancer in their bones, with leukemia in their blood, or with poison in their lungs might seem statistically small to some, in comparison with natural health hazards. But this is not a natural health hazard — and it is not a statistical issue. The loss of even one human life, or the malformation of even one baby — who may be born long after we are gone — should be of concern to us all. Our children and grandchildren are not merely statistics toward which we can be indifferent.''' * During the next several years, in addition to the four current nuclear powers, a small but significant number of nations will have the intellectual, physical, and financial resources to produce both [[nuclear weapons]] and the means of delivering them. In time, it is estimated, many other nations will have either this capacity or other ways of obtaining nuclear warheads, even as missiles can be commercially purchased today. '''I ask you to stop and think for a moment what it would mean to have [[nuclear weapons]] in so many hands, in the hands of countries large and small, stable and unstable, responsible and irresponsible, scattered throughout the world. There would be no rest for anyone then, no stability, no real security, and no chance of effective disarmament. There would only be the increased chance of accidental war, and an increased necessity for the great powers to involve themselves in what otherwise would be local conflicts.''' If only one thermonuclear bomb were to be dropped on any American, Russian, or any other city, whether it was launched by accident or design, by a madman or by an enemy, by a large nation or by a small, from any corner of the world, that one bomb could release more destructive power on the inhabitants of that one helpless city than all the bombs dropped in the Second World War. * '''No one can be certain what the future will bring. No one can say whether the time has come for an easing of the struggle. But history and our own conscience will judge us harsher if we do not now make every effort to test our hopes by action. And this is the place to begin.''' * '''According to the ancient Chinese proverb, "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." My fellow Americans, let us take that first step. Let us, if we can, step back from the shadows of war and seek out the way of peace. And if that journey is a thousand miles, or even more, let history record that we, in this land, at this time, took the first step.''' ==== UN speech ==== [[File:Animated_dove_holding_an_olive_branch.gif|thumb|[[Peace]] is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on.]] [[File:UN Headquarters 2.jpg|thumb|The task of building the peace lies with the leaders of every nation, large and small. … The long labor of peace is an undertaking for every nation — and in this effort none of us can remain unaligned.To this goal none can be uncommitted.]] [[File:UN_security_council_2005.jpg|thumb|But peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. And if it is cast out there, then no act, no pact, no treaty, no organization can hope to preserve it without the support and the wholehearted commitment of all people.]] :<small>[[s:Address to the United Nations General Assembly (Kennedy, 1963-09-20)|Address Before the 18th General Assembly of the United Nations]] (20 September 1963). In his speech the President discusses the recently signed treaty banning atmospheric nuclear weapons tests (later known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty or Limited Test Ban Treaty), remarking that peace may be attainable when two nations with incompatible ideologies negotiate with each other. The President famously asks, "Space offers no problems of sovereignty…Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition?" President Kennedy also explains that the task of maintaining peace and decreasing global tension must be shared by all nations. He proposes ways for the United Nations to increase and improve their efforts in developing countries, specifically [https://www.pumpernickel-online.co.uk/ focusing on health], human rights, agriculture, communication, and the environment.</small> * The world has not escaped from the darkness. The long shadows of conflict and crisis envelop us still. But we meet today in an atmosphere of rising hope, and at a moment of comparative calm. My presence here today is not a sign of crisis, but of confidence. I am not here to report on a new threat to the peace or new signs of war. I have come to salute the [[United Nations]] and to show the support of the American people for your daily deliberations. For the value of this body's work is not dependent on the existence of emergencies — nor can the winning of peace consist only of dramatic victories. '''[[Peace]] is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on.''' * '''The task of building the peace lies with the leaders of every nation, large and small. For the great powers have no monopoly on conflict or ambition.''' The cold war is not the only expression of tension in this world — and the nuclear race is not the only arms race. Even little wars are dangerous in a nuclear world. '''The long labor of peace is an undertaking for every nation — and in this effort none of us can remain unaligned. To this goal none can be uncommitted.''' * Chronic disputes which divert precious resources from the needs of the people or drain the energies of both sides serve the interests of no one — and '''the badge of responsibility in the modern world is a willingness to seek peaceful solutions.''' * I would say to the leaders of the [[w:Soviet Union|Soviet Union]], and to their people, that '''if either of our countries is to be fully secure, we need a much better weapon than the [[w:H-bomb|H-bomb]] — a weapon better than ballistic missiles or nuclear submarines — and that better weapon is peaceful cooperation.''' * In these and other ways, '''let us move up the steep and difficult path toward comprehensive disarmament, securing mutual confidence through mutual verification, and building the institutions of peace as we dismantle the engines of war. We must not let failure to agree on all points delay agreements where agreement is possible. And we must not put forward proposals for propaganda purposes.''' * Finally, in a field where the United States and the Soviet Union have a special capacity — in the field of space — there is room for new cooperation, for further joint efforts in the regulation and exploration of space. I include among these possibilities a joint expedition to the moon. '''Space offers no problems of sovereignty'''; by resolution of this Assembly, the members of the United Nations have foresworn any claim to territorial rights in outer space or on celestial bodies, and declared that international law and the United Nations Charter will apply. '''Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition?''' Why should the United States and the Soviet Union, in preparing for such expeditions, become involved in immense duplications of research, construction, and expenditure? Surely we should explore whether the scientists and astronauts of our two countries — indeed of all the world — cannot work together in the conquest of space, sending someday in this decade to the moon not the representatives of a single nation, but the representatives of all of our countries. * The contest will continue — the contest between those who see a monolithic world and those who believe in diversity — but it should be a contest in leadership and responsibility instead of destruction, a contest in achievement instead of intimidation. Speaking for the United States of America, I welcome such a contest. For we believe that '''truth is stronger than error — and that freedom is more enduring than coercion.''' And in the contest for a better life, all the world can be a winner. * '''The effort to improve the conditions of man, however, is not a task for the few. It is the task of all nations''' — acting alone, acting in groups, acting in the United Nations, '''for plague and pestilence, and plunder and pollution, the hazards of nature, and the hunger of children are the foes of every nation. The earth, the sea, and the air are the concern of every nation. And science, technology, and education can be the ally of every nation. Never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment, to end thirst and hunger, to conquer poverty and disease, to banish illiteracy and massive human misery. We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world — or to make it the last.''' * New efforts are needed if this Assembly's [[w:Universal Declaration of Human Rights|Declaration of Human Rights]], now 15 years old, is to have full meaning. And new means should be found for promoting the free expression and trade of ideas — through travel and communication, and through increased exchanges of people, and books, and broadcasts. For as the world renounces the competition of weapons, competition in ideas must flourish — and that competition must be as full and as fair as possible. * '''The [[United Nations]] cannot survive as a static organization.''' Its obligations are increasing as well as its size. Its Charter must be changed as well as its customs. The authors of that Charter did not intend that it be frozen in perpetuity. '''The science of weapons and war has made us all''', far more than 18 years ago in [[San Francisco]], '''one world and one human race, with one common destiny. In such a world, absolute sovereignty no longer assures us of absolute security. The conventions of peace must pull abreast and then ahead of the inventions of war. The United Nations, building on its successes and learning from its failures, must be developed into a genuine world security system.''' * '''But peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. And if it is cast out there, then no act, no pact, no treaty, no organization can hope to preserve it without the support and the wholehearted commitment of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper; let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace, in the hearts and minds of all our people.''' I believe that we can. I believe '''the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings.''' * Two years ago I told this body that the United States had proposed, and was willing to sign, a limited test ban treaty. Today that treaty has been signed. It will not put an end to war. It will not remove basic conflicts. It will not secure freedom for all. But it can be a lever, and [[Archimedes]], in explaining the principles of the lever, was said to have declared to his friends: "Give me a place where I can stand — and I shall move the world." '''My fellow inhabitants of this planet: Let us take our stand here in [[w:United Nations General Assembly|this Assembly of nations]]. And let us see if we, in our own time, can move the world to a just and lasting peace.''' ==== Address at the University of North Dakota ==== :<small> Address at the University of North Dakota (September 25, 1963). The President spoke in the University field house at Grand Forks after receiving an honorary degree of doctor of laws. Source: John F. Kennedy, Address at the University of North Dakota. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230305190231/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-university-north-dakota Archived] [https://archive.is/A3ZNy from] [https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-university-north-dakota the original] on March 5, 2023.</small> [[File:UND 1922.jpg|thumb|All educated citizens bear the burden of governing, as active participants in the democratic process.]] [[File:Kennedy greeting Peace Corps volunteers, 1961.jpg|thumb|These are the problems which face this great democracy of ours. They cannot be solved by turning away, but can be solved, I believe, by the united, intelligent effort of us all.]] [[File:MontreGousset001.jpg|thumb|Things don't happen, they are made to happen.]] * [[Otto von Bismarck|Prince Bismarck]], who was named after Bismarck, N. Dak., once said that one-third of the students of German universities broke down from overwork, another third broke down from dissipation, and the other third ruled Germany. I do not know which third of the student body of this school is here today, but I am confident I am talking to the future rulers of not only North Dakota, but the United States, in the sense that '''all educated citizens bear the burden of governing, as active participants in the democratic process.''' * '''The fact of the matter is that in the field of [[Conservation|conservation]], every day that is lost is a valuable opportunity wasted. Every time, particularly in the East where they have such a massive concentration of population-every time an acre of land disappears into private development or exploitation, an acre of land which could be used for the people, we have lost a chance. We will never get it back.''' As you know, along the Atlantic Coast, nearly all of the sea, the beach, is owned by comparatively few people. We were able to set aside, a year ago, [[w:Cape Cod National Seashore|Cape Cod Park]], which is near to all of the people of New England. We are talking about doing the same now on the Delaware River. We are talking about doing the same in northern Indiana, near Gary. We have to seize these opportunities--we are talking about now doing the same in northern Wisconsin-'''we have to seize these opportunities to set aside these wilderness areas, these primitive areas, these fresh water areas, these lakes. We have to set them aside for the people who are going to come after us.''' * '''[[Theodore Roosevelt]] once said that the White House is a great pulpit from which to preach, and I would like to preach not only [[The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses|the vigorous life]] which he preached for us physically, but also for us in our time, facing entirely different problems, to make the same wise, vigorous decisions which he made for the conservation of our natural resources so that you and your children can enjoy this great and rich country. Nature has been so generous to us that we have mistreated her. Now, when our country is becoming increasingly crowded, when science and technology wastes so much of what we have, we have to realize that time is running out for us.''' * '''These are the problems which face this great democracy of ours. They cannot be solved by turning away, but can be solved, I believe, by the united, intelligent effort of us all.''' * There is an old saying that '''things don't happen, they are made to happen. And we in our years have to make the same wise judgments about what policies will ensure us a growing prosperity as were made in the years before. The whole experience between two world wars, which was so tragic for this country, should tell us that we cannot leave it to mere chance and accident. It requires the long range judgment of all of us, the public judgment, not only the pursuit of our private interests but the public judgment of what it takes to keep''' 180 million '''people gradually rising. And anyone who thinks it can be done by accident and chance should look back on the history of 1919 to 1939 to know what can happen when we let natural forces operate completely freely.''' * '''Unless the United States can demonstrate a sound and vigorous democratic life, a society which is not torn apart by friction and faction, an economy which is steadily growing-unless it can do all those things we cannot continue to bear the responsibilities of leadership which I think almost alone have prevented this world of ours from being overrun. The fact of the matter is that there are many things happening in the world which should serve to encourage us, as well as discourage us. [...] What we seek to advance, what we seek to develop in all of our colleges and universities, are educated men and women who can bear the burdens of responsible citizenship, who can make judgments about life as it is, and as it must be, and encourage the people to make those decisions which can bring not only prosperity and security, but happiness to the people of the United States and those who depend upon it.''' * '''[[w:Hubert Lyautey|Marshal Lyautey]], who was the great French Marshal in North Africa, was once talking to his gardener and he suggested that he plant a tree, and the gardener said, "Well, why plant it? It won't flower for 100 years." And Marshal Lyautey said, "In that case, plant it this afternoon." I think that is good advice for all of us.''' ==== Speech at Amherst College ==== :<small> Remarks upon receiving an honorary degree, [[w:Amherst College|Amherst College]], Amherst, Massachusetts (October 26, 1963); reported in ''Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: John F. Kennedy, 1963'', p. 817. In his speech President Kennedy explains the importance of public service from educated citizens, and describes the role of an artist in society, noting [[Robert Frost|Frost]]’s contributions to American arts, culture, and ideology. The President discusses the nature of strength and power, famously stating, “When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” See also: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (October 26, 1963): ''Remarks at Amherst College on the Arts''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221205100727/https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/remarks-at-amherst-college-on-the-arts Archived] [https://archive.ph/gdFQ7 from] [https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/remarks-at-amherst-college-on-the-arts the original] on December 2, 2022.</small> [[File:1983 Robert Frost One-Ounce Gold Medal.jpg |thumb|The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.]] [[File:John_F_Kennedy_Official_Portrait.jpg |thumb|When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations...]] [[File:Chapmans Coffin.jpg|thumb|A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.]] [[File:Amherst Center, Amherst, MA, USA - panoramio (1).jpg|thumb|The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure.I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.]] * Many years ago, [[Woodrow Wilson]] said, what good is a political party unless it is serving a great national purpose? And '''what good is a private college or university unless it is serving a great national purpose?''' * Privilege is here, and '''with privilege goes responsibility.''' * '''There is inherited wealth in this country and also inherited poverty. And unless the graduates of this college and other colleges like it who are given a running start in life--unless they are willing to put back into our society, those talents, the broad sympathy, the understanding, the compassion--unless they are willing to put those qualities back into the service of the Great Republic, then obviously the presuppositions upon which our democracy are based are bound to be fallible.''' * This day devoted to the memory of Robert Frost offers an opportunity for reflection which is prized by politicians as well as by others, and even by poets, for '''Robert Frost was one of the granite figures of our time in America. He was supremely two things: an artist and an American.''' A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers. In America, our heroes have customarily run to men of large accomplishments. But today this college and country honors '''a man whose contribution was not to our size but to our spirit, not to our political beliefs but to our insight, not to our self-esteem, but to our self- comprehension.''' In honoring Robert Frost, we therefore can pay honor to '''the deepest sources of our national strength. That strength takes many forms, and the most obvious forms are not always the most significant. The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable, especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us.''' * '''Our national strength matters, but the spirit which informs and controls our strength matters just as much. This was the special significance of Robert Frost. He brought an unsparing instinct for reality to bear on the platitudes and pieties of society. His sense of the human tragedy fortified him against self-deception and easy consolation. "I have been" he wrote, "one acquainted with the night." And because he knew the midnight as well as the high noon, because he understood the ordeal as well as the triumph of the human spirit, he gave his age strength with which to overcome despair. At bottom, he held a deep faith in the spirit of man, and it is hardly an accident that Robert Frost coupled poetry and power, for he saw poetry as the means of saving power from itself.''' When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses. For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment. * '''A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.''' * '''The men who create power make an indispensable contribution to the Nation's greatness, but the men who question power make a contribution just as indispensable''', especially when that questioning is disinterested, for they determine whether we use power or power uses us. * '''When power leads men towards arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.''' For art establishes the basic human truth which must serve as the touchstone of our judgment. * '''The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure.''' He has, as [[Robert Frost|Frost]] said, a lover's quarrel with the world. In pursuing his perceptions of reality, he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. If Robert Frost was much honored in his lifetime, it was because a good many preferred to ignore his darker truths. Yet in retrospect, we see how the artist's fidelity has strengthened the fiber of our national life. If sometimes our great artist have been the most critical of our society, it is because their sensitivity and their concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist, makes him aware that our Nation falls short of its highest potential. '''I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist.''' * '''If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him. We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.''' And as [[Archibald MacLeish|Mr. MacLeish]] once remarked of poets, there is nothing worse for our trade than to be in style. '''In free society art is not a weapon and it does not belong to the spheres of polemic and ideology. Artists are not engineers of the soul. It may be different elsewhere. But democratic society — in it, the highest duty of the writer, the composer, the artist is to remain true to himself and to let the chips fall where they may. In serving his vision of the truth, the artist best serves his nation. And the nation which disdains the mission of art invites the fate of [[Robert Frost]]'s hired man, the fate of having "nothing to look backward to with pride, and nothing to look forward to with hope."''' * '''I look forward to a great future for America, a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose. I look forward to an America which will not be afraid of grace and beauty, which will protect the beauty of our natural environment, which will preserve the great old American houses and squares and parks of our national past, and which will build handsome and balanced cities for our future.''' * '''I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. And I look forward to a world which will be safe not only for democracy and diversity but also for personal distinction.''' * Robert Frost was often skeptical about projects for human improvement, yet I do not think he would disdain this hope. As he wrote during the uncertain days of the Second War: <br/><br/> Take human nature altogether since time began . . . <br/> And it must be a little more in favor of man, <br/> Say a fraction of one percent at the very least . . . <br/> Our hold on this planet wouldn't have so increased. <br/><br/> '''Because of Mr. Frost's life and work''', because of the life and work of this college, '''our hold on this planet has increased.''' ==== President John F. Kennedy's last formal speech and public words ==== [[File:TheKennedyFamily1.jpg |thumb|I have spoken about [[w:New Frontier|the New Frontier]]. [...] It is an era which calls for action and for the best efforts of all those who would test the unknown and the uncertain in every phase of human endeavor. It is a time for pathfinders and pioneers.]] [[File:USA123.jpg|thumb|I think the United States should be a leader. A country as rich and powerful as this which bears so many burdens and responsibilities, which has so many opportunities, should be second to none.]] [[File:Kennedy, Johnson, and others watching flight of Astronaut Shepard on television, 05 May 1961.png |thumb|This Nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it. Whatever the difficulties, they will be overcome [...] we will climb this wall with safety and with speed-and we shall then explore the wonders on the other side.]] :<small>[http://www.dennismansfield.com/business/2009/11/president-john-f-kennedys-last-formal-speech.html President John F. Kennedy last formal speech and public words at Aerospace Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas on November 21, 1963.]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160731211130/https://dennismansfield.com/business/2009/11/president-john-f-kennedys-last-formal-speech.html Archived] from the original on July 31, 2016.</small> * For more than 3 years '''I have spoken about [[w:New Frontier|the New Frontier]].''' This is not a partisan term, and it is not the exclusive property of Republicans or Democrats. '''It refers''', instead, '''to this Nation's place in history, to the fact that we do stand on the edge of a great new era, filled with both crisis and opportunity, an era to be characterized by achievement and by challenge. It is an era which calls for action and for the best efforts of all those who would test the unknown and the uncertain in every phase of human endeavor. It is a time for pathfinders and pioneers.''' * '''Many''' Americans '''make the mistake of assuming that space research has no values here on earth. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just as [[w:Radar in World War II|the wartime development of]] [[w:Radar|radar]] gave us the [[w:Transistor|transistor]], and all that it made possible, so research in space medicine holds the promise of substantial benefit for those of us who are earthbound. For our effort in space is not as some have suggested, a competitor for the natural resources that we need to develop the earth. It is a working partner and a coproducer of these resources. And nothing makes this clearer than the fact that medicine in space is going to make our lives healthier and happier here on earth.''' * I give you three examples: first, '''medical space research may open up new understanding of man's relation to his [[environment]]. Examinations of the astronaut's physical, and mental, and emotional reactions can teach us more about the differences between normal and abnormal, about the causes and effects of disorientation, about changes in [[w:Metabolism|metabolism]] which could result in extending the life span. When you study the effects on our astronauts of exhaust gases which can contaminate their environment, and you seek ways to alter these gases so as to reduce their toxicity, you are working on problems similar to those in our great urban centers which themselves are being corrupted by gases and which must be clear.''' * And second, '''medical space research may revolutionize the technology and the techniques of modern medicine. Whatever new devices are created, for example, '''to monitor our astronauts, to measure their heart activity, their breathing, their brain waves, their eye motion, at great distances and under difficult conditions, will also represent a major advance in general medical instrumentation.''' Heart patients may even be able to wear a light monitor which will sound a warning if their activity exceeds certain limits. An instrument recently developed to record automatically the impact of acceleration upon an astronaut's eyes will also be of help to small children who are suffering miserably from eye defects, but are unable to describe their impairment. And also by the use of instruments similar to those used in [[w:Project Mercury|Project Mercury]], this Nation's private as well as public nursing services are being improved, enabling one nurse now to give more critically ill patients greater attention than they ever could in the past. * And third, '''medical space research may lead to new safeguards against hazards common to many environments'''. Specifically, our astronauts will need fundamentally new devices to protect them from the ill effects of radiation which can have a profound influence upon medicine and man's relations to our present environment. * '''I think the United States should be a leader. A country as rich and powerful as this which bears so many burdens and responsibilities, which has so many opportunities, should be second to none.''' And in December, while I do not regard our mastery of space as anywhere near complete, while I recognize that there are still areas where we are behind — at least in one area, the size of the booster — this year I hope the United States will be ahead. And I am for it. '''We have a long way to go. Many weeks and months and years of long, tedious work lie ahead. There will be setbacks and frustrations and disappointments. There will be, as there always are, pressures in this country to do less in this area as in so many others, and temptations to do something else that is perhaps easier. But this research here must go on. This space effort must go on. The conquest of space must and will go ahead. That much we know. That much we can say with confidence and conviction.''' * [[w:Frank O'Connor|Frank O'Connor, the Irish writer]], tells in one of his books how, as a boy, he and his friends would make their way across the countryside, and when they came to an orchard wall that seemed too high and too doubtful to try and too difficult to permit their voyage to continue, they took off their hats and tossed them over the wall — and then they had no choice but to follow them. * '''This Nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it. Whatever the difficulties, they will be overcome. Whatever the hazards, they must be guarded against. With the vital''' help of this Aerospace Medical Center, with the '''help of all those who labor in the space endeavor, with the help and support of all Americans, we will climb this wall with safety and with speed-and we shall then explore the wonders on the other side.''' ** The original anecdote from whence Kennedy derived this comparison is in An Only Child, Frank O'Connor, London: MacMillan & Co. Ltd., 1961; p. 180. ==== [[s:Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas|Remarks Prepared for Delivery at the Trade Mart in Dallas]] ==== :<small>The following quotes were meant to be delivered on 22 November 1963, in Dallas, Texas. They were however never delivered; Kennedy was on his way to the [[w:Dallas Market Center|Trade Mart]] when [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|he was assassinated]].</small> [[File:Kennedys arrive at Dallas 11-22-63.JPG |thumb|If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help.]] [[File:Two JFKs.jpg|thumb|Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live.]] [[File:John F. Kennedy motorcade, Dallas crop.png |thumb|Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and social justice will be respected by those whose choice affects our future.]] * It is fitting that these two symbols of Dallas progress are united in the sponsorship of this meeting, for they represent the best qualities, I am told, of leadership and learning in this city — and '''leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. The advancement of learning depends on community leadership for financial and political support and the products of that learning, in turn, are essential to the leadership's hopes for continued progress and prosperity. It is not a coincidence that those communities possessing the best in research and graduate facilities''' — from [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] to [[California Institute of Technology|Cal Tech]] — '''tend to attract the new and growing industries. [...] This link between leadership and learning is not only essential at the community level, it is even more indispensable in world affairs. Ignorance and misinformation can handicap the progress of a city or a company, but they can, if allowed to prevail in foreign policy, handicap this country's security. In a world of complex and continuing problems, in a world full of frustrations and irritations, America's leadership must be guided by the lights of learning and reason''', or else those who confuse rhetoric with reality and the plausible with the possible will gain the popular ascendancy with their seemingly swift and simple solutions to every world problem. * We cannot expect that everyone, to use the phrase of a decade ago, will [[w:Adlai_Stevenson#1952_presidential_bid|''"talk sense to the American people"'']]. But we can hope that fewer people will listen to nonsense. And '''the notion''' that this Nation is headed for defeat through deficit, or '''that strength is but a matter of slogans, is nothing but just plain nonsense.''' * I want to discuss with you today the status of our strength and our security because this question clearly calls for the most responsible qualities of leadership and the most enlightened products of scholarship. For this Nation's strength and security are not easily or cheaply obtained, nor are they quickly and simply explained. '''There are many kinds of strength and no one kind will suffice. Overwhelming nuclear strength cannot stop a guerrilla war. Formal pacts of alliance cannot stop internal subversion. Displays of material wealth cannot stop the disillusionment of diplomats subjected to discrimination. Above all, words alone are not enough.''' The United States is a peaceful nation. And '''where our strength and determination are clear, our words need merely to convey conviction, not belligerence. If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help.''' * In this administration also it has been necessary at times to issue specific warnings — warnings that [[w:History of Laos since 1945#The_failure_of_neutralism|we could not stand by]] and [[w:Laotian civil war#1961:_Superpowers.27_involvement_deepens|watch the Communists conquer Laos by force]], or [[w:Congo Crisis|intervene in the Congo]], or [[w:Berlin Crisis of 1961|swallow West Berlin]], or [[w:Cuban Missile Crisis|maintain offensive missiles on Cuba]]. But while our goals were at least temporarily obtained in these and other instances, '''our successful defense of freedom was due not to the words we used, but to the strength we stood ready to use on behalf of the principles we stand ready to defend. This strength is composed of many different elements, ranging from the most massive deterrents to the most subtle influences. And all types of strength are needed — no one kind could do the job alone.''' * '''Our security and strength, in the last analysis, directly depend on the security and strength of others''', and that is why our military and economic assistance plays such a key role in enabling those who live on the periphery of the Communist world to maintain their independence of choice. Our assistance to these nations can be painful, risky and costly, as is true in [[w:Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]] today. But we dare not weary of the task. For our assistance makes possible the stationing of 3-5 million allied troops along the Communist frontier at one-tenth the cost of maintaining a comparable number of American soldiers. * Our foreign aid program is not growing in size, it is, on the contrary, smaller now than in previous years. It has had its weaknesses, but we have undertaken to correct them. And '''the proper way of treating weaknesses is to replace them with strength, not to increase those weaknesses by emasculating essential programs.''' Dollar for dollar, in or out of government, there is no better form of investment in our national security than our much-abused foreign aid program. * Finally, it '''should be clear by now that a nation can be no stronger abroad than she is at home. Only an America which practices what it preaches about equal rights and [[social justice]] will be respected by those whose choice affects our future. Only an America which has fully educated its citizens is fully capable of tackling the complex problems and perceiving the hidden dangers of the world in which we live. And only an America which is growing and prospering economically can sustain the worldwide defenses of freedom, while demonstrating to all concerned the opportunities of our system and society.''' * Our adversaries have not abandoned their ambitions, our dangers have not diminished, our vigilance cannot be relaxed. But now we have the military, the scientific, and the economic strength to do whatever must be done for the preservation and promotion of freedom. That strength will never be used in pursuit of aggressive ambitions — it will always be used in pursuit of peace. It will never be used to promote provocations — it will always be used to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes. * '''We in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of [[s:Bible_(King_James)/Luke#Chapter_2|''"peace on earth, good will toward men"'']]. That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength.''' For as was written long ago: [[s:Bible_(King_James)/Psalms#Psalm_127|''"except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."'']] ==== Remarks Intended for Delivery to the Texas Democratic State Committee in the Municipal Auditorium in Austin ==== [[File:Fort Worth rally, 22 November 1963.jpg |thumb|Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.]] [[File:Flag-lens-flare.jpg |thumb|Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause — united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future — and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.]] :<small>JFK's words at a speech he planned to give at [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10425030/JFK-the-last-word.html Texas Welcome Dinner at Municipal Auditorium, Austin, Texas], night of 11/22/1963. The following quotes were meant to be delivered on 22 November 1963, in Austin, Texas. They were however never delivered; Kennedy was on his way to the [[w:Dallas Market Center|Trade Mart]] when [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|he was assassinated]]. Michael Beschloss, a presidential historian and PBS contributor, flagged the final lines of the speech that JFK would have given on the night of his assassination. Sources: [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9540&st=&st1= John F. Kennedy: "Remarks Intended for Delivery to the Texas Democratic State Committee in the Municipal Auditorium in Austin," November 22, 1963. <!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10425030/JFK-the-last-word.html ''JFK: the last word'' by The Guardian's Alex Hannaford on November 6, 2013], [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/jfk-assassination_n_4233535.html ''The Last Lines Of The Speech JFK Would Have Given The Night Of His Assassination'' by The Huffington Post's Paige Lavender on November 7, 2013], and [http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/07/read-the-last-lines-of-the-speech-jfk-was-supposed-to-give-on-the-night-of-his-assassination/ ''Read the Last Lines of the Speech JFK Was Supposed to Give on the Night of His Assassination'' by The Blaze's Jason Howert on November 7, 2013]</small> * '''Civilization''', it was once said, '''is a race between education and catastrophe''' — and we intend to win that race for education. * For this country is moving and it must not stop. It cannot stop. For '''this is a time for courage and a time for challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed.''' And '''our duty''' as a Party '''is''' not to our Party alone, but '''to the nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.''' * So '''let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation's future is at stake.''' * '''Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause — united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future — and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.''' == Attributed == * Just as I went into politics because [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_P._Kennedy,_Jr. Joe] died, if anything happened to me tomorrow, my brother [[Robert F. Kennedy|Bobby]] would run for my seat in the Senate. And if Bobby died, [[Ted Kennedy|Teddy]] would take over for him. ** Quoted in ''The Remarkable Kennedys'', Joe McCarthy, New York: Dial Press, 1960, page 114. * I'm always rather nervous about how you talk about women who are active in politics, whether they want to be talked about as women or as politicians. ** Quoted in Bill Adler, "The Presidency," ''The Wit of President Kennedy'' (1964). ** [JFK was speaking]...To a group of women delegates to the [[United Nations]] who had suggested that there might one day be a woman President. * Whether I serve one or two terms in the Presidency, I will find myself at the end of that period at what might be called the awkward age — too old to begin a new career and too young to write my memoirs. ** Quoted in [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx ''A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House'', Arthur Schlesinger (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965), page 1017.] According to a footnote in Schlesinger's manuscript (1st draft, page 1378), this was stated on February 13, 1961. * All my life I've known better than to depend on the experts. How could I have been so stupid, to let them go ahead? ** Conversation with Theodore C. Sorensen concerning the [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs Invasion]]; as quoted in Sorensen's ''Kennedy'' (1965), p. 309. * If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president's. ** Pierre Salinger, ''With Kennedy'' (1966), [http://books.google.de/books?id=vx45mXCc4JoC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=If+anyone+is+crazy+enough+to+want+to+kill+a+president+of+the+United+States,+he+can+do+it.+All+he+must+be+prepared+to+do+is+give+his+life+for+the+president%E2%80%99s.&source=bl&ots=Bom2TtsfyN&sig=WyeTm82PlS5xBDf7-sIY6xehqbo&hl=de&sa=X&ei=OewXUqv8JJSihgf07IHICA&ved=0CDAQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=If%20anyone%20is%20crazy%20enough%20to%20want%20to%20kill%20a%20president%20of%20the%20United%20States%2C%20he%20can%20do%20it.%20All%20he%20must%20be%20prepared%20to%20do%20is%20give%20his%20life%20for%20the%20president%E2%80%99s.&f=false Chapter 1: Lancer to Wayside, page 1] * When discussing the possibility of a complete military takeover in the country after reading the book [[w:Seven Days in May|Seven Days in May]], President Kennedy said, "...if there were a third Bay of Pigs, it could happen." He paused and then said "But it won't happen on my watch." ** [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Related in The Pleasure of His Company, Paul Fay, Jr., New York: Harper & Row, 1966, p. 190.] * He "said to one of the highest officials of his Administration that he wanted 'to '''splinter the [[Central Intelligence Agency|C.I.A.]] in a thousand pieces and scatter it to the winds'''.'" ** Wicker, Tom et al. [https://ratical.org/ratville/JFK/Unspeakable/Item03.pdf "C.I.A.: Maker of Policy, or Tool?; Survey Finds Widely Feared Agency Is Tightly Controlled"], ''[[New York Times]]'' (April 24, 1966) * I have a nice home, the office is close by, and the pay is good. ** Quoted in ''Johnny We Hardly Knew Ye'', Kenneth O'Donnell, Dave Powers, and Joseph McCarthy, Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1970, page 262. * I was assured by every son of a bitch I checked with — all the military experts and the CIA — that the plan would succeed. ** Comment to [[Richard Nixon]], about the failure of the [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs Invasion]], as quoted in ''The Memoirs of Richard Nixon'' (1978) by Richard Nixon * '''Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.''' ** As quoted in ''Mayor'' (1984) by [[Ed Koch]] * It really is true that foreign affairs is the only important issue for a president to handle, isn't? ... I mean, Who gives a shit if the minimum wage is $1.15 or $1.25 in comparison to something like this? ** Comment to [[Richard Nixon]], after the [[w:Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs Invasion]], as quoted in ''John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio : History as told through the collection of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum'' (2000) by Charles Kenney * '''[[Berlin Wall|A wall]] is a hell of a lot better than a war.''' ** Upon hearing about the construction of the Berlin Wall, as quoted in [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article724547.ece "Savage century" in "The Sunday Times'' (28 May 2006)] * I think 'Hail to the Chief' has a nice ring to it. ** When asked what his favorite song was, as quoted in ''The Ultimate Book of Useless Information'' (2007) by Noel Botham * '''I'm an [[Idealism|idealist]] without illusions.''' ** Comment about JFK by [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]] as quoted in the Audiobook ''Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy'' (December 27, 2011) by Caroline Kennedy (Author, Narrator), Michael Beschloss (Author, Narrator), Jacqueline Kennedy (Narrator) & [[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.]] (Narrator) and published by Hyperion AudioBooks. * What would [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] have been without the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]? Just another railroad lawyer! ** JFK to [[Gore Vidal]], quoted in David Swanson's ''Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union'' (2011). {{Misattributed begin}} == Misattributed == * A revolution is coming — a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we are fortunate enough — But a revolution which is coming whether we will it or not. We can affect its character; we cannot alter its inevitability. ** [[Robert F. Kennedy]], in a speech in the US Senate (9 May 1966) * One person can make a difference, and every person should try. ** Political scientist [[w:Thomas Cronin|Thomas E. Cronin]], "Leadership and Democracy", in 'Liberal Education', 1987 * A child miseducated is a child lost. ** [[w:Umaru Tanko Al-Makura|Umaru Tanko Al-Makura]] on 29th July, 2013 at The Official Commissioning Of Ta'al Model School, Lafia By Nigeria's President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan where Umaru Tanko Al-Makura said: "[http://www.spyghana.com/speech-delivered-by-his-excellency-umaru-tanko-al-makura/ And, because the human mind is our fundamental resource, we are determined to avail our children the opportunity to acquire the best education possible, since a child mis-educated is a child lost.]" * There's a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman, and child. Before I leave this high and noble office, I intend to expose this plot. - President John F. Kennedy 7 days before his assassination ** a fake quote debunked on several websites, including [https://www.metabunk.org/debunked-theres-a-plot-in-this-country-to-enslave-every-man-woman-and-child-jfk.t319/ metabunk.org]. This has been fact-checked by {{w|Snopes}} as well.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jfk-plot-in-this-country-to-enslave/ |title=Did JFK Warn 'There's a Plot in This Country to Enslave Every Man, Woman, and Child'? |first=David |last=Emory |date=2018-12-10 |accessdate=2024-03-18 |website={{w|Snopes}}}}</ref> {{Misattributed end}} [[File:Civil rights leaders meet with President John F. Kennedy3.tiff|thumb|There was a civil war in this country... Kennedy provoked such hostility and hatred. His death was cheered in the South because of his support for Martin Luther King. He was moving to change things on all fronts... He... described the Soviets for the first time in American history as mortals, like us, who care about their children. ~[[Oliver Stone]]]] [[File:Hugo_Chavez,_Oliver_Stone_66ème_Festival_de_Venise_(Mostra)_12.jpg|thumb|The most shocking part [about the assassination of JFK] is...the sequence of the shooting, the timing... the wounds and the autopsy... It doesn't make any sense the way they described it... They treated it like a routine investigation, but it was hardly so... the Warren Commission... in charge of the investigation...[[w:Alan Dulles|Alan Dulles]]... was fired by Kennedy... two years earlier... That's part of the cover-up. ~[[Oliver Stone]]]] == Quotes about Kennedy == [[File:John F. Kennedy, White House photo portrait, looking up.jpg |thumb|President Kennedy stood for the belief that idealism, high aspirations, and deep convictions are not incompatible with the most practical and efficient of programs — that there is no basic inconsistency between ideals and realistic possibilities, no separation between the deepest desires of heart and of mind and the rational application of human effort to human problems. ~ [[Robert F. Kennedy]]]] [[File:Kennedy bros.jpg |thumb|There was a sense of [[progress]] and [[adventure]], a rejection of [[complacency]] and [[conformity]]. There was a common mission, a shared ideal, and above all the joy of high [[purpose]] and great [[achievement]]. Jack believed that America's [[promises]], that [[Challenge|challenges]] are [[Opportunity|opportunities]] in disguise, that our [[spirit]] can soar again. ~ [[Ted Kennedy]] ]] * I hate to say this because I know it's going to be misunderstood, but his reputation is greater because of the tragedy of his death than it would have been if he had lived out two terms. ... He was a most attractive person. He had real charm. He did not seem to be in any sense a great man. I do not think he knew a great deal about the matters which it's desirable that a chief of state or a President of the United States should know about. He was not decisive. ** [[Dean Acheson]], interview with Kenneth Harris for ''Life'' magazine (July 18, 1971), quoted in ''The Times'' (July 19, 1971), p. 4 * And it wasn't a Republican who wiretapped and snooped on [[Martin Luther King, Jr.|Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]], but Democrats John F. Kennedy and his brother Robert, who signed the order as Attorney General. ** [[w:Bruce Bartlett|Bruce Bartlett]], as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=vb3Mx7GqAmwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=isbn:9780230600621&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAGoVChMIi92Er-SPxwIVhnQ-Ch3plQCk#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Wrong on Race: The Democratic Party's Buried Past''] (2008), by B. Bartlett, p. xi. * I met him in the 1950s when I was at [[Harvard University|Harvard]], and I thought the world of him. I was greatly inspired by him when he became president, I found his inaugural address moving, I liked that special sense of vigor and enthusiasm that he injected into an America that seemed to be a little bit uncertain of itself, especially after the launch of the [[w:Sputnik|Sputnik]]. And I was profoundly shocked when he was shot. I remember that moment vividly, but I have to add that the more I learned about him later on, the more I became inclined to temper my enthusiasm for him. I began to see that he was much more manipulative, much more opportunistic, much more self-serving, much less guided by any profound sort of code of conduct or standard than I had believed. So it was, in a way, a disillusioning reassessment. ** [[Zbigniew Brzezinski]], [http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/the-world-according-to-zbigniew-brzezinski-100354_Page2.html#.U2sjP61_sSc "The World According to Zbig"] by Charles Gati in ''Politico'', November 27, 2013. * This story, prepared in close cooperation with the late President Kennedy, was scheduled for publication in Superman No. 168, when word of his tragic [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]] reached us. We immediately took it off the press and substituted other material. How-ever, white house officials have since informed us that [[Lyndon B. Johnson|President Johnson]] wanted it published, as a tribute to his great predecessor, and so we dedicate to the memory of our late, beloved president this plea for his physical fitness program, to which he was wholeheartedly devoted during his life..."[[Superman]]'s mission for president Kennedy!" ** [[w:E. Nelson Bridwell|E. Nelson Bridwell]], "Superman's mission for president Kennedy!", ''Superman'' #170 July 1964, as quoted in [http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/11/22/jfk_assassination_superman_comic_dedicated_to_kennedy.html "Revisiting Superman's Mission for JFK"], Emma Roller, ''Slate'', Nov 22 2013. * Back during the 1960 election and the Kennedy Administration, that was when I began to develop into a news junkie. I was very interested in Kennedy and I would listen to his speeches ** 1990 interview in ''Conversations with [[Octavia Butler]]'' (2010) * Public employee unions were greatly helped, it is true, by the executive order of the late President John F. Kennedy and by similar policies adopted by certain state and local governments. ** [[Cesar Chavez]] 1969 testimony anthologized in ''An Organizer’s Tale'' (2008) * Kennedy was at the hawkish end of the administration. ** [[Noam Chomsky]] in ''Rethinking Camelot'' (1993). * I'm sure [[Obama]] is an atheist, I'm sure Kennedy was an atheist, but I doubt if [[Pope Francis|Pope Frank]] is. ** [[Richard Dawkins]] [http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=d2b_1382908273 Interview with Bill Maher (2013)] * Kennedy survived as an orator to the point of delivering his own funeral oration, since [[:w:Ted Sorensen|Theodore Sorensen]] continued to write speeches for his successor in the same style that had contributed so much toward the dead man’s public persona. ** [[Guy Debord]], [[:s:The Society of the Spectacle/Chapter 3|''The Society of the Spectacle'']] (1967) * [The] premise is that Kennedy was a very good president, and might have been a great one if he’d lived. Few serious historians take this view … In reality, the kindest interpretation of Kennedy’s presidency is that he was a mediocrity whose death left his final grade as “incomplete.” The harsher view would deem him a near disaster — ineffective in domestic policy, evasive on civil rights and a serial blunderer in foreign policy, who barely avoided a nuclear war that his own brinksmanship had pushed us toward ... We confuse charisma with competence, rhetoric with results, celebrity with genuine achievement. ** [[w:Ross Douthat|Ross Douthat]] [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/opinion/sunday/Douthat-The-Enduring-Cult-of-Kennedy.html?_r=0 ''The Enduring Cult of Kennedy''], ''New York Times'', November 26, 2011. * (JFK) was Catholic and a child of Irish immigrants, and this had never happened before, president that was not Anglo-Saxon or Scots-Irish and descended from the original settlers. So he had quite a hill to climb to make himself palatable. ** [[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]], [https://www.democracynow.org/2021/10/11/indigenous_peoples_day Interview] with Democracy Now (2021) * A key to John F. Kennedy's political success was that he revived the "frontier" as a trope of populist imperialism openly based on the drama and popular myth of "settling" the continent, of "taming" a different sort of "wilderness." In Kennedy's acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, historian [[Richard Slotkin]] writes, the presidential nominee "asked his audience to see him as a new kind of frontiersman confronting a different sort of wilderness: 'I stand tonight facing west on what was once the last frontier. From the lands that stretch 3000 miles behind me, the pioneers of old gave up their safety, their comfort and sometimes their lives to build a new world here in the West.... We stand today on the edge of a new frontier ... a frontier of unknown opportunities and paths, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats." ** [[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]], ''An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States'' (2014) * John Kennedy, who was assassinated in November 1963, left an ambiguous Cold War legacy. In his June 1963 American University commencement address he expressed optimism over achieving peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union. But within two weeks he set out to [[Europe]] to reassure his [[NATO]] allies of America’s commitment to their defense (while also appealing for a greater contribution on their part), and in West Berlin he denounced the brutal system on the other side of the wall and chided those who believed “we can work with the communists.” Moreover, the otherwise prudent Kennedy markedly increased [[w:US military aid|US military aid]] and advisers to the embattled government of [[South Vietnam]] and shortly before his death also authorized [[w:1963 South Vietnamese coup d'etat|the generals’ successful coup]] against [[w:Ngo Dinh Diem|Diệm]], thus expanding America’s responsibility for another, even more distant, and indefensible ally. ** Carole C. Fink, ''The Cold War: An International History'', p. 115 * The day Kennedy arrived at Love Field airport, the front page of the [[w:Dallas Morning News|Dallas Morning News]] was bordered in black. The right-wing radicals and John Birchers who dominated the city despised Kennedy. <br> The president's brother, Attorney General [[Bobby Kennedy]], had been using the Justice Department to advance the cause of civil rights. And President Kennedy wanted to reduce or even eliminate subsidies for the oil industry, which infuriated the Dallas oilmen. <br> "You know, it was a kind of Camelot of the right," Wright says. "[[George Wallace]] came to Dallas to announce his decision to run for president, for instance. We had [[Barry Goldwater]], who was a senator in [[Arizona]], but he was always in Dallas." <br> After the assassination, a grieving nation turned its anger upon Dallas. The feeling was that if the city leaders didn't actually pull Lee Harvey Oswald's trigger, they practically loaded the gun. For the first time in its swaggering existence, Dallas was [[ashamed]] of itself. ** Wade Goodwyn, [https://www.npr.org/2013/11/21/246580954/marking-kennedy-assassination-dallas-still-on-egg-shells?ft=nprml&f=243938281 “Marking Kennedy Assassination, Dallas Still On 'Eggshells'”], All Things Considered, ''NPR'', (November 21, 2013) * John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States, has been taken from us by an act which outrages decent men everywhere. He upheld the faith of our fathers, which is freedom for all men. He broadened the frontiers of that faith, and backed it with the energy and the courage which are the mark of the Nation he led. A man of wisdom, strength, and peace, he moulded and moved the power of our Nation in the service of a world of growing liberty and order. All who love freedom will mourn his death. As he did not shrink from his responsibilities, but welcomed them, so he would not have us shrink from carrying on his work beyond [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|this hour of national tragedy]]. [...] I earnestly recommend the people [...] to pay their homage of love and reverence to the memory of '''a great and good man'''. ** [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [[s:Proclamation 3561|Lyndon B. Johnson declaration upon John F. Kennedy's assassination]] (1963) * '''The greatest leader of our time has been struck down by the foulest deed of our time. Today 'John Fitzgerald Kennedy lives on in the immortal words and works that he left behind. He lives on in the mind and memories of mankind. He lives on in the hearts of his countrymen.''' No words are sad enough to express our sense of loss. No words are strong enough to express our determination to continue the forward thrust of America that he began. The dream of conquering the vastness of space — the dream of partnership across the Atlantic — and across the Pacific as well-the dream of a Peace Corps in less developed nations — the dream of education for all of our children — the dream of jobs for all who seek them and need them — the dream of care for our elderly — the dream of an all-out attack on mental illness — and above all, the dream of equal rights for all Americans, whatever their race or color — these and other American dreams have been vitalized by his drive and by his dedication. And now the ideas and the ideals which he so nobly represented must and will be translated into effective action. ** [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25988&st=&st1= ''Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress'' (27 November 1963)<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project --> * Courage is the virtue that President Kennedy most admired. He sought out those people who had demonstrated in some way, whether it was on a battlefield or a baseball diamond, in a speech or fighting for a cause, that they had courage that they would stand up, that they could be counted on. ** [[Robert F. Kennedy]], [http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations/Profiles-in-Courage-quotations.aspx ''1964 Memorial Edition of ''Profiles in Courage,'' Foreword by Robert F. Kennedy, p. 9] * But if there was one thing that 'President Kennedy stood for that touched the most profound feeling of young people around the world, it was the belief that idealism, high aspirations, and deep convictions are not incompatible with the most practical and efficient of programs — that there is no basic inconsistency between ideals and realistic possibilities, no separation between the deepest desires of heart and of mind and the rational application of human effort to human problems. ** [[Robert F. Kennedy]], [[Robert_F._Kennedy#Day_of_Affirmation_Address_.281966.29|Day of Affirmation Address]] (1966). * '''My brother was the first [[President of the United States]] to state publicly that [[racial segregation|segregation]] was morally wrong.''' His heart and his soul are in this bill. '''If his life and death had a meaning, it was that we should not hate but love one another; we should use our powers not to create conditions of oppression that lead to violence, but conditions of freedom that lead to peace.''' ** [[Ted Kennedy]], [http://www.tedkennedy.org/ownwords/event/civil_rights.html First Senate floor speech], in support of the [[w:Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights Act of 1964]] (9 April 1964) * '''As President, Jack was a glory on the mountaintop. The New Frontier of which he dreamed touched deep and responsive chords in the American character. He could make [[lightning]] strike on the things he cared about. He was an irresistible force that made immovable objects move. He taught us to redeem the promise of [[Health care in the United States|health care]] for America's senior generation, to whom the nation owes so much of its present [[greatness]]. He taught us to control the [[atom]], to end the threat of [[Nuclear war|nuclear annihilation]], so that we could leave our [[children]] a safer world. He taught us to make freedom ring in America --[[freedom]] for [[Black people|black]] and brown as well as [[White people|white]]; freedom to live and work and vote; freedom to sit at a public lunch counter, to learn in a public classroom, to play [[American football|football]] on a public field. He added a new dimension in [[Foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] by tapping the [[idealism]] of our [[youth]]. He led us beyond [[Earth|our planet]] and [[Apollo 11|launched us toward]] the [[moon]]. And in our own [[w:Western Hemisphere|hemisphere]], he summoned us to a new alliance of effort for the benefit of those less fortunate than ourselves. That is the way it was with Jack. There was a sense of [[progress]] and [[adventure]], a rejection of [[complacency]] and [[conformity]]. There was a common mission, a shared ideal, and above all the joy of high [[purpose]] and great [[achievement]]. Jack believed that America's [[promises]], that [[Challenge|challenges]] are [[Opportunity|opportunities]] in disguise, that our [[spirit]] can soar again.''' ** [[Ted Kennedy]], [https://www.jfklibrary.org/about-us/about-the-jfk-library/history/1979-dedication-remarks-by-senator-kennedy Remarks] at the Dedication Ceremony of the [[w:John F. Kennedy Presidential Library|John F. Kennedy Presidential Library]] (20 October 1979) * Kennedy's posthumous reputation has undergone an extraordinary series of metamorphoses. As could have been predicted, the first revaluation of his character and achievement was almost as depressing as the conspiracy theories; his ''histoire amoureuse'' was being touted around before the first blade of grass had grown on his grave, and soon every whore in America was announcing that he had enjoyed her favours. ** [[Bernard Levin]], "The Last Hurrah", ''The Times'' (November 21, 1988). * And none so poor to do it reverence. What happened? Surely something did, for that portrait of Kennedy can hardly be recognised from the version we have today. He is now widely thought of, when he is thought of at all, as either an earlier model of [[Jimmy Carter|President Carter]], all goodwill and muddle, or a belligerent adventurer likely to follow the Bay of Pigs fiasco with an unprovoked nuclear strike on [[Moscow]]. Was it all show and froth, good looks and rhetoric? I do not believe it. In the first place, Kennedy was not a liberal in the Carter mode (let alone the [[w:Michael Dukakis|Dukakis]] version); it would almost be closer to the reality to say that he was a liberal in the sense of the [[w:Manchester school|Manchester school]]. ** [[Bernard Levin]], "The Last Hurrah", ''The Times'' (November 21, 1988). * Kennedy would have ordered nuclear retaliation on [[Cuba]] — and perhaps the [[Soviet Union]] — if [[nuclear weapons]] had been fired at [[United States Armed Forces|United States forces]]. ** [[Robert McNamara]], U.S. secretary of defense under President John F. Kennedy, according to ''The New York Times''; ''On the Brink of Nuclear War'', ''Awake!'' magazine, May 22, 1992. * The extent to which the world was being weighed down by millions of the old still in power, getting older without losing their power, was not nearly as present in [[consciousness]] in the 1960s as it is in the 1970s. The temporary hope of young leadership, who ruled in new countries some fifteen years ago, brightened by the youthful looking President John Kennedy, dwindled as the whole world mourned for him as a symbol of youth destroyed. ** [[Margaret Mead]] ''Culture and Commitment: A Study of the Generation Gap'' (1970) * Less than a year after Lee Harvey Oswald fired from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, the Warren Commission formed by President [[Lyndon Johnson]] completed its investigation into that day. <br> The commission found what it politely called "certain shortcomings and lapses from the high standards which the Commission believes should prevail in the field of Presidential protection." <br> Many dealt with the Secret Service's advance work. No one thought to check the buildings along the motorcade route. There were no formal procedures for working with local law enforcement agencies. <br> Marc Ambinder, who is editor at large of [[w:The Week|The Week]] and has written about the agency, says the Secret Service of 50 years ago was ill-prepared to deal with the gregarious Kennedy. <br> "It's a combination of the fact that the Secret Service playbook was outdated and they had never really encountered a president before John F. Kennedy who loved to mix it up, and loved to get in the middle of huge crowds, and fed off the energy of huge crowds," Ambinder says. <br> After the assassination, the Secret Service made some immediate changes. Open limousines were out. And it began taking a more aggressive approach to its advance work. <br> "Not [[criticizing]] what happened in 1963, but I think it's fair to say that protections changed quite a bit, and how we do things on a day-to-day basis," says Special Agent Brian Leary, who serves as a spokesman for the agency. ** Brian Naylor, [https://www.npr.org/2013/11/07/243769588/how-kennedys-assassination-changed-the-secret-service “How Kennedy's Assassination Changed The Secret Service”], All Things Considered, ''NPR'', (November 7, 2013) * [[Nikita Khrushchev|Nikita Krushchev]]'s eagerness to challenge U.S. interests around the world contributed to the spread of the Cold War in the Middle East, East Asia, Latin America, and even Africa. Krushchev's aggressiveness was motivated not only by a desire to take advantage of an opportunity to expand Soviet influence but also by the perceived Soviet need to fend off a growing challenge by China for leadership of the communist movement. Krushchev's willingness to engage the United States in a nuclear arms race was motivated primarily by his realization that the Soviet Union, despite the continuing development of its nuclear arsenal, was still vulnerable to an American nuclear strike. He undoubtedly believed that the best defense is a good offense and that a forward policy would conceal Soviet nuclear weakness while serving to pressure the West to resolve issues, such as Berlin, to the satisfaction of the Soviet Union. Krushchev's aggressiveness also made Soviet-American reconciliation impossible during the 1950s. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 133-134 * Krushchev's public rhetoric also made Soviet-American reconciliation difficult, if not impossible, early in Kennedy's presidency. On January 6, 1961, the Soviet leader declared his country would support "wars of national liberation" in the underdeveloped world. Krushchev's declaration, wrote the president's confidante and historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., "alarmed Kennedy more than Moscow's amiable signals assuaged him." Although Kennedy was willing to negotiate an end to the Cold War, the Third World challenge which Krushchev threw at him would have to be dealt with first. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 135 * In the opinion of another historian, Bruce Miroff, Kennedy's reaction to Krushchev's blustering revealed an acute inferiority complex, which the president manifested by a perverse need to prove his leadership capabilities. As a result, rather than ignoring or minimizing Krushchev's threats, as Eisenhower usually did, Kennedy personalized them and converted them into tests of will, in the process manufacturing crises that need not have been. "There was really nothing in that [Eisenhower] era comparable to the Berlin crisis of 1961 and the Cuban missile crisis of 1962," Miroff observes, both of which represented the closest approaches to a superpower nuclear war during the Cold War. For whatever reasons, whether they were primarily ideological, political, or psychological- and all were important- in formulating his initial response to the Soviet Union Kennedy chose to emphasize Krushchev's bellicose actions rather than his friendly gestures. Only after Kennedy had proved to the Soviet leader that he was not soft on communism would diplomacy make any headway during his presidency. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 136 * Kennedy was praised nationwide, even by his Republican critics, for his masterly handling of the Cuban missile crisis, a response Schlesinger characterized as a "combination of toughness and restraint." Yet few discussed what could have happened had he failed. Historian Louise FitzSimons points out what many preferred not to think about: "In the flush of success and relief from danger, Kennedy was determined to force Krushchev's total capitulation- no matter the cost." During the height of the crisis, the president himself placed the likelihood of disaster at "somewhere between one out of three and even," and lamented that the world's children might not live out their lives. Ironically, the enhanced short-term prestige that Kennedy experienced in the wake of the Cuban missile crisis only produced greater long-term insecurity for his country. The humiliation Krushchev suffered at the hands of Kennedy during the missile crisis contributed to his removal from power in October 1964. The new Soviet leadership, headed by [[Leonid Brezhnev]], was determined to avoid a repetition of the humiliation Krushchev had experienced. Beginning in early 1965, the Kremlin embarked on a massive expansion of the Soviet nuclear arsenal that would enable the Soviet Union to achieve nuclear parity with the United States by the end of the decade. in addition, Kennedy's triumph in the Cuban missile crisis contributed to the development of what historian William J. Medland has called an "arrogance of power," a belief that the United States had the communists on the run. This new attitude helped to explain the growing U.S. involvement in Vietnam. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 144 * The Cuban missile crisis also had beneficial consequences. The close brush with nuclear war helped create a climate for productive arms control negotiations, which had not existed since the abortive Paris summit of May 1960. Attempting to reduce tensions with the West, Krushchev, on December 19, 1962, sent Kennedy a personal letter inviting him to intensify the effort to conclude a nuclear test ban treaty. With the humiliation of the Bay of Pigs fiasco erased by his astute performance during the Cuban missile crisis, and sobered by the close superpower approach to nuclear war, Kennedy accepted Krushchev's invitation. Six months later, Kennedy delivered the most conciliatory speech on the Soviet Union of his career. In a commencement address at American University on June 10, 1963, he called on Americans to reexamine their attitudes toward the Soviet Union. "In the final analysis," he told his audience, "we all inhabit this small planet... And we are all mortal." Kennedy called on the American people to support his effort to conclude a nuclear test ban agreement. It would be an initial step toward preserving the life of the planet. As a sign of good faith in the ultimate success of the test ban talks, Kennedy announced that the United States would not conduct atmospheric nuclear tests as long as the Soviet Union employed similar restraint. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 144-145 * Despite the limited nature of Kennedy's philosophical transformation after the Cuban missile crisis, his American University speech nevertheless had an extremely favorable impact on the Soviet leadership. Krushchev told [[W. Averell Harriman|Averell Harriman]] that it was the best speech delivered by a U.S. president since Franklin Roosevelt. In response, on June 20 the Soviet signed a "hot line" agreement, which established a direct teletype link between Moscow and Washington. The agreement was designed to reduce the risks of an accidental nuclear was as well as ease tensions during international crises. ** Ronald Powaski, ''The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991'' (1998), p. 145 * Shouldn't someone tag Mr. Kennedy's "bold new imaginative" program with its proper age? Under the tousled boyish haircut it is still old [[Karl Marx]] — first launched a century ago. There is nothing new in the idea of a government being [[Big Brother]] to us all. [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] called his "[[Nazism|State Socialism]]" and way before him it was "benevolent [[monarchy]]." ** [[Ronald Reagan]] in a 1960 letter to the GOP presidential candidate [[Richard Nixon]], quoted in Matthew Dallek's ''The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics'' (2000), p. 38 *Yet another universally held conviction [among Europeans is that] Americans make it a point of honor to elect only mental defectives as Presidents. From the [[Missouri]] tie salesman [[Harry Truman]] to the [[Texas]] cretin [[George W. Bush]], not to mention the peanut farmer [[Jimmy Carter]] and the B-movie actor [[Ronald Reagan]], the White House offers us a gallery of nincompoops. Only John F. Kennedy, in the eyes of the French, rose a little above this undistinguished bunch, probably because he had the merit of having married [[Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis|someone of French extraction]]; naturally, this union could not fail to raise President Kennedy's intelligence to at least average level — but doubtless still too high for his fellow citizens, who never forgave him and ended up assassinating him. ** [[Jean-François Revel]], "[http://eeyore.uh.cz/wp-content/themes/bk/stuff/anti-american%20obsession.pdf Europe's Anti-American Obsession]" (2003) * Jack ought to show a little less profile and a little more courage. ** Former First Lady [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], quoted in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_C._Humes James C. Humes's] ''My Fellow Americans: Presidential Addresses that Shaped History'' (1992). * '''What are the similarities and differences between Presidents Johnson and Kennedy? Both are political pros who exude confidence and, generally speaking, embrace the same broad philosophies. But Kennedy was an idealist; Johnson is a pragmatist. Kennedy was a voracious reader, a stickler for detail; Johnson has little patience to read, he hits at the heart of a problem rather than get enmeshed in detail. Kennedy had little luck with Congress; Johnson's 32 years' experience on Capitol Hill caught him how to handle lawmakers. Kennedy's foreign-policy style had a continental touch; Johnson's has the flavor of a Texas barbeque.''' ** [[w:Bill Scott (voice actor)|Bill Scott]], ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20200429132839/https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1963/Transition-to-Johnson 1963 Year In Review: Transition to Johnson]'' by the United Press International. Archived from the [https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1963/Transition-to-Johnson original] on April 29, 2020. * There was a civil war in this country... Kennedy provoked such hostility and hatred. His death was cheered in the [[Southern United States|South]] because of his support for [[Martin Luther King]]. He was moving to change things on all fronts. He was starting to end the [[Cold War]]. He made a deal with Khruschev and [[Russia]] in 1962 to end the missile crisis, and he furthered the deal when he signed the [[w:Nuclear Test Ban Treaty|Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] in 1963. He installed the Hot Line. He... described the Soviets for the first time in [[History of the United States|American history]] as mortals, like us, who care about their children. He seemed to have an expanding vision of the world, much like [[Mikhail Gorbachev|Gorbachev]] did in Russia in the '80s. People in power are afraid to ask the obvious questions. From Day 1, they accepted the cover story that Oswald did it [assassinated JFK] alone. Oswald said he was the patsy. A lot of people believed him, but not the [[establishment]]. Since that day, the media has chanted the mantra that Oswald did it alone. But the American public, which has been brainwashed with that for 28 years, has never accepted it. They smell a rat. ** [[Oliver Stone]] in [https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/oliver-stone-defends-jfk-against-conspiracy-of-dunces ''Oliver Stone Defends 'JFK' against conspirancy Dunces by Roger Ebert Interviews''] (22 December 1991) * The most shocking part [about the assassination of JFK] is...the sequence of the shooting, the timing,... the wounds and the autopsy. It's all quite shocking when you...think seriously about it. It doesn't make any sense the way they described it. That's the most shocking part of the case. When you start to investigate Oswald, of course there are a thousand interesting things that come up. The files on Oswald were much more closely supervised by the CIA then we knew at the time and were omitted by the [[w:Warren Commission|Warren Commission]]. They treated it like a routine investigation, but it was hardly so.<BR>We draw a line between the cover-up and the assassination. The cover-up is filled with another cast of characters. That is to say, the Warren Commission itself, who is in charge of the investigation; and the main man, Alan Dulles, the ex-chief of the CIA and one of the most powerful figures in government. He was fired by Kennedy, as were all his top officials, two years earlier. He was put in charge of the investigation and buried certain information. That's part of the cover-up. ** [[Oliver Stone]] quoted in [https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/oliver-stone-looks-back-at-jfk-171783/ Oliver Stone Looks Back at ‘JFK’, ''Rolling Stone'' ](4 November 2013) * As one of our interviewers... says in the film, once you kill a sitting president in high noon in Dealey Plaza and blow his head off, you're not going to go back to normal and say, "Oh, wow! We found this whacky--this crazy lone nut who killed him." It doesn't work. It doesn't really work as a narrative for this country. What happened was much deeper than that, and there was so many inconsistencies, so many holes in the Warren Commission... The point is that you cannot remove legitimacy from government like that and get away with it, and the people knew something was wrong. They didn't know exactly what was wrong, but they sensed that something had gone astray, like [[anarchy]] has set in. Some method of control was being exerted because forces that were more powerful than one person were able to kill him, forces that were somewhat, I mean, clearly related to [[CIA|intelligence agencies]], to possible military agencies, and these forces came to dominate American life... ** [[Oliver Stone]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/05/12/transcript-conversation-with-oliver-stone/ Transcript: A Conversation with Oliver Stone,] (streamed live [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5pgnQ2M9tg on youtube]) ''The Washington Post'' (12 May 2021) *'''After Kennedy was killed, and nobody asked, you know, what was Kennedy's real policy on Vietnam? Well... he was going to pull out of Vietnam. He was very clear about it,''' and that's what people get confused. Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, who took over the office went right to war quickly... this is... where we went to a war on a false basis. It was a lie, another lie, and that war was a disaster... Unfortunately, the same forces that made that war happen continued in our life, and they controlled us and pushed us into another war and another war and another war... ** [[Oliver Stone]], [https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/05/12/transcript-conversation-with-oliver-stone/ Transcript: A Conversation with Oliver Stone,] (streamed live [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5pgnQ2M9tg on youtube]) ''The Washington Post'' (12 May 2021) * I was charmed and delighted by Kennedy personally, and certainly he was intelligent. But any man who gave us an invasion of Cuba, a missile crisis, and the war in Vietnam in 1,000 days — give him another 1,000 days, and we would be irradiated atoms in space. No, he was a mistake as president. ** [[Gore Vidal]], quoted in ''I Told You So: Gore Vidal Talks Politics: Interviews with Jon Wiener'' (2013). * He was in my view the most dangerous cold warrior that we have had since the end of World War II. ** Historian [[w:Richard Walton|Richard Walton]], "Kennedy Remembered", ''Newsweek'', November 28, 1983. * John Kennedy, in his youth and good looks, brought a new generation to replace the dour faces of the Eisenhower administration, and added social glamour and greater public-relations skills to the presidency's power. He was the first president for whom television- particularly his witty and informative news conferences, broadcast live- became a calculated political instrument. In his term, too, the president's responsibility for managing the national economy was acknowledged and accepted. Kennedy's brief tenure, coinciding with the apogee of American power in the world, made him a sort of young emperor; and his murder was doubly shocking because Americans, by 1963, considered their president somehow preeminent over mere mortals, as superior as the nation itself, thus lacking ordinary human vulnerability. ** Tom Wicker, ''One Of Us: Richard Nixon and the American Dream'' (1991), p. 677 *On 13 March 1962, a US military memo was circulated outlining Operation Northwoods: plans to initiate a wave of false flag terrorist attacks in order to justify military intervention in Cuba. Declassified documents describe the proposed plan: "We could develop a Cuban Communist terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington… The terror campaign could be pointed at Cubans refugees seeking haven in the United States. We could sink a boatload of Cubans en route to Florida (real or simulated.) We could foster attempts on lives of Cuban refugees in the United States... Exploding a few plastic bombs in carefully chosen spots." President John F Kennedy declined to implement the plan and removed its author, General Lemnitzer, as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, causing a rift with some military officials who perceived him as being soft on Cuba. This was despite the fact that Kennedy had authorised a failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs as well as Operation Mongoose – another covert plan to destabilise the Cuban government which included numerous terrorist attacks on Cuban soil. **[https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8500/operation-northwoods ''Working Class History''] * President Kennedy did not send troops to Alabama when dogs were biting black babies. He waited three weeks until [[Birmingham riot of 1963|the situation exploded]]. He then sent troops after the Negroes had demonstrated their ability to defend themselves. In his talk with Alabama editors Kennedy did not urge that Negroes be treated right because it is the right thing to do. Instead, he said that if the Negroes aren't well treated the [[Islam in the United States|Muslims]] would become a threat. He urged a change not because it is right but because the world is watching this country. Kennedy is wrong because his motivation is wrong. ** [[Malcolm X]], as quoted in M. S. Handler, [https://www.nytimes.com/1963/05/17/archives/malcolm-x-scores-kennedy-on-racial-policy-says-he-is-wrong-because.html "Malcolm X Scores Kennedy on Racial Policy: Says He Is 'Wrong Because His Motivation Is Wrong': Head of Black Muslim Group Cites Birmingham Crisis"], ''The New York Times'', 17 May 1963; accessed [http://search.proquest.com/docview/116651467 via ProQuest]. Also quoted in {{cite book |last1=Cone |first1=James H. |author1-link=James H. Cone |title=Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream Or a Nightmare |date=1991 |publisher=Orbis Books |isbn=978-0-88344-824-3 |page=177 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Martin_Malcolm_America/RVMNAQAAQBAJ?hl=en-419&gbpv=1&dq=did+not+send+troops+to+Alabama+when+dogs+were+biting+black+babies.+He+waited+three+weeks+until+the+situation+exploded.+He+then+sent+troops+after+the+N&pg=PT177&printsec=frontcover }} * By the way, right at that time Birmingham had exploded, and the Negroes in Birmingham—remember, they also exploded. They began to stab the crackers in the back and bust them up 'side their head—yes, they did. That's when Kennedy sent in the troops, down in Birmingham. So, and right after that, Kennedy got on the television and said "this is a moral issue." ** [[Malcolm X]], ''{{w|Message to the Grassroots}}'', King Solomon Baptist Church, Detroit, November 10, 1963. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100507104558/http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=1145 Link online] == See also == * [[List of presidents of the United States]] * [[w:Assassination of John F. Kennedy|Assassination of John F. Kennedy]] * [[JFK (film)]] by [[Oliver Stone]] * [[Jim Garrison]] ==References== {{Reflist}} == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{wikisource author}} {{commonscat}} * [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jk35.html The White House Biography] * [http://www.jfklibrary.org/ John F. Kennedy Library] * {{nndb name|113/000024041}} * [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkhoustonministers.html Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association, at the Rice Hotel in Houston, Texas ([[12 September]] [[1960]])] * [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jfkinaugural.htm Video, Audio, Text of John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address] * [http://honors.umd.edu/HONR269J/archive/JFK630610.html World Peace Speech at The American University ([[10 June]] [[1963]])] * [https://www.yourselfquotes.com/john-f-kennedy-quotes/ John F. Kennedy Quotes] * [http://www.nps.gov/jofi/ John F. Kennedy Birthplace National Historic Site] * [http://search.yale.edu:8765/query.html?col=ycsg&col=opa&col=yaleuniv&col=dynamic&qt=John+F.+Kennedy&charset=iso-8859-1&qp=%2Burl%3Awww.yale.edu%2Flawweb%2Favalon JFK at the Avalon Project] * [http://www.whitehousetapes.org/pages/tapes_jfk.htm JFK's Secret White House Recordings @ University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs] * [http://web.archive.org/web/20011111050047/http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/frus/kennedyjf/ Kennedy Administration Official Documentary Historical Record of Major Foreign Policy Decisions] * [http://www.heraldrysociety.us/presidents/index.php?page=Kennedy Armigerous American Presidents Series] * [http://www.popeducation.org/ The JFK Years And Popular Culture] * [http://vvl.lib.msu.edu/showfindingaid.cfm?findaidid=KennedyJF Audio clips of Kennedy's speeches and other commentary] * [http://masteroftheuniverse.be/home/index.php/index.php/content/view/20/ JFK Reloaded — Recreate the assassination of JFK] * [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6815620069281926168&q=innerviews InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Nelley Connally (TV Interview with an eye witness of the Kennedy assassination)] * [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKindex.htm Assassination of President Kennedy Encyclopaedia] * [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm McAdams website about JFK] * [http://www.csicop.org/si/2005-01/strange-world.html Facts and Fiction in the Kennedy Assassination] * [http://www.rootdig.com/john_f_kennedy.html John F. Kennedy in United States Census Records] * [http://www.doctorzebra.com/prez/g35.htm Medical and Health history of John F. Kennedy] * {{gutenberg author|id=John+F.+Kennedy|name=John F. Kennedy}} * [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/stjohn.htm St. John the Liberal?] * [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000107 Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress] * [http://www.soundboard.com/sb/John_F_Kennedy_JFK.aspx John F. Kennedy Audio Soundboard] * [http://www.kcur.org/UTDarchive.html Gretchen Rubin radio interview: [[November 4]], [[2005]] on ''Up To Date''] * [http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals_iv/sections/jfk_inaugural_address.html John F. Kennedy's inaugural address: from the National Archives] * [http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=34 Presidents of the United States] * [http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22John%20F.%20Kennedy%22 Archive.org collection of audio recordings] * [https://sound-buttons.com/jackal-sounds-sboard-pro/com.jackelsound.buttons.457858 Archive.org collection of audio recordings] {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John Fitzgerald}} [[Category:1917 births]] [[Category:1963 deaths]] [[Category:Presidents of the United States]] [[Category:People from Boston]] [[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1960]] [[Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians]] [[Category:Members of the United States Senate]] [[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives]] [[Category:Journalists from the United States]] [[Category:Non-fiction authors from the United States]] [[Category:Orators from the United States]] [[Category:Anti-communists from the United States]] [[Category:Sailors]] [[Category:Catholics from the United States]] [[Category:Murdered people]] [[Category:Harvard University alumni]] [[Category:Space advocates]] [[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]] [[Category:People of the Cold War]] lzz61ava1rpcieqbzcfboii250p7yao 0 564 3515268 3514951 2024-05-14T12:33:06Z 46.11.46.234 /* Novelas ejemplares (Exemplary Novels) (1613) */ Five quotes wikitext text/x-wiki 02bq17ipmhb32ty9vx2xj494ip8f7uz 0 838 3515457 3507535 2024-05-14T20:34:40Z Philip Cross 7192 /* Quotes */ + link to [[w:George H. W. Bush broccoli comments|]] wikitext text/x-wiki rtxa53ad459589hk4b88a9sqvebx5xn 3515463 3515457 2024-05-14T20:42:21Z Philip Cross 7192 /* Quotes */ YT is not an ideal source, added press report on this incident wikitext text/x-wiki 4w3u13kggfi8o8jgwxkxn35glemk2mg 0 2153 3515389 3515156 2024-05-14T19:34:52Z 67.43.23.34 /* 1980s */added content wikitext text/x-wiki 0i2ipzuvloennotdmy7ec9a8rhnycqe 3515394 3515389 2024-05-14T19:39:10Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Baratiiman wikitext text/x-wiki 2dizy311dhauynlwlu0fg8wq5or69cu 1 2338 3515443 3482397 2024-05-14T20:07:37Z 79.30.43.244 /* to add, from father Gabriele Amorth */ new section wikitext text/x-wiki ig8fmg30oeo87zv8c5az0q9e9t1guyu 3515444 3515443 2024-05-14T20:09:19Z 79.30.43.244 /* to add, from father Gabriele Amorth */ wikitext text/x-wiki snneb8ncjew6a7xvyuy0mwlbnhkd2pv 0 3875 3515398 3480538 2024-05-14T19:40:42Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki 5ei6ga4hlhf4i50vj1rv1m0yulshnkk 3515400 3515398 2024-05-14T19:41:08Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by اقتباسات من اثنين من الصحابة wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Osama bin Laden portrait.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The first thing that we are calling you to is [[Islam]].]] [[File:Defense.gov News Photo 903683-E-GCS64-128.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Thinking people, when disaster strikes, make it their priority to look for its causes, in order to prevent it happening again.]] [[File:Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri 2001.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Just like you kill us, we will kill you.]] [[File:AKM automatkarbin, Ryssland - 7,62x39mm - Armémuseum.jpg|thumb|right|250px|There is no dialogue except with weapons.]] [[File:Synagogue Florence Italy.JPG|thumb|right|250px|These Jews are masters of usury and leaders in treachery. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next.]] [[File:State Department Images WTC 9-11 Injured Fireman at the Memorial Service.jpg|thumb|right|250px|I have already said that we are against the American system, not against its people, whereas in these attacks, the common American people have been killed.]] [[File:Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden.jpg|thumb|right|250px|It would be a sin for Muslims not to try to possess the weapons that would prevent the infidels from inflicting harm on Muslims.]] [[File:Dust covered 911 victims.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Every Muslim, from the moment they realize the distinction in their hearts, hates Americans, hates Jews and hates Christians. For as long as I can remember, I have felt tormented and at war, and have felt hatred and animosity for Americans.]] [[File:UA Flight 175 hits WTC south tower 9-11 edit.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|It is the United States, which is perpetrating every maltreatment on women, children and common people of other faiths, particularly the followers of Islam.]] [[File:911 victims helping one another.jpg|thumb|right|250px|I had no knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of innocent women, children and other humans as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children and other people. Such a practice is forbidden even in the course of a battle.]] [[File:National Park Service 9-11 Statue of Liberty and WTC fire.jpg|thumb|right|250px|If inciting people to do that is terrorism, and if killing those who kill our sons is terrorism, then let history be witness that we are terrorists.]] [[File:Constitution of the United States, page 1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the [[w:Quran|Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws]], [[United States Constitution|choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire]]. [[w:Establishment Clause|You separate religion from your policies]], contradicting the pure nature which affirms Absolute Authority to the [[w:Allah|Lord and your Creator]].]] [[File:Barack Obama annoucing Osama mission.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda ~ [[Barack Obama]]]] [[File:Osama bin Laden compound2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. ~ [[Barack Obama]] ]] [[File:Osama bin Laden hideout-en.svg|thumb|right|250px|A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. ~ [[Barack Obama]]]] [[File:Infobox collage for MENA protests.PNG|thumb|right|250px|Before the Americans, bin Laden had been symbolically killed by the people on Tahrir square and Burghiba avenue. ~ [[w:it:Bernardo Valli|Bernardo Valli]] ]] '''[[w:Osama bin Laden|Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden]]''' ([[10 March]] [[1957]] &ndash; [[2 May]] [[2011]]) was the Saudi Arabian-born founder of [[al-Qaeda]], a [[w:Militant Islam|militant Islamic]] organization that has been involved in [[Terrorism|terrorist]] attacks against civilian and military targets around the world, especially against [[w:Western world|western]] countries and including the [[September 11 attacks]]. He was also a member of major construction company [[w:Saudi Binladin Group|Saudi Binladin Group]] run by [[w:Binladin family|Binladin family]]. ==Quotes== *In the [[Vietnam War]], the leaders of the White House claimed at the time that it was a necessary and crucial war, and during it, [[Donald Rumsfeld]] and his aides murdered two million villagers. And when [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] took over the [[President of the United States|presidency]] and deviated from the general line of policy drawn up for the White House and wanted to stop this unjust war, that angered the owners of the major [[corporations]] who were benefiting from its continuation. And so [[w:assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy|Kennedy was killed]], and [[Al-Qaeda|al-Qaida]] wasn't present at that time, but rather, those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing. And the war continued after that for approximately one decade. But after it became clear to you that it was an unjust and unnecessary war, you made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war, not even the most violent of its murderers, Rumsfeld. **As quoted in [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/09/bin_laden_rumsfeld_responsible.html ''The Washington Post''], Osama bin Laden, video, September 2007. ===1990s=== ====Declaration of War against the Americans (1996)==== :<small>[http://www.mideastweb.org/osamabinladen1.htm Osama Bin Laden's Jihad and text of Fatwahs and Declaration of War], [http://web.archive.org/web/20011031024057/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html Text of the August 1996 Fatwa at PBS]</small> <!--Full name: "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places" --> * It should not be hidden from you that the people of [[Islam]] had suffered from aggression, iniquity and injustice imposed on them by the [[w:Zionism|Zionist]]-[[w:Tenth Crusade|Crusaders]] alliance and their collaborators; to the extent that the Muslims blood became the cheapest and their wealth as loot in the hands of the enemies. Their blood was spilled in [[Palestine]] and [[w:Persian Gulf War|Iraq]]. The horrifying pictures of the [[w:Operation Grapes of Wrath|massacre of Qana]], in [[w:Lebanon|Lebanon]] are still fresh in our memory. Massacres in [[w:Civil War in Tajikistan|Tajikistan]], [[w:8888 Uprising|Burma]], [[Kashmir conflict|Kashmir]], [[w:National Democratic Front of Bodoland|Assam]], [[w:Moro Islamic Liberation Front|Philippines]], [[w:South Thailand insurgency|Pattani]], [[w:Ogaden War|Ogaden]], [[w:Somali Civil War|Somalia]], [[w:Eritrean War of Independence|Eritrea]], [[w:First Chechen War|Chechnya]], and in [[Yugoslav Wars|Bosnia-Herzegovina]] took place, massacres that send shivers in the body and shake the [[conscience]]. All of this and the world watch and hear, and not only didn't respond to these atrocities, but also with a clear [[conspiracy]] between the USA and its' allies and under the cover of the iniquitous [[w:United Nations|United Nations]], the dispossessed people were even prevented from obtaining arms to defend themselves. The people of [[Islam]] awakened and realized that they are the main target for the aggression of the Zionist-Crusaders alliance. All false claims and [[propaganda]] about "[[Human rights|Human Rights]]" were hammered down and exposed by the massacres that took place against the [[Muslim|Muslims]] in every part of the world. ====Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders (1998)==== :<small>[http://web.archive.org/web/20130726022157/http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm English translation of a statement] in ''[[w:Al-Quds_Al-Arabi|al-Quds al-Arabi]]'' (23 February 1998) [http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/news/osama.htm "Summary/Review of Reports Concerning Threats by Osama Bin Laden to Conduct Terrorist Operations Against the United States and/or her Allies - 23 February 1998 to 16 June 1998"]</small> <!--Official title: Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders --> * '''First''', for over seven years the [[United States]] has been occupying the lands of Islam in [[Saudi Arabia|the holiest of places]], the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples. <br> If some people have in the past argued about the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it. The best proof of this is the Americans' continuing aggression against the [[Iraq|Iraqi]] people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, but they are helpless.<br> '''Second''', despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, which has exceeded 1 million... despite all this, the Americans are once again trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation. <br> So here they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors. <br> '''Third''', if the Americans' aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the [[Jews]]' petty state and divert attention from its occupation of [[Jerusalem]] and murder of Muslims there. The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, [[Egypt]], and [[Sudan]] into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel's survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula. * The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the [[w:Al-Aqsa Mosque|al-Aqsa Mosque]] and the holy mosque <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Mecca]]] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any [[Muslim]]. ====''ABC'' interview (1998)==== :<small>[http://web.archive.org/web/19990508145341/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.html Interview with ''ABC'' reporter John Miller (May 1998)]</small> *The call to wage war against America was made because America has spear-headed the crusade against the Islamic nation, sending tens of thousands of its troops to the land of the two Holy Mosques over and above its meddling in its affairs and its politics, and its support of the oppressive, corrupt and tyrannical regime that is in control. These are the reasons behind the singling out of America as a target. And not exempt of responsibility are those Western regimes whose presence in the region offers support to the American troops there. We know at least one reason behind the symbolic participation of the Western forces and that is to support the [[Antisemitism|Jewish and Zionist]] plans for expansion of what is called the Great Israel. Surely, their presence is not out of concern over their interests in the region. … Their presence has no meaning save one and that is to offer support to the Jews in Palestine who are in need of their [[Christianity|Christian]] brothers to achieve full control over the Arab Peninsula which they intend to make an important part of the so called Greater Israel. * After our victory in [[Afghanistan]] and the defeat of the oppressors who had killed millions of Muslims, the legend about the invincibility of the superpowers vanished. Our boys no longer viewed [[United States|America]] as a superpower. So, when they left Afghanistan, they went to [[Somalia]] and prepared themselves carefully for a long war. They had thought that the [[United States|Americans]] were like the [[Russia]]ns, so they trained and prepared. They were stunned when they discovered how low was the morale of the [[United States Armed Forces|American soldier]]. [[United States|America]] had entered with 30,000 soldiers in addition to thousands of soldiers from different countries in the world. … As I said, our boys were shocked by the low morale of the American soldier and they realized that the American soldier was just a paper tiger. *Any effort directed against America and the Jews yields positive and direct results, Allah willing. It is far better for anyone to kill a single American soldier than to squander his efforts on other activities. *We believe that [[Bill Clinton|this administration]] represents Israel inside America. Take the sensitive ministries such as the [[w:United States Department of State|Ministry of Exterior]] and the Ministry of Defense and the CIA, you will find that the Jews have the upper hand in them. They make use of America to further their plans for the world, especially the Islamic world. American presence in the Gulf provides support to the Jews and protects their rear. And while millions of Americans are homeless and destitute and live in abject poverty, their government is busy occupying our land and building new settlements and helping Israel build new settlements in the point of departure for our Prophet's midnight journey to the seven heavens. America throws her own sons in the land of the two Holy Mosques for the sake of protecting Jewish interests. *I am one of the servants of [[Allah]]. We do our duty of fighting for the sake of the [[religion]] of Allah. It is also our duty to send a call to all the people of the world to enjoy this great light and to embrace Islam and experience the happiness in Islam. Our primary mission is nothing but the furthering of this religion. ... Let not the West be taken in by those who say that Muslims choose nothing but slaughtering. Their brothers in [[Eastern Europe|East Europe]], in [[Turkey]] and in [[Albania]] have been guided by Allah to submit to Islam and to experience the bliss of Islam. Unlike those, the [[Europe|European]] and the American people and some of the Arabs are under the influence of Jewish media. ====''Time'' magazine interview (23 December 1998)==== :<small>[http://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,17676,00.html ''Time'' magazine interview (23 December 1998)]</small> <!--:<small>[http://web.archive.org/web/19990508142833/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/edicts.html ''Time'' magazine interview (23 December 1998)]</small>--> * The International Islamic Front for Jihad against the U.S. and Israel has, by the grace of God, issued a crystal-clear fatwah calling on the [[Islamic world|Islamic nation]] to carry on jihad aimed at liberating holy sites. The nation of [[Muhammad]] has responded to this appeal. If the instigation for jihad against the Jews and the Americans in order to liberate al-Aksa Mosque and the Holy Ka'aba is considered a crime, then let history be a witness that I am a [[Crime|criminal]]. Our job is to instigate and, by the grace of God, we did that, and certain people responded to this instigation. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'Are you responsible for the bomb attacks on the two American embassies in Africa?' * What I know is that those who risked their lives to earn the pleasure of God are real men. They managed to rid the Islamic nation of disgrace. We hold them in the highest esteem. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'Do you know the men who have been arrested for these attacks?' * Wadih el-Hage was one of our brothers whom God was kind enough to steer to the path of relief work for [[w:Afghan_refugees|Afghan refugees]]. I still remember him, though I have not seen him or heard from him for many years. He has nothing to do with the U.S. allegations. As for Mohamed Rashed al-'Owhali, we were informed that he is a Saudi from the province of Najd. The fact of the matter is that America, and in particular the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]], wanted to cover up its failure in the aftermath of the events that took place in Riyadh, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Capetown, Kampala--and other places, God willing, in the future--by arresting any person who had participated in the Islamic jihad in Afghanistan. We pray to God to end the plight, and we are confident they will be exonerated. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'But all those arrested are said to have been associated with you.' * There is no doubt that the treacherous attack has confirmed that [[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[United States|America]] are acting on behalf of Israel and the Jews, paving the way for the Jews to divide the Muslim world once again, enslave it and loot the rest of its wealth. A great part of the force that carried out the attack came from certain gulf countries that have lost their sovereignty. Now infidels walk everywhere on the land where Muhammad was born and where the Koran was revealed to him. The situation is serious. The rulers have become powerless. Muslims should carry out their obligations, since the rulers of the region have accepted the invasion of their countries. These countries belong to Islam and not the rulers. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'How do you react to the December attack on Iraq by U.S. and British forces?' * Any thief or criminal or robber who enters another country in order to steal should expect to be exposed to murder at any time. For the American forces to expect anything from me personally reflects a very narrow perception. Thousands of millions of Muslims are angry. The Americans should expect reactions from the Muslim world that are proportionate to the injustice they inflict. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'What can the U.S. expect from you now?' * Acquiring weapons for the defense of Muslims is a religious duty. If I have indeed acquired these weapons, then I thank God for enabling me to do so. And if I seek to acquire these weapons, I am carrying out a duty. It would be a sin for Muslims not to try to possess the weapons that would prevent the infidels from inflicting harm on Muslims. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'The U.S. says you are trying to acquire chemical and nuclear weapons.' *The U.S. knows that I have attacked it, by the grace of God, for more than 10 years now. The U.S. alleges that I am fully responsible for the killing of its soldiers in Somalia. God knows that we have been pleased at the killing of American soldiers. This was achieved by the grace of God and the efforts of the mujahedin from among the Somali brothers and other Arab mujahedin who had been in Afghanistan before that. America has been trying ever since to tighten its economic blockade against us and to arrest me. It has failed. This blockade does not hurt us much. We expect to be rewarded by God. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'The U.S. is trying to stop the flow of funds to your organization. Has it been able to do so?' * Winds of change have blown in order to lift the injustice to which the world is subjected by America and its supporters and the Jews who are collaborating with them. Look at what is happening these days in Indonesia, where Suharto, a despot who ruled for 30 years, was overthrown. The time will come, sooner rather than later, when criminal despots who betrayed God and his Prophet, and betrayed their trust and their nation, will face the same fate. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'Is your Islamic message having an impact?' * We should fully understand our religion. Fighting is a part of our religion and our [[Sharia|Shari'a]]. Those who love God and his Prophet and this religion cannot deny that. Whoever denies even a minor tenet of our religion commits the gravest sin in Islam. Those who sympathize with the infidels-such as the PLO in [[Palestine]] or the so-called Palestinian Authority--have been trying for tens of years to get back some of their rights. They laid down arms and abandoned what is called violence and tried peaceful bargaining. What did the Jews give them? They did not give them even 1% of their rights. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'But there are many Muslims who do not agree with your kind of violence.' * Hostility toward America is a religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. To call us Enemy No. 1 or 2 does not hurt us. Osama bin Laden is confident that the Islamic nation will carry out its duty. I am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is [[United States|America]]. ** In response to the interviewer stating: 'America, the world's only superpower, has called you Public Enemy Number One. Are you worried?' ===2000s=== * As for those who condemned these operations looked at the event [<nowiki/>[[September 11 attacks|9/11]]] in isolation and failed to connect them to past events and did not look at the causes that lead to this result. So their point of view is narrow. ** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dls5JTD-uG0 Al - Jazeera Broadcast Tape - On 9/11 and the American reaction] (The date of this tape is not provided, though it seems to be 2002 or 2003, but could be as early as October 2001.) ====2001==== * In today's wars, there are no morals. We believe the worst thieves in the world today and the worst terrorists are the Americans. We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets. ** As quoted in [http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010924/wosama.html "The Most Wanted Man in the World"] (16 September 2001), ''Time'' magazine profile. * The pieces of the bodies of infidels were flying like dust particles. If you would have seen it with your own eyes, you would have been very pleased, and your heart would have been filled with joy. ** As quoted in [http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101010924/wosama.html "The Most Wanted Man in the World"] (16 September 2001), ''Time'' magazine profile. * I'm fighting so I can die a martyr and go to heaven to meet God. Our fight now is against the Americans. ** Statement in ''al-Quds al-Arabi'', as quoted in "Bin Laden: I Didn't Do It" CBS News (12 September 2001); also at [http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/scar_l.htm Positive Atheism's "Big List of Scary Quotes"] * I was not involved in the [[September 11 attacks]] in the United States nor did I have knowledge of the attacks.<br>There exists a [[government]] within a government within the United States.<br>The United States should try to trace the perpetrators of these attacks within itself.<br>That secret government must be asked as to who carried out the attacks.<br>The American system is totally in control of the Jews, whose first priority is Israel, not the United States. ** 22 September 2001, statement of denial published by the BBC, per 2008 book [https://books.google.ca/books?id=EQACBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT123#v=onepage&q&f=false The 9/11 Mystery Plane] * Neither I had any knowledge of these attacks nor I consider the [[Civilian casualties|killing of innocent women, children, and other humans]] as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent [[women]], [[children]], and other people. Such a practice is forbidden ever in the course of a battle. … It is the United States, which is perpetrating every maltreatment on women, children and common people of other faiths, particularly the followers of Islam. ** Interview with ''Karachi Ummat'' (28 September 2001). I have already said that we are against the American system, not against its people, whereas in these attacks, the common American people have been killed. ** Interview with ''Karachi Ummat'' (28 September 2001). * Every Muslim must rise to defend his religion. The wind of faith is blowing. ** [http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0302/timeline.bin.laden.audio/content.1.html Video statement broadcast on the Arabic-language ''Al-Jazeera'' TV station. (7 October 2001)]. * [H]istory should be a witness that we are terrorists.<br>Yes, we kill their innocents<br>The Twin Towers were legitimate targets, they were supporting [[Economy of the United States|US economic power]].<br>These events were great by all measurement.<br>What was destroyed were not only the towers, but the towers of morale in that country.<br>blessed by Allah to destroy America's economic and military landmarks<br>If avenging the killing of our people is terrorism then history should be a witness that we are terrorists.<br>Yes, we kill their innocents and this is legal religiously and logically.<br>The towers were supposed to be filled with supporters of the economical powers of the United States who are abusing the world.<br>Those who talk about civilians should change their stand and reconsider their position.<br>We are treating them like they treated us.<br>There are two types of terror, good and bad.<br>What we are practising is good terror.<br>We will not stop killing them and whoever supports them.<br>Bush and Blair don't understand anything but the power of force.<br>Every time they kill us, we kill them, so the balance of terror can be achieved.<br>It is the duty of every Muslim to fight.<br>Killing Jews is top priority.<br>If America used chemical or nuclear weapons against us, then we may retort with chemical and [[nuclear weapons]]. We have the weapons as deterrent. **[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1362113/Bin-Laden-Yes-I-did-it.html 11 November 2001] ====2002==== * We had notification since the previous Thursday that the event would take place that day. We had finished our work that day and had the radio on. It was 5:30 PM our time. I was sitting with Dr. Ahmad Abu al-Khair. Immediately, we heard the news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. * I tell you, freedom and human rights in America are doomed. The U.S. government will lead the American people in — and the West in general — into an unbearable hell and a choking life. ** Al-Jazeera interview, (21 October 2001), as reported in [http://articles.cnn.com/2002-01-31/us/gen.binladen.interview_1_al-jazeera-qatar-based-network-bin-laden?_s=PM:US "Bin Laden's sole post-September 11 TV interview aired" ''CNN'' (31 January 2002)]. * When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse. ** Video interview, quoted in ''Analyzing Leaders, Presidents and Terrorists'' by Diane E. Holloway [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Jc7CY1yV1g8C&pg=PA325 page 325], with [https://www.npr.org/news/specials/response/investigation/011213.binladen.transcript.html NPR transcript] (9 November 2001) * We say our terror against America is blessed terror in order to put an end to suppression, in order for the United States to stop its support to Israel. ** [http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0302/timeline.bin.laden.audio/content.5.html Video statement broadcast on the Arabic-language ''Al-Jazeera'' TV station. (26 December 2001)]. * If inciting people to do that is terrorism, and if killing those who kill our sons is terrorism, then let history be witness that we are terrorists. ** On the [[w:September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]], in [http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0302/timeline.bin.laden.audio/content.6.html CNN broadcast of an interview] that Al-Jazeera conducted in October 2001 (31 January 2002). * These Jews are masters of [[usury]] and leaders in [[treachery]]. They will leave you nothing, either in this world or the next. ** As quoted in ''Messages to the World'' (2005), by Bruce Lawrence, p. 190. Also from 53-minute audiotape that "was circulated on various websites" dated February 14, 2003. "Among a Band of Knights". * Just like you kill us, we will kill you. ** [http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0302/timeline.bin.laden.audio/content.11.html Audiotape aired on ''Al-Jazeera'' (12 November 2002)]. =====Letter to the American people (2002)===== :<small>'''[http://web.archive.org/web/20130826184301/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver "Letter to the American people"], ''The Observer'' (24 November 2002), via the Internet Archive. On 15 November 2023, the website [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver took down] the original article.'''</small> * The first thing that we are calling you to is [[Islam]]. The religion of the Unification of God; of freedom from associating partners with Him, and rejection of this; of complete love of Him, the Exalted; of complete submission to His Laws; and of the discarding of all the opinions, orders, theories and religions which contradict with the religion He sent down to His Prophet [[Muhammad]] (peace be upon him). Islam is the religion of all the prophets, and makes no distinction between them - peace be upon them all. It is to this religion that we call you; the seal of all the previous religions. It is the religion of Unification of God, sincerity, the best of manners, righteousness, mercy, honour, purity, and piety. It is the religion of showing kindness to others, establishing justice between them, granting them their rights, and defending the oppressed and the persecuted. It is the religion of enjoining the good and forbidding the evil with the hand, tongue and heart. It is the religion of [[Jihad]] in the way of Allah so that Allah's Word and religion reign Supreme. And it is the religion of unity and agreement on the obedience to [[Allah]], and total equality between all people, without regarding their colour, sex, or language. It is the religion whose book - the [[Quran]] - will remained preserved and unchanged, after the other Divine books and messages have been changed. The Quran is the miracle until the Day of Judgment. Allah has challenged anyone to bring a book like the Quran or even ten verses like it. * You are the nation who, rather than ruling by the [[w:Quran|Shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws]], [[United States Constitution|choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire]]. [[w:Establishment Clause|You separate religion from your policies]], contradicting the pure nature which affirms Absolute Authority to the [[w:Allah|Lord and your Creator]]. You flee from the embarrassing question posed to you: How is it possible for Allah the Almighty to create His creation, grant them power over all the creatures and land, grant them all the amenities of life, and then deny them that which they are most in need of: knowledge of the laws which govern their lives? * Your law is the law of the rich and wealthy people, who hold sway in their political parties, and fund their election campaigns with their gifts. Behind them stand the Jews, who control your policies, media and economy. * We also advise you to pack your luggage and get out of our lands. We desire for your goodness, guidance, and righteousness, so do not force us to send you back as cargo in coffins. * Sixthly, we call upon you to end your support of the corrupt leaders in our countries. Do not interfere in our politics and method of education. '''Leave us alone, or else expect us in [[New York City|New York]] and [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]].''' * We also call you to deal with us and interact with us on the basis of mutual interests and benefits, rather than the policies of sub dual, theft and occupation, and not to continue your policy of supporting the Jews because this will result in more disasters for you. * If you fail to respond to all these conditions, then prepare for fight with the Islamic Nation. The Nation of Monotheism, that puts complete trust on Allah and fears none other than Him. The Nation which is addressed by its Quran with the words: 'Do you fear them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him if you are believers. Fight against them so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of believing people. And remove the anger of their [Muslims'] hearts'. ====2003==== * We will continue to fight you as long as we have weapons in our hands. ** [http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0302/timeline.bin.laden.audio/content.13.html Audiotape aired on ''Al-Jazeera'' (18 October 2003)]. * There is no dialogue except with weapons. ** Audiotape aired on ''Al-Jazeera'' (18 October 2003). ====2004==== * [[Iraq War|This war in Iraq]] makes millions of dollars for big corporations, either weapons manufacturers or those working in the reconstruction, such as Halliburton and its sister companies. . . It is crystal clear who benefits from igniting the fire of this war and this bloodshed: They are the merchants of war, the bloodsuckers who run the policy of the world from behind the scenes. [[George W. Bush|President Bush]] and his ilk, the media giants, and the U.N. . . all are a fatal danger to the world, and the Zionist lobby is their most dangerous member. God willing, we will persist in fighting them. . . ** Reported in [https://books.google.com/books?id=zUYhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA33 Strategic Culture and Violent Non-state Actors: Weapons of Mass Destruction and Asymmetrical Operations Concepts and Cases] by James M. Smith, Jerry Mark Long, Thomas H. Johnson, p. 33, USAF Institute for National Security Studies, 2008 * Every Muslim, from the moment they realize the distinction in their hearts, [[Anti-Americanism|hates Americans]], [[Antisemitism in the Arab world|hates Jews]] and hates Christians. For as long as I can remember, I have felt tormented and at war, and have felt hatred and animosity for Americans. ** As quoted in ''Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama bin Laden'' (2005) by Bruce Lawrence <small> {{ISBN|1844670457}} </small> * The events that affected my soul in a direct way started in 1982 when America permitted the Israelis to invade Lebanon and the American Sixth Fleet helped them in that. This bombardment began and many were killed and injured and others were terrorised and displaced. <br /> I couldn't forget those moving scenes, blood and severed limbs, women and children sprawled everywhere. Houses destroyed along with their occupants and high rises demolished over their residents, rockets raining down on our home without mercy. <br / > The situation was like a crocodile meeting a helpless child, powerless except for his screams. Does the crocodile understand a conversation that doesn't include a weapon? And the whole world saw and heard but it didn't respond. <br / > In those difficult moments many hard-to-describe ideas bubbled in my soul, but in the end they produced an intense feeling of rejection of tyranny, and gave birth to a strong resolve to punish the oppressors. <br / >And as I looked at those demolished towers in [[Lebanon]], it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and that we should destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children. <br /> And that day, it was confirmed to me that oppression and the intentional killing of innocent women and children is a deliberate American policy. Destruction is freedom and democracy, while resistance is terrorism and intolerance.<br /> This means the oppressing and embargoing to death of millions as Bush Sr did in Iraq in the greatest mass slaughter of children mankind has ever known, and it means the throwing of millions of pounds of bombs and explosives at millions of children - also in Iraq - as Bush Jr did, in order to remove an old agent and replace him with a new puppet to assist in the pilfering of Iraq's oil and other outrages. <br /> So with these images and their like as their background, the events of September 11th came as a reply to those great wrongs, should a man be blamed for defending his sanctuary? ** [http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2004/11/200849163336457223.html "Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech"], Aljazeera, (1 Nov 2004) * As for it's results, they have been, by the grace of Allah, positive and enormous, and have, by all standards, exceeded all expectations. This is due to many factors, chief among them, that we have found it difficult to deal with the [[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] in light of the resemblance it bears to the regimes in our countries, half of which are ruled by the [[military]] and the other half which are ruled by the sons of [[King|kings]] and [[President|presidents]]. <br> Our experience with them is lengthy, and both types are replete with those who are characterised by pride, arrogance, greed and misappropriation of wealth. This resemblance began after the visits of [[George H. W. Bush|Bush Sr]] to the region. <br /> At a time when some of our compatriots were dazzled by America and hoping that these visits would have an effect on our countries, all of a sudden he was affected by those [[Monarchy|monarchies]] and military regimes, and became envious of their remaining decades in their positions, to embezzle the public wealth of the nation without supervision or [[accounting]]. <br /> So he took [[dictatorship]] and suppression of freedoms to his son and they named it the Patriot Act, under the pretence of fighting terrorism. In addition, Bush sanctioned the installing of sons as state governors, and didn't forget to import expertise in election fraud from the region's presidents to Florida to be made use of in moments of difficulty. ** [http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2004/11/200849163336457223.html "Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech"], Aljazeera, (1 Nov 2004) =====[[w:2004 Osama bin Laden video|2004 Video Broadcast on ''Al-Jazeera'' October 29]]===== <small>Al-Jazeera transcript [https://web.archive.org/web/20150317132224/http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2004/11/200849163336457223.html]</small> * Your security is not in the hands of [[John Kerry|Kerry]] or [[George W. Bush|Bush]] or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Each and every state that does not tamper with our security will have automatically assured its own security. * Contrary to Bush's claim that we hate freedom. If so, then let him explain to us why we don't strike for example - [[Sweden]]? * No, we fight because we are free men who don't sleep under oppression. We want to restore freedom to our nation, '''just as you lay waste to our nation. So shall we lay waste to yours.''' * '''And as I looked at those demolished towers in Lebanon, it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind and that we should destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children.''' * And it's no secret to you that the thinkers and perceptive ones from among the Americans warned Bush before the war and told him: "All that you want for securing America and removing the weapons of mass destruction - assuming they exist - is available to you, and the nations of the world are with you in the inspections, and it is in the interest of America that it not be thrust into an unjustified war with an unknown outcome." * All that we have mentioned has made it easy for us to provoke and bait this administration. All that we have to do is to send two mujahidin to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al-Qaida, in order to make the generals race there '''to cause America to suffer human, economic, and political losses without their achieving for it anything of note other than some benefits for their private companies.''' All Praise is due to Allah. So we are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah. ====2006==== * No one except a dumb thief plays with the security of others and then makes himself believe he will be secure. Whereas thinking people, when disaster strikes, make it their priority to look for its causes, in order to prevent it happening again. * I am the one in charge of the 19 brothers … I was responsible for entrusting the 19 brothers … with the raids. ** On the [[September 11, 2001 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]], in an audiotape broadcast on Al Jazeera (23 May 2006). ====2007==== * People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. ** [http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/09/new-obl-tape-ir.html "New OBL Tape: Iraq, Democratic Control" ''ABC News'' (7 September 2007)]. ==Quotes about bin Laden== :<small>Alphabetized by author </small> * Last year, when the need to form a fact-finding team to undertake a thorough investigation concerning the hidden elements involved in September 11 incident was brought up; an idea also endorsed by all independent governments and nations as well as by the majority in the United States, my country and myself came under pressure and threat by the [[Federal government of the United States|government of the United States]]. Instead of assigning a fact-finding team, they killed the main perpetrator and threw his body into the sea. Would it not have been reasonable to bring to justice and openly bring to trial the main perpetrator of the incident in order to identify the elements behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin world trade towers? Why should it not have been allowed to bring him to trial to help recognize those who launched terrorist groups and brought wars and other miseries into the region? Is there any classified information that must be kept secret? ** [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], Speech to the United Nations General Assembly (22 September 2011), New York City, New York. * Well, when it was a local problem, the American media did not really care much about it. But until September 11, you saw how this faith of hate, I call it, did to all of us, to New Yorkers and to the rest of the world, honestly. [...] '''[[Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud|Prince Nayif]] condemned bin Laden, and other princes... [[w:Turki_bin_Faisal_Al_Saud|Prince Turki]] condemned bin Laden. They did not condemn that message. They condemned bin Laden. ... Bin Laden learned this in Saudi Arabia. He didn't learn it in the moon. That message that Bin Laden received, it still is taught in Saudi Arabia. And if bin Laden dies, and this policy or curriculum stays, we will have other bin Ladens.''' ** Ahmed Ali, ''[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html Wahhabism: Analysis]''. PBS. * If a [[Blasphemy|blasphemer]] [<nowiki/>[[Salman Rushdie]]] can be given the title "Sir" by the West despite the fact he has hurt the feelings of Muslims, then a '''[[Osama bin Laden|mujahid]]''' [Osama bin Laden] who has been fighting for Islam against the Russians, Americans and British must be given the lofty title of Islam, '''Saifullah.''' ** [[w:Tahir_Ashrafi|Tahir Ashrafi]], Pakistan Ulema Council chairman, quoted in [http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=54140&in_page_id=34 Bin Laden made a Sword of Islam], ''Metro.co.uk'' ([[2007-06-21]]) [[File:King Abdul Aziz Army.jpg|thumb|They did not condemn that message. They condemned bin Laden. ... Bin Laden learned this in Saudi Arabia. He didn't learn it in the moon. That message that Bin Laden received, it still is taught in Saudi Arabia. And if bin Laden dies, and this policy or curriculum stays, we will have other bin Ladens. ~ Ahmed Ali ]] * I would like to emphasize here, on [[w:Al-Arabiya_TV|Al-Arabiya TV]], that I place Sheik Osama on the same level as my father, and I love him perhaps even more than my father. ** Nasser Al-Bahri, AKA "Abu Jandal," former bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, on Al-Arabiya TV (4 May 2007) as quoted in [http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2644.htm "Former Osama bin Laden Bodyguard in Al-Arabiya TV Interview : I Love Him More Than I Love My Own Father" (6 June 2007)]. * At a time when the name Osama bin Laden had appeared almost nowhere in the Western press, Bennett named the man to beware of. “Among private donors to the new generation [of fighters], Usama Bin Ladin is particularly famous for his religious zeal and financial largesse,” she wrote. ** Gina Bennett, “The Wandering Mujahidin: Armed and Dangerous”; as quoted by [[Liza Mundy]], [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/cia-women-counterterrorism-9-11-al-qaeda-warnings/676041/ “The Women Who Saw 9/11 Coming”], ''The Atlantic'', (November 18, 2023); adapted from ''The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA.'' * We know those responsible. In Afghanistan are scores of training camps for the export of terror. Chief amongst the sponsors and organisers is Usama Bin Laden. He is supported, shielded and given succour by the [[Taliban]] regime. Two days before the 11 September attacks, [[Ahmad Shah Massoud|Masood]], the leader of the opposition [[w:Northern Alliance|Northern Alliance]], was assassinated by two suicide bombers. Both were linked to Bin Laden. Some may call that coincidence. I call it payment - payment in the currency these people deal in: blood. Be in no doubt: Bin Laden and his people organised this atrocity. The [[Taliban]] aid and abet him. He will not desist from further acts of terror. They will not stop helping him. ** [[Tony Blair]], Address to the 2001 Labour Party Conference, (7 October 2001) * Not only did [[w:Islamabad|Islamabad]] have advance knowledge of the impending strikes, but at the very least it warned the Taliban leadership—whom Islamabad created and is sponsoring—so that they could ensure that bin Laden, Zawahiri, and their lieutenants were not harmed in the strike. According to Arab sources, the ISI even sent a senior official to Afghanistan to personally warn bin Laden about the impending U.S. strike. ** Bodansky, Yossef - Bin Laden_ the man who declared war on America (2011) * I will screw him in the ass. ** [[George W. Bush]], as quoted in ''Ariel Sharon: An Intimate Portrait'' (2007), by Uri Dan. * Fighting the inflated menace of Osama bin Laden has become big business, generating hundreds of billions of dollars for government agencies and contractors in what one friend of mine in the [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] policy-making stratosphere calls "the [[Military-industrial complex|counterterrorist-industrial complex]]." ** Christopher Dickey, [http://www.newsweek.com/id/135654/output/print Terrorist Triage: Why are the presidential candidates—and so many counterterrorism experts—afraid to say that the Al Qaeda threat is overrated?], ''Newsweek'' * As a human being, bin Laden may have deserved [[compassion]] and even [[forgiveness]], the [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama|Dalai Lama]] said in answer to a question about the assassination of the al-Qaeda leader. But, he said, "Forgiveness doesn't mean forget what happened. … If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures." ** Mitchell Landsberg quoting [[Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama|Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama]], in [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0504-dalai-lama-20110504,0,7229481.story "Dalai Lama suggests Osama bin Laden's death was justified" in ''The Los Angeles Times'' (4 May 2011)]. * Remembering the evils of the past helps to sustain the faithful. Yes, the present may look dark, but that, too, is part of the story before the triumph of the faithful, and paradise comes on earth or in heaven. A few weeks after September 11, 2001, [[Osama bin Laden]] released a tape in which he exulted about the destruction of the [[wikipedia:World_Trade_Center_(1973-2001)|World Trade Center]] towers: “Our Islamic nation has been tasting the same for more than eighty years, of humiliation and disgrace, its sons killed and their blood spilled, its sanctities desecrated.” Few people in the West knew that, for him, Muslim degradation had started in the [[modern age]] with the abolition of the [[wikipedia:Caliphate|caliphate]]. In 1924, in a move that caused little comment in the West, [[Atatürk]], the founder of a new and [[Secularism|secular]] [[Republic of Turkey|Turkey]], had abolished that last office held by the deposed [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sultans. As caliphs they had claimed spiritual leadership of the world’s Muslims. [[wikipedia:Abdulmejid_II|The last one]], a gentle poet, had gone quietly into exile. For many Muslims, from [[Islam in India|India]] to the Middle East, the abolition was a blow to their dream of a united [[Muslim world]] governed according to [[Divine law|God’s laws]]. For Bin Laden and those who thought like him, disunity among Muslims [[Western imperialism in Asia|had allowed Western powers to push the Middle East around]]; to take its [[oil]] and, with the establishment of [[Israel]], its [[land]]; to [[Corruption|corrupt]] its leaders; and to lead ordinary Muslims astray. The [[Saudi Arabia|Saudi]] rulers had committed the ultimate sin of allowing the [[United States]] to bring its troops on to the holy land where Muslims had their most sacred sites. Bin Laden's history includes much more than the past eighty years. The [[wikipedia:Crusades|Crusades]], the defeat of the [[Moors]] in [[Spain]], Western [[imperialism]] in the [[19th century|nineteenth century]], and the evils of the [[20th century|twentieth]] all add up to a dark tale of Muslim humiliation and suffering. Such history keeps followers angry and motivated and attracts new recruits. ** [[Margaret MacMillan]], ''The Uses and Abuses of History'' (2008), pp. 67-68 * Though it took a decade to find bin Laden, there is one consolation for his long evasion of [[justice]]: He lived long enough to witness what some are calling the [[2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests|Arab Spring]], the complete repudiation of his violent [[ideology]]. ** [[John McCain]], in [http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bin-ladens-death-and-the-debate-over-torture/2011/05/11/AFd1mdsG_story.html "Bin Laden’s death and the debate over torture" in ''The Washington Post'' (11 May 2011)]. * In [[United States|America]], we have a figure from [[History of the United States|history]] from 1897 named [[Theodore Roosevelt|Teddy Roosevelt]]. He was a wealthy man, who grew up in a privileged situation and who fought on the front lines. He put together his own men&ndash;hand chose them&ndash;and went to battle. You are like the [[Middle East]] version of [[Theodore Roosevelt|Teddy Roosevelt]]. ** [[w:John Miller|John Miller]], as quoted in [http://web.archive.org/web/19990508145341/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.html interview with John Miller] (May 1998). * By mid-1998, [[CIA|[CIA]] analyst Cindy] Storer had long been warning colleagues that bin Laden's organization had the ability to stage simultaneous attacks. On Friday, August 7, she turned out to be right: Major explosions occurred at U.S. embassies in [[Kenya]] and [[Tanzania]], killing hundreds and injuring thousands. When the attacks were conclusively linked to al-Qaeda, this was, as one operations officer later wrote, a "profound" revelation, in that it showed that bin Laden could conduct "large-scale bombings of U.S. targets."<br />Gradually, the truth was working its way to the agency's seventh floor and to CIA Director [[George Tenet]], who tried to convey to the White House the extent of the threat. A series of plans to capture bin Laden were formed but were rejected by top officials, who worried about how precise the targeting was and the danger of putting civilians at risk. ** [[Liza Mundy]], [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/cia-women-counterterrorism-9-11-al-qaeda-warnings/676041/ “The Women Who Saw 9/11 Coming”], ''The Atlantic'', (November 18, 2023); adapted from ''The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA.'' * As 2000 gave way to 2001, Storer found herself reading terrorist communications that used words like "Olympic-sized" and "Armageddon." In October 2000, suicide bombers in [[Yemen]] blew a hole in the [[w:USS Cole:USS Cole]], killing 17 American sailors, and analysts were shocked when the outgoing [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]] administration did not retaliate. In 2001, Tenet began begging the incoming administration of [[George W. Bush]] to let the [[CIA]] mount an operation that allowed for killing bin Laden rather than capturing him. Analysts expected that another major attack could happen in the summer, and Storer felt responsibility and dread: This is going to happen on your watch. ** [[Liza Mundy]], [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/cia-women-counterterrorism-9-11-al-qaeda-warnings/676041/ “The Women Who Saw 9/11 Coming”], ''The Atlantic'', (November 18, 2023); adapted from ''The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA.'' * Osama bin Laden understands that he cannot defeat the U.S. in a conventional war. What he and his allies can do is inflict enough pain to provoke a reaction of the sort we've seen in Iraq&ndash;a botched and ill-advised U.S. military incursion into a Muslim country, which in turn spurs on insurgencies based on religious sentiment and nationalist pride, which in turn necessitates a lengthy and difficult U.S. occupation. All of this fans anti-American sentiment among Muslims, and increases the pool of potential terrorist recruits. That’s the plan for winning a war from a cave, and so far, we are playing to script. To change that script, we'll need to make sure that any exercise of American military power helps rather than hinders our broader goals: to incapacitate the destructive potential of terrorist networks and win this global battle of ideas. ** [[Barack Obama]], as quoted in ''Audacity of Hope'' (2006), p. 307. * Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda. ** [[Barack Obama|Barack H. Obama II]], in remarks on the death of bin Laden - [http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/05/02/remarks-president-osama-bin-laden White House transcript and video (1 May 2011)]. * Last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of [[Pakistan]]. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body. ** [[Barack Obama|Barack H. Obama II]], in remarks on the death of bin Laden (2 May 2011). * In May 2011 the United States finally got bin Laden. I felt a great sense of relief and pride as well as gratitude to President Obama for the bold decision to launch the raid that had led to the killing. And I felt vindication for putting into place many of the tools that had led to that day. I always believed that we would get bin Laden. ** [[Condoleezza Rice]], ''No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington'' (2011), p. 120 * We should give him credit for only one thing: unlike other vile tyrants, he did not live in golden palaces, but avoided them. ** Gabriele Romagnoli, ''Osama: Quando Muore un Fantasma'', Vanity Fair (11 May 2011). * [[Osama bin Laden|Osama Bin Laden]] and [[George W. Bush|George Bush]] were both terrorists. They were both building international networks that perpetrate terror and devastate people’s lives. Bush with [[the Pentagon]], the [[World Trade Organization|WTO]], the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]] and the [[World Bank]]. Bin Laden with Al-Qaeda. The difference is that nobody elected Bin Laden... The United States supported [[Saddam Hussein]] and made sure that he ruled with an iron fist for all those years. Then they used the [[United States sanctions|sanctions]] to break the back of [[civil society]]. Then they made Iraq disarm. Then they [[Iraq War|attacked Iraq]]. And now they’ve taken over all its assets. ** [[Arundhati Roy]] in ''The Shape of the Beast: Conversations with Arundhati Roy'' (2008) * Few people know that the first [[w:Interpol|INTERPOL]] Notice for Osama bin Laden was issued in 1998 at the request of [[Libya]], then under [[Muammar Gaddafi|Muammar Ghaddafi]]’s rule. <br> Less than five months later, some 200 people would lose their lives at the hands of [[al Qaeda]] in [[w:Dar es Salaam, Tanzania|Dar es Salaam, Tanzania]] and in [[w:Nairobi, Kenya|Nairobi, Kenya]]. ** [[w:Jurgen Stock|Jurgen Stock]], [https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2023/Opinion-editorial-by-Secretary-General-Juergen-Stock “Opinion editorial by Secretary General Jürgen Stock”], ''INTERPOL'', (9 May 2023) * On the existential plain, Bin Laden was marginalized, out of play, but inside the chrysalis of myth that he had spun about himself he was becoming a representative of all persecuted and humiliated Muslims. His life and the symbols in which he cloaked himself powerfully embodied the pervasive sense of dispossession that characterized the modern Muslim world. In his own miserable exile, he absorbed the misery of his fellow believers, his loss entitled him to speak for theirs, his vengeance would sanctify their suffering. ** [[Lawrence Wright]], ''The Looming Tower''. * In what people irritatingly call "iconic" terms, Bin Laden certainly had no rival. The strange, scrofulous quasi-nobility and bogus spirituality of his appearance was appallingly telegenic, and it will be highly interesting to see whether this charisma survives the alternative definition of revolution that has lately transfigured the Muslim world. The most tenaciously lasting impression of all, however, is that of his sheer irrationality. What had the man thought he was doing? Ten years ago, did he expect, let alone desire, to be in a walled compound in dear little Abbottabad? ... What happened in Abbottobad … has been the second death of Osama bin Laden. His physical one. Meanwhile, his symbolic, political and ideological [death] had already occurred on the squares of Cairo, Tunis, Damascus and Bengasi, where al-Qaeda had been ignored. Nobody exhalted it. Nobody mentioned it. The "Arab spring" has blossomed and exploded for want of democracy and freedom. It is not provoked by Islamic fanaticism, and even less inspired by the idea of a caliphate... launched by bin Laden. It is not a choice. It is outdated, even if its sporadic followers are still able to strike. Before the Americans, bin Laden had been symbolically killed by the people on Tahrir square and Burghiba avenue. ** [[w:it:Bernardo Valli|Bernardo Valli]], in "Il giovane viziato con lo sguardo timido diventato il 'principe del terrore': I soldi del padre e la svolta nella lotta contro l'Urss in Afghanistan" in ''La Republica'' (3 May 2011). * The Sheikh has departed, may God have mercy on him, to his God as a martyr and we must continue on his path of [[jihad]] to expel the invaders from the land of Muslims and to purify it from injustice. Today, and thanks to God, America is not facing an individual or a group, but a rebelling nation, which has awoken from its sleep in a jihadist [[renaissance]]. ** [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], {{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13696051|title=Al-Qaeda posts fresh warning from al-Zawahiri to US|accessdate=June 20, 2011|date=June 8, 2011|publisher=BBC News}} ==In fiction== * [[w:Huey Freeman|Huey]] squeals to the Feds’ [[terrorism]] hotline - :'''Huey''': Why do you keep hanging up on me? I’m telling you the [[truth]]! The '''[[CIA]]''' trained Osama Bin Laden in using terrorism against the [[Soviet Union|soviets]] during the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]]-[[George H.W. Bush|Bush]] administration they gave the [[Afghanistan]] rebels countless amounts of covert funding! :'''[[FBI]]''': Don’t you have better things to be doing? :'''Huey''': Better than fighting terrorism? Heck no! We’re at [[war]]!! :* [[w:Aaron McGruder|Aaron McGruder]], ''[[The Boondocks (comic strip)|The Boondocks]]'', (10/5/2001). == Notes == <references/> ==External links== {{wikipedia}} {{wikisource author}} {{commonscat}} * [https://archive.is/20041211102312/www.interpol.int/public/data/wanted/notices/data/1998/32/1998_20232.asp Interpol Profile] * [http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/fugitives/laden.htm FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives poster] * [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/ "Hunting Bin Laden" PBS (November 2002)] * [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3570751.stm 'I met Osama bin Laden' BBC News (26 March 2004)] * [http://web.archive.org/web/20051207013018/http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/051212fa_fact "Young Osama" by Steve Coll, ''The New Yorker'' (12 December 2005)] * [http://www.printculture.com/item-799.html "Listening to Bin Laden" by Said Shirazi at PrintCulture (31 March 2006)] *{{cite web|url=http://why-war.com/news/2004/03/04/fulltext.html|title=Transcript: Full Text of Bin Ladin 4 January Audio Message|date=4 March 2004}} {{DEFAULTSORT:bin Laden, Osama}} [[Category:1957 births]] [[Category:2011 deaths]] [[Category:People from Riyadh]] [[Category:Organizations and people designated as terrorist]] [[Category:Mass murderers]] [[Category:Arabic poets]] [[Category:Anti-communists]] [[Category:Anti-Semites]] [[Category:Muslims from Saudi Arabia]] [[Category:Religious leaders]] [[Category:Islamists]] [[Category:Civil engineers]] [[Category:Atharis]] <!--Interwikis--> [[ms:Osama bin Laden]] [[mo:Osama bin Laden]] btc8e2y4rpep0j04v1z5e23gof2wr48 4 4250 3515419 3515186 2024-05-14T19:46:14Z Leonidlednev 3105635 /* New report 2024-05-14, 19:01 */ new section wikitext text/x-wiki b9v1kbkt9ik0fpjihrlyqmf81ku56ai 3515432 3515419 2024-05-14T19:52:17Z Koavf 6765 /* New report 2024-05-14, 19:01 */ Reply wikitext text/x-wiki 9dfmns7qeugtjvqxbbmayr2gydgbjbq 3515624 3515432 2024-05-15T06:51:07Z MABot 3002050 Bot: Archiving 8 threads (older than 15 days) to [[Wikiquote:Vandalism in progress/Archive/14]] wikitext text/x-wiki ofbpb9tfzxokz7y5bdmk6fqie04idxo 3515641 3515624 2024-05-15T07:55:36Z MathXplore 3050778 Reporting [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161]] ([[User:Lemonaka/WD.js|WD]]) wikitext text/x-wiki p8zt51qwj7yqt1qpmogd94ls33d64mt 0 5116 3515423 3474876 2024-05-14T19:48:09Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki svoeowluh7u3h2j3bs6zhmqdnpxr7u4 3515424 3515423 2024-05-14T19:48:27Z Leonidlednev 3105635 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Apisite wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg|thumb|Flag of China]] '''{{w|China}}''' ([[w:Simplified Chinese characters|Chinese]]: 中国; {{w|pinyin}}: ''Zhōngguó''), officially the '''People's Republic of China''' ('''PRC'''), is a country in {{w|East Asia}}. It is the world's [[w:List of countries by population (United Nations)|second-most populous country]] with [[w:Demographics of China|a population]] exceeding 1.4 billion. China spans the equivalent of five {{w|time zone}}s and [[w:Borders of China|borders]] fourteen countries by land, tied with [[Russia]] as having the [[w:List of countries and territories by number of land borders|most of any country]] in the world. With an area of nearly 9.6 million square kilometres (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world's [[w:List of countries and dependencies by area|third largest country]] by total land area. The country consists of 22 [[w:Provinces of China|provinces]], five [[w:Autonomous regions of China|autonomous regions]], four [[w:Direct-administered municipalities of China|municipalities]], and two [[w:Special administrative regions of China|special administrative regions]] ([[Hong Kong]] and {{w|Macau}}). The national capital is [[Beijing]], and the [[w:List of cities in China by population|most populous]] city and largest {{w|financial center}} is [[Shanghai]]. __NOTOC__ − {{TOCalpha}} ==Quotes== ===A=== * China, despite many imperfections in its economic and political system, has been the most rapidly growing nation of the past three decades. [[w:poverty in China|Chinese poverty]] until [[Mao Zedong]]’s death had nothing to do with [[w:Chinese culture|Chinese culture]]; it was due to the disastrous way Mao organized the economy and conducted politics. In the 1950s, he promoted the [[w:Great Leap Forward|Great Leap Forward]], a drastic [[industrialization]] policy that led to mass starvation and [[famine]]. In the 1960s, he propagated the [[Cultural Revolution]], which led to the mass persecution of [[Intellectual|intellectuals]] and educated people—anyone whose party loyalty might be doubted. This again led to terror and a huge waste of the society’s talent and resources. In the same way, current Chinese growth has nothing to do with Chinese values or changes in Chinese culture; it results from a process of [[Chinese economic reform|economic transformation]] unleashed by the reforms implemented by [[Deng Xiaoping]] and his allies, who, after Mao Zedong’s death, gradually abandoned [[Socialism|socialist]] economic policies and institutions, first in [[agriculture]] and then in industry. **Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, ''Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty'' (2012) *A neighbor with one billion people equipped with [[Nuclear weapons|nuclear bombs]] and has expanded its military outlays by double digits for 17 years in a row, and it is unclear as to what this is being used for. It is beginning to be a considerable threat. **[[Tarō Asō]], as quoted in [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4551642.stm "Japan alarmed by Chinese 'threat'"], ''BBC'' (22 December 2005) ===B=== *China’s everything. Nothing else matters. We don’t get China right, we don’t get anything right. This whole thing is very simple. China is where [[Nazi Germany]] was in 1929 to 1930. The [[Chinese people|Chinese]], like the [[Germans]], are the most rational people in the world, until they’re not. And they’re gonna flip like Germany in the '30s. You’re going to have a hypernationalist state, and once that happens, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. **[[Steve Bannon]], as quoted in [http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-book-donald-trump.html "Donald Trump Didn’t Want to Be President"] (January 2017), by Michael Wolff, ''NY Mag'' [[File:Yangshuo-Plakate-KangzhanLu-16-SDI2741.jpg|thumb|China as a society, a government, an economy and a culture is quite difficult for us to comprehend today. The changes are so rapid in cities like Beijing and Shanghai and the culture remarkably fluid... China is increasingly influential in the world and more and more people have hopes that China will be a leader... China has ended up playing a critical role in geopolitics more quickly than anybody had anticipated.~{{w|Emanuel Pastreich}}]] *The most striking [[cultural]] shifts in China over the last two decades or so has been the revival, both orchestrated and spontaneous, of tradition. The main trope for [[W:Culture of the People's Republic of China|culture]] in the twentieth century, especially since 1949, has been anti-[[traditionalism]]. As far back as the {{w|May 4th movement}} in 1919, and before, whether it was the financial [[elite]], the [[Liberalism|liberals]], the [[Marxism|Marxists]], or [[Anarchism|anarchists]] they all agreed that China was poor and that one of the causes of that state of affairs was the backward traditional [[W:Chinese culture|culture]]... '''We have witnessed a dramatic reevaluation of tradition in China, and also in other {{w|East Asian}} countries with a [[Confucianism|Confucian]] heritage such as [[Korea]]. This part of the world has witnessed rapid growth over the last three decades that has sharply reduced poverty and the region has remained at peace. So when people look around and ask what do all these countries have in common, one answer is their Confucian heritage. So whereas the previous narrative was that Confucianism undermined modernization and [[economic growth]], now many argue that it actually helps... Chinese thinkers gave much thought to how to select able and virtuous [[political]] [[leaders]], which abilities matter and which virtues matter? Chinese pondered about, and experimented with, mechanisms for selecting leaders. And that tradition continues on today. ** [[Daniel Bell]], as quoted in [http://thediplomat.com/2015/12/interview-daniel-bell/ "Chinese meritocracy and the limits of democracy"] (17 December 2015), by {{w|Emanuel Pastreich}}, ''The Diplomat'' *If I were an [[English people|Englishman]], '''I should esteem the man who advised a war with China to be the greatest living enemy of my country. You would be beaten in the end''', and perhaps a [[revolution]] in [[India]] would follow. ** [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], reported as being from an 1817 conversation in ''The Mind of Napoleon'', ed. and trans. J. Christopher Herold (1955), p. 249. Reported as unverified in ''Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations'' (1989) *A '[[w:Superpower|superpower]]' is a country that wields enough military, political and economic might to convince nations in all parts of the world to do things they otherwise wouldn't. '''Pundits have rushed to label China the next superpower''', and so have many ordinary Americans... Little of China's dramatic economic growth is finding its way into the pockets of Chinese consumers; the byproduct of '''an [[Economy of China|economy]] driven by massive [[w:State-owned enterprises of China|state-owned enterprises]] rather than private''' industry. **[[Ian Bremmer]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150528161550/http://time.com/3899972/us-superpower-status-military/ "These Are the 5 Reasons Why the U.S. Remains the World's Only Superpower: Why Washington can still claim global primacy in the 21st century"] (28 May 2015), ''Time'' * The United States welcomes the emergence of a China that is peaceful and prosperous and that supports international institutions. ** [[George W. Bush]], speech at the White House (April 2006), as quoted in [http://www.c-span.org/video/?192123-1/chinese-president-arrival-ceremony "Chinese President Arrival Ceremony"] (20 April 2006), ''C-SPAN'' ===C=== * There is a tendency in parts of Chinese thinking which says: ''"We need not only to be an important power in the region, we need to dominate the region!"''. ** [[Ashton Carter]], [http://www.charlierose.com/ interview with Charlie Rose] (February 2016) * There is a hush over all [[Europe]], nay, over all the world, broken only by the dull thud of [[Japan during World War II|Japanese]] bombs falling on Chinese cities, on Chinese Universities or near British and American ships. But then, China is a long way off, so why worry? The Chinese are fighting for what the [[Founding Fathers of the United States|founders of the American Constitution]] in their stately language called: “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” And they seem to be fighting very well. Many good judges think they are going to win. Anyhow, let’s wish them luck! Let’s give them a wave of encouragement – as [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|your President]] did last week, when he gave notice about ending the commercial treaty. After all, the suffering Chinese are fighting our battle, the battle of [[democracy]]. They are defending the soil, the good earth, that has been theirs since the dawn of time against cruel and unprovoked [[aggression]]. Give them a cheer across the ocean – no one knows whose turn it may be next. If this habit of [[w:Military dictatorships|military dictatorships]]’ breaking into other people’s lands with [[Bombs|bomb]] and [[w:Shell|shell]] and [[w:Bullet|bullet]], stealing the [[property]] and killing the proprietors, spreads too widely, we may none of us be able to think of summer holidays for quite a while. ** [[Winston Churchill]], [https://winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1939-in-the-wings/a-hush-over-europe/ A Hush Over Europe], 8 August 1939 *The Chinese said of themselves several thousand years ago: "China is a sea that salts all the waters that flow into it." There's another [[Chinese language|Chinese]] saying about their country which is much more modern—it dates only from the fourth century. This is the saying: "The tail of China is large and will not be wagged." I like that one. The [[United Kingdom|British]] democracy approves the principles of movable party heads and unwaggable national tails. It is due to the working of these important forces that I have the honor to be addressing you at this moment. ** [[Winston Churchill]], address to a joint session of [[United States Congress|Congress]], [[Washington, D.C.]] (17 January 1952); reported in ''Winston S. Churchill: His Complete Speeches, 1897–1963, ed. Robert Rhodes James (1974), vol. 8, p. 8,326'' *The People's Republic of China is still a [[Marxism|Marxist]], [[Leninist]], [[Maoist]] nation. So, you know, communism is still involved there. They haven't figured their way out of that particularly ideological box yet and that's their misfortune. **[[Tom Clancy]], on [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0008/26/lklw.00.html ''Larry King Live Weekend''] (27 August 2000) ===D=== *The emperor hold upon the Chinamen may be strong, but the Chinaman's hold upon himself is stronger... The Chinaman will not long be willing to wear the cast off shoes of the [[Black people|negro]], and, if he refuses, there will be trouble again. The negro [[Slavery|worked and took his pay in religion and the lash]]. '''The Chinaman is a different article and will want the cash. He may, like the [[Black people|negro]], accept [[Christianity]], but, unlike the negro, he will not care to pay for it in labor. He had the [[Golden Rule]] in substance five hundred years before the coming of Christ''', and has notions of [[justice]] that are not to be confused by any... Chinese children are in American schools in [[San Francisco]]. None of our children are in Chinese schools, and probably never will be, though in some things they might well teach us valuable lessons. Contact with these yellow children of the Celestial Empire would convince us that the points of human difference, great as they, upon first sight, seem, are as nothing compared with the points of human agreement. Such contact would remove [[Bigotry|mountains of prejudice]]... The Chinese in themselves have first rate recommendations. They are industrious, docile, cleanly, frugal. They are dexterous of hand, patient in toil, marvelously gifted in the power of imitation, and have but few wants. **[[Frederick Douglass]], [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/our-composite-nationality/ ''Our Composite Nationality''] (7 December 1869), Boston, Massachusetts. *It is objected to the Chinaman that he is secretive and treacherous, and will not tell the truth when he thinks it for his interest to tell a lie. There may be truth in all this; it sounds very much like the account of man’s heart given in the creeds. If he will not tell the truth, except when it is for his interest to do so, let us make it for his interest to tell the truth. We can do it by applying to him the same principle of justice that we apply to ourselves. But I doubt if the Chinese are more untruthful than other people. At this point I have one certain test. '''Mankind are not held together by lies. Trust is the foundation of society. Where there is no truth, there can be no trust, and where there is no trust, there can be no society. Where there is society, there is trust, and where there is trust, there is something upon which it is supported. Now a people who have confided in each other for five thousand years; who have extended their empire in all directions until it embraces one-fifth of the population of the globe; who hold important commercial relations with all nations; who are now entering into treaty stipulations with ourselves, and with all the great European powers, cannot be a nation of cheats and liars''', but must have some respect for [[veracity]]. The very existence of China for so long a period, and her progress in civilization, are proofs of her truthfulness ** [[Frederick Douglass]], [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/our-composite-nationality/ ''Our Composite Nationality''] (7 December 1869), Boston, Massachusetts. *No victory of arms, or tyranny of alien finance, can long suppress a nation so rich in resources and vitality. '''The invader will lose funds or patience before the loins of China will lose virility; within a century China will have absorbed and civilized her [[Western imperialism in Asia|conquerors]], and will have learned all the technique of what transiently bears the name of modern [[industry]]'''; [[Road|roads]] and [[Communication|communications]] will give her unity, economy and thrift will give her funds, and a strong government will give her order and peace. ** [[Will Durant]] and {{w|Ariel Durant}}, ''{{w|The Story of Civilization}}'', Book I, ''Our Oriental Heritage'' (1935) p. 823. *As [[India]] is ''par excellence'' the land of [[metaphysics]] and [[religion]], China is by like preeminence the home of [[Humanism|humanistic]], or non-theological, [[philosophy]]. ** [[Will Durant]] and {{w|Ariel Durant}}, ''{{w|The Story of Civilization}}'', Book I, ''Our Oriental Heritage'' (1935) 5. The Pre-Confucian Philosophers * The average Chinese is at once an [[Animism|animist]], a [[Taoism|Taoist]], a [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhist]] and a [[Confucianist]]. ** [[Will Durant]] and {{w|Ariel Durant}}, ''{{w|The Story of Civilization}}'', Book I, ''Our Oriental Heritage'' (1935) (IV. RELIGION WITHOUT A CHURCH) ===E=== *Even China's population of 1.4 billion would not be enough to fill all the empty apartments littered across the country. ** He Keng, as quoted in {{cite news |title=Even China's 1.4 billion population can't fill all its vacant homes, former official says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/even-chinas-14-bln-population-cant-fill-all-its-vacant-homes-former-official-2023-09-23/ |work=Reuters |date=23 September 2023}} * Most people with [[Mental health|mental disorders]] in China never receive treatment. There is often a stigma attached to such ailments. Some think that people with [[Psychiatry|psychiatric]] conditions are possessed by evil spirits. Many see [[Mental disorder|mental disorders]] as a sign of [[weakness]], and regard them as socially contagious: a relative of someone with a serious disorder may find it hard to marry. [[Family|Families]] sometimes have their kin treated far away to hide the “shame” of their condition, or keep them hidden at home. Even many medical students worry that those working with psychiatric patients risk catching their disease, says Xu Ni of “It Gets Brighter”, a mental-health [[Non-governmental organization|NGO]] in [[Beijing]]. ** ''[[The Economist]]'', [https://www.economist.com/china/2017/01/28/china-wakes-up-to-its-mental-health-problems “China wakes up to its mental-health problems”], (Jan 28th 2017). ===F=== *They're not terribly [[Imagination|imaginative]]. They’re not [[Entrepreneurs|entrepreneurial]]. They don't [[Innovation|innovate]]. That's why they're stealing our [[intellectual property]]. **[[Carly Fiorina]], as quoted in "Carly Fiorina Calls The Chinese Unimaginative Idea Thieves", by Lydia O'Connor, ''The Huffington Post'' (25 May 2015). * The Chinese are less a nation than a fusion of peoples united by a [[w:Chinese culture|common culture]], and the [[w:History of China|history of China]] is the record of an expanding culture. ** {{w|Charles Patrick Fitzgerald}}, ''China: A Short Cultural History'' (1965). * [[w:Economy of China#Development|[Chinese development]] has its roots in the [[w:Chinese Communist Revolution|1949 Chinese Revolution]], carried out by the [[Chinese Communist Party]] headed by [[Mao Zedong]], whereby it liberated itself from the [[Imperialism|imperialist]] system. This allowed it to develop for decades under a [[planned economy]] largely free of constraints from outside forces, establishing a strong [[w:Agriculture in China|agricultural]] and [[w:Industry of China|industrial]] economic base. This was followed by a shift in the [[Chinese economic reform|post-Maoist reform]] period to a [[w:Mixed economy|hybrid system]] of more limited state planning along with a much greater reliance on market relations (and a vast expansion of [[w:National debt of China|debt]] and [[speculation]]) under conditions—the [[globalization]] of the world market—that were particularly fortuitous to its “[[w:Convergence (economics)|catching up]].” Through {{w|trade war}}s and other pressures aimed at destabilizing China’s position in the world market, the [[China–United States relations|United States]] is already [[w:China–United States trade war|seeking to challenge]] the bases of China’s growth in [[w:International trade|world trade]]. China, therefore, stands not so much for the successes of {{w|late capitalism}} but rather for its inherent limitations. The [[w:Socialist market economy|current Chinese model]], moreover, carries within it many of the destructive tendencies of the system of capital accumulation. Ultimately, China’s future too depends on a return to the process of [[w:Revolutionary socialism|revolutionary]] transition, spurred by its own [[w:Demographics of China|population]]. ** [[John Bellamy Foster]], ''[https://monthlyreview.org/2019/02/01/capitalism-has-failed-what-next/ Capitalism Has Failed—What Next?]'' (February 01, 2019), ''{{w|Monthly Review}}'' * The problem for China is political. China is held together by [[money]], not [[ideology]]. When there is an economic downturn and the money stops rolling in, not only will the [[Banking|banking system]] spasm, but the entire fabric of Chinese society will shudder. [[Loyalty]] in China is either bought or coerced. Without available money, only coercion remains. [[Business]] slowdowns can generally lead to instability because they lead to [[w:Business failure|business failure]] and [[unemployment]]. In a country where [[poverty]] is endemic and unemployment widespread, the added pressure of an economic downturn will result in political instability. **[[George Friedman]], [https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20170628085246/http://www.mysearch.org.uk/website1/pdf/715.2.pdf ''The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century''] (2009), p. 96, Doubleday ===G=== * But [[Democracy|democracies]] also took root because they generally outperformed [[Dictatorship|autocracies]] in raising living standards. [[Market|Markets]] do not always require democracy in order to function: [[South Korea]], [[Taiwan]], [[Singapore]], and China all developed successful economies under less than democratic conditions. The [[Cold War]] experience showed, though, that it is not easy to keep [[Market|markets]] open and ideas constrained at the same time. And since markets proved more efficient than [[Planned economy|command economies]] in allocating resources and enhancing [[productivity]], the resulting improvement in people s lives, in turn, strengthened democracies. ** [[John Lewis Gaddis]], ''The Cold War: A New History,'' pp. 265 (2006) *China’s capacity to meet new demands for [[Agriculture|agricultural]] products has been assessed by analysts inside and outside China since the 1980s. [[Economist|Economists]] have anticipated that market forces would induce China to import [[Grain|grains]] and other land-intensive crops, but Chinese officials (motivated by food security and other concerns) have long resisted these forces and sought to maintain [[self-sufficiency]]. However, officials are now adjusting their strategies to accommodate their country’s growing reliance on agricultural imports. **Fred Gale, James Hansen, and Michael Jewison, [http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1784488/eib136.pdf "China's Growing Demand for Agricultural Imports"] (February 2015), ''United States Department of Agriculture''. :'''[[Bart Simpson]]''': What happened to you, China? You used to be cool. :'''Chinese delegate''': Hey, China's still cool! :* ''{{w|Bart to the Future}} (19 March 2000), ''The Simpsons'', written by {{w|Dan Greaney}}. [https://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=cSIdB-IYIqk]'' * {{w|Chinese people}} have no recourse to anything like an {{w|independent judiciary}}. The [[Chinese Communist Party|Communist Party]] decides if you’re guilty or innocent. The conviction rate stands in excess of 98 per cent. [[W:Human rights in China#Torture|Torture]] and {{w|forced confessions}} are commonplace. [[Xi Jinping|Xi]] has lately embarked on a vicious campaign of [[W:Human rights in China|harassment and intimidation]] of {{w|workers’ rights}} activists, [[W:Ethnic minorities in China|ethnic]] and [[Religion in China|religious]] [[minorities]], and [[Feminism|feminists]]. Scores of [[W:China human rights organizations|human rights lawyers]] have been rounded up and jailed. ** [[Terry Glavin]], speaking about the {{w|judicial system of China}}. [http://www.macleans.ca/politics/china-is-no-friend-to-canada/ "China is no Friend to Canada"] (2017), ''MacLeans'' * The Chinese are emphatically not a religious people, though they are very [[Superstition|superstitious]]. Belief in a [[Deity|God]] has come down from the remotest ages, but the old simple creed has been so overlaid by [[Buddhism]] as not to be discernible at the present day. Buddhism is now the dominant religion of China. It is closely bound up with the lives of the people, and is a never-failing refuge in sickness or worldly trouble. It is no longer the subtle doctrine which was originally presented to the people of India, but something much more clearly defined and appreciable by the plainest [[intellect]]. [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] is the saviour of the people through righteousness alone, and Buddhist saints are popularly supposed to possess intercessory powers. Yet reverence is always wanting; and crowds will laugh and talk, and buy and sell sweetmeats, in a Buddhist temple, before the very eyes of the most sacred images. So long as divine intervention is not required, an ordinary Chinaman is content to neglect his divinities; but no sooner does sickness or financial trouble come upon the family, than he will hurry off to propitiate the gods. <br /> He accomplishes this through the aid of the priests, who receive his offerings of money, and light candles or incense at the shrine of the deity to be invoked. Buddhist priests are not popular with the Chinese, who make fun of their shaven heads, and doubt the sincerity of their convictions as well as the purity of their lives. "No meat nor wine may enter here" is a legend inscribed at the gate of most Buddhist temples, the ordinary diet as served in the refectory being strictly vegetarian. A tipsy priest, however, is not an altogether unheard-of combination, and has provided more than one eminent artist with a subject of an interesting picture. ** [[w:Herbert Giles|Herbert Allen Giles]], in [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2076/2076-h/2076-h.htm ''The Civilization of China'' (1911)], Chapter III : Religion and Superstition * Let us now pause to take stock of some of the results which have accrued from the operation and influence of Confucianism during such a long period, and over such swarming myriads of the human race. It is a commonplace in the present day to assert that the Chinese are hardworking, thrifty, and sober—the last-mentioned, by the way, in a land where [[drunkenness]] is not regarded as a crime. Shallow observers of the globe-trotter type, who have had their pockets picked by professional [[Theft|thieves]] in [[British Hong Kong|Hong-Kong]], and even resident observers who have not much cultivated their powers of observation and comparison, will assert that honesty is a virtue denied to the Chinese; but those who have lived long in China and have more seriously devoted themselves to discover the truth, may one and all be said to be arrayed upon the other side. The amount of solid honesty to be met with in every class, except the professionally criminal class, is simply astonishing. That the word of the Chinese [[merchant]] is as good as his bond has long since become a household word, and so it is in other walks of life. ** Herbert Allen Giles, in ''The Civilization of China'' (1911), Chapter III : Religion and Superstition *[N]early every political evil can be found on display in China: [[slavery]], [[discrimination]], [[w:Religious persecution|religious persecution]], [[xenophobia]], [[tyranny]], mass-political [[indoctrination]], [[colonialism]], [[w:Cultural genocide|cultural genocide]], and so on. And yet, the outcry against these things in [[United States|America]] and the West is a tiny fraction of what it was with regard to [[South Africa]] in the [[1980s]] or [[Israel]] today. Why? Some of the political answers are pretty obvious — and have much merit. A few that come to mind: China is non-Western, and many of these sins are supposed to be unique to [[White people|white]] [[Europe|Europeans]]; China is a victim (or “victim”) of [[colonialism]], and so we shouldn’t judge it harshly; China is very powerful, and [[realpolitik]] dictates that we be diplomatic; and so on. But there’s another reason. As you may have noticed, I’ve become much more interested in [[evolutionary psychology]] of late, particularly the topic of coalitional instincts. The coalition instinct is the programming that helped us form strategic groups that advance our self-interest. We are a social species and cooperation is what helped us skyrocket to the top of the [[w:Food chain|food chain]]. **[[Jonah Goldberg]], [https://www.nationalreview.com/g-file/coalition-instinct-and-tribal-politics-in-age-of-trump/ "When Evil Becomes Inconvenient"] (24 August 2018), ''National Review Online'' ===H=== * So far, the [[world economy]], particularly [[Australia]] and the [[United States]], have benefited greatly from Chinese [[economic growth]]. This is likely to continue to be the case for some time... There is no real alternative to the United States as the global leader. '''China doesn't want the role. It would only divert its focus from its own development challenges. And to be frank, China would not be trusted by many countries''', particularly in the {{w|Asia-Pacific}}, to be the global leader... [[Authoritarianism|Authoritarian]] [[state capitalism]], seen today in China and [[Russia]]. While both countries have introduced elements of a market economy, private companies there operate side-by-side and at a significant disadvantage to state owned entities favored by government regulators. This mixed economy is not paralleled on the political side. What is emerging is an increasingly [[authoritarian]] [[W:Government of China|political system]] with decreasing space for [[civil society]], free media, and [[dissent]]. This model is attractive to authoritarian leaders around the world who see it as way to maintain power while still growing their economies. ** [[Stephen Hadley]], [http://www.lowyinstitute.org/publications/americas-role-world-stephen-j-hadley "America's Role In The World"] (30 October 2014), ''Lowy Institute''. * As a foreign [[literature]] it is studied also by the [[Koreans|Coreans]], the [[Japan|Japanese]], and the [[Vietnam|Annamites]]; and it may therefore be quite appropriately called the Classic Literature of the Far East. The civilization of all these nations has been affected by its study, perhaps even in a higher degree than that of the nations of Europe has been by the literatures of [[Greece]] and [[Roman Empire|Rome]]. Millions received from it, in the course of centuries, their mental training. The Chinese who created it have through it perpetuated their national character and imparted some of their idiosyncrasies of thought to their formerly illiterate neighbors. ** [[w:Friedrich Hirth|Friedrich Hirth]], Columbia University Professor of Chinese, "Chinese Literature" in [[s:Lectures on Literature (1911)|Lectures on Literature]] (1911), [[s:Page:Columbia University Lectures on Literature (1911).djvu/81|page 67]] *I did feel that I was going back to a place that I had never been. **[[Maxine Hong Kingston]] on visiting China the first time, in ''Conversations with Maxine Hong Kingston'' edited by Paul Skenazy and Tera Martin (1998) * The Chinese are industrious, courageous, honest, and intelligent. They created the splendid [[w:Ancient China|ancient Chinese]] civilization, and today, they're firmly committed to the path of peaceful development and are making continuous progress in the modernization drive by carrying out the reform and opening up program. ** [[Hu Jintao|Jintao Hu]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130503110022/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/04/20060420.html "President Bush and President Hu of People's Republic of China Participate in Arrival Ceremony "] (20 April 2006), by J. Hu, Washington, D.C.: White House. * The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will definitely be accompanied by the thriving of Chinese culture. ** [[Hu Jintao|Jintao Hu]], [http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=7aE66iIUi9U#David_Shambaugh_-_China_Goes_Global%3A_The_Partial_Power address to the 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress] (2008) * When China sends its students to the United States, especially when it sends [[w:Central_bank|central bankers]] and [[Planned economy|planners]] to the United States to study (and be recruited), they are told by the U.S. “Do as we say, not as we have done.” The United States is not telling China... how to get rich in the way that it did, by protective tariffs, by creating its own money and by making other countries dependent on it. The United States does not want you to be independent and self-reliant. The United States wants China to let itself become dependent on U.S. finance in order to [[Investment|invest]] in its own industry... The [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] plan is not to make you independent, and not to help you grow except to the extent that your growth will be paid to US investors or used to finance U.S. military spending around the world to encircle you and trying to destabilize you in [[w:Sichuan|Sichuan]] to try to pry China apart. Look at what the United States has done in Russia, and at what the [[International Monetary Fund]] in Europe has done to [[Greece]], [[Latvia]] and the [[w:Baltic_states|Baltic states]]. It is a dress rehearsal for what [[Foreign policy of the United States|U.S. diplomacy]] would like to do to you, if it can convince you to follow the neoliberal US economic policy of financialization and [[privatization]]. De-dollarization is the alternative to privatization and financialization. ** [https://michael-hudson.com/2020/01/note-to-china/ Michael Hudson, Note to China], (14 January 2020) * The [[China–United States relations|U.S.-China confrontation]] is not simply a national rivalry, but a conflict of economic and social systems.... From today’s U.S. vantage point... China and Russia are existential threats to the global expansion of financialized rentier wealth. Today’s [[Cold War II|Cold War 2.0]] aims to deter China and potentially other counties from socializing their financial systems, land and natural resources, and keeping infrastructure utilities public to prevent their being [[Monopoly|monopolized]] in private hands to siphon off [[w:Economic_rent|economic rents]] at the expense of productive investment in [[economic growth]]. The United States hoped that China might be as gullible as the [[Soviet Union]] and adopt neoliberal policy permitting its wealth to be privatized and turned into rent-extracting privileges, to be sold off to Americans. ** [https://michael-hudson.com/2021/04/americas-neoliberal-financialization-policy-vs-chinas-industrial-socialism/ Michael Hudson, America’s Neoliberal Financialization Policy vs. China’s Industrial Socialism,] (14 April 2021) * '''China, like Russia, has been reducing its dollar holdings as much as possible, just keeping enough to prevent the currency from being destabilized by the dollar inflows. China, Russia are buying gold instead of U.S. dollars as much as possible.''' China is trying to escape from buying Treasury securities. Why would any government want to buy Treasury securities yielding 0.1% when the dollars coming into China are trying to make loans or buying countries, making 15% profit or interest a year? Nobody would want that situation to continue. China doesn’t want it to continue. As long as it [China] is part of an international economy that is dollarized, it [China] is forced to take a loss, a sacrifice, year after year, subsidizing the U.S. economy. The only way that it can avoid that is to isolate itself from the U.S. dollar. No country until this time since 1945 has ever had the critical mass to be able to do it. That is the objective, the stated objective of Russia, China and their allies. Of course, they don’t want to buy treasury bills. That doesn’t mean that, yes, they found a wonderful investment making 0.1% a year and subsidizing the United States. That is not what China or any other country wants. **[https://michael-hudson.com/2022/04/china-a-sub-imperial-ally-of-the-west/ Michael Hudson, China – a Sub-Imperial Ally of the West?] (3 April 2022) ===I=== * China seems to have been very much similar to the West, both in the production of [[new religious movement]]s and in attracting to them figures from the political left who were officially promoting the struggle against “superstition.” Reconstructions of “Chinese traditional culture” as “non-religious,” and of the rich Chinese religious pluralism as mere “folk religion” should be viewed as propaganda rather than history. ** [[Massimo Introvigne]], [https://bitterwinter.org/new-religious-movements-in-china/ "New Religious Movements in China: They Were Always There"], ''Bitter Winter'' (June 27, 2020) ===J=== *China’s battle against [[poverty]] has benefited the largest number of people in human history. To sustain poverty reduction gains, China will focus more on achieving endogenous development in areas that have been lifted out of poverty and introduce vigorous measures to support rural revitalization. Our goal is to achieve common prosperity and high-quality development including through the rural revitalization strategy with a focus in five key areas: [[Industrialization|industry development]], [[human capital]], [[culture]], [[Ecology|ecological environment]] and [[w:Local_government|local governance]].” ** [[w:Ma Jiantang|Ma Jiantang]] as quoted in [https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/01/lifting-800-million-people-out-of-poverty-new-report-looks-at-lessons-from-china-s-experience World Bank Press Release No. 2022/072/EAP, Lifting 800 Million People Out of Poverty – New Report Looks at Lessons from China’s Experience, April 1, 2022 ===K=== * The Chinese have always struck me as pretty cautious, even crafty, in managing their rise. It's true that they’re a lot more aggressive since 2009, but I don't see them suddenly becoming reckless. I always found that factoid that '''the PRC spends more on internal than external security to be indicative that CCP is, in fact, very insecure at the top. It's got to have an ideology with foreign enemies, otherwise the Chinese people might see the real enemy, the CCP's corruption, rejection of democracy''' and unwillingness to admit the horrors of {{w|Maoism}}. ** {{w|Robert E. Kelly}}, as quoted in [http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/12/01/national/does-china-adiz-take-focus-off-real-enemy/#.VWG2IE9VhBe "Does China ADIZ take focus off 'real enemy'?: To many experts, Beijing's foreign policy is a byproduct of domestic issues"] (1 December 2013), by [[Max Fisher]], ''The Washington Post''. *The collapse of U.S. influence over Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s new alliances with China and Iran are painful emblems of the abject failure of the [[Neoconservatism|Neocon]] strategy of maintaining U.S. global hegemony with aggressive projections of military power. China has displaced the [[American imperialism|American Empire]] by deftly projecting, instead, economic power. Over the past decade, our country has spent trillions bombing roads, ports, bridges, and airports. China spent the equivalent building the same across the developing world. ** [[Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr.]], from [https://www.facebook.com/rfkjr/posts/pfbid0U4onsx8ptxFM9Aa5iy2wXTrYswSHCnqbYAh3yy3RuVdRHuUpBRqjvGH1sz2oqNR1l his post] on Facebook (4 April 2023) * Contemporaneous with the age of Greek culture, while [[Rome]] was yet an infant city and the rest of Europe in a condition of barbarism, the Chinese were a civilised race. Many years before the [[Christianity|Christian]] era they had evolved under the name of Taoism, a set of principles and a mystic teaching based on the writings of [[Laozi|Laotzu]], which formed a not altogether despicable substitute for a [[religion]], while in Confucianism they enjoyed a sound [[philosophy]]. Under these influences the arts of peace gradually achieved the first place among the national ideas. The application of principles of reason to the relationships of daily life, the adjustment of differences by discussion, and the cultivation of respect for age and learning, became cardinal principles. ** Percy Howard Kent, {{cite book|chapter=Chapter 1. The Old Conditions|title=The Passing of the Manchus|page=2|year=1911|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924021495258/page/n23/mode/2up}} *China believes it is the center of the [[universe]]. Look at its [[Flag of China|flag]]; one big [[Stars|star]] surrounded by [[satellite]] stars. '''Arrogant!''' **[[Nguyen Khanh]], as quoted in [http://web.archive.org/web/20080921114015/http://65.45.193.26:8026/cms/acct/vietweekly/issues/vw3n18/english/bagOfEarth.html "A Bag of Earth, A Promise To Keep"] (28 April 2005), ''Viet Weekly'', by Mike Nally *I hear from higher up that China seems to be succeeding on many fronts – [[engineering]], [[commerce]], hotels, [[agriculture]] - everything. '''In many ways, don’t we need to take them as a model example for [[North Korea|us]]?''' ** [[Kim Jong-un]] as recalled by by household chef Kenji Fujimoto [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-kimjongun-insight/the-thinking-behind-kim-jong-uns-madness-idUSKBN1DU15Y "The thinking behind Kim Jong Un's 'madness'"] *Back in about [[1753]] it took a letter three days to go from [[New York City]] to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]], and today you can go from here to China in less time than that... Man's scientific genius has been amazing. ** [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090129133622/http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/rediscovering_lost_values/ Rediscovering Lost Values]'', Sermon delivered at [[Detroit]]'s Second Baptist Church (28 February 1954). *If I lived in China or even [[Russia]], or any [[totalitarian]] country, maybe I could understand the denial of certain basic [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|F]]<nowiki/>[[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|irst Amendment]] privileges, because they hadn't committed themselves to that over there. **[[Martin Luther King, Jr.]], ''[http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/ive_been_to_the_mountaintop/ I've Been to the Mountaintop]'' (1968).' === M === * To understand the changes which now appear upon the Chinese mainland, one must understand the changes in Chinese character and culture over the past 50 years. China, up to 50 years ago, was completely non-homogenous, being compartmented into groups divided against each other. The war-making tendency was almost non-existent, as they still followed the tenets of the Confucian ideal of [[Pacifism|pacifist]] culture. At the turn of the century, under the regime of [[w:Zhang Zuolin|Chang Tso Lin]], efforts toward greater homogeneity produced the start of a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] urge. This was further and more successfully developed under the leadership of [[Chiang Kai-shek|Chiang Kai-Shek]], but has been brought to its greatest fruition under the present regime to the point that it has now taken on the character of a united nationalism of increasingly dominant, aggressive tendencies. Through these past 50 years the Chinese people have thus become militarized in their concepts and in their ideals. They now constitute excellent soldiers, with competent staffs and commanders. This has produced a new and dominant power in [[Asia]], which, for its own purposes, is allied with [[Soviet Union|Soviet Russia]] but which in its own concepts and methods has become aggressively imperialistic, with a lust for expansion and increased power normal to this type of [[imperialism]]. There is little of the ideological concept either one way or another in the Chinese make-up. The standard of living is so low and the capital accumulation has been so thoroughly dissipated by war that the masses are desperate and eager to follow any leadership which seems to promise the alleviation of local stringencies. I have from the beginning believed that the Chinese Communists' support of the [[North Korea|North Koreans]] was the dominant one. Their interests are, at present, parallel with those of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]. But I believe that the aggressiveness recently displayed not only in Korea but also in Indo-China and [[Tibet]] and pointing potentially toward the South reflects predominantly the same lust for the expansion of power which has animated every would-be conqueror since the beginning of time. ** [[Douglas MacArthur]], [https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurfarewelladdress.htm 1953 Farewell Speech] *By contrast, classical China produced many great generals, fought many wars and conquered many peoples but did not elevate military values above civilian. (It helped, perhaps, that the scholars rather than the military wrote the histories.) Fighting was not held up as something admirable but rather as the result of a breakdown in order and propriety. There is no equivalent of the ''[[Iliad]]'' in [[Chinese literature]] and the heroes held up for the young to emulate were the great [[Bureaucracy|bureaucrats]] and wise rulers who maintained the peace. Early on Chinese thinkers such as Confucius and the great strategist [[Sun Tzu|Sunzi]] (also known in the transliteration Sun Tzu) stressed that the state’s authority rested on its virtue as well as on its ability to use force. And for Sunzi, the greatest general was the one who could win a war, through manoeuvre or trickery, without fighting a battle. Prestige in Chinese society came rather from being a [[Scholarship|scholar]], [[Poets|poet]] or [[Painting|painter]]; and from the [[w:Tang_dynasty|Tang dynasty]] onwards the [[w:imperial_examination|examination system]] to enter the imperial civil service was the favoured path for fame and prestige. Successful generals were sometimes awarded a scholar’s rank and gown as a mark of particular favour where many European societies would have given military decorations to meritorious civilians. Societies’ values can change over time, of course. Swedish soldiers were once the terror of [[Europe]] when now we associate [[Sweden]] with the [[w:Nobel_Peace_Prize|Nobel Peace Prize]] or [[Diplomacy|international mediation]]. **[[Margaret MacMillan]], ''War: How Conflict Shaped Us'' (2020) {{page number needed|June 2023}} ===O=== *When it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to [[Beijing]] or [[Moscow]] to lead. ** [[Barack Obama]], [https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/president-obama-s-2016-state-of-the-union-address-7c06300f9726#.flsvqkay9 State of the Union address] (12 January 2016). *China remains the world's largest [[Manufacturing|manufacturer]], with four trillion dollars in foreign-exchange reserves, a sum equivalent to the world’s fourth-largest economy... Last spring, China abolished registered-capital and other requirements for new companies, and in November it allowed foreign investors to trade shares directly on the [[w:Shanghai Stock Exchange|Shanghai stock market]] for the first time... The risks to [[Economy of China|China's economy]] have rarely been more visible. The workforce is aging more quickly than in other countries, because of the [[w:One-child policy|one-child policy]], and businesses are borrowing money more rapidly than they are earning it... The growth of demand for energy and raw materials has slowed, more houses and malls are empty, and nervous Chinese savers are sending money overseas, to protect it in the event of a crisis... To maintain economic growth, China is straining to promote innovation... After China had spent years investing in science and technology, the share of its economy devoted to research and development surpassed Europe's... The era of [[Xi Jinping]] has defied the assumption that China's fitful opening to the world is too critical and productive to stall. **[[w:Evan Osnos|Evan Osnos]], [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/06/born-red "Born Red: How Xi Jinping, an unremarkable provincial administrator, became China’s most authoritarian leader since Mao."] (6 April 2015), ''The New Yorker''. ===P=== * China as a society, a government, an economy and a culture is quite difficult for us to comprehend today. The changes are so rapid in cities like [[Beijing]] and [[Shanghai]] and the culture remarkably fluid... China is increasingly influential in the world and more and more people have hopes that China will be a leader... China has ended up playing a critical role in [[w:Geopolitics|geopolitics]] more quickly than anybody had anticipated. ** {{w|Emanuel Pastreich}}, [http://thediplomat.com/2015/12/interview-daniel-bell/ "Chinese meritocracy and the limits of democracy"] (17 December 2015), ''The Diplomat'' *The Chinese are rejecting western values and multiparty democracy... It seems very incongruous to be, on the one hand, so committed to fostering more competition and market-driven flexibility in the economy and, on the other hand, to be seeking more control in the political sphere, the [[Mass media|media]], and the [[Internet]]. **[[Henry Paulson]], ''Dealing with China'', as quoted in [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/06/born-red "Born Red: How Xi Jinping, an unremarkable provincial administrator, became China’s most authoritarian leader since Mao."] (6 April 2015), by Evan Osnos, ''The New Yorker'' ===R=== *[[United States|We]] cannot, if we would, play the part of [[w:Qing dynasty|China]], and be content to rot by inches in ignoble ease within our borders, taking no interest in what goes on beyond them, sunk in a scrambling commercialism; heedless of the higher life, the life of aspiration, of toil and risk, busying ourselves only with the wants of our bodies for the day, until suddenly we should find, beyond a shadow of question, what China has already found, that in this world the nation that has trained itself to a career of un-warlike and isolated ease is bound, in the end, to go down before other nations which have not lost the manly and adventurous qualities. If we are to be a really great people, we must strive in good faith to play a great part in the world. **[[Theodore Roosevelt]], ''[[s:The Strenuous Life|The Strenuous Life]]'' (10 April 1899), Chicago, Illinois *[W]hat is [[nationalism]]? And what nationalism is actually Western invention. Imperial China had no nationalism. Where do they get their ideas of nationalism? Well, they got their ideas of [[nationalism]] from the [[Japan|Japanese]], which emerged as a national state in [[19th century|the 19]]. Well, where did the Japanese get their ideas about nationalism, which were then translated into Chinese? They got it from the Germans. So what they imported was a 19th-century version of [[w:Social Darwinism|social Darwinism]] in which [[race]] is of the fundamental basis of nationality and there are very – when you hear Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders talking about cultural pollution, when you talk about the natural affinity of all Chinese people wherever they are, you begin to worry that there is this submerged, and sometimes not even so, some racialist component. **[[w:Stephen Peter Rosen|Stephen Rosen]], [http://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/stephen-rosen/ interview with Bill Kristol] (2016), [http://conversationswithbillkristol.org/transcript/stephen-rosen-transcript/ transcript] *If you want to know what people are worried about look at what they spend their money on. If you’re afraid of [[Theft|burglars]] you buy a burglar alarm. What are the Chinese spending their money on? We’re told from Chinese figures they’re spending on the [[People's Armed Police|People’s Armed Police]], the internal security force is about as big as they’re spending on the [[w:People's Liberation Army|regular military]]. This whole great firewall of Chinese, this whole massive effort to control the [[internet]], this effort to use modern [[information technology]] not to disseminate [[information]], empowering individuals, but to make people think what you want them to think and to monitor their behavior so that you can isolate and suppress them. That’s because this is a regime which is fundamentally afraid of its own people. And it’s fundamentally hostile to them. **[[w:Stephen Peter Rosen|Stephen Rosen]], [https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/stephen-rosen-ii/ interview with Bill Kristol] (30 November 2018), [https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/transcript/stephen-rosen-ii-transcript/ transcript] * The typical Westerner wishes to be the cause of as many changes as possible in his environment; the typical Chinaman wishes to enjoy as much and as delicately as possible. ** [[Bertrand Russell]], ''The Problem of China'' (1922), Ch. XII: The Chinese Character. * The Chinese are a great nation, incapable of permanent suppression by foreigners. They will not consent to adopt our vices in order to acquire military strength; but they are willing to adopt our virtues in order to advance in wisdom. I think they are the only people in the world who quite genuinely believe that wisdom is more precious than rubies. That is why the West regards them as uncivilized. ** [[Bertrand Russell]], ''The Problem of China'' (1922), Ch. XIII: Higher education in China. ===S=== * Some observers have already proclaimed that [[W:Chinese Century|China will rule the world]], This prospective is profoundly overstated and incorrect in my view... China has a long way to go before it becomes, if it ever becomes a true {{w|global power}}, and it will never rule the world. ** {{w|David Shambaugh}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182244/http://210.101.116.28/W_files/kiss61/1l201503_pv.pdf ''China Goes Global: The Partial Power''] (2013), New York: Oxford University Press * China is, in essence, a very narrow-minded, self-interested, realist state, seeking only to maximize its own national interests and power. It cares little for global governance and enforcing global standards of [[behavior]], except its much-vaunted doctrine of noninterference in the internal affairs of countries. Its economic policies are [[Mercantilism|mercantilist]] and its diplomacy is passive. China is also a lonely strategic power, with no allies and experiencing distrust and strained relationships with much of the world. ** {{w|David Shambaugh}}, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303182244/http://210.101.116.28/W_files/kiss61/1l201503_pv.pdf ''China Goes Global: The Partial Power''] (2013), New York: Oxford University Press, p. 310 *China is a very contradictory country... China punches way below its weight, it is not, it ''is'' free-riding... It is not contributing... China is a lonely power... Who wants to seek political asylum in China? Nobody. ** {{w|David Shambaugh}}, [http://listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=7aE66iIUi9U#David_Shambaugh_-_China_Goes_Global%3A_The_Partial_Power "David Shambaugh - China Goes Global: The Partial Power"] (April 2013), ''USC U.S.-China Institute'', YouTube *The subsequent evolution of the Chinese state is one where [[Bureaucracy|bureaucratic]] recruitment and rule became ever more routinized, and this occurred at the expense of hereditary lineages. In western Europe, after the [[w:fall of the Western Roman Empire|fall of Rome]] rulers pursued a policy of giving grants of land in exchange for military service. These grants tended to be one-way transactions. Over time this led to the creation of a category of members of society with substantial autonomy. The presence of this group would play a prominent role in the early development of medieval assemblies. In China things pushed in the opposite direction. With the perfection of an [[w:Chinese imperial examination|imperial examination system]] during the [[w:Tang dynasty|Tang]] and [[w:Song dynasty|Song dynasties]], Chinese rulers had at their disposal a means of bureaucratic recruitment that did not depend on societal networks outside of their control. Being a member of the elite now meant being part of the state itself. **David Stasavage, ''The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today'' (2020), pp. 14-15 * The Chinese people have only family and clan solidarity; they do not have national spirit...they are just a heap of loose sand...Other men are the carving knife and serving dish; we are the fish and the meat. ** [[Sun Yat-sen]], ''China as a Heap of Loose Sand'' (1924) * China is now suffering from poverty, not from [[Redistribution of income and wealth|unequal distribution of wealth]]. Where there are inequalities of wealth, the [[Marxism|methods of Marx]] can, of course, be used; a [[Class conflict|class war]] can be advocated to destroy the inequalities. But in China, where industry is not yet developed, [[Karl Marx|Marx]]'s class war and [[dictatorship of the proletariat]] are impracticable. ** [[Sun Yat-sen]], ''Capital and the State'' (1924) * This is a fight with a really different civilization and a different ideology, and the United States hasn’t had that before, it’s also striking that this is the first time that '''we will have a great power competitor that is not [[White people|Caucasian]]'''. **[[Kiron Skinner]], speaking about China, as quoted in "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/05/02/worst-justification-trumps-battle-with-china-clash-civilizations/ The worst justification for Trump’s battle with China? The ‘clash of civilizations’]" (29 April 2019) ''[https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2019/05/02/worst-justification-trumps-battle-with-china-clash-civilizations/?utm_term=.5509ea20a1f1 Washington Post]'' ===T=== *One of the greatest untold secrets of history is that the 'modern world' in which we live is a unique synthesis of Chinese and Western ingredients. Possibly more than half of the basic inventions and discoveries upon which the 'modern world' rests come from China. And yet few people know this. Why? The Chinese themselves are as ignorant of this fact as Westerners. From the seventeenth century onwards, the Chinese became increasingly dazzled by European technological expertise, having experienced a period of [[amnesia]] regarding their own achievements. When the Chinese were shown a mechanical clock by Jesuit missionaries, they were awestruck. '''They had forgotten that it was they who had invented mechanical clocks in the first place!''' ** {{w|Robert K. G. Temple}} - ''The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention'' (1986). *Arise! All those who don't want to be [[slaves]]! Let our flesh and blood forge our new [[w:Great Wall of China|Great Wall]]! As the Chinese nation has arrived at its most perilous time, every person is forced to expel their very last roar. **{{w|Tian Han}}, ''{{w|March of the Volunteers}}'' (1934). * [A]t a time when the [[w:Health crisis|crisis]] of the [[COVID-19 pandemic|Coronavirus pandemic]] is developing rapidly. [...] The {{w|Chinese government}} currently appears “successful” in its response, but in the first weeks that the new [[SARS-CoV-2|coronavirus]] appeared, the government offered the denialism typical of restorationist [[State capitalism|capitalist bureaucracy]], ignoring the warnings that could have reduced the number of deaths (including that of [[Li Wenliang]], a doctor who warned about the epidemic and was consequently accused by the authorities of “spreading rumors” before he died from [[COVID-19]]). '''China is the most extreme example of [[w:Authoritarian capitalism#China|authoritarianism]] around the world, with its tight [[w:Bureaucratic collectivism|bureaucratic]] control [[w:2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in mainland China#Censorship and police responses|that prevents vital news]] from leaving {{w|Wuhan}} and other affected areas.''' ** [[Trotskyist Fraction – Fourth International]], ''[https://www.leftvoice.org/coronavirus-and-the-healthcare-crisis-our-lives-are-worth-more-than-their-profits Coronavirus and the Healthcare Crisis: Our Lives Are Worth More than Their Profits!]'' (March 14, 2020), ''Left Voice''. * I know the Chinese. I've made a lot of money with the Chinese. I understand the Chinese mind. **[[Donald Trump]], as quoted in [http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmauldin/2015/08/24/playing-the-chinese-trump-card/ "Playing the Chinese Trump Card"] (24 August 2015), [http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmauldin/2015/08/24/playing-the-chinese-trump-card/ ''Forbes''] (August 2015). * The concept of [[W:Global warming conspiracy theory|global warming was created]] by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. **[[Donald Trump]], [https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/265895292191248385?lang=pt Twitter] (6 November 2012) *We have a 500 billion dollar deficit, [[w:Trade_deficit|trade deficit]] with China. We're going to turn it around and we have the cards, don't forget, we're like the piggy bank that's being robbed. We have the cards, we have a lot of power with China. When China doesn't want to fix the problem in [[North Korea]] we say "Sorry folks, you've got to fix the problem." '''Because we can't continue to allow China to [[rape]] [[United States|our country]], and that's what they're doing. It's the greatest theft in the history of the world.''' **[[Donald Trump]], as quoted in "[https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-36185275/china-accused-of-trade-rape-by-donald-trump China accused of trade 'rape' by Donald Trump]" (2 May 2016) ''[https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-36185275/china-accused-of-trade-rape-by-donald-trump BBC]'' *No [[California]] gentleman or lady ever abuses or oppresses a Chinaman, under any circumstances, an explanation that seems to be much needed in the east. Only the scum of the population do it; they and their children. They, and, naturally and consistently, the policemen and politicians, likewise, for these are the dust-licking pimps and slaves of the scum, there as well as elsewhere in America. **[[Mark Twain]], [http://www.friesian.com/quotes.htm ''Roughing It''] (1872). *A disorderly Chinaman is rare, and a lazy one does not exist. So long as a Chinaman has strength to use his hands he needs no support from anybody; white men often complain of want of work, but a Chinaman offers no such complaint; he always manages to find something to do. **[[Mark Twain]], [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=gjUOvGeK51MC&pg=PA169&dq=%22Chinaman%22%7C%22Chinamen%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=H-rpUv3zHoSCkQWs3oGIBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Chinaman%22%7C%22Chinamen%22&f=false ''Roughing It''] (1872), p. 169. *I have seen Chinamen abused and maltreated in all the mean, cowardly ways possible to the invention of a degraded nature... I never saw a Chinaman righted in a court of justice for wrongs thus done to him. **[[Mark Twain]], as quoted in ''Mark Twain and the Three Rs: Race, Religion, Revolution and Related Matters'' (1973), by Maxwell Geismar, Indianapolis: Bobs-Merrill, p. 98. ===W=== * The United States and other [[Democracy|democratic]] nations do so much business with China that there is a tendency to turn a blind eye towards the Communist Party's abysmal human rights record. The Chinese Communist Party's strategy of liberalizing its national economy while harshly rejecting democracy has become the model for modern [[Dictatorship|dictatorships]]. [[Hu Jintao]] and his party control all media in China, between 250,000 and 300,000 Chinese citizens, including [[Dissent|political dissidents]], are incarcerated in "[[w:Re-education through labor|reeducation-through-labor]]" camps and the conviction rate in normal criminal trials in 99.7 percent. Less than 5 percent of trials include witnesses. [[Amnesty International]] has reported that children have been bussed to public [[Capital punishment|executions]] as field trips. ** David Wallechinsky, ''Tyrants: The World's 20 Worst Living Dictators'' (2006), p. 2 *The world must understand that millions of [[Uyghurs|Uighurs]] and other [[Muslim]] minorities in [[w:Xinjiang|Xinjiang]] are being sent to [[concentration camp]]s and forced into [[labor]]. ** [[w:Michael Waltz|Michael Waltz]] [https://waltz.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=459 Statement Regarding U.S. Declaration of China's Actions Against Uyghurs As Genocide] January 19, 2021 * There is a strange symmetry to China’s [[20th century|twentieth century]], and much of it is linked to the ideological Cold War. At the beginning of the century, China’s republican revolution was overtaken by [[Communism]] and conflict. And at the end of the century, Communism was overtaken by money and markets. In between lay a terrible time of [[destruction]] and reconstruction, of [[enthusiasm]] and [[cynicism]], and of almost never-ending rivers of blood. What marks these Chinese revolutions most of all is their bloodthirst: according to a recent estimate, seventy-seven million Chinese died unnatural deaths as a result of warfare or political mass-murder between the 1920s and the [[1980s]], and the vast majority of them were killed by other Chinese. ** Odd Arne Westad, ''The Cold War: A Global History'' (2017) * [[Chinese language|Chinese]] is the easiest language when it is learned at ease, dwelling on its spirit rather than on the individual expression. But for inquisitive questioners, this language provides vain pitfalls. **[[Richard Wilhelm]], ''Die Seele Chinas''. Berlin, Hobbing, 1926 *Over the past 40 years, the number of people in China with incomes below $1.90 per day – the [[w:International Poverty Line|International Poverty Line]] as defined by the [[World Bank]] to track global extreme poverty– has fallen by close to 800 million. With this, China has contributed close to three-quarters of the global reduction in the number of people living in extreme poverty. **[[The World Bank]] Press Release No. 2022/072/EAP, [https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/01/lifting-800-million-people-out-of-poverty-new-report-looks-at-lessons-from-china-s-experience Lifting 800 Million People Out of Poverty – New Report Looks at Lessons from China’s Experience, April 1, 2022] *One of the things we're trying to do is view the China threat '''as not just a whole-of-government threat, but a whole-of-society threat''' on their end, and I think it's going to take a whole-of-society response by us. **[[Christopher A. Wray]] in [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1802/13/cnr.04.html February 13, 2018] ''[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1802/13/cnr.04.html CNN]'' ===X=== * When our thousands of Chinese students abroad return home, you will see how China will transform itself. ** [[Deng Xiaoping]], as quoted in ''Forbes'', Vol. 176, Editions 7-13 (2005), p. 79 ===Z=== * People who try to commit [[suicide]] — don't attempt to save them!&nbsp;.&nbsp;.&nbsp;. '''China is such a populous nation, it is not as if we cannot do without a few people.''' ** Attributed to [[Mao Zedong]] by [[w:Wang Li (politician)|Wang Li]], “历史将宣告我无罪” (History Will Pronounce Me Innocent), manuscript, Beijing, 1993, p. 7. This source is a privately printed collection of letters and documents concerning Wang Li's expulsion from the CCP. Cited in ''{{w|Mao's Last Revolution}}'' (2006) by {{w|Roderick MacFarquhar}} and {{w|Michael Schoenhals}}. *This experience and the historical experiences gained by the Party since its founding can be summarized as follows: Our Party must always represent the requirements for developing China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. These are the inexorable requirements for maintaining and developing socialism, and the logical conclusion our Party has reached through hard exploration and great praxis. **[[Jiang Zemin|Jiang Zemin]], work report at the Communist Party of China Congress (8 November 2002), as quoted in ''Selected Works of Jiang Zemin'', Eng. ed., FLP, Beijing, 2013, Vol. III, p. 519. *A review of our party's seventy-plus-year history elicits an important conclusion. Our party earned the people's support during the historical periods of revolution, construction and reform because it always represented the requirements for developing [[w:China|China]]'s [[W:Theory of the productive forces|advanced productive forces]], the orientation of [[w:China|China]]'s advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the [[Chinese people]]. The party also earned popular support because it fought tirelessly to realize the fundamental interests of the country and the people by formulating a correct line, principles and policies. Today, humanity once again stands at the beginning of a new century and a new millennium. How our party can better effectuate the [[w:Three Represents|Three Represents]] under the new historical conditions is a major issue all Party comrades, especially high-ranking party cadres, must consider deeply... The Communist Party of China should represent the development trends of advanced productive forces, the orientations of an advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people of China. **[[Jiang Zemin|Jiang Zemin]], "[[w:Three Represents|The Three Represents]]" (25 February 2000). *We want to learn from the west about [[science]] and [[technology]] and how to manage the [[Economy of China|economy]], but this must be combined with specific conditions here. That's how we have made great progress in the last twenty years. **[[Jiang Zemin|Jiang Zemin]], as quoted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20140306052558/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/jiang-zemin-talks-with-wallace/ "Jiang Zemin Talks With Wallace"] ''CBS news'' (August 2000) *In front of a lot of princeling friends, I've said that, if the Communist Party can't take sufficient political reform in five or ten years, it could miss the chance entirely. As scholars, we always say it's better to have [[reform]] than [[revolution]], but in Chinese history this cycle repeats itself. Mao said we have to get rid of the cycle, but right now we’re still in it. This is very worrying. ** {{w|Lifan Zhang}}, as quoted in [http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/06/born-red "Born Red: How Xi Jinping, an unremarkable provincial administrator, became China’s most authoritarian leader since Mao."] (6 April 2015), by Evan Osnos, ''The New Yorker'' *[[United Nations]] == See also == * [[Religion in China]] == External links == {{Wikipedia|China}} {{Sister project links|w=China|wikt=China|b=no|s=Portal:China|commons=China|n=no|v=no|species=no|d=Q148|voy=China|m=|mw=no}} [[Category:China| ]] 4ytey9tauf4why26k1p7mf8oh7du276 0 5655 3515634 2947771 2024-05-15T07:51:42Z 2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161 wikitext text/x-wiki qr6z4w3ngpiwhm55kj2qiarc8cx9uni 3515636 3515634 2024-05-15T07:52:24Z Codename Noreste 3154048 Undo revision [[Special:Diff/3515634|3515634]] by [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161]] ([[User talk:2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|talk]]) wikitext text/x-wiki l9iqy186mr2pd5x8513y0wm18isjf75 0 5916 3515459 3514004 2024-05-14T20:36:46Z A23423413 3125316 adds wikitext text/x-wiki epsy9f9kw9uvp3335b9ces00ybj6tie 0 6386 3515264 3508530 2024-05-14T12:16:49Z 98.179.157.218 wikitext text/x-wiki i5nu4wqu3p9dahf485peuje7mcuytif 3515265 3515264 2024-05-14T12:18:35Z 98.179.157.218 wikitext text/x-wiki j9uf3b80pdumdzc7pttht39xby7zoc3 0 6483 3515632 2944323 2024-05-15T07:48:28Z 2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki hu9zzgmq0q70chjipwm2jxlyij7pgq0 3515635 3515632 2024-05-15T07:52:06Z Codename Noreste 3154048 Undo revision [[Special:Diff/3515632|3515632]] by [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161]] ([[User talk:2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|talk]]) wikitext text/x-wiki g35twetg316rgg0ey1mleyd2hy6nd59 0 6744 3515464 3297447 2024-05-14T20:42:26Z A23423413 3125316 /* Quotes about Woodward */ add wikitext text/x-wiki mijp3q3254mqod93uujhchynqqewezl 0 6865 3515661 3506200 2024-05-15T09:31:35Z P3Y229 502951 /* The Professor at the Breakfast Table (1859) */ - 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He was [[w:professor emeritus|professor emeritus]] of [[anthropology]] at the [[w:University of Arizona|University of Arizona]], with a joint appointment with the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, and was consulting professor of anthropological sciences at [[Stanford University]]. He was the longtime director of the [[w:Tucson Garbage Project|Tucson Garbage Project]], which studied trends in discards by field research in [[w:Tucson, Arizona|Tucson, Arizona]], and in [[w:landfills|landfills]] elsewhere, pioneering the field now known as [[w:garbology|garbology]]. {{scientist-stub}} == Quotes == * Source Reduction is to garbage what preventive medicine is to health. ** ''Atlantic Monthly'', December 1989. == External links== {{wikipedia}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathje, William}} [[Category:Archaeologists from the United States]] [[Category:1945 births]] [[Category:2012 deaths]] [[Category:People from Indiana]] [[Category:Academics from the United States]] [[Category:Stanford University faculty]] 41a8lgpxlcwtj875yhrbb27pwxoqy6q 0 15084 3515335 3459529 2024-05-14T17:05:45Z A23423413 3125316 add wikitext text/x-wiki lgr79g285w2b8gp6o7yp0t480kq4wt2 0 15219 3515655 3512221 2024-05-15T09:09:26Z 193.163.59.20 /* Forever Charmed */ wikitext text/x-wiki qllucwh9znp6z6sd9pyfnmic3xqzv8i 3515657 3515655 2024-05-15T09:09:47Z 193.163.59.20 /* Forever Charmed */ wikitext text/x-wiki ofgb3nuv66xrt89bpayvpzndvoklzr5 3515659 3515657 2024-05-15T09:24:50Z 193.163.59.20 /* Generation Hex */ wikitext text/x-wiki 47x0vco4chku4v1qy59hqzieenq5p7k 3515660 3515659 2024-05-15T09:25:08Z 193.163.59.20 /* Generation Hex */ wikitext text/x-wiki p6k1bmxfpusvg9g2nz51lunepnsk5so 3515668 3515660 2024-05-15T09:46:47Z 193.163.59.20 /* Run Piper, Run */ wikitext text/x-wiki f1ouxvh06ddfhtizl6ibnayz7waz1nf 3515669 3515668 2024-05-15T09:51:43Z 193.163.59.20 /* Hulkus Pocus */ wikitext text/x-wiki pteto9h058644w603sskwptu8jezhvo 0 17831 3515448 3434493 2024-05-14T20:12:57Z 79.30.43.244 /* Legends of the Jews (1909) */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4mlk05v1b1u96wq0nsug02ll0m3hb0i 3515453 3515448 2024-05-14T20:23:45Z Philip Cross 7192 Undo revision [[Special:Diff/3515448|3515448]] by [[Special:Contributions/79.30.43.244|79.30.43.244]] ([[User talk:79.30.43.244|talk]]) unsatisfactory source, possibly machine translated from the original Italian wikitext text/x-wiki gbi0xb4unamuqz3ve0erg4obp2c87ds 0 18272 3515325 3515162 2024-05-14T16:36:27Z HouseOfChange 1404243 /* May 2024 */ removing quote made by Donald Trump, not Joe Biden. CE other quote based on source cited wikitext text/x-wiki khxr1j04pmixrir0tswnjhc9re3gxc3 0 21065 3515597 3491718 2024-05-15T04:48:04Z মোহাম্মদ জনি হোসেন 3109454 wikitext text/x-wiki brhp065yzu7lokabmvq1h1xa95shc1o 0 21882 3515441 3496977 2024-05-14T20:05:32Z Ficaia 3085955 wikitext text/x-wiki dy5eb2n9umar9lc32g83qgn1vvfzsn8 3515591 3515441 2024-05-15T04:07:03Z Ficaia 3085955 wikitext text/x-wiki 4tb8e8pvw417yapqyytvx5cu82l4okf 3515605 3515591 2024-05-15T06:00:44Z Ficaia 3085955 wikitext text/x-wiki 07ijr4zkkg8dmckjskf1olicqskxbme 0 25842 3515365 3485223 2024-05-14T18:27:40Z Coningsby 10755 /* Quotes about Eden */ Brian Bond wikitext text/x-wiki 2s2yg4h1yzzkfn2chluzpfmczj86x7c 0 28809 3515270 3477566 2024-05-14T12:36:46Z 103.70.152.8 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki mfuy2f5tba8ah0di39ced5qqhqgdd1d 3515271 3515270 2024-05-14T12:37:16Z 103.70.152.8 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4v3ydgm1nosckpbzq7fwtsgn3vx1tju 3515274 3515271 2024-05-14T12:39:10Z 103.70.152.8 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 45766vhy1rrvybuybwtvi4iq145pb0l 0 29172 3515401 3513757 2024-05-14T19:41:24Z 2607:F280:3020:FB:2B41:FB58:0:DCE wikitext text/x-wiki 97okf60xnjip5wvxf7k94plgpw1ze6w 0 30991 3515257 3515216 2024-05-14T12:04:53Z 2001:4454:3D1:F900:C4F5:54DD:40C7:1E20 /* Story Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki f7sf99o7cjhndl1ijaiwat54tbdhnec 3515610 3515257 2024-05-15T06:07:01Z 49.145.97.71 /* Reina */ wikitext text/x-wiki 2u16sn54i48kz8o7pkhngtwl5ogbxv2 3515676 3515610 2024-05-15T10:19:31Z 2001:4454:329:B200:9598:1225:F1A7:1F4A /* Story Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 2a7iulbtsjc0s2z5oy46h9lh79e0a5o 3515677 3515676 2024-05-15T10:20:47Z 2001:4454:329:B200:9598:1225:F1A7:1F4A /* Story Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki sk3ym6i1aq5zldmqzyt8a68q0q498z1 0 32742 3515293 3476273 2024-05-14T14:09:35Z 67.43.23.34 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki pukb17976hrrudua3i0xdst93owyjm8 3515403 3515293 2024-05-14T19:41:45Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Robin Loup wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Jeffrey_Dahmer_HS_Yearbook.jpg|thumb|Jeffrey Dahmer in 1978]] '''[[w:Jeffrey Dahmer|Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer]]''' (May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the '''Milwaukee Cannibal''' or the '''Milwaukee Monster''', was an [[w:United States|American]] [[w:serial killer|serial killer]] and [[w:sex offender|sex offender]] who committed the murder and [[w:dismemberment|dismemberment]] of 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. Many of his later murders involved [[w:necrophilia|necrophilia]], [[w:human cannibalism|cannibalism]], and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the [[w:skeleton|skeleton]]. == Quotes == *Your honor, it is over now. This has never been a case of trying to get free. I didn't ever want freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. This was a case to tell the world that I did what I did not for reasons of hate, I hated no one. I know I was sick or evil, or both. Now I believe I was sick. The doctors have told me about my sickness and now I have some peace. **Closing statement after trial sentencing. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnuSl8PNYqc video] *I had these obsessive desires and thoughts wanting to control them [victims], to–I don't know how to put it–possess them permanently. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvmGdzgdLM Inside Edition Interview] *It's a process, it doesn't happen overnight, when you depersonalize another person and view them as just an object. An object for pleasure and not a living breathing human being. It seems to make it easier to do things you shouldn't do. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvmGdzgdLM Inside Edition Interview] *To this day I don't know what started it [the killings]. The person to blame is sitting right across from you. It's the only person. Not parents, not society, not [[pornography]]. I mean, those are just excuses. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COKYJdoUV2w Inside Edition Interview] *If a person doesn’t think there is a God to be accountable to, then—then what's the point of trying to modify your behaviour to keep it within acceptable ranges? That's how I thought anyway. I always believed the theory of evolution as truth, that we all just came from the slime. When we, when we died, you know, that was it, there is nothing ... ** In an interview with [[w:Stone Phillips|Stone Phillips]], ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) *The killing was a means to an end. That was the least satisfactory part. I didn't enjoy doing that. That's why I tried to create living zombies with uric acid in the drill [to the head], but it never worked. No, the killing was not the objective. I just wanted to have the person under my complete control, not having to consider their wishes, being able to keep them there as long as I wanted. ** In an interview with [[w:Stone Phillips|Stone Phillips]], ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) ==Quotes about Dahmer== *You think of the crimes that he committed, they're so horrific you kinda think only a madman or somebody totally evil–evil incarnate would do this but when you talked with Jeff Dahmer you did not get this idea. He could be engaging, he could be bright, witty, he could make jokes. He was able to fool a lot of people. **Detective Patrick Kennedy in [ Born to Kill?: Jeffrey Dahmer [https://www.vizaca.com/david-dahmer-now-today/ brother David Dahmer]] Channel 5 *He fooled everyone. He fooled me...he fooled his probation officer, his attorney, the police...He had bodies in the next room when the police were standing in his outer room. **Lionel Dahmer, Jeff's father, interview with Stone Phillips, ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) *What do I think of Jeffrey Dahmer? I don't know the man personally, but I'll tell ya this, that's a good example as to why insanity doesn't belong in the courtroom. Because if Jeffrey Dahmer doesn't meet the requirements for insanity, then I'd hate like hell to run into the guy that does. Beyond that, I have no comment on Jeffrey Dahmer because I'm not Jeffrey Dahmer. **[[John Wayne Gacy]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c-mC2RpjWA CBS 2 News interview (1992)] ==See also== *[[Dennis Nilsen]] == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahmer, Jeffrey}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:1994 deaths]] [[Category:People charged with crimes]] [[Category:LGBT people]] [[Category:Serial killers]] [[Category:Prisoners]] [[Category:Murdered people]] [[Category:People from Milwaukee]] 59xvxfk7i974wr5fh74d7mu75b59n92 3515407 3515403 2024-05-14T19:43:44Z 67.43.23.34 /* Nigga */ wikitext text/x-wiki j6c2qy9upj2xbveotubosoefnt629dp 3515409 3515407 2024-05-14T19:44:08Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki 2jcx1wxeywlkcni9k9favg116ti9fjm 3515410 3515409 2024-05-14T19:44:16Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Philip Cross wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Jeffrey_Dahmer_HS_Yearbook.jpg|thumb|Jeffrey Dahmer in 1978]] '''[[w:Jeffrey Dahmer|Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer]]''' (May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the '''Milwaukee Cannibal''' or the '''Milwaukee Monster''', was an [[w:United States|American]] [[w:serial killer|serial killer]] and [[w:sex offender|sex offender]] who committed the murder and [[w:dismemberment|dismemberment]] of 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. Many of his later murders involved [[w:necrophilia|necrophilia]], [[w:human cannibalism|cannibalism]], and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the [[w:skeleton|skeleton]]. == Quotes == *Your honor, it is over now. This has never been a case of trying to get free. I didn't ever want freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. This was a case to tell the world that I did what I did not for reasons of hate, I hated no one. I know I was sick or evil, or both. Now I believe I was sick. The doctors have told me about my sickness and now I have some peace. **Closing statement after trial sentencing. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnuSl8PNYqc video] *I had these obsessive desires and thoughts wanting to control them [victims], to–I don't know how to put it–possess them permanently. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvmGdzgdLM Inside Edition Interview] *It's a process, it doesn't happen overnight, when you depersonalize another person and view them as just an object. An object for pleasure and not a living breathing human being. It seems to make it easier to do things you shouldn't do. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvmGdzgdLM Inside Edition Interview] *To this day I don't know what started it [the killings]. The person to blame is sitting right across from you. It's the only person. Not parents, not society, not [[pornography]]. I mean, those are just excuses. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COKYJdoUV2w Inside Edition Interview] *If a person doesn’t think there is a God to be accountable to, then—then what's the point of trying to modify your behaviour to keep it within acceptable ranges? That's how I thought anyway. I always believed the theory of evolution as truth, that we all just came from the slime. When we, when we died, you know, that was it, there is nothing ... ** In an interview with [[w:Stone Phillips|Stone Phillips]], ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) *The killing was a means to an end. That was the least satisfactory part. I didn't enjoy doing that. That's why I tried to create living zombies with uric acid in the drill [to the head], but it never worked. No, the killing was not the objective. I just wanted to have the person under my complete control, not having to consider their wishes, being able to keep them there as long as I wanted. ** In an interview with [[w:Stone Phillips|Stone Phillips]], ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) ==Quotes about Dahmer== *You think of the crimes that he committed, they're so horrific you kinda think only a madman or somebody totally evil–evil incarnate would do this but when you talked with Jeff Dahmer you did not get this idea. He could be engaging, he could be bright, witty, he could make jokes. He was able to fool a lot of people. **Detective Patrick Kennedy in [ Born to Kill?: Jeffrey Dahmer [https://www.vizaca.com/david-dahmer-now-today/ brother David Dahmer]] Channel 5 *He fooled everyone. He fooled me...he fooled his probation officer, his attorney, the police...He had bodies in the next room when the police were standing in his outer room. **Lionel Dahmer, Jeff's father, interview with Stone Phillips, ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) *What do I think of Jeffrey Dahmer? I don't know the man personally, but I'll tell ya this, that's a good example as to why insanity doesn't belong in the courtroom. Because if Jeffrey Dahmer doesn't meet the requirements for insanity, then I'd hate like hell to run into the guy that does. Beyond that, I have no comment on Jeffrey Dahmer because I'm not Jeffrey Dahmer. **[[John Wayne Gacy]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c-mC2RpjWA CBS 2 News interview (1992)] ==See also== *[[Dennis Nilsen]] == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahmer, Jeffrey}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:1994 deaths]] [[Category:People charged with crimes]] [[Category:LGBT people]] [[Category:Serial killers]] [[Category:Prisoners]] [[Category:Murdered people]] [[Category:People from Milwaukee]] 59xvxfk7i974wr5fh74d7mu75b59n92 3515411 3515410 2024-05-14T19:44:25Z 67.43.23.34 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki 0t80frym9n9xh8w4fcb4ldn1ype6bo3 3515413 3515411 2024-05-14T19:44:48Z Leonidlednev 3105635 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Philip Cross wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Jeffrey_Dahmer_HS_Yearbook.jpg|thumb|Jeffrey Dahmer in 1978]] '''[[w:Jeffrey Dahmer|Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer]]''' (May 21, 1960 – November 28, 1994), also known as the '''Milwaukee Cannibal''' or the '''Milwaukee Monster''', was an [[w:United States|American]] [[w:serial killer|serial killer]] and [[w:sex offender|sex offender]] who committed the murder and [[w:dismemberment|dismemberment]] of 17 men and boys from 1978 to 1991. Many of his later murders involved [[w:necrophilia|necrophilia]], [[w:human cannibalism|cannibalism]], and the permanent preservation of body parts—typically all or part of the [[w:skeleton|skeleton]]. == Quotes == *Your honor, it is over now. This has never been a case of trying to get free. I didn't ever want freedom. Frankly, I wanted death for myself. This was a case to tell the world that I did what I did not for reasons of hate, I hated no one. I know I was sick or evil, or both. Now I believe I was sick. The doctors have told me about my sickness and now I have some peace. **Closing statement after trial sentencing. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnuSl8PNYqc video] *I had these obsessive desires and thoughts wanting to control them [victims], to–I don't know how to put it–possess them permanently. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvmGdzgdLM Inside Edition Interview] *It's a process, it doesn't happen overnight, when you depersonalize another person and view them as just an object. An object for pleasure and not a living breathing human being. It seems to make it easier to do things you shouldn't do. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtvmGdzgdLM Inside Edition Interview] *To this day I don't know what started it [the killings]. The person to blame is sitting right across from you. It's the only person. Not parents, not society, not [[pornography]]. I mean, those are just excuses. **[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COKYJdoUV2w Inside Edition Interview] *If a person doesn’t think there is a God to be accountable to, then—then what's the point of trying to modify your behaviour to keep it within acceptable ranges? That's how I thought anyway. I always believed the theory of evolution as truth, that we all just came from the slime. When we, when we died, you know, that was it, there is nothing ... ** In an interview with [[w:Stone Phillips|Stone Phillips]], ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) *The killing was a means to an end. That was the least satisfactory part. I didn't enjoy doing that. That's why I tried to create living zombies with uric acid in the drill [to the head], but it never worked. No, the killing was not the objective. I just wanted to have the person under my complete control, not having to consider their wishes, being able to keep them there as long as I wanted. ** In an interview with [[w:Stone Phillips|Stone Phillips]], ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) ==Quotes about Dahmer== *You think of the crimes that he committed, they're so horrific you kinda think only a madman or somebody totally evil–evil incarnate would do this but when you talked with Jeff Dahmer you did not get this idea. He could be engaging, he could be bright, witty, he could make jokes. He was able to fool a lot of people. **Detective Patrick Kennedy in [ Born to Kill?: Jeffrey Dahmer [https://www.vizaca.com/david-dahmer-now-today/ brother David Dahmer]] Channel 5 *He fooled everyone. He fooled me...he fooled his probation officer, his attorney, the police...He had bodies in the next room when the police were standing in his outer room. **Lionel Dahmer, Jeff's father, interview with Stone Phillips, ''Dateline NBC'' (29 November 1994) *What do I think of Jeffrey Dahmer? I don't know the man personally, but I'll tell ya this, that's a good example as to why insanity doesn't belong in the courtroom. Because if Jeffrey Dahmer doesn't meet the requirements for insanity, then I'd hate like hell to run into the guy that does. Beyond that, I have no comment on Jeffrey Dahmer because I'm not Jeffrey Dahmer. **[[John Wayne Gacy]] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c-mC2RpjWA CBS 2 News interview (1992)] ==See also== *[[Dennis Nilsen]] == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahmer, Jeffrey}} [[Category:1960 births]] [[Category:1994 deaths]] [[Category:People charged with crimes]] [[Category:LGBT people]] [[Category:Serial killers]] [[Category:Prisoners]] [[Category:Murdered people]] [[Category:People from Milwaukee]] 59xvxfk7i974wr5fh74d7mu75b59n92 0 36674 3515598 3453405 2024-05-15T04:50:29Z 207.177.166.236 /* Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants [5.9] */ wikitext text/x-wiki qvz2gr44iafbg7hcrbqiqbiglmut5c7 0 36675 3515318 3510657 2024-05-14T15:26:12Z 207.177.166.236 /* Bebe's Boobs Destroy Society [6.10] */ wikitext text/x-wiki j23bwej94ef04z6p1k8bqhc0h5sbpgi 0 37269 3515355 3402277 2024-05-14T17:51:23Z A23423413 3125316 /* Quotes */ adds wikitext text/x-wiki 1ts8bpughzl4r4utn6hy89jwhn7gwaz 0 39182 3515629 3515238 2024-05-15T07:19:28Z 193.163.59.20 /* The I in Team */ wikitext text/x-wiki gy58acjynjmj40kundiktl0hll2y3s6 3515631 3515629 2024-05-15T07:27:54Z 193.163.59.20 /* This Year's Girl */ wikitext text/x-wiki bwyt9v3vr1o1i4us4k935ae6918fwk1 3515651 3515631 2024-05-15T08:42:44Z 193.163.59.20 /* This Year's Girl */ wikitext text/x-wiki btt9xmvw5i01vl3bu1onexx1ox5ychz 0 41385 3515373 3457274 2024-05-14T18:56:58Z Philip Cross 7192 /* 2022–present */ + [[Marina Hyde]] wikitext text/x-wiki kd1ljaisyf58tci6wt6rsf68eg51dxf 3515374 3515373 2024-05-14T19:04:08Z Philip Cross 7192 /* 2022–present */ link to news story wikitext text/x-wiki n5e1ldzhkubcf46jync27yf0035gz5j 3515375 3515374 2024-05-14T19:07:09Z Philip Cross 7192 /* 2022–present */ ce wikitext text/x-wiki 0u0g74liter0e45b7tgalpwmzjti0qd 0 41494 3515380 3501260 2024-05-14T19:18:24Z মোহাম্মদ জনি হোসেন 3109454 wikitext text/x-wiki qjfcm2duld0xckyychw4dqrqzhe8o5t 0 42594 3515292 3192980 2024-05-14T14:04:22Z Beestalman 440730 Removed excess spaces. wikitext text/x-wiki jdsm3peqcisfjsv5ov2cc2gfe4un2in 0 48846 3515414 3512831 2024-05-14T19:44:55Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki r1tqybph3r0f849zm573umfr3d3jn39 3515485 3515414 2024-05-14T21:37:18Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 08g3pr6izhctddurp9q6kto2uuao8ym 3515486 3515485 2024-05-14T21:39:25Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 9lbo5dnx7xzzs5u2zf6oqj4cps5f2xd 3515515 3515486 2024-05-14T23:39:55Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 5a1j8i9gh55gcregfffi8wx2e6alrba 0 59084 3515261 3515255 2024-05-14T12:11:19Z HouseOfChange 1404243 /* E–L */ Surely at least one quote from notorious-antisemite Hitler should be retained in this article wikitext text/x-wiki c0a6anyeck3ykcvmm8tueeps3tq3mkj 3515266 3515261 2024-05-14T12:18:50Z Philip Cross 7192 Undo revision [[Special:Diff/3515261|3515261]] by [[Special:Contributions/HouseOfChange|HouseOfChange]] ([[User talk:HouseOfChange|talk]]) see talk page, quotes from Richard Nixon were removed last year wikitext text/x-wiki cwgpd2jf5w76qcb09d5jp61bjbyq6wm 3515328 3515266 2024-05-14T16:54:23Z HouseOfChange 1404243 /* D */ if we are removing examples of antisemitism, this should go. It is not "about" antisemitism wikitext text/x-wiki jeffk5dado7zfqm9shksj4qq3m79m01 3515330 3515328 2024-05-14T16:55:20Z HouseOfChange 1404243 /* M */ not "about" antisemitism wikitext text/x-wiki 20z3wh1lwum1odnkbm7lflb1oj9dpce 3515331 3515330 2024-05-14T16:56:02Z HouseOfChange 1404243 /* M */ neither notable nor quotable wikitext text/x-wiki jo6jxrxl6jdll7g7bfncewcuseprkzt 3515336 3515331 2024-05-14T17:08:24Z HouseOfChange 1404243 /* E–L */ quotable quote by notable person about antisemitism, replacing a less quotable one I removed wikitext text/x-wiki 1bb23irezi4b4i6pyranpwy1925ah2q 0 61451 3515387 3450429 2024-05-14T19:29:29Z Coningsby 10755 /* Quotes */ Paul Fussell wikitext text/x-wiki moz033x4iwq1f1tg3rojc55re2pns8y 3515402 3515387 2024-05-14T19:41:34Z Coningsby 10755 /* Quotes about Edmund Blunden */ Brian Bond wikitext text/x-wiki c78mdwy6npbmgw5veymnyspg2ioyzf7 3515449 3515402 2024-05-14T20:16:24Z Coningsby 10755 /* Quotes about Edmund Blunden */ wikitext text/x-wiki ko0mbxwisovovroz9fkmaqvzrjmpwnq 3515450 3515449 2024-05-14T20:17:36Z Coningsby 10755 /* Quotes about Edmund Blunden */ wikitext text/x-wiki bk8swkj3y0fc04lvs0vbuh6jyt03mck 0 74438 3515371 3451971 2024-05-14T18:42:15Z 50.223.237.202 /* Aa–Ac */ wikitext text/x-wiki occ6m4bnnpvxmvqm47pxiwmwm3c11kg 3515379 3515371 2024-05-14T19:17:10Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:50.223.237.202|50.223.237.202]] ([[User talk:50.223.237.202|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/50.223.237.202|contributions]]) to last version by Philip Cross wikitext text/x-wiki '''Subset of [[List of people by name]]''' {{People by name}} == # == *[[Anonymous|(Anonymous)]] *[[2 Chainz]] *[[50 Cent]] == A == ===Aa–Ac=== *[[Tod A|A, Tod]] *[[Jacob Aagaard|Aagaard, Jacob]] *[[Aaliyah]] *[[Alvar Aalto|Aalto, Alvar]] *[[Hank Aaron|Aaron, Hank]] *[[Frank Abagnale|Abagnale, Frank]] *[[Chris Abani|Abani, Chris]] *[[Khwaja Ahmad Abbas|Abbas, Khwaja Ahmad]] *[[Mahmoud Abbas|Abbas, Mahmoud]] *[[Michael Abbensetts|Abbensetts, Michael]] *[[Edward Abbey|Abbey, Edward]] *[[Henry Abbey|Abbey, Henry]] *[[Andrew Abbott|Abbot, Andrew]] *[[Berenice Abbott|Abbot, Bernice]] *[[Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden|Abbott, Charles, 1st Baron Tenterden]] *[[Derek Abbott|Abbot, Derek]] *[[Diane Abbott|Abbot, Diane]] *[[Edwin Abbott Abbott|Abbot, Edwin]] *[[Jack Abbott|Abbot, Jack]] *[[Shirley Abbott|Abbott, Shirley]] *[[Tony Abbott|Abbott, Tony]] *[[Randa Abdel-Fattah|Abdel-Fattah, Randa]] *[[`Abdu'l-Bahá]] *[[Sabit Damulla Abdulbaki|Abdulbaki, Sabit Damulla]] *[[Abdul Kalam]] *[[Abdul Sattar Edhi]] *[[Abdullah of Saudi Arabia]] *[[Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh]] *[[Omar Abdullah|Abdullah, Omar]] *[[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar|Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem]] *[[Khabibullo Abdusamatov|Abdusamatov, Khabibullo]] *[[Reuben Abel|Abel, Reuben]] *[[Peter Abelard|Abelard, Peter]] *[[Isaac Abella|Abella, Isaac]] *[[Hal Abelson|Abelson, Hal]] *[[Philip Abelson|Abelson, Philip]] *[[Lascelles Abercrombie|Abercrombie, Lascelles]] *[[Aberjhani]] *[[George Abernethy|Abernethy, George]] *[[Ralph Abernathy|Abernathy, Ralph]] *[[Hafsat Abiola|Abiola, Hafsat]] *[[Walter Abish|Abish, Walter]] *[[Dan Abnett|Abnett, Dan]] *[[James Abourezk|Abourezk, James]] *[[Abraham]] *[[Daniel Abraham|Abraham, Daniel]] *[[M. H. Abrams|Abrams, M. H.]] *[[Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov|Abrikosov, Alexei Alexeyevich]] *[[Dannie Abse|Abse, Dannie]] *[[Shaker Abssi|Abssi, Shaker]] *[[Talal Abu-Ghazaleh|Abu-Ghazaleh, Talal]] *[[Diana Abu-Jaber|Abu-Jaber, Diana]] *[[Mumia Abu-Jamal|Abu-Jamal, Mumia]] *[[As'ad AbuKhalil|AbuKhalil, As'ad]] *[[Bella Abzug|Abzug, Bella]] *[[Lucius Accius|Accius, Lucius]] *[[Vito Acconci|Acconci, Vito]] *[[Goodman Ace|Ace, Goodman]] *[[Elizabeth Acevedo|Acevedo, Elizabeth]] *[[Manmohan Acharya|Acharya, Manmohan]] *[[Chinua Achebe|Achebe, Chinua]] *[[Dean Acheson|Acheson, Dean]] *[[Kathy Acker|Acker, Kathy]] *[[Diane Ackerman|Ackerman, Diane]] *[[Russell L. Ackoff|Ackoff, Russell L.]] *[[Oscar Zeta Acosta|Acosta, Oscar Zeta]] *[[Peter Ackroyd|Ackroyd, Peter]] *[[Eliza Acton|Acton, Eliza]] *[[John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton|Acton, John]] (Lord Acton) ===Ad=== *[[Robert Adair (physicist)|Adair, Robert]] *[[Adam]] *[[Corinna Adam|Adam, Corinna]] *[[Thomas Adam|Adam, Thomas]] *[[Abigail Adams|Adams, Abigail]] *[[Ansel Adams|Adams, Ansel]] *[[Brooks Adams|Adams, Brooks]] *[[Bryan Adams|Adams, Bryan]] *[[Charles Francis Adams, Sr.|Adams, Charles Francis, Sr.]] *[[Charles Follen Adams|Adams, Charles Follen]] *[[Douglas Adams|Adams, Douglas]] *[[Franklin Pierce Adams|Adams, Franklin Pierce]] *[[Gerry Adams|Adams, Gerry]] *[[Henry Adams|Adams, Henry]] *[[James Truslow Adams|Adams, James Truslow]] *[[John Adams|Adams, John]] *[[John Bodkin Adams|Adams, John Bodkin]] *[[John Quincy Adams|Adams, John Quincy]] *[[Nehemiah Adams|Adams, Nehemiah]] *[[Patch Adams|Adams, Patch]] *[[Ryan Adams|Adams, Ryan]] *[[Samuel Adams|Adams, Samuel]] *[[Sarah Fuller Flower Adams|Adams, Sarah]] *[[Scott Adams|Adams, Scott]] *[[William Adams|Adams, William]] *[[Swami Adbhutananda|Adbhutananda, Swami]] *[[Jane Addams|Addams, Jane]] *[[Cannonball Adderley|Adderley, Cannonball]] *[[Joseph Addison|Addison, Joseph]] *[[Percy Addleshaw|Addleshaw, Percy]] *[[George Ade|Ade, George]] *[[Ayobami Adebayo|Adebayo, Ayobami]] *[[Adele (singer)|Adele]] (singer) *[[Konrad Adenauer|Adenauer, Konrad]] *[[Tomi Adeyemi|Adeyemi, Tomi]] *[[Adi Da]] *[[Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie|Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi]] *[[Sade Adu|Adu, Sade]] *[[Uzo Aduba|Aduba, Uzo]] *[[Aravind Adiga|Adiga, Aravind]] *[[Yogi Adityanath|Adityanath, Yogi]] *[[Isabelle Adjani|Adjani, Isabelle]] *[[Felix Adler|Adler, Felix]] *[[Freda Adler|Adler, Freda]] *[[Hermann Adler|Adler, Hermann]] *[[Mortimer Adler|Adler, Mortimer]] *[[Theodor Adorno|Adorno, Theodor]] *[[Alfred Adler|Adler, Alfred]] *[[Renata Adler|Adler, Renata]] *[[Stella Adler|Adler, Stella]] *[[Adunis]] *[[Adyashanti]] ===Ae–Ak=== *[[Diederik Aerts|Aerts, Diederik]] *[[Aeschines]] *[[Aeschylus]] *[[Aesop]] *[[Aesop Rock]] *[[Yochanan Afek|Afek, Yochanan]] *[[Ben Affleck|Affleck, Ben]] *[[Michel Aflaq|Aflaq, Michel]] *[[Scipio Africanus|Africanus, Scipio]] *[[Aga Khan III]] *[[Aga Khan IV]] *[[Begum Aga Khan|Aga Khan, Begum Inaara]] *[[Giorgio Agamben|Agamben, Giorgio]] *[[Alex Agase|Agase, Alex]] *[[Louis Agassiz|Agassiz, Louis]] *[[James Agate|Agate, James]] *[[Agathon]] *[[Ivan Agayants|Agayants, Ivan]] *[[Riyad Naasan Agha|Agha, Riyad Naasan]] *[[Gholam-Reza Aghazadeh|Aghazadeh, Gholam-Reza]] *[[Agis II]] *[[Agis IV]] *[[Jonathan Agnew|Agnew, Jonathan]] *[[Spiro Agnew|Agnew, Spiro]] *[[Peter Agre|Agre, Peter]] *[[Robert Agresta|Agresta, Robert]] *[[Grace Aguilar|Aguilar, Grace]] *[[Christina Aguilera|Aguilera, Christina]] *[[Esperanza Aguirre|Aguirre, Esperanza]] *[[Eden Ahbez|Ahbez, Eden]] *[[Bertie Ahern|Ahern, Bertie]] *[[Ahiqar]] *[[Akhenaten]] *[[James Ah Koy|Ah Koy, James]] *[[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad|Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud]] *[[Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed|Ahmed, Fakhruddin Ali]] *[[Israr Ahmed|Ahmed, Israr]] *[[Samira Ahmed|Ahmed, Samira]] *[[Martti Ahtisaari|Ahtisaari, Martti]] * Aide, Charles Hamilton, ''see'' [[Charles Hamilton Aide|Hamilton Aide, Charles]] *[[Clay Aiken|Aiken, Clay]] *[[Conrad Aiken|Aiken, Conrad]] *[[George Aiken|Aiken, George]] *[[Howard H. Aiken|Aiken, Howard H.]] *[[Roger Ailes|Ailes, Roger]] *[[Alfred Ainger|Ainger, Alfred]] *[[George Biddell Airy|Airy, George Biddell]] *[[Jonathan Aitken|Aitken, Jonathan]] *[[Decca Aitkenhead|Aitkenhead, Decca]] *[[Akbar]] *[[Mahdi Akef|Akef, Mahdi]] *[[Mark Akenside|Akenside, Mark]] *[[George Akerlof|Akerlof, George]] *[[Chantal Akerman|Akerman, Chantal]] *[[Mehdi Akhavan-Sales|Akhavan-Sales, Mehdi]] *[[Anna Akhmatova|Akhmatova, Anna]] *[[Sergei Akhromeyev|Akhromeyev, Sergei]] *[[Begum Akhtar|Akhtar, Begum]] *[[Akiba ben Joseph]] *[[Akihito]] *[[Todd Akin|Akin, Todd]] *[[Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje|Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Adewale]] *[[Peter Akinola|Akinola, Peter Jasper (Archbishop)]] *[[Uwem Akpan|Akpan, Uwem]] ===Al–Ale=== *[[Ali Zayn al-Abidin|al-Abidin, Ali Zayn]] *[[Iyad Jamal Al-Din|Al-Din, Iyad Jamal]] *[[Hasan al-Askari|al-Askari, Hasan]] *[[Bashar al-Assad|al-Assad, Bashar]] *[[Hafez al-Assad|al-Assad, Hafez]] *[[Muhammad al-Baqir|al-Baqir, Muhammad]] *[[Omar al-Bashir|al-Bashir, Omar]] *[[Hasan al-Basri|al-Basri, Hasan]] *[[Jamal-al-Din Afghani|Al-Afghani, Jamal al-Din]] *[[Adnan al-Dulaimi|al-Dulaimi, Adnan]] *[[Al-Farabi]] *[[Muhammad Asadullah Al-Ghalib|Al-Ghalib, Muhammad Asadullah]] *[[Ali al-Hadi|al-Hadi, Ali]] *[[Mansur Al-Hallaj|Al-Hallaj]] *[[Abd Al-Hamid Al-Ansari|Al-Ansari, Abd Al-Hamid]] *[[Wahbi Al-Hariri|Al-Hariri, Wahbi]] *[[Haj Amin al-Husseini|Al-Husseini, Haj Amin]] *[[Musa al-Kadhim|al-Kadhim, Musa]] *[[Jim Al-Khalili|Al-Khalili, Jim]] *[[Nouri al-Maliki|al-Maliki, Nouri]] *[[Rabih Alameddine|Alameddine, Rabih]] *[[Dhul-Nun al-Misri|al-Misri, Dhul-Nun]] *[[Al-Shaykh Al-Mufid]] *[[Salman al-Ouda|al-Ouda, Salman]] *[[Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum|Al-Maktoum, Mohammed bin Rashid]] *[[Nayef Al-Rodhan|Al-Rodan, Nayef]] *[[Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais|Al-Sudais, Abdul Rahman]] *[[Khalid ibn al-Walid|al-Walid, Khalid ibn]] *[[Mahmoud al-Zahar|al-Zahar, Mahmoud]] *[[Ayman al-Zawahiri|al-Zawahiri, Ayman]] *[[George Alagiah|Alagiah, George]] *[[Francisco X. Alarcón|Alarcón, Francisco X]] *[[Thuraya AlArrayed|AlArrayed, Thuraya]] *[[Leopoldo Alas|Alas, Leopoldo]] *[[Jessica Alba|Alba, Jessica]] *[[Edward Albee|Albee, Edward]] *[[Josef Albers|Albers, Josef]] *[[Albert, Prince Consort]] *[[Scipione Alberti|Alberti, Scipione]] *[[Mitch Albom|Albom, Mitch]] *[[Madeleine Albright|Albright, Madeleine]] *[[Randy Alcorn|Alcorn, Randy]] *[[Amos Bronson Alcott|Alcott, Amos Bronson]] *[[Louisa May Alcott|Alcott, Louisa May]] *[[Alcuin]] *[[Alan Alda|Alda, Alan]] *[[Henry Mills Alden|Alden, Henry Mills]] *[[Kurt Alder|Alder, Kurt]] *[[Edward Hall Alderson|Alderson, Edward Hall]] *[[Richard Aldington|Aldington, Richard]] *[[Brian Aldiss|Aldiss, Brian]] *[[Henry Aldrich|Aldrich, Henry]] *[[Howard E. Aldrich|Aldrich, Howard E.]] *[[James Aldrich|Aldrich, James]] *[[Thomas Bailey Aldrich|Aldrich, Thomas Bailey]] *[[Buzz Aldrin|Aldrin, Buzz]] *[[Alexander Alekhine|Alekhine, Alexander]] *[[Igor Aleksander|Aleksander, Igor]] *[[Alexander I of Macedon]] *[[Alexander II of Russia]] *[[Alexander the Great]] *[[Amir R. Alexander|Alexander, Amir R.]] *[[Archibald Alexander|Alexander, Archibald]] *[[Cecil Frances Alexander|Alexander, Cecil Frances]] *[[Christopher Alexander|Alexander, Christopher]] *[[Claudia Alexander|Alexander, Claudia]] *[[F. Matthias Alexander|Alexander, F. Matthias]] *[[Harold Alexander|Alexander, Harold]] *[[James Waddel Alexander|Alexander, James Waddel]] *[[Lloyd Alexander|Alexander, Lloyd]] *[[Michelle Alexander|Alexander, Michelle]] *[[Shana Alexander|Alexander, Shana]] *[[William Alexander|Alexander, William]] *[[Larisa Alexandrovna|Alexandrova, Larisa]] *[[Sherman Alexie|Alexie, Sherman]] ===Alf–Alk=== *[[Alfano I, Archbishop of Salerno]] *[[Luis Alfaro|Alfaro, Luis]] *[[Mirra Alfassa|Alfassa, Mirra]] *[[Mohamed Al-Fayed|Al-Fayed, Mohamed]] *[[Vittorio Alfieri|Alfieri, Vittorio]] *[[Alfonso X of Castile]] *[[Henry Alford|Alford, Henry]] *[[Alfred the Great]] *[[Hannes Alfvén|Alfvén, Hannes]] *[[William R. Alger|Alger, William R.]] *[[Nelson Algren|Algren, Nelson]] *[[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]] *[[Ayaan Hirsi Ali|Ali, Ayaan Hirsi]] *[[Hasan ibn Ali|Ali, Hasan ibn]] *[[Husayn ibn Ali|Ali, Husayn ibn]] *[[Ibrahim Ali|Ali, Ibrahim]] *[[Leila Ben Ali|Ali, Leila Ben]] *[[Muhammad Ali|Ali, Muhammad]] *[[Tariq Ali|Ali, Tariq]] *[[Yasmin Alibhai-Brown|Alibhai-Brown, Yasmin]] *[[Dante Alighieri|Alighieri, Dante]] *[[Saul Alinsky|Alinsky, Saul]] *[[James Alison|Alison, James]] *[[Samuel Alito|Alito, Samuel]] *[[Heydar Aliyev|Aliyev, Heydar]] *[[Javad Alizadeh|Alizadeh, Javad]] *[[Charles-Valentin Alkan|Alkan, Charles-Valentin]] *[[Mohammed Alkobaisi|Alkobaisi, Mohammed]] *[[Alphonse Allais|Allais, Alphonse]] *[[Maurice Allais|Allais, Maurice]] *[[Jani Allan|Allan, Jani]] *[[W. C. Allee|Allee, W. C.]] *[[Joseph Alleine|Alleine, Joseph]] *[[Richard Alleine|Alleine, Richard]] *[[Lily Allen|Allen, Lily]] *[[Dave Allen|Allen, Dave]] *[[David Allen (author)|Allen, David]] *[[Elizabeth Chase Allen|Allen, Elizabeth Chase]] *[[Ethan Allen|Allen, Ethan]] *[[Fred Allen|Allen, Fred]] *[[Frederick Lewis Allen|Allen, Frederick Lewis]] *[[Gracie Allen|Allen, Gracie]] *[[H. Stanley Allen|Allen, H. Stanley]] *[[James Allen|Allen, James]] *[[James Van Allen|Allen, James Van]] *[[Patrick Allen|Allen, Patrick]] *[[Ray Allen|Allen, Ray]] *[[Steve Allen|Allen, Steve]] *[[Tim Allen|Allen, Tim]] *[[Woody Allen|Allen, Woody]] *[[Isabel Allende|Allende, Isabel]] *[[Salvador Allende|Allende, Salvador]] *[[Lawrence H. Aller|Aller, Lawrence H.]] *[[Kirstie Alley|Alley, Kirstie]] *[[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Alliluyeva, Svetlana]] *[[GG Allin|Allin, GG]] *[[Margery Allingham|Allingham, Margery]] *[[William Allingham|Allingham, William]] *[[Edward Allington|Allington, Edward]] *[[Dorothy Allison|Allison, Dorothy]] *[[Kenneth Allott|Allott, Kenneth]] *[[Bill Allred|Allred, Bill]] *[[Gloria Allred|Allred, Gloria]] *[[Washington Allston|Allston, Washington]] ===Alm–Am=== *[[Muhammad al-Mahdi|al-Mahdi, Muhammad]] *[[Carlos Almaraz|Almaraz, Carlos]] *[[Pedro Almodóvar|Almodóvar, Pedro]] *[[Fernando Alonso|Alonso, Fernando]] *[[Fakhri al-Qaisi|al-Qaisi, Fakhri]] *[[Ali al-Rida|al-Rida, Ali]] *[[Hilton Als|Als, Hilton]] *[[Ja'far al-Sadiq|al-Sadiq, Ja'far]] * Muqtada al-Sadr see [[Muqtada Sadr|Sadr, Muqtada]] *[[Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf|al-Sahhaf, Muhammed Saeed]] *[[Marin Alsop|Alsop, Marin]] *[[Muhammad al-Taqi|al-Taqi, Muhammad]] *[[Lisa Alther|Alther, Lisa]] *[[Louis Althusser|Althusser, Louis]] *[[Thomas J. J. Altizer|Altizer, Thomas J. J. Altizer]] *[[Richard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley|Alvanly, Richard Arden, 1st Baron]] *[[Mando Alvarado|Alvarado, Mando]] *[[Al Alvarez|Alvarez, Al]] *[[Bryan Alvarez|Alvarez, Bryan]] *[[Julia Alvarez|Alvarez, Julia]] *[[Luis Álvarez-Gaumé|Álvarez-Gaumé, Luis]] *[[Maryanne Amacher|Amacher, Maryanne]] *[[John Amaechi|Amaechi, John]] *[[Nuria Amat|Amat, Nuria]] *[[Dhirubhai Ambani|Ambani, Dhirubhai]] *[[Mukesh Ambani|Ambani, Mukesh]] *[[Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar|Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji]] *[[Amber (pop star)]] *[[Scott Ambler|Ambler, Scott]] *[[Ambrose]] *[[Alessandra Ambrosio|Ambrosio, Alessandra]] *[[Gene Amdahl|Amdahl, Gene]] *[[Victoria Amelina|Amelina, Victoria]] *[[Fisher Ames|Ames, Fisher]] *[[Frances Ames|Ames, Frances]] *[[Mark Ames|Ames, Mark]] *[[Henri-Frédéric Amiel|Amiel, Henri-Frédéric]] *[[Hafizullah Amin|Amin, Hafizullah]] *[[Idi Amin|Amin, Idi]] *[[Ebrahim Amini|Amini, Ebrahim]] *[[Kingsley Amis|Amis, Kingsley]] *[[Martin Amis|Amis, Martin]] *[[James F. Amos|Amos, James F.]] *[[Tori Amos|Amos, Tori]] *[[André-Marie Ampère|Ampère, André-Marie]] *[[Suhayl ibn Amr|Amr, Suhayl ibn]] *[[Mata Amritanandamayi|Amritanandamayi, Mata]] *[[Simon Amstell|Amstell, Simon]] *[[Baba Amte|Amte, Baba]] *[[Roald Amundsen|Amundsen, Roald]] ===An=== *[[Anacharsis]] *[[Mulk Raj Anand|Anand, Mulk Raj]] *[[Viswanathan Anand|Anand, Viswanathan]] *[[Anastacia]] *[[Anaxagoras]] *[[Anaximander]] *[[Rudolfo Anaya|Anaya, Rudolfo]] *[[Géza Anda|Anda, Géza]] *[[Larry Andersen|Andersen, Larry]] *[[Beth Anderson|Anderson, Beth]] *[[Christina Anderson (playwright)|Anderson, Christina (playwright)]] *[[Carl David Anderson|Anderson, Carl David]] *[[Chris Anderson (writer)|Anderson, Chris]] (writer) *[[Gillian Anderson|Anderson, Gillian]] *[[Hans Christian Andersen|Andersen, Hans Christian]] *[[Ian Anderson (musician)|Anderson, Ian]] *[[John Anderson (Australian politician)|Anderson, John]] *[[John B. Anderson|Anderson, John B.]] *[[Jon Anderson|Anderson, Jon]] *[[Laurie Anderson|Anderson, Laurie]] *[[Lee Anderson|Anderson, Lee]] *[[Loni Anderson|Anderson, Loni]] *[[Margaret Caroline Anderson|Anderson, Margaret Caroline]] *[[Pamela Anderson|Anderson, Pamela]] *[[Perry Anderson|Anderson, Perry]] *[[Philip Warren Anderson|Anderson, Phillip Warren]] *[[Poul Anderson|Anderson, Poul]] *[[Robert Anderson (playwright)|Anderson, Robert]] (playwright) *[[Sherwood Anderson|Anderson, Sherwood]] *[[Theodore Wilbur Anderson|Anderson, Theodore Wilbur]] *[[Benny Andersson|Andersson, Benny]] *[[Edward Andrade|Andrade, Edward]] *[[Carl Andre|Andre, Carl]] *[[Marc Andreessen|Andreessen, Marc]] *[[Constantine Andreou|Andreou, Constantine]] *[[Stanislav Andreski|Andreski, Stanislav]] *[[Björn Andrésen|Andrésen, Björn]] *[[Mario Andretti|Andretti, Mario]] *[[Keith Andrew|Andrew, Keith]] *[[Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Andrew, Duke of York]] *[[Lancelot Andrewes|Andrewes, Lancelot]] *[[Julie Andrews|Andrews, Julie]] *[[Mary Kay Andrews|Andrews, Mary Kay]] *[[Roy Chapman Andrews|Andrews, Roy Chapman]] *[[Ivo Andrić|Andrić, Ivo]] *[[François Andrieux|Andrieux, François]] *[[Aneirin]] *[[Angela of Foligno]] *[[Barbara De Angelis|Angelis, Barbara De]] *[[Norman Angell|Angell, Norman]] *[[Maya Angelou|Angelou, Maya]] *[[Sharron Angle|Angle, Sharron]] *[[James Jesus Angleton|Angleton, James Jesus]] *[[Joan Walsh Anglund|Anglund, Joan Walsh]] *[[Mordechai Anielewicz|Anielewicz, Mordechai]] *[[Jennifer Aniston|Aniston, Jennifer]] *[[Jo Ankier|Ankier, Jo]] *[[Kofi Annan|Annan, Kofi]] *[[Anne of Great Britain]] *[[Anne, Princess Royal|Anne, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom]] *[[Núria Añó|Añó, Núria]] *[[G. E. M. Anscombe|Anscombe, G. E. M.]] *[[Jean Anouilh|Anouilh, Jean]] *[[Anselm of Canterbury]] *[[Ruth Nanda Anshen|Anshen, Ruth Nanda]] *[[Andrus Ansip|Ansip, Andrus]] *[[Harry J. Anslinger|Anslinger, Harry J.]] *[[F. Anstey|Anstey, F.]], pseudonym of '''Thomas Anstey Guthrie''' *[[George Antheil|Antheil, George]] *[[Anthony of Padua]] *[[Anthony the Great]] *[[Anthony B]] *[[Marc Anthony|Anthony, Marc]] *[[Piers Anthony|Anthony, Piers]] *[[Susan B. Anthony|Anthony, Susan B.]] *[[Mary Antin|Antin, Mary]] *[[Antisthenes]] *[[Maria Rosa Antognazza|Antognazza, Maria Rosa]] *[[Michelangelo Antonioni|Antonioni, Michelangelo]] *[[Laura Antoniou|Antoniou, Laura]] *[[Raymond Antrobus|Antrobus, Raymond]] *[[António Lobo Antunes|Antunes, António Lobo]] *[[Gloria E. Anzaldúa|Anzaldúa, Gloria E.]] ===Ap–Ash=== *[[Guillaume Apollinaire|Apollinaire, Guillaume]] *[[Apollonius of Tyana]] *[[Karel Appel|Appel, Karel]] *[[Jacob M. Appel|Appel, Jacob M.]] *[[Fiona Apple|Apple, Fiona]] *[[Christina Applegate|Applegate, Christina]] *[[Jon Appleton|Appleton, Jon]] *[[Thomas Gold Appleton|Appleton, Thomas Gold]] *[[Apuleius]] *[[Thomas Aquinas|Aquinas, Thomas]] *[[Benigno Aquino III|Aquino, Benigno, III]] *[[William Arabin|Arabin, William]] *[[Rasheed Araeen|Araeen, Rasheed]] *[[Yasser Arafat|Arafat, Yasser]] *[[François Arago|Arago, François]] *[[Francisco Aragón|Aragón, Francisco]] *[[Hiromu Arakawa|Arakawa, Hiromu]] *[[Sadao Araki|Araki, Sadao]] *[[János Arany|Arany, János]] *[[Roscoe Arbuckle|Arbuckle, Roscoe]] *[[John Arbuthnot|Arbuthnot, John]] *[[Michael Arceneaux|Arceneaux, Michael]] *[[Jeffrey Archer|Archer, Jeffrey]] *[[Archilochus]] *[[Archimedes]] *[[Archpoet]] *[[Archytas]] *[[Don Arden|Arden, Don]] *[[Robert Ardrey|Ardrey, Robert]] *[[Elvira Arellano|Arellano, Elvira]] *[[Reinaldo Arenas|Arenas, Reinaldo]] *[[Hannah Arendt|Arendt, Hannah]] *[[Pietro Aretino|Aretino, Pietro]] *[[Abdul Rahman Arif|Arif, Abdul Rahman]] *[[Ludovico Ariosto|Ariosto, Ludovico]] *[[René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, Marquis d' Argenson|Argenson, René Louis de Voyer de Paulmy d']] *[[José Argüelles|Argüelles, José]] *[[Chris Argyris|Argyris, Chris]] *[[Aristophanes]] *[[Aristotle]] *[[Arius]] *[[A. T. Ariyaratne|Ariyaratne, A. T.]] *[[Richard Arkwright|Arkwright, Richard]] *[[John Arlott|Arlott, John]] *[[Joan Armatrading|Armatrading, Joan]] *[[Dick Armey|Armey, Dick]] *[[Simon Armitage|Armitage, Simon]] *[[Richard Armour|Armour, Richard]] *[[Billie Joe Armstrong|Armstrong, Billie Joe]] *[[Edwin Howard Armstrong|Armstrong, Edwin Howard]] *[[Hilary Armstrong|Armstrong, Hilary]] *[[John Armstrong|Armstrong, John]] *[[Karen Armstrong|Armstrong, Karen]] *[[Lance Armstrong|Armstrong, Lance]] *[[Louis Armstrong|Armstrong, Louis]] *[[Neil Armstrong|Armstrong, Neil]] *[[Antoine-Vincent Arnault|Arnault, Antoine-Vincent]] *[[Arnaut Daniel]] *[[Will Arnett|Arnett, Will]] *[[Gus Arnheim|Arnheim, Gus]] *[[Bettina von Arnim|Arnim, Bettina von]] *[[Benedict Arnold|Arnold, Benedict]] *[[Dana Arnold|Arnold, Dana]] *[[Edwin Arnold|Arnold, Edwin]] *[[George Arnold|Arnold, George]] *[[Matthew Arnold|Arnold, Matthew]] *[[Thomas Arnold|Arnold, Thomas]] *[[Vladimir Arnold|Arnold, Vladimir]] *[[Jean Arp|Arp, Hans]] *[[Claudio Arrau|Arrau, Claudio]] *[[Arrian]] *[[Kenneth Arrow|Arrow, Kenneth]] *[[Stephen Arroyo|Arroyo, Stephen]] *[[Pedro Arrupe|Arrupe, Pedro]] *[[Alp Arslan|Arslan, Alp]] *[[Antonin Artaud|Artaud, Antonin]] *[[Beatrice Arthur|Arthur, Beatrice]] *[[Chester A. Arthur|Arthur, Chester A.]] *[[William Arthur (minister)|Arthur, William]] (minister) *[[Lev Artsimovich|Artsimovich, Lev]] *[[Debito Arudou|Arudou, Debito]] (born David Christopher Aldwinckle) *[[Aryabhata]] *[[Muhammad Asad|Asad, Muhammad]] *[[John Ashbery|Ashbery, John]] *[[Sholem Asch|Asch, Sholem]] *[[Solomon Asch|Asch, Solomon]] *[[Roger Ascham|Ascham, Roger]] *[[Neal Ascherson|Ascherson, Neal]] *[[Roy Ascott|Ascott, Roy]] *[[John Ashcroft|Ashcroft, John]] *[[Richard Ashcroft|Ashcroft, Richard]] *[[Arthur Ashe|Ashe, Arthur]] *[[Paddy Ashdown|Ashdown, Paddy]] *[[Daisy Ashford|Ashford, Daisy]] *[[Scott Ashjian|Ashjian, Scott]] *[[Baruch Ashlag|Ashlag, Baruch]] *[[Yehuda Ashlag|Ashlag, Yehuda]] *[[Maurice Ashley|Ashley, Maurice]] *[[Robert Ashley|Ashley, Robert]] *[[Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury|Ashley Cooper, Anthony, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury]] *[[Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury|Ashley-Cooper, Anthony, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury]] *[[Ashoka|Ashoka the Great]] *[[Dore Ashton|Ashton, Dore]] *[[William Henry Ashurst (judge)|Ashurst, William Henry]] *[[Henry Fountain Ashurst|Ashurst, Henry Fountain]] ===Asi–Az=== *[[Isaac Asimov|Asimov, Isaac]] *[[Elias Aslaksen|Aslaksen, Elias]] *[[Alain Aspect|Aspect, Alain]] *[[H. H. Asquith|Asquith, Herbert]] *[[Margot Asquith|Asquith, Margot]] *[[Alberto Assa|Assa, Alberto]] *[[Julian Assange|Assange, Julian]] *[[François Asselineau|Asselineau, François]] *[[Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis|Assis, Joaquim Maria Machado de]] *[[Fred Astaire|Astaire, Fred]] *[[Mary Astell|Astell, Mary]] *[[Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading|Astley, Jacob]] *[[Rick Astley|Astley, Rick]] *[[Richard Aston|Aston, Richard]] *[[Brooke Astor|Astor, Brooke]] *[[John Jacob Astor|Astor, John Jacob]] *[[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal]] *[[Tex Atchison|Atchison, Tex]] *[[Athanasius of Alexandria]] *[[Pandurang Shastri Athavale|Athavale, Pandurang Shastri]] *[[Athenaeus]] *[[Peter Atkins|Atkins, Peter]] *[[Robert Atkyns (judge)|Atkyns, Robert]] *[[Scott Atran|Atran, Scott]] *[[Atrios]] *[[Mohamed Atta|Atta, Mohamed]] *[[Jacques Attali|Attali, Jacques]] *[[Attar of Nishapur]] *[[Dave Attell|Attell, Dave]] *[[David Attenborough|Attenborough, David]] *[[Clement Attlee|Attlee, Clement]] *[[Attila the Stockbroker]] *[[Abd al-Bari Atwan|Atwan, Abd al-Bari]] *[[Lee Atwater|Atwater, Lee]] *[[Margaret Atwood|Atwood, Margaret]] *[[Harriet Auber|Auber, Harriet]] *[[Jean-Henri Merle d'Aubigné|Aubigné, Jean-Henri Merle d']] *[[John Aubrey|Aubrey, John]] *[[W. H. Auden|Auden, Wystan Hugh]] *[[John James Audubon|Audubon, John James]] *[[Erich Auerbach|Auerbach, Erich]] *[[Red Auerbach|Auerbach, Red]] *[[Émile Augier|Augier, Émile]] *[[Augustine of Hippo]] *[[Augustus]] *[[Gae Aulenti|Aulenti, Gae]] *[[Robert Aumann|Aumann, Robert]] *[[Aung San Suu Kyi]] *[[Aurangzeb]] *[[Sri Aurobindo|Aurobindo, Sri]] *[[Ausonius]] *[[Jane Austen|Austen, Jane]] *[[Paul Auster|Auster, Paul]] *[[Alfred Austin|Austin, Alfred]] *[[Benjamin Fish Austin|Austin, Benjamin Fish]] *[[J. L. Austin|Austin, J. L.]] *[[John Avanzini|Avanzini, John]] *[[Avi (author)|Avi]] (author) *[[Avicenna|Avicenna]] *[[Lixion Avila|Avila, Lixion]] *[[John Avlon|Avlon, John]] *[[Uri Avnery|Avnery, Uri]] *[[Henriette Avram|Avram, Henriette]] *[[Ameer Muhammad Akram Awan|Awan, Ameer Muhammad Akram]] *[[Hassan Aweys|Aweys, Hassan]] *[[Awkwafina|Awkwafina]] *[[Alan Axelrod|Axelrod, Alan]] *[[Robert Axelrod|Axelrod, Robert]] *[[Hoyt Axton|Axton, Hoyt]] *[[Ami Ayalon|Ayalon, Ami]] *[[Alan Ayckbourn|Ayckbourn, Alan]] *[[Alfred Jules Ayer|Ayer, Alfred Jules]] *[[Dan Aykroyd|Aykroyd, Dan]] *[[Massad Ayoob|Ayoob, Massad F.]] *[[Pam Ayres|Ayres, Pam]] *[[W. E. Aytoun|Aytoun, W. E.]] *[[Iggy Azalea|Azalea, Iggy]] *[[Malcolm Azania|Azania, Malcolm]] *[[Nnamdi Azikiwe|Azikiwe, Nnamdi]] *[[Tariq Aziz|Aziz, Tariq]] *[[José María Aznar|Aznar, José María]] *[[Joxe Azurmendi|Azurmendi, Joxe]] *[[Azzam the American]] *[[Abdullah Azzam|Azzam, Abdullah]] *[[John G. Azzopardi|Azzopardi, John G.]] [[Category:Lists of people|A]] [[Category:Names]] 3dpvrsdh5dvyp3dxv3zcnxrofjvshvi 0 81116 3515338 3514321 2024-05-14T17:10:48Z HouseOfChange 1404243 Removing PROD I put on the article. Lots of people have edited this, suggesting substantial interest in the topic wikitext text/x-wiki rcqo6h7sl5afm2umxov5fdyjg1i9kqf 0 85919 3515291 3472329 2024-05-14T14:04:05Z Beestalman 440730 Removed excess spaces. wikitext text/x-wiki 17ban7wc09i5zinczykm1faby4pbb5o 0 86222 3515489 3275979 2024-05-14T21:56:43Z DesmondRavenstone 41077 /* Dracula (1931) */ wikitext text/x-wiki 62l1x4yhwfmiz718pik0zq2r91mgg1l 3515494 3515489 2024-05-14T22:01:48Z DesmondRavenstone 41077 /* Dracula (1931) */ wikitext text/x-wiki fve99latw50fsr6ocm3a6iiqu2ufisi 0 95057 3515272 3490836 2024-05-14T12:37:37Z 207.44.14.243 /* Cast */ wikitext text/x-wiki o9w2byswt2fe3urfeel19o6dmbw705b 3515284 3515272 2024-05-14T13:18:01Z Philip Cross 7192 some of the characters are Italian-American, but the film isn't wikitext text/x-wiki g57d6oaxdotbuuak7mltyh8wcjkpfrm 0 99453 3515263 3284594 2024-05-14T12:15:36Z Philip Cross 7192 ce wikitext text/x-wiki bwmxtr4eflwa2sj9bz1frj9qk70e1b5 1 108287 3515487 1005983 2024-05-14T21:39:32Z 2601:644:500:DF10:BC25:C39:BBBA:9C36 /* Unsourced */ Reply wikitext text/x-wiki frsp22gjnwpwopfjq7wkc6z3gnwg3f2 0 111281 3515451 3411541 2024-05-14T20:21:26Z 2600:1007:B0A7:3A84:0:23:DC2C:E201 /* Johnny */ wikitext text/x-wiki nmm8ju63inqjqa6f3di7ga0i3usy89x 3515452 3515451 2024-05-14T20:22:05Z 2600:1007:B0A7:3A84:0:23:DC2C:E201 /* Others */ wikitext text/x-wiki gvcsw9mvgeqr1q4wijauyc69f6zebx1 0 115544 3515295 3507583 2024-05-14T14:28:24Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F wikitext text/x-wiki 9eiw06u64y6ufnd2etkzauklir68a6u 0 117534 3515637 3326540 2024-05-15T07:54:06Z 2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 5v3q8ayc2zv4uqa94kw4qg21yfoqexl 3515640 3515637 2024-05-15T07:55:06Z MathXplore 3050778 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contribs/2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161]] ([[User talk:2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|talk]]) to last version by Chongkian: reverting vandalism wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Ma Shaowu.jpg|thumb|Ma Shaowu]] '''[[w:Ma Shaowu |Ma Shaowu]]''' (馬紹武, [[1874]]–[[1937]]) , a Hui, was born in Yunnan, [[China]]. He was a mandarin during the Qing dynasty. He became the military commander of Kucha and Daotai of Kashgar in Xinjiang under governor Yang Zengxin {{political-stub}} == Quotes== * I have served the Government of China for many years, first the Emperor, and after that the Republican Government at Nanking. I have always tried to do my best; but I must have committed errors--- though I do not know what they were---or this misfortune would not have befallen me. I have lost face. ** {{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6C2aaB3f9P4C&pg=RA1-PA326&dq=ma+shao-wu+flemings&hl=en&ei=ufgXTPKWCIrMMtvMnaUL&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=%20I%20have%20served%20the%20government%20of%20china%20for%20many%20years%2C%20first%20the%20Emperor%2C%20and%20after%20that%20the%20Republican%20Government%20at%20Nanking.&f=false|title=News from Tartary: A Journey from Peking to Kashmir|author=Peter Fleming|year=1999|publisher=Northwestern University Press|location=Evanston Illinois|isbn=0810160714|page=327|pages=384|accessdate=2010-06-28}} * I lost my post when, as a result of the troubles, China lost her authority in Kashgar. ** {{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=g_RGotjhN3sC&pg=PA255&lpg=PA255&dq=I+lost+my+post+when,+as+a+result+of+the+troubles,+China+lost+her+authority+in+Kashgar&source=bl&ots=O4n5vKvPBj&sig=EyDrkYTCpB-qFCuh45dG6TJ_bWk&hl=en&ei=uhBDTNbFL4T48Abgy4UK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=I%20lost%20my%20post%20when%2C%20as%20a%20result%20of%20the%20troubles%2C%20China%20lost%20her%20authority%20in%20Kashgar&f=false|title=Forbidden Journey|author=[[Ella K. Maillart]]|year=2006|publisher=READ BOOKS|location=|isbn=1406719269|page=255|pages=408|accessdate=2010-06-28}} === About Ma Shaowu === * ({{zh|s=马福元宣布：“喀什前道尹马绍武应马占仓和马福元之请，代表中国当局负最高军事和民政监督之职”|t=馬福元宣布：“喀什前道尹馬紹武應馬占倉和馬福元之請，代表中國當局負最高軍事和民政監督之職”}} ** Translation: "Assumed senior military and civil control on behalf of the Chinese Republic at the request of Ma Chan-ts'ang and Ma Fu-yuan" (Statement made by [[Ma Fuyuan]] about Ma Shaowu) *** {{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=IAs9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA245&dq=ma+fu-yuan&hl=en&ei=Mg6YTOmWFIH_8Aby1JU1&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Assumed%20senior%20military%20and%20civil%20control%20on%20behalf%20of%20the%20Chinese%20Republic%20at%20the%20request%20of%20Ma%20Chan-ts'ang%20and%20Ma&f=false|title=Warlords and Muslims in Chinese Central Asia: a political history of Republican Sinkiang 1911-1949|author=Andrew D. W. Forbes|year=1986|publisher=CUP Archive|location=Cambridge, England|isbn=0521255147|page=122|pages=376|accessdate=2010-06-28}} *** {{cite web|url=http://www.islambook.net/xueshu/list.asp?id=604|title=新疆历史上的短命分裂政权——“东突厥斯坦伊斯兰共和国”的覆灭|last=|first=|publisher=|accessdate=2010-06-28}} == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{commonscat}} [[Category:Muslims]] [[Category:1937 deaths]] [[Category:Military leaders from China]] b15tvi5qr4azeohbsr9uwl4emhoy3q8 0 122938 3515516 3472941 2024-05-14T23:50:31Z 2601:2C4:47F:1670:4502:62C5:1CD1:FCF8 wikitext text/x-wiki heiefuxyjq5k2vlv42eawjhrlokzwma 3515517 3515516 2024-05-14T23:50:45Z 2601:2C4:47F:1670:4502:62C5:1CD1:FCF8 wikitext text/x-wiki 966vtq68sgpzch5on9xanc37ieyjj95 0 124283 3515626 3108211 2024-05-15T07:01:23Z Philip Cross 7192 ce wikitext text/x-wiki a68do1xh8r777tssjni7vr3gc0aiq98 0 125733 3515425 3510854 2024-05-14T19:50:22Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki gpn9zqlh2owg7np2lgc5euff5vpewvi 3515426 3515425 2024-05-14T19:50:27Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki ezrhjadwjdf68ozzolmdadyp7yrqd1k 3515428 3515426 2024-05-14T19:51:18Z Koavf 6765 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by P3Y229 wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg|thumb|I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that [[honesty]] is always the best [[policy]].]] '''[[w:George Washington|George Washington]]''' ([[22 February]] [[1732]] &ndash; [[14 December]] [[1799]]) was an American military officer, statesman, and [[w:Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] who served as the first [[president of the United States]] from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the [[w:Second Continental Congress|Second Continental Congress]] as commander of the [[w:Continental Army|Continental Army]] in June 1775, Washington led [[w:Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] forces to victory in the [[American Revolutionary War]] and then served as president of the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] in 1787, which drafted and ratified the [[Constitution of the United States]] and established the [[Federal government of the United States|American federal government]]. Washington has thus been called the "[[w:Father of the Nation|Father of his Country]]". [[File:General George Washington at Trenton by John Trumbull.jpeg|thumb|There is a [[Destiny]] which has the control of our [[actions]], not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of [[Human nature|Human Nature]].]] == Quotes == [[File:Washingtoncongress.jpg|thumb|But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my [[reputation]], I beg it may be [[remembered]] by every gentleman in the room that I this day declare with the utmost [[sincerity]], I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.]] === 1750s === * '''[[Nothing]] is a greater stranger to my breast, or a [[sin]] that my [[soul]] more abhors, than that black and detestable one, ingratitude.''' ** Letter to Governor Dinwiddie (29 May 1754) * '''Tis true, I profess myself a Votary to [[Love]] — I acknowledge that a Lady is in the Case — and further I confess, that this Lady is known to you.''' — Yes Madam, as well as she is to one, who is too sensible of her Charms to deny the [[Power]], whose Influence he [[feels]] and must ever Submit to. I feel the force of her amiable beauties in the recollection of a thousand tender passages that I coud wish to obliterate, till I am bid to revive them. — but experience alas! sadly reminds me how Impossible this is. — and evinces an Opinion which I have long entertaind, that '''there is a [[Destiny]], which has the Sovereign controul of our Actions — not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of [[Human nature|Human Nature]].''' <br /> You have drawn me my dear Madam, or rather have I drawn myself, into an honest confession of a Simple Fact — misconstrue not my meaning — ’tis obvious — doubt it not, nor expose it, — the World has no business to know the object of my Love, declard in this manner to — you when I want to conceal it — '''One thing, above all things in this World I wish to know, and only one person of your Acquaintance can solve me that, or guess my meaning. — but adieu to this, till happier times, if I ever shall see them.''' ** [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-06-02-0013#GEWN-02-06-02-0013-fn-0002 Letter to] [[w:Sally Fairfax|Mrs. George William Fairfax (Sally Cary Fairfax)]] (12 September 1758) * '''[[Discipline]] is the [[soul]] of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.''' ** Letter of Instructions to the Captains of the Virginia Regiments (29 July 1759) === 1770s === [[File:George Washington MET DT2823.jpg|thumb|Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.]] [[File:Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze,_MMA-NYC,_1851.jpg|thumb|The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army...]] [[File:Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette.jpg|thumb|The [[Marquis de Lafayette]] is extremely solicitous of having a command equal to his rank … he is sensible; discreet in his manners; has made great proficiency in our language; and, from the disposition he discovered at the [[w:Battle of Brandywine|battle of Brandywine]], possesses a large share of [[bravery]] and military ardor.]] * The General is sorry to be informed —, that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into a [[fashion]]; — he hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it. ** Extract from the Orderly Book of the army under command of Washington, dated at Head Quarters, in the city of New York (3 August 1770); reported in [https://www.thefederalistpapers.org/founders/washington/george-washington-the-foolish-and-wicked-practice-of-profane-cursing-and-swearing ''American Masonic Register and Literary Companion, Volume 1''] (1829), p. 163 * Unhappy it is though to reflect, that a Brother's Sword has been sheathed in a Brother's breast, and that, '''the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice?''' ** Letter to Mr. [[w:George William Fairfax|George William Fairfax]] (31 May 1775) [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw030206)) George Washington Papers] at the Library of Congress *As to pay, Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. **[http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/amrev/contarmy/accepts.html Acceptance speech after being "elected" by the Continental Congress as commander of the yet-to-be-created Continental Army] (15 June 1775) * '''But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.''' ** Washington's formal acceptance of command of the Army (16 June 1775), quoted in ''The Writings of George Washington : Life of Washington'' (1837) edited by Jared Sparks, p. 141 *When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen. **[http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/amrev/contarmy/newyork.html George Washington to New York Legislature] (26 June 1775) * '''Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.''' ** Letter to [[w:Benedict Arnold|Benedict Arnold]] (14 September 1775) * The reflection upon my situation, and that of this army, produces many an uneasy hour, when all around me are wrapped in sleep. '''Few people know the predicament we are in, on a thousand accounts; fewer still will believe, if any disaster happens to these lines, from what cause it flows.''' I have often thought how much happier I should have been, if instead of accepting of a command under such circumstances, I had taken my musket upon my shoulders and entered the rank, or if I could have justified the measure of posterity, and my own conscience, had retired to the back country, and lived in a wigwam. If I shall be able to rise superior to these, and many other difficulties which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of Providence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies; for surely if we get well through this month, it must be for want of their knowing the disadvantages we labor under. Could I have foreseen the difficulties which have come upon us, could I have known that such a backwardness would have been discovered in the old soldiers to the service, all the generals upon earth should not have convinced me of the propriety of delaying an attack upon Boston till this time. ** In a letter to [[w:Joseph Reed (jurist)|Joseph Reed]], during the siege of Boston (14 January 1776), quoted in ''History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill'' (1849) by Richard Frothingham, p. 286 * To expect … the same service from raw and undisciplined recruits, as from veteran soldiers, is to expect what never did and perhaps never will happen. Men, who are familiarized to danger, meet it without shrinking; whereas troops unused to service often apprehend danger where no danger is. ** Letter to the President of Congress (9 February 1776) * '''Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.''' ** General Orders, Headquarters, New York (2 July 1776) * '''The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.''' ** General Order (9 July 1776) [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html George Washington Papers] at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 3g Varick Transcripts * '''The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves'''; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. '''The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.''' ** Address to the Continental Army before the [[w:Battle of Long Island|Battle of Long Island]] (27 August 1776) * There is nothing that gives a man consequence, and renders him fit for command, like a support that renders him independent of everybody but the State he serves. ** Letter to the president of Congress, Heights of Harlem (24 September 1776) * '''To place any dependence upon militia, is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff. '''Men just dragged from the tender scenes of domestic life - unaccustomed to the din of arms - totally unacquainted with every kind of military skill, which being followed by a want of confidence in themselves when opposed to troops regularly trained, disciplined, and appointed, superior in knowledge, and superior in arms, makes them timid and ready to fly from their own shadows. ** Letter to the president of Congress, Heights of Harlem (24 September 1776) * My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than can be reasonably expected; but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses and all that you hold dear. You have worn yourselves out with fatigues and hardships, but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to stay one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty, and to your country, which you probably can never do under any other circumstances. ** Encouraging his men to re-enlist in the army (31 December 1776) * Parade with me my brave fellows, we will have them soon! ** [http://archive.is/20120629215226/findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2746_136/ai_n19377439/pg_2 Rallying his troops] at the [[w:Battle of Princeton|Battle of Princeton]] (3 January 1777) * '''The [[Marquis de Lafayette]] is extremely solicitous of having a command equal to his rank.''' I do not know in what light Congress will view the matter, but it appears to me, from a consideration of his illustrious and important connexions, the attachment which he has manifested for our cause, and the consequences which his return in disgust might produce, that it will be advisable to gratify him in his wishes; and the more so, as several gentlemen from France, who came over under some assurances, have gone back disappointed in their expectations. His conduct with respect to them stands in a favorable point of view; having interested himself to remove their uneasiness, and urged the impropriety of their making any unfavorable representations upon their arrival at home; and in all his letters he has placed our affairs in the best situation he' could. Besides, '''he is sensible; discreet in his manners; has made great proficiency in our language; and, from the disposition he discovered at the [[w:Battle of Brandywine|battle of Brandywine]], possesses a large share of bravery and military ardor.''' ** Letter to the Continental Congress (1 November 1777), as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=3_lEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA665 ''Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States'' Vol. 23, Issue 2 (1835), p. 665] * A great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle [patriotism] alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward. ** Letter to John Banister, Valley Forge (21 April 1778) * While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian. ** General Orders (2 May 1778); published in ''Writings of George Washington'' (1932), Vol.XI, pp. 342-343 * It is not a little pleasing, nor less wonderful to contemplate, that after two years' manoeuvring and undergoing the strangest vicissitudes, that perhaps ever attended any one contest since the creation, both armies are brought back to the very point they set out from, and that which was the offending party in the beginning is now reduced to the use of the spade and pickaxe for defence. '''The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.''' But it will be time enough for me to turn preacher, when my present appointment ceases… ** Letter to Brigadier-General Nelson, 20 August 1778, in Ford's ''Writings of George Washington'' (1890), vol. VII, p. 161. Part of this is often attached to a fragment of a letter to John Armstrong of 11 March 1782; it is also often prefaced with the spurious "governing without God" sentence, as this 1867 example from Henry Wilson (''Testimonies of American Statesmen and Jurists to the Truths of Christianity'') shows: *** It is impossible to govern the world without God. It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits and humbly implore his protection and favor. I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during the revolution; or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of Him, who is alone able to protect them. '''He must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.''' * It gives me very sincere pleasure to find that there is likely to be a coalition of the Whigs in your State (a few only excepted) and that the Assembly of it, are so well disposed to second your endeavors in bringing those murderers of our cause—the Monopolizers—forestallers—& Engrossers—to condign punishment. '''It is much to be lamented that each State, long ’ere this, has not hunted them down as the pests of Society, & the greatest enemies we have, to the happiness of America.''' I would to God that one of the most attrocious in each State was hung in Gibbets, up on a gallows five times as high as the one prepared by Haman—No punishment, in my opinion, is too great for the Man, who can build “his greatness upon his Country’s ruin.” ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-18-02-0452 George Washington to Joseph Reed, 12 December 1778], Founders Online, National Archives. Source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Revolutionary War Series, vol. 18, 1 November 1778 – 14 January 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, pp. 396–398. [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw4&fileName=gwpage054.db&recNum=1004 Page images] at American Memory (Library of Congress) * In the last place, though first in importance I shall ask—is there any thing doing, or that can be done to restore the credit of our currency? The depreciation of it is got to so alarming a point—that '''a waggon load of money will scarcely purchase a waggon load of provision.''' ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-20-02-0157 Letter to John Jay, 23 April 1779], Founders Online, National Archives. Source: ''The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series'', vol. 20, 8 April–31 May 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, p. 177. Also found in ''The Life John Jay With Selections from His Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers. by His Son, William Jay in Two Volumes'', Vol. II., 1833 * '''Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.''' ** Letter to Major-General Robert Howe (17 August 1779), published in "The Writings of George Washington": 1778-1779, edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (1890) ** Paraphrased variants: ** Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder. ** Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder * '''Know my good friend that no distance can keep ''anxious'' lovers long asunder, and that the wonders of former ages may be revived in this''' — But alas! will you not remark that amidst all the wonders recorded in holy writ no instance can be produced where a young Woman from ''real inclination'' has prefered an old man — This is so much against me that I shall not be able ''I fear'' to contest the prize with you — yet, under the encouragement you have given me I shall enter the list for so inestimable a jewell. ** Letter to the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] (30 September 1779) * '''A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man, that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of his friends, and that the most liberal professions of good will are very far from being the surest marks of it.''' I should be happy that my own experience had afforded fewer examples of the little dependence to be placed upon them. ** Letter to Major-General [[w:John Sullivan|John Sullivan]] (15 December 1779), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1890) by Worthington Chauncey Ford, Vol. 8, p. 139 ====Letter to John Hancock (1775)==== *[F]ree Negroes who have served in this army are very much dissatisfied at being discarded. As it is to be apprehended that they may seek employ in the Ministerial Army, I have … given license for their being enlisted. **[https://web.archive.org/web/20141008220806/http://amrevmuseum.org/reflections/african-americans-continental-army-and-state-militias-during-american-war-independence To John Hancock] (31 December 1775) ==== Letter to Phyllis Wheatley (1776) ==== [[File:Phillis Wheatley frontispiece.jpg|thumb|I shall be happy to see [[Phillis Wheatley|a person so favoured by the Muses]], and to whom [[Nature]] has been so liberal and beneficent in her dispensations.]] :<small>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw040306))#N0393-312 Letter to Phyllis Wheatley (28 February 1776)]</small> *Mrs. Phillis: Your favour of the 26th of October did not reach my hands 'till the middle of December. Time enough, you will say, to have given an answer ere this. Granted. But a variety of important occurrences, continually interposing to distract the mind and withdraw the attention, I hope will apologize for the delay, and plead my excuse for the seeming, but not real neglect. *I thank you most sincerely for your polite notice of me, in the elegant Lines you enclosed; and however undeserving I may be of such encomium and panegyrick, the style and manner exhibit a striking proof of your great poetical Talents. In honour of which, and as a tribute justly due to you, I would have published the Poem, had I not been apprehensive, that, while I only meant to give the World this new instance of your genius, I might have incurred the imputation of Vanity. This and nothing else, determined me not to give it place in the public Prints. *If you should ever come to Cambridge, or near Head Quarters, I shall be happy to see a person so favoured by the Muses, and to whom Nature has been so liberal and beneficent in her dispensations. I am, with great Respect, etc. ====Letter to Joseph Reed (1778)==== *It gives me very sincere pleasure to find that there is likely to be a coalition … so well disposed to second your endeavours in bringing those murderers of our cause (the monopolizers, forestallers, and engrossers) to condign punishment. It is much to be lamented that each State long ere this has not hunted them down as the pests of society, and the greatest Enemys we have to the happiness of America. I would to God that one of the most attrocious of each State was hung in Gibbets upons a gallows five times as high as the one prepared by Haman. No punishment in my opinion is too great for the Man who can build his greatness upon his Country's ruin. **Dec. 12, 1778 {[http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw3h/001/193192.jpg also found at the Library of Congress]} ***later misquoted against [[#Jews|jews]] ====Letter to Henry Laurens (1779)==== *I am not clear that a discrimination will not render slavery more irksome to those who remain in it. Most of the good and evil things in this life are judged of by comparison; and I fear a comparison in this case will be productive of much discontent in those who are held in servitude. **[https://web.archive.org/web/20141008220806/http://amrevmuseum.org/reflections/african-americans-continental-army-and-state-militias-during-american-war-independence Letter to Henry Laurens (20 March 1779)] ====Letter to Edmund Pendleton (1779)==== *… but I am under no apprehension of a capital injury from any other source than that of the continual depreciation of our Money.<br>This indeed is truly alarming, and of so serious a nature that every other effort is in vain unless something can be done to restore its credit.<br>..<br>Where this has been the policy (in Connecticut for instance) the prices of every article have fallen and the money consequently is in demand; but in the other States you can scarce get a single thing for it, and yet it is with-held from the public by speculators, while every thing that can be useful to the public is engrossed by this tribe of black gentry, who work more effectually against us that the enemys Arms; and are a hundd. times more dangerous to our liberties and the great cause we are engaged in. **Nov. 1, 1779 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20111119215223/http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw3h/001/378378.jpg the original was previously in the Library of Congress's online service]} {{unreliable source? |reason=378378.jpg does not appear to include these words}} ***later misquoted against [[#Jews|jews]] === 1780s === [[File:Great Seal of the United States (reverse).svg|thumb|I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe, that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God, who is alone able to protect them.]] [[File:Naturalization ceremony at Kennedy Space Center.jpg|thumb|America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of ''all'' Nations And Religions; whom we shall wellcome to a participation of all our rights and previleges.]] [[File:Friendship love and truth.jpg|thumb|Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last...]] [[File:La_statue_de_la_liberté_jardin_du_luxembourg.jpg|thumb|The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.]] [[File:MtVernon.jpg|thumb|Unwilling am I, in the evening of a life nearly consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful abode for an Ocean of difficulties...]] [[File:NYC - New York County Supreme Courthouse.jpg|thumb|The due [[administration of justice]] is the firmest pillar of good Government.]] *[A]bolish the name and appearance of a Black Corps. ** Recommendations to reorganize two Rhode Island regiments into integrated rather than segregated groups, in a [http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/the-only-unavoidable-subject-of-regret/ letter to Major General William Heath (29 July 1780)], in ''The Writings of George Washington'', 19:93. According to historian Robert A. Selig, the Continental Army exhibited a degree of integration not reached by the American army again for 200 years (until after World War II). <!-- (see his article, "The Revolution's Black Soldiers: They fought for both sides in their quest for freedom," Colonial Williamsburg (Summer 1997), 15-22) --> * Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence. ** Letter to Lord Stirling (5 March 1780) *The many remarkable interpositions of the divine government, in the hours of our deepest distress and darkness, have been too luminous to suffer me to doubt the happy issue of the present contest. **[http://www.greatseal.com/mottoes/coeptis.html Letter to General Armstrong (26 March 1781)], as quoted in ''The Religious Opinions and Character of Washington'' (1836) by Edward Charles McGuire, p. 122 *The Commander in Chief earnestly recommends that the troops not on duty should universally attend with that seriousness of Deportment and gratitude of Heart which the recognition of such reiterated and astonishing interpositions of Providence demand of us. ** Notes on general orders to the troops, (20 October 1781), as quoted in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1835) edited by Jared Sparks, Vol. 8, p. 189 * Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive. And with it, everything honorable and glorious. ** To the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] (15 November 1781) * '''I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe, that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God, who is alone able to protect them.''' ** Letter to John Armstrong, 11 March 1782, in Ford's ''Writings of George Washington'' (1891), vol. XII, p. 111. This is frequently attached to part of a letter to Brigadier-General Nelson of 20 August 1778, as in this 1864 example from B. F. Morris, ''The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States'', pp. 33-34: *** '''I am sure that there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during the Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.''' He must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. * '''Be courteous to all, but intimate with few,''' and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence; true friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. ** Letter to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushrod_Washington Bushrod Washington] (15 January 1783) *Do not conceive that fine Clothes make fine Men, any more than fine feathers make fine Birds—A plain genteel dress is more admired and obtains more credit than lace & embroidery in the Eyes of the judicious and sensible. **[http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/default.xqy?keys=FOEA-chron-1780-1783-01-15-12 Letter to Bushrod Washington] (15 January 1783) * '''Happy, thrice happy shall they be pronounced hereafter, who have contributed any thing, who have performed the meanest office in erecting this stupendous fabrick of Freedom and Empire on the broad basis of Independency; who have assisted in protecting the rights of humane nature and establishing an Asylum for the poor and oppressed of all nations and religions.''' ** General Orders (18 April 1783) * '''It may be laid down, as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defence of it''', and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency. ** "Sentiments on a Peace Establishment" in a letter to [[Alexander Hamilton]] (2 May 1783); published in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1938), edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 26, p. 289 *'''The scheme, my dear Marqs., which you propose as a precedent to encourage the emancipation of the black people of this Country from that state of Bondage in wch. they are held, is a striking evidence of the benevolence of your Heart. I shall be happy to join you in so laudable a work; but will defer going into a detail of the business, till I have the pleasure of seeing you.''' **" TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS." in a letter to [[wikipedia:Thomas_Mifflin|Thomas Mifflin]] (17 JUNE 1783); published in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1938), edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 26, p. 294 * '''Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.''' ** [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch7s5.html "Circular to the States" (8 June 1783)] * I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large; and, particularly, for their brethren who have served in the Geld; and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacifick temper of the mind, which were the characteristicks of the divine Author of our blessed religion ; without an humble imitation of whose example, in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation. ** Circular Letter to the Governours of the several States (18 June 1783). Misreported as "I make it my constant prayer that God would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion; without a humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation", in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, ''Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers'' (1895), p. 315 * The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations And Religions; whom we shall wellcome to a participation of all our rights and previleges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment. ** Letter to the members of the Volunteer Association and other Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ireland who have lately arrived in the City of New York (2 December 1783), as quoted in John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1938), vol. 27, p. 254 * '''Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action'''; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life. ** Address to Congress resigning his commission (23 December 1783) * I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own Vine and my own Fig-tree, free from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of which the Soldier who is ever in pursuit of fame, the Statesman whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if this globe was insufficient for us all, and the Courtier who is always watching the countenance of his Prince, in hopes of catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception. I am not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself; and shall be able to view the solitary walk, and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction. '''Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this my dear friend, being the order for my march, I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my Fathers.''' ** [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=296 Letter] to [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette]] (1 February 1784) * A people... who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages may achieve almost anything. ** Letter to [[w:Benjamin Harrison V|Benjamin Harrison V]] (10 October 1784) *[T]he motives which predominate most in human affairs is self-love and self-interest. ** [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-02-02-0135 Letter to James Madison] (3 December 1784) as quoted in ''Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington'' (2008) by Peter R. Henriques, p. 139. * Men's minds are as variant as their faces, and, where the motives of their actions are pure, the operation of the former is no more to be imputed to them as a crime, than the appearance of the latter; for both, being the work of nature, are alike unavoidable. ** Letter to [[w:Benjamin Harrison V|Benjamin Harrison V]] (9 March 1789), published in Washington's ''[https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=DTlEAQAAMAAJ&rdid=book-DTlEAQAAMAAJ&rdot=1 Writings: Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private, Selected and Published from the Original Manuscripts]'', Volume IX, p. 475. * '''Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last.''' ** Letter to the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] (25 July 1785) * As the complexion of European politics seems now (from letters I have received from the Marqs. de la Fayette, Chevrs. Chartellux, De la Luzerne, &c.,) to have a tendency to Peace, I will say nothing of war, nor make any animadversions upon the contending powers; otherwise, I might possibly have said that the retreat from it seemed impossible after the explicit declaration of the parties: '''My first wish is to see this plague to mankind banished from off the Earth, and the sons and Daughters of this world employed in more pleasing and innocent amusements, than in preparing implements and exercising them for the destruction of mankind:''' rather than quarrel about territory let the poor, the needy and oppressed of the Earth, and those who want Land, resort to the fertile plains of our western country, the second Promise, and there dwell in peace, fulfilling the first and great commandment. ** Letter to David Humphreys (25 July 1785), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 28, pp. 202-3. The W. W. Abbot transcription (given at [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0142 Founders Online]) differs slightly: *** My first wish is, to see this plague to Mankind banished from the Earth; & the Sons & daughters of this World employed in more pleasing & innocent amusements than in preparing implements, & exercising them for the destruction of the human race. *We are either a united people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a Nation, which have national objects to promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it. **[https://books.google.com/books?id=64MTAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA25 Letter to James Madison, 30 November 1785] * '''My manner of living is plain. I do not mean to be put out of it.''' A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready; and such as will be content to partake of them are always welcome. '''Those, who expect more, will be disappointed, but no change will be effected by it.''' ** Letter to [[w:George William Fairfax|George William Fairfax]] (25 June 1786), published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 175 *There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery. **[https://web.archive.org/web/20060503040039/http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/project/volumes/confederation/essay4.html Letter to Robert Morris] (12 April 1786) * '''If you tell the Legislatures they have violated the treaty of peace and invaded the prerogatives of the confederacy they will laugh in your face. What then is to be done? Things cannot go on in the same train forever.''' It is much to be feared, as you observe, that the better kind of people being disgusted with the circumstances will have their minds prepared for any revolution whatever. '''We are apt to run from one extreme into another. To anticipate & prevent disasterous <!-- [sic] --> contingencies would be the part of wisdom & patriotism.''' <br /> '''What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government without horror.''' From thinking proceeds speaking, thence to acting is often but a single step. But how irrevocable & tremendous! What a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves, and that systems founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal & falacious!<!-- [sic] --> Would to God that wise measures may be taken in time to avert the consequences we have but too much reason to apprehend. <br /> Retired as I am from the world, I frankly acknowledge I cannot feel myself an unconcerned spectator. Yet having happily assisted in bringing the ship into port & having been fairly discharged; it is not my business to embark again on a sea of troubles. Nor could it be expected that my sentiments and opinions would have much weight on the minds of my Countrymen — they have been neglected, tho' given as a last legacy in the most solemn manner. I had then perhaps some claims to public attention. I consider myself as having none at present. ** [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/constitution/1784/jay2.html Letter to John Jay (15 August 1786)] * Altho’ I pretend to no peculiar information respecting commercial affairs, nor any foresight into the scenes of futurity; yet as the member of an infant-empire, '''as a Philanthropist by character, and (if I may be allowed the expression) as a Citizen of the great republic of humanity at large; I cannot help turning my attention sometimes to this subject.''' I would be understood to mean, I cannot avoid reflecting with pleasure on the probable influence that commerce may here after have on human manners & society in general. '''On these occasions I consider how mankind may be connected like one great family in fraternal ties—I endulge a fond, perhaps an enthusiastic idea, that as the world is evidently much less barbarous than it has been, its melioration must still be progressive—that nations are becoming more humanized in their policy—that the subjects of ambition & causes for hostility are daily diminishing—and in fine, that the period is not very remote when the benefits of a liberal & free commerce will, pretty generally, succeed to the devastations & horrors of war.''' ** “From George Washington to Lafayette, 15 August 1786,” [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-04-02-0200 Founders Online, National Archives] Source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Confederation Series, vol. 4, ''2 April 1786 – 31 January 1787'', ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 214–216. [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw2&fileName=gwpage013.db&recNum=157&tempFile=./temp/~ammem_fmyS&filecode=mgw&next_filecode=mgw&itemnum=1&ndocs=100 Page scan] at American Memory (Library of Congress) * '''If they have real grievances redress them, if possible; or acknowledge the justice of them, and your inability to do it at the moment. If they have not, employ the force of government against them at once.''' ** Letter to [[w:Henry Lee|Henry Lee]] (31 October 1786) * '''Paper money has had the effect in your State that it ever will have, to ruin commerce—oppress the honest, and open a door to every species of fraud and injustice.''' **[https://founders.archives.gov/GEWN-04-04-02-0428 Letter to Jabez Bowen] (9 January 1787) * '''The only stipulations I shall contend for are, that in all things you shall do as you please. I will do the same; and that no ceremony may be used or any restraint be imposed on any one.''' ** Letter to [[w:David Humphreys (soldier)|David Humphreys]], inviting him to an indefinite stay at Mt. Vernon (10 October 1787), as published in ''Life and Times of David Humphreys'' (1917) by Frank Landon Humphreys, Vol. I, p. 426 *Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. **[http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-james-madison-12/ Letter to James Madison] (2 March 1788) * Your young military men, who want to reap the harvest of laurels, don't care (I suppose) how many seeds of war are sown; but '''for the sake of humanity it is devoutly to be wished, that the manly employment of agriculture and the humanizing benefits of commerce, would supersede the waste of war and the rage of conquest; that the swords might be turned into plough-shares, the spears into pruning hooks, and, as the Scripture expresses it, "the nations learn war no more."''' ** Letter to Marquis de Chastellux (25 April 1788), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 29, p. 485 * '''I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man''', as well as prove (what I desire to be considered in reality) that I am, with great sincerity & esteem, Dear Sir Your friend and Most obedient Hble Ser⟨vt⟩ ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-06-02-0432 Letter to Alexander Hamilton (28 August 1788)] * '''The unfortunate condition of the persons, whose labour in part I employed, has been the only unavoidable subject of regret.''' To make the Adults among them as easy & as comfortable in their circumstances as their actual state of ignorance & improvidence would admit; & to lay a foundation to prepare the rising generation for a destiny different from that in which they were born; afforded some satisfaction to my mind, & could not I hoped be displeasing to the justice of the Creator. ** [http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/the-only-unavoidable-subject-of-regret/ Comment of late 1788 or early 1789 upon his slaves], as recorded by [[w:David Humphreys (soldier)|David Humphreys]], in his notebooks on his conversations with Washington, now in the Rosenbach Library in Philadelphia<!-- as quoted in "Housing and Family Life of the Mount Vernon Negro," unpublished paper by Charles C. Wall, prepared for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association (May 1962), prefatory note]. --> * '''The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institutions may be abused by human depravity; and that they may even, in some instances be made subservient to the vilest of purposes.''' Should, hereafter, those who are intrusted with the management of this government, incited by the lust of power & prompted by the supineness or venality of their Constituents, overleap the known barriers of this Constitution and violate the unalienable rights of humanity: it will only serve to shew, that no compact among men (however provident in its construction & sacred in its ratification) can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable—and if I may so express myself, that no wall of words—that no mound of parchmt can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other. ** p. 34 of a draft of a discarded and undelivered version of his first inaugural address (30 April 1789) * Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station; it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes: and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success, the functions allotted to his charge. '''In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States.''' Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. And in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their United Government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most Governments have been established, without some return of pious gratitude along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. ** First Inaugural Address (30 April 1789), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 30, pp. 292-3 * I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my Country can inspire: since there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the oeconomy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity: Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since '''the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.''' ** First Inaugural Address (30 April 1789), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 30, pp. 294-5 * For myself the delay may be compared with a reprieve; for in confidence I assure you, with the world it would obtain little credit that '''my movements to the chair of Government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution: so unwilling am I, in the evening of a life nearly consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful abode for an Ocean of difficulties''', without that competency of political skill, abilities and inclination which is necessary to manage the helm. ** Comment to General [[w:Henry Knox|Henry Knox]] on the delay in assuming office (March 1789) * In executing the duties of my present important station, I can promise nothing but purity of intentions, and, in carrying these into effect, fidelity and diligence. ** Message to the U.S. Congress (9 July 1789); [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC29437768&id=qy2nqT6FnLMC&pg=RA1-PA159&lpg=RA1-PA159&dq=%22carrying+these+into+effect,+fidelity+and+diligence%22&num=100 ''The Writings of George Washington: Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private'' (1837) edited by Jared Sparks, p. 159 (PDF)] * The satisfaction arising from the indulgent opinion entertained by the American People of my conduct, will, I trust, be some security for preventing me from doing any thing, which might justly incur the forfeiture of that opinion. And the consideration that '''human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected''', will always continue to prompt me to promote the progress of the former, by inculcating the practice of the latter. **Letter to the Protestant Episcopal Church (19 August 1789) [http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw2/038/0580042.jpg Scan at American Memory (Library of Congress).] * Impressed with a conviction that '''the due [[administration of justice]] is the firmest pillar of good Government''', I have considered the first arrangement of the Judicial department as essential to the happiness of our Country, and to the stability of its political system; hence the selection of the fittest characters to expound the law, and dispense justice, has been an invariable object of my anxious concern. ** [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw300376)) Letter to U.S. Attorney General] [[w:Edmund Randolph|Edmund Randolph]] (28 September 1789), as published in ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799'' edited by John C. Fitzpatrick *** The inscription on the facade of the [[w:New York Supreme Court court|New York Supreme Court court]] house in New York County is a misquotation from the above letter: ''"The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government."'' See [http://www.nypost.com/seven/02162009/news/regionalnews/george_denied_his_due_155401.htm "George Denied His Due" by Bruce Golding, in the ''New York Post'' (16 February 2009)] ==== The Newburgh Address (1783)==== [[File:George Washington at Princeton.jpg|thumb|If Men are to be precluded from offering their [[sentiments]] on a matter, which may involve the most [[serious]] and alarming [[consequences]], that can invite the [[consideration]] of [[Mankind]]; [[reason]] is of no use to us — the [[freedom of Speech]] may be taken away — and, dumb & [[silent]] we may be led, like [[sheep]], to the Slaughter.]] [[File:Washington Before Yorktown.jpg|thumb|Had this day been wanting, the [[World]] had never seen the last stage of [[perfection]] to which [[human]] [[nature]] is capable of attaining...]] :<small>Washington's response to the [[w:Newburgh Conspiracy|Newburgh Conspiracy]], known as [https://web.archive.org/web/20210308205206/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/quotes/article/for-if-men-are-to-be-precluded-from-offering-their-sentiments-on-a-matter-which-may-involve-the-most-serious-and-alarming-consequences-that-can-invite-the-consideration-of-mankind-reason-is-of-no-use-to-us-the-freedom-of-speech-may-be-taken-away-and-dumb-/ Newburgh Address] (15 March 1783) · [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-10840 Online edition at the National Archives] · [http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/newburgh/text.html The anonymous Newburgh letter, followed by Washington's response at ''Early America Milestones'']</small> * Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country. ** Statement as he put on his glasses before delivering his response to the first [http://www.earlyamerica.com/milestone-events/newburgh-address/ Newburgh Address] (15 March 1783), quoted in a [https://democraticthinker.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/newburgh-crisis-viwashingtons-newburgh-address/ letter] from General [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cobb_(Massachusetts) David Cobb] to Colonel [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Pickering Timothy Pickering] (25 November 1825) * The Author of the piece, is entitled to much credit for the goodness of his Pen: and I could wish he had as much credit for the rectitude of his Heart — for, as Men see thro’ different Optics, and are induced by the reflecting faculties of the Mind, to use different means to attain the same end; the Author of the Address, should have had more charity, than to mark for Suspicion, the Man who should recommend Moderation and longer forbearance — or, in other words, who should not think as he thinks, and act as he advises. But he had another plan in view, in which candor and liberality of Sentiment, regard to justice, and love of Country, have no part; and he was right, to insinuate the darkest suspicion, to effect the blackest designs. <br /> That the Address is drawn with great art, and is designed to answer the most insidious purposes. That it is calculated to impress the Mind, with an idea of premeditated injustice in the Sovereign power of the United States, and rouse all those resentments which must unavoidably flow from such a belief. That the secret Mover of this Scheme (whoever he may be) intended to take advantage of the passions, while they were warmed by the recollection of past distresses, without giving time for cool, deliberative thinking, & that composure of Mind which is so necessary to give dignity & stability to measures, is rendered too obvious, by the mode of conducting the business, to need other proof than a reference to the proceeding. * '''There might, Gentlemen, be an impropriety in my taking notice, in this Address to you, of an anonymous production — but the manner in which that performance has been introduced to the Army — the effect it was intended to have, together with some other circumstances, will amply justify my observations on the tendency of that Writing.''' With respect to the advice given by the Author — to suspect the Man, who shall recommend moderate measures and longer forbearance — I spurn it — as every Man, who regards that [[liberty]], & reveres that [[Justice]] for which we contend, undoubtedly must — for '''if Men are to be precluded from offering their [[sentiments]] on a matter, which may involve the most [[serious]] and alarming [[consequences]], that can invite the [[consideration]] of [[Mankind]]; [[reason]] is of no use to us — the [[freedom of Speech]] may be taken away — and, dumb & [[silent]] we may be led, like [[sheep]], to the Slaughter.''' * '''You will, by the dignity of your Conduct, afford occasion for Posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to Mankind, had this day been wanting, the World had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.''' === 1790s === [[File:M777 Light Towed Howitzer 1.jpg|thumb|To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.]] [[File:US Capitol dome Jan 2006.jpg|thumb|For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.]] * '''The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for giving to Mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation.''' All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. '''It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.'''<br/>May [[w:American Jews|the Children of the Stock of Abraham]], who dwell in [[United States|this land]], continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. ** Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island (1790) * '''To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.''' ** First Annual Address, to both Houses of Congress (8 January 1790). ** Compare: "Qui desiderat pacem præparet bellum" (translated: "Who would desire peace should be prepared for war"), [[w:Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus|Vegetius]], ''Rei Militari'' 3, Prolog.; "In pace, ut sapiens, aptarit idonea bello" (translated: "In peace, as a wise man, he should make suitable preparation for war"), [[Horace]], Book ii. satire ii. [[File:George Washington - by Lester Spence.jpg|thumb|All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity.]] * '''The advancement of agriculture, commerce and manufactures, by all proper means, will not, I trust, need recommendation. But I cannot forbear intimating to you the expediency of giving effectual encouragement as well to the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad, as to the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home; and of facilitating the intercourse between the distant parts of our country by a due attention to the Post Office and Post Roads.''' ** First Annual Address, to both House of Congress (8 January 1790) * '''A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.''' ** First Annual Address, to both House of Congress (8 January 1790) * '''All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity. ''' ** Letter to Catherine Macaulay Graham (9 January 1790) * As mankind become more liberal they will be more apt to allow, that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the Community are equally entitled to the protection of civil Government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality. ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-05-02-0193 Letter to Roman Catholics] (15 March 1790) *[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous. **[http://westillholdthesetruths.org/quotes/60/a-good-moral-character-is-the Letter to Steptoe Washington] (5 December 1790) * '''It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.''' ** Letter to his niece, Harriet Washington (30 October 1791) * '''Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause; and I was not without hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy of the present age would have put an effectual stop to contentions of this kind.''' ** [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi32.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=69&division=div1 Letter to Sir Edward Newenham (22 June 1792)] as published in ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources'' (1939) as edited by John Clement Fitzpatrick <!-- United States Government Printing Office --> * '''Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated.''' I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society. ** [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi32.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=155&division=div1 Letter to Edward Newenham (20 October 1792)], these statements and one from a previous letter to Newenham seem to have become combined and altered into a misquotation of Washington's original statements to read: ::: Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. I had hoped that liberal and enlightened thought would have reconciled the Christians so that their religious fights would not endanger the peace of Society. :::* As misquoted in ''The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How to Get It Back'' (2006) by Andrew Sullivan, p. 131 [[File:George Washington, freemason 02796u original.jpg|thumb|The milder [[virtues]] of the [[heart]] are highly respected by a [[society]] whose [[liberal]] [[principles]] must be founded in the immediate [[laws]] of [[truth]] and [[justice]]. To enlarge the sphere of [[social]] [[happiness]] is worthy the [[benevolent]] design of the [[Freemasonry|Masonic Institution]]; and it is most fervently to be wished, that the conduct of every member of the fraternity, as well as those publications which discover the principles which actuate them may tend to convince Mankind that the grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the [[human]] race.]] * Flattering as it may be to the human mind, & truly honorable as it is to receive from our fellow citizens testimonies of approbation for exertions to promote the public welfare; it is not less pleasing to know that the milder [[virtues]] of the [[heart]] are highly respected by a [[society]] whose [[liberal]] [[principles]] must be founded in the immediate [[laws]] of [[truth]] and [[justice]]. To enlarge the sphere of [[social]] [[happiness]] is worthy the [[benevolent]] design of the [[Freemasonry|Masonic Institution]]; and it is most fervently to be wished, that the conduct of every member of the fraternity, as well as those publications which discover the principles which actuate them may tend to convince Mankind that the grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the [[human]] race. ** [https://www.beliefnet.com/resourcelib/docs/86/Letter_from_George_Washington_to_the_Grand_Master_of_Free_Mas_1.html Letter to the Grand Lodge of Free Masons of Massachusetts (27 December 1792)], published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 201 * '''We have abundant reason to rejoice, that, in this land, the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart.''' In this enlightened age, & in this land of equal liberty, it is our boast, that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining & holding the highest offices that are known in the United States. <br /> Your prayers for my present and future felicity are received with gratitude; and I sincerely wish, Gentlemen, that you may in your social and individual capacities taste those blessings, which a gracious God bestows upon the righteous. ** [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw2&fileName=gwpage039.db&recNum=111 Letter to the members] of [[w:The New Church |The New Church ]] in Baltimore (22 January 1793), published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 201 * '''The friends of humanity will deprecate War, wheresoever it may appear; and we have experience enough of its evils, in this country, to know, that it should not be wantonly or unnecessarily entered upon.''' I trust, that the good citizens of the United States will show to the world, that they have as much wisdom in preserving peace at this critical juncture, as they have hitherto displayed valor in defending their just rights. ** Address to the merchants of Philadelphia (16 May 1793), published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 202 *If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war **[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washs05.asp Fifth annual Message] (3 December 1793) * I am very glad to hear that the Gardener has saved so much of the St. foin seed, and that of the India Hemp. Make the most you can of both, by sowing them again in drills. . . Let the ground be well prepared, and the Seed (St. foin) be sown in April. The Hemp may be sown any where. ** George Washington in a letter to William Pearce at Mount Vernon (Philadelphia 24th Feby 1794), The Writings of George Washington, Bicentennial Edition 1939, [https://books.google.de/books?id=WIGyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA279&dq=hemp p.279 books.google], and [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-15-02-0210 founders.archives.gov] ** This quote is often confused with ''Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!'' [http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/spurious-quotations/ George Washington Spurious Quotations] * '''When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly.''' ** Letter to Edmund Pendleton (22 January 1795) * Malignity, therefore, may dart its shafts, but no earthly power can deprive me of the consolation of knowing that I have not, in the whole course of my Administration (however numerous they may have been) committed an intentional error. * [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00615 Letter to David Humphreys] (12 June 1796) * '''Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable.''' It may, for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practice will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter; whether in public or private walks of life. ** Letter to George Washington Parke Custis (7 January 1798) [[File:Mtvernon1.jpg|thumb|I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world...]] * '''It is infinitely better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones.''' ** Letter to James McHenry (10 August 1798) * '''I have heard much of the nefarious, & dangerous plan, & doctrines of the [[w:Illuminati|Illuminati]], but never saw the Book until you were pleased to send it to me.''' The same causes which have prevented my acknowledging the receipt of your letter, have prevented my reading the Book, hitherto; namely — the multiplicity of matters which pressed upon me before, & the debilitated state in which I was left after, a severe fever had been removed. And which allows me to add little more now, than thanks for your kind wishes and favourable sentiments, except to correct an error you have run into, of my Presiding over the English lodges in this Country. '''The fact is, I preside over none, nor have I been in one more than once or twice, within the last thirty years. I believe notwithstandings, that none of the Lodges in ''this'' Country are contaminated with the principles ascribed to the Society of the Illuminati.''' ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-02-02-0435 Letter to Reverend G. W. Snyder (25 September 1798)] thanking him for a copy of ''Proofs of a Conspiracy against All the Religions and Governments of Europe'' (1798) by John Robison. *You could as soon as scrub the blackamore white, as to change the principles of '''a profest Democrat; and that he will leave nothing unattempted to overturn the Government of this Country.''' **[https://books.google.com/books?id=x4GyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA474#v=onepage&q&f=false ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, Vol. 36, August 4, 1797-October 28, 1798''] (letter written, 30 September 1798, Mount Vernon) p. 474 * <!-- Revd Sir I have your favor of the 17th instant before me; and my only motive to trouble you with the receipt of this letter, is to explain, and correct a mistake which I perceive the hurry in which I am obliged, often, to write letters, have led you into. <br /> --> '''It was not my intention to doubt that, the Doctrines of the [[w:Illuminati|Illuminati]], and principles of [[w:Jacobin (politics)|Jacobinism]] had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more truly satisfied of this fact than I am.''' <br /> The idea that I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the ''Lodges'' of Free Masons in ''this'' Country had, as ''Societies'', endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or pernicious principles of the latter (if they are susceptible of seperation<!-- [sic] -->). That Individuals of them may have done it, or that the ''founder'', or ''instrument'' employed to found, the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects; and actually had a seperation<!-- [sic] --> of the ''People'' from their ''Government'' in view, is too evident to be questioned. <!-- <br /> My occupations are such, that but little leisure is allowed me to read News Papers, or Books of any kind; the reading of letters, and preparing answers, absorb much of my time. With respect — I remain Revd Sir Your Most Obedt Hble Ser. Go: Washington --> ** [http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi36.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=388&division=div1 Letter to the Reverend G. W. Snyder (24 October 1798)] * '''So far as I am acquainted with the principles & Doctrines of Free Masonry, I conceive it to be founded in benevolence and to be exercised only for the good of mankind.''' If it has been a Cloak to promote improper or nefarious objects, it is a melancholly proof that in unworthy hands, the best institutions may be made use of to promote the worst designs. ** [http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw4/113/0400/0495.jpg Draft of a letter to the Grand Lodge of Free Masons of the State of Maryland (8 November 1798)] *'''As mankind become more liberal they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protection of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality.''' **[http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-the-roman-catholics/ Letter to the Roman Catholics in America] (15 March 1790) * To sell the overplus I cannot, because '''I am principled against this kind of traffic in the human species.''' To hire them out, is almost as bad, because they could not be disposed of in families to any advantage, and to disperse the families I have an aversion. What then is to be done? Something must or I shall be ruined; for all the money (in addition to what I raise by Crops, and rents) that have been received for Lands, sold within the last four years, to the amount of Fifty thousand dollars, has scarcely been able to keep me a float. ** Letter to Robert Lewis, 18 August 1799, published in John Clement Fitzpatrick, ''The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources'', volume 37, pp. 338-9 * '''I die hard but am not afraid to go'''. I believed from my first attack that I should not survive it — my breath cannot last long. ** The first sentence here is sometimes presented as being his last statement before dying, but they are reported as part of the fuller statement, and as being said in the afternoon prior to his death in ''Life of Washington'' (1859) by [[Washington Irving]], and his actual last words are stated to have been those reported by [[w:Tobias Lear|Tobias Lear]] below. * '''Tis well.''' ** Washington's last words, as recorded by [[w:Tobias Lear|Tobias Lear]], in his [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/project/exhibit/mourning/lear.html journal (14 December 1799)]. Washington said this after being satisfied that precautions would be taken against his being buried prematurely: :: About ten o'clock he made several attempts to speak to me before he could effect it, at length he said, — "I am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the Vault in less than three days after I am dead." I bowed assent, for I could not speak. He then looked at me again and said, "Do you understand me? I replied "Yes." "Tis well" said he. ::* A conflation of the last two quotes has also sometimes been reported as his last statement: "It is well. I die hard but am not afraid to go". ====Letter to Catharine Macaulay Graham (1790)==== :<small>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160218134748/http://www.bartleby.com/400/prose/421.html Letter to Catharine Macaulay Graham] (9 January 1790), New York.</small> *'''The establishment of our new government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness by a reasonable compact in civil society'''. It was to be in the first instance, in a considerable degree, a government of accommodation as well as a government of laws. Much was to be done by prudence, much by conciliation, much by firmness. Few, who are not philosophical spectators, can realize the difficult and delicate part, which a man in my situation had to act. All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external happiness of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it beyond the lustre, which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity. ====To the Hebrew Congregation in {{w|Newport, Rhode Island}}, 18 August 1790==== :<small>''[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135 From George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, 18 August 1790]'', ''{{w|National Archives and Records Administration}}''.</small> * The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet, from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good Government, to become a great and happy people. * The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and [[Liberalism|liberal]] policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. '''For happily the {{w|Government of the United States}}, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.''' * '''May the [[Jews|children]] of the Stock of [[Abraham]], who dwell [[w:History of the Jews in the United States|in this land]], continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.''' ==== Farewell Address (1796) ==== [[File:Gilbert_Stuart,_George_Washington_(Lansdowne_portrait,_1796).jpg|thumb|I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it...]] [[File:Black and white handshake MOD 45148076.jpg|thumb|Nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated.]] :<small> [[s:Washington's Farewell Address|The Farewell Address (17 September 1796) Full text at Wikisource]] </small> * '''Every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.''' Satisfied, that, if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, '''I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.''' * '''Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.''' <br/> The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize. * '''It is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness'''; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. [[File:EdwardMoran-UnveilingTheStatueofLiberty1886Large.jpg|thumb|Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.]] [[File:Ferguson Day 7, Picture 18.png|thumb|Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.]] * While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in Union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from Union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighbouring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. '''Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty.''' In this sense it is, that your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other. * '''One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. '''You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burnings, which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those, who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. * '''To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a Government for the whole is indispensable.''' No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions, which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of Government better calculated than your former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. * '''The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.''' The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established Government. [[File:Eagle and American Flag by Bubbels.jpg|thumb|It is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness.]] * I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. '''Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.''' * '''The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.''' But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. '''The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.''' * '''The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. '''<br/> It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. [[File:Benjamin_Franklin_-_Join_or_Die.jpg|thumb|Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.]] [[File:Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.jpg|thumb|If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.]] * '''If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.''' * '''Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.''' In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. ** The Internet document known as "History Forgotten" or "Forsaken Roots" misquotes the opening of this section as follows: "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supports." * Let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. * '''It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government.''' * '''Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.''' * As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is, to use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts, which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen, which we ourselves ought to bear. [[File:Thanksgiving chapel interior.jpg|thumb|Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.]] * '''Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.''' Religion and Morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt, that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages, which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its Virtue? * In the execution of such a plan, '''nothing is more essential, than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated.''' The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. *So likewise, a '''passionate attachment of one Nation for another''' produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite Nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. [[File:Tiffany Education (center).JPG|thumb|In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened...]] * Real Patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favourite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests. (Note: spelling/capitalization likely original.[http://www.bartleby.com/43/24.html]). * The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. * ''' 'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world'''; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. '''I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.''' I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. * There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. [[File:UN General Assembly.jpg|thumb|Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.]] * '''Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest.''' * In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. '''But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.''' ** This has sometimes been misquoted as: '''Guard against the postures of pretended patriotism.''' * The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations. * Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope, that my Country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. == Posthumous attributions == [[File:The Old Flag Never Touched the Ground.jpg|thumb|Nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union, by consolidating it in a common bond of principle.]] * Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove, that Foreign Influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. ** Attributed to [[George Washington]], John Frederick Schroeder, D. D., Maxims of Washington; Political, Social, Moral, and Religious. Third Edition, p. 90, (1854). * So, there lies the brave [[Johann de Kalb|de Kalb]]. The generous stranger, who came from a distant land to fight our battles and to water with his blood the tree of liberty. Would to God he had lived to share its fruits! ** Upon visiting the grave of [[Johann de Kalb]], some years after his death, as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=40wyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA96&dq=%22Would+to+God+he+had+lived+to+share+its+fruits%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2IoZVa3XLuyasQTXiIDoCg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Would%20to%20God%20he%20had%20lived%20to%20share%20its%20fruits%22&f=false "Baron De Kalb"] (1827), by [[w:George R. Graham|George R. Graham]] and [[Edgar Allan Poe]], ''Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion'', Volume 2, Watson, p. 96. * Not only do I pray for it, on the score of human dignity, but I can clearly forsee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union, by consolidating it in a common bond of principle. ** Attributed to [[w:George Washington|George Washington]], John Bernard, Retrospections of America, 1797–1811, p. 91 (1887). This is from Bernard's account of a conversation he had with Washington in 1798. Reported as unverified in ''Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations'' (1989). {{Disputed begin}} ==Disputed== * Americans! let the opinion then delivered by the greatest and best of men, be ever present to your remembrance. He was collected within himself. His countenance had more than usual solemnity; his, eye was fixed, and seemed to look into futurity. "'''It is''' (said he) '''too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained. If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.'''" This was the patriot voice of Washington; and this the constant tenor of his conduct. With this deep sense of duty, he gave to our Constitution his cordial assent; and has added the fame of a legislator to that of a hero. ** Attributions in an "Oration upon the Death of General Washington, Delivered at the Request of the Corporation of the City of New York On the 31st of December, 1799", by Gouverneur Morris. Though these words, supposedly given at the opening of the Constitutional Convention, were not recorded in [[James Madison]]'s summary of the events of 25 May 1787, George Bancroft accepted them as genuine (''History of the United States of America'', volume VI, Book III, Chapter I). Henry Cabot Lodge however gave cogent reasons for rejecting them (''George Washington'', Volume II, Chapter I). The attribution to Washington was so widely accepted that [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015060022434;view=1up;seq=48 it was engraved above the Fifteenth Street entrance to the Department of Commerce Bldg.] in Washington, D.C., on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Square_Arch the arch in Washington Square Park in New York City] and [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015060022434;view=1up;seq=50 on a bronze plaque above the Eighteenth Street doorway to Constitution Hall]. {{Disputed end}} {{Misattributed begin}} == Misattributed == :<small>Statements originally made by others, that have become wrongly attributed to Washington </small> [[File:George Washington dollar.jpg|thumb|He seemed to enjoy a triumph over me. Methought I heard him think, "Ay! I am fairly out and you are fairly in! See which of us will be the happiest!" ~ [[John Adams]] ]] * '''Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad Company.''' ** This is from a set of maxims which Washington copied out in his own hand as a school-boy: [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/the-rules-of-civility/ "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation]" Rule # 56 written out by Washington ''ca''. 1744: :: These maxims originated in the late sixteenth century in France and were popularly circulated during Washington's time. Washington wrote out a copy of the 110 Rules in his school book when he was about sixteen-years old... During the days before mere hero worship had given place to understanding and comprehension of the fineness of Washington's character, of his powerful influence among men, and of the epoch-making nature of the issues he so largely shaped, it was assumed that Washington himself composed the maxims, or at least that he compiled them. It is a satisfaction to find that his consideration for others, his respect for and deference to those deserving such treatment, his care of his own body and tongue, and even his reverence for his Maker, all were early inculcated in him by precepts which were the common practice in decent society the world over. These very maxims had been in use in France for a century and a half, and in England for a century, before they were set as a task for the schoolboy Washington. ::* Charles Moore in his [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/civility/index.html Introduction to ''George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation'' (1926)], edited by Charles Moore, <!-- Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company -->xi-xv * A solemn scene it was indeed... He seemed to enjoy a triumph over me. Methought I heard him think,''' "Ay! I am fairly out and you are fairly in! See which of us will be the happiest!"''' ** [[John Adams]], in a letter to his wife [[Abigail Adams|Abigail]] was here expressing his impression of what Washington seemed to be thinking after Adams was inaugurated as President. These impressions have sometimes been quoted as if they were something Washington had actually said to Adams. Quoted in ''A History of the United States and Its People: From Their Earliest Records to the Present Time'' (1904) by William Abbatt and Elroy McKendree Avery, p. 177; ''John Adams'' (2002) by David G. McCullough, p. 469; and ''The Portable John Adams'' (2004) edited by John Patrick Diggins, p. xi ** Unsourced variants: Well, I am fairly out and you are fairly in. Now we shall see who enjoys it the most! <br /> Ah! I am fairly out and you are fairly in! See which of us will be the happiest! * '''The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.''' ** This statement was made by an official representative of the U.S. during Washington's presidency, but is actually a line from the English version of the ''[[w:Treaty of Tripoli|Treaty of Tripoli]]'' ([http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bar1796t.asp#art11 Article 11]), which was signed at Tripoli on November 4, 1796, and at Algiers on January 3, 1797. It received ratification unanimously from the U.S. Senate on June 7, 1797 and was signed into law by [[John Adams]]. The wording of the treaty is by [[Joel Barlow]], U.S. Consul, who had served as Washington's chaplain, and was also a good friend of [[Thomas Paine|Paine]] and [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]]; Article 11 of it reads: :::As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,—as it has in itself no character or enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,—and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries. * ...we are persuaded that good Christians will always be good citizens, and that where righteousness prevails among individuals the Nation will be great and happy. Thus while just government protects all in their religious rights, '''true religion affords to government its surest support'''. ** This is from a letter written ''to'' Washington on 9 October 1789 by the synod of the Reformed Dutch Church of North America (image of the letter on the Library of Congress site [http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw2/038/0650049.jpg here]). Washington quoted the portion in bold in his reply. * I am a citizen of the greatest Republic of Mankind. I see the human race united like a huge family by brotherly ties. We have made a sowing of liberty which will, little by little, spring up across the whole world. One day, on the model of the United States of America, a United States of Europe will come into being. The United States will legislate for all its nationalities. ** Attributed to Washington in [http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-europefuture/article_344.jsp "Farewell to the United States of Europe: long live the EU!" by André Fontaine at Open Democracy (29 November 2001)]. It appears to have originally circulated in French: ::: Je suis citoyen de la Grande République de l'Humanité. Je vois le genre humain uni comme une grande famille par des liens fraternels. Nous avons jeté une semence de liberté et d'union qui germera peu à peu dans toute la Terre. Un jour, sur le modèle des Etats-Unis d'Amérique, se constitueront les États-Unis d'Europe. Les États-Unis seront le législateur de toutes les nationalités. :: An anonymous blogger in [http://racehist.blogspot.com/2010/01/did-george-washington-predict-united.html "Did George Washington predict a "United States of Europe"? (30 January 2010)] showed that it derived from Gustave Rodrigues, ''Le peuple de l'action: essai sur l'idéalisme américain'' (A. Colin, 1917), p. 207: ::: Washington écrivait à La Fayette qu'il se condérait comme « citoyen de la grande république de l'humanité » et ajoutait : « Je vois le genre humain uni comme une grande famille par des liens fraternels ». Ailleurs il écrivait, prophétiquement: « Nous avons jeté une semence de liberté et d'union qui germera peu à peu dans toute la terre. Un jour, sur le modèle des Etats-Unis d'Amérique, se constitueront les États-Unis d'Europe. » :: A translation by Louise Seymour Houghton ([http://books.google.com/books?id=b8Y9AAAAYAAJ ''The People of Action: An Essay on American Idealism'' (1918)]) reads: ::: Washington wrote to Lafayette that he considered himself a "citizen of the great republic of humanity," adding: "I see the human race a great family, united by fraternal bonds." Elsewhere he wrote prophetically: "We have sown a seed of liberty and union that will gradually germinate throughout the earth. Some day, on the model of the United States of America, will be constituted the United States of Europe." [pp. 209-210] :: The first two quotations come from a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette of 15 August 1786 (see above) as quoted in Joseph Fabre's ''Washington, libérateur de l'Amérique: suivi de Washington et la revolution Américaine'' (Ch. Delagrave, 1886), and the third is also found in that source where, although placed between quotation marks, it is clearly intended as the author's own comments on what "Washington and his friends" were saying to the world by establishing the American Constitution. Gustave Rodrigues mistakenly printed Fabre's words as Washington's alongside some actual observations of his from a letter to Lafayette, and so created the misquotation. * Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s Liberty teeth and keystone under Independence. The church, the plow, the prairie wagon, and citizens’ firearms are indelibly related. From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable. Every corner of this Land knows firearms and more than 99 99/100 per cent of them by their silence indicate they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference and they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good. When firearms go all goes, therefore we need them every hour. ** This is the conclusion to an article entitled "Older Ideas of Firearms" by C. S. Wheatley; it was published in the September 1926 issue of ''Hunter, Trader, Trapper'' (vol. 53, no. 3), p. 34. Wheatley had referred to George Washington's address to the second session of the first Congress immediately before this passage, which may have given rise to the mistaken attribution. See [http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/02/26/firearm/ this piece] at ''Quote Investigator'' * The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments. ** US Senator [[w: William Borah|William Edgar Borah]], writing in ''The Reader's Digest'', Vol. 8, Issue 2 (1929), p. 776; this has only rarely begun to be attributed to Washington, since about 2010. * It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy, to deny a man the liberty he hath by nature upon a supposition that he may abuse it. ** [[Oliver Cromwell]], letter to Walter Dundas, 12 September 1650; this is also a recent misattribution. === Spurious attributions === :<small>Statements which evidence indicates are fabrications, never actually said by anyone prior to their being attributed to Washington.</small> * <span id="cannot-lie"></span>'''I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet.''' ** The earliest source of this quote was a famous anecdote in ''The Life of George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes Laudable to Himself and Exemplary to his Countrymen'' (1806) by [[Parson Weems]], which is not considered a credible source, and many incidents recounted in the work are now considered to have sprung entirely from Weems’ imagination. This derives from an anecdote of Washington, as a young boy, confessing to his father Augustine Washington that it was he who had cut a cherished cherry tree. ** Variant:'''Father, I cannot tell a lie''', I cut the tree. * '''What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.''' ** A modern fabrication, possibly derived from David Barton's claim (''Original Intent'', p. 85) that "By George Washington’s own words, what youths learned in America’s schools 'above all' was 'the religion of Jesus Christ.'”. Washington did use the phrase "above all the religion of Jesus Christ" on 12 May 1779 in a reply to a petition from a Lenape delegation asking for assistance in promoting the missionary activities of David Zeisberger among their people: "You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do every thing they can to assist you in this wise intention..." He did not say anything about "What students would learn in American schools," though earlier in the same reply he did say "I am glad you have brought three of the Children of your principal Chiefs to be educated with us." While there's nothing in the reply about how those "Children" might be educated (in fact Congress put two of them through Princeton) it's possible that suggested the fabricated portion. See Louise Phelps Kellogg, ''Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio 1778-1779'' (Madison WI, 1916), pp. 317-324, for the episode. Washington's reply is also found in John C. Fitzpatrick, ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799'', vol. 15 (Washington D.C., 1936), p. 55 * A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government. ** A further quote sometimes purported to be from a speech to Congress, January 7, 1790 purportedly in the Boston Independent Chronicle, January 14, 1790, this is actually a corruption of a statement made in his first State of the Union Address, relating to the need for maintaining governmental troops and military preparedness: ::: '''A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.''' <br /> The proper establishment of the troops which may be deemed indispensable will be entitled to mature consideration. In the arrangements which may be made respecting it it will be of importance to conciliate the comfortable support of the officers and soldiers with a due regard to economy. * '''It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.''' ** Washington is known to have made some official statements of public piety, but this is not one of them. The assertion is very widely reported to have been said in [[wikisource:Washington's Farewell Address|Washington's Farewell Address]] (17 September 1796), but this is ''not'' actually the case, as any search of the documents would reveal. It has also been [http://www.doctorsenator.com/ReligionandTyranny.html presented as] having been part of his Proclamation on January 1, 1795 of February 19th, 1795 as a day of national Thanksgiving. The oldest form of this saying appears as part of an argument for the existence of God attributed to Washington in an undocumented biography written for children. In ''A Life of Washington'' (1836) by [[w:James K. Paulding|James K. Paulding]], Washington is quoted as having stated: *** '''It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being.''' : (For the context see Paulding's anecdote given below in the section of quotations about Washington.) This is unattributed, and no source other than Paulding is known. In 1864 the words "the aid of a Supreme Being" were replaced by the word "God" in Benjamin Franklin Morris, [https://books.google.com/books?id=H92keUU_Xy8C&pg=PA510#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States''] (1864), p. 510: ::*It is impossible ... to govern the universe without '''God...''' :Three years later, in 1867, Henry Wilson (''Testimonies of American Statesmen and Jurists to the Truths of Christianity'', American Tract Society) replaced "universe" with "world": ::*It is impossible to govern the '''world''' without God. : In 1893 Howard H. Russell ([http://books.google.com/books?id=-z0OAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40#v=onepage&q&f=false ''A Lawyer's Examination of the Bible''], 1893) added the word "rightly" and the phrase "and the Bible" to create the most commonly cited form: ::* It is impossible to '''rightly''' govern the world without God '''and the Bible'''. : This form, which is also found in [https://books.google.com/books?id=bb_hAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA35&dq=%22It+is+impossible+to+rightly+govern+the+world+without+God+and+the+Bible%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=whWlVJ61GJDugwTMk4CgDQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22It%20is%20impossible%20to%20rightly%20govern%20the%20world%20without%20God%20and%20the%20Bible%22&f=false ''Upper Room Bulletin'', Vol. 7, No. 3 (23 October 1920)], rests on no other authority than Russell, who was born long after Washington had died. It is clearly spurious. The saying is often found attached to genuine material such as [http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ThanxProc1789.htm Washington's 1795 Thanksgiving proclamation]: ::*It is in an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe, without the agency of a Supreme Being. It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being. It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason, in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to. : The first sentence is an almost accurate rendition of one from the official proclamation, being a portion of this segment: :: In such a state of things''' it is in an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience.''' Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington, President of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and denominations, and to all persons whomsoever, within the United States to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th day of February next as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, and on that day to meet together and render their sincere and hearty thanks to the Great Ruler of Nations for the manifold and signal mercies which distinguish our lot as a nation... : It is to be noted that there is genuine piety expressed in this statement, but it is not of any sectarian kind, Christian or otherwise. The last portion of the bogus statement which uses it is a truncation of a statement attributed to him in an undocumented biography written for children. In ''A Life of Washington'' (1836) by [[w:James K. Paulding|James K. Paulding]], Washington is quoted as having stated: :: It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one. :In the spurious version of the Thanksgiving proclamation which uses a portion of this, Washington's allusions to [[Voltaire]]'s famous statement that "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him" has been omitted. In the cases of these "quotations" it seems that if statements suitable to their sectarian interests do not exist, some people feel it necessary to invent them. * '''Government is not reason, it is not eloquence,—it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.''' ** Attributed to "The First President of the United States" in "Liberty and Government" by W. M., in ''The Christian Science Journal'', Vol. XX, No. 8 (November 1902) edited by [[Mary Baker Eddy]], p. 465; no earlier or original source for this statement is cited; later quoted in ''The Cry for Justice : An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest'' (1915) edited by [[Upton Sinclair]], p. 305, from which it became far more widely quoted and in Frank J. Wilstach, ''A Dictionary of Similes'', 2d ed., p. 526 (1924). In ''The Great Thoughts'' (1985), [[George Seldes]] says, p. 441, col. 2, footnote, this paragraph “although credited to the ‘Farewell’ [address] cannot be found in it. Lawson Hamblin, who owns a facsimile, and Horace Peck, America’s foremost authority on quotations, informed me this paragraph is apocryphal.” It is listed as spurious at the [http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/spurious-quotations/ Mount Vernon website] *** Unsourced variant : Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. {{anchor|Jews}} * The Jews work more effectively against us than the enemy's armies. They are a hundred times more dangerous to our liberties and the great cause we are engaged in. It is much to be lamented that each state, long ago, has not hunted them down as pests to society and the greatest enemies we have to the happiness of America. ** Sometimes rendered : "They (the Jews) work more effectively against us, than the enemy's armies. They are a hundred times more dangerous to our liberties and the great cause we are engaged in... It is much to be lamented that each state, long ago, has not hunted them down as pest to society and the greatest enemies we have to the happiness of America." ***Both of these are doctored statements that have been widely disseminated as genuine on many anti-semitic websites; They are distortions derived from a statement that was attributed to Washington in ''Maxims of George Washington'' about '''currency speculators''' during the Revolutionary war, ''not'' about Jews: "This tribe of black gentry work more effectually against us, than the enemy's arms. They are a hundred times more dangerous to our liberties, and the great cause we are engaged in. It is much to be lamented that each State, long ere this, has not hunted them down as pests to society, and the greatest enemies we have to the happiness of America." ****More information is available at Snopes. com: [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/thejews.htm "To Bigotry, No Sanction"] **This quotation is a classic anti-semitic hoax, evidently begun during or just before World War Two by American Nazi sympathizers, and since then has been repeated, for example, in foreign propaganda directed at Americans. **It is knitted from two separate letters by Washington, in reverse chronology, neither of them mentioning Jews **#The first part of this forgery is from Washington's [[#Letter to Edmund Pendleton (1779)|letter to Edmund Pendleton in November 1779]] complaining about black marketeers and others undermining the purchasing power of colonial currency **#The second part of this fabricated quote is from Washington's [[#Letter to Joseph Reed (1778)|letter to Joseph Reed in December 1778]] again condemning war profiteers * We had quitters during the Revolution too... we called them "Kentuckians." ** This attribution apparently originated with a statement of a cartoon version of Washington on [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701155/quotes an episode] of [[The Simpsons]]. Though not initially presented as a genuine quote this has sometimes been attributed to Washington. * Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do—then do it with all your strength. ** This saying is not found in any source before 2010, when it was posted by The Ignorant Fisherman at [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2451682/posts Free Republic] on 15 February. The language is not that of Washington or his time. {{Misattributed end}} ==Quotes about George Washington== :<small>Sorted alphabetically by author or source</small> [[File:Washington 1787-1790.jpg|thumb|More than all, and above all, Washington was master of [[himself]]. ~ [[w:Charles Francis Adams, Sr.|Charles Francis Adams]] ]] [[File:Washington Constitutional Convention 1787.jpg|thumb|He is polite with [[dignity]], [[affable]] without formality, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity; [[modest]], [[wise]] and [[good]]. ~ [[Abigail Adams]]]] [[File:Thomas Hovenden - The Last Moments of John Brown - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The [[natural]] [[equal]] [[rights]] of men. If Washington or [[Jefferson]] or [[Madison]] should utter upon his native soil today the [[opinions]] he entertained and expressed upon this question, he would be denounced as a fanatical [[abolitionist]]. To declare the right of all men to [[liberty]] is sectional, because [[slavery]] is [[afraid]] of liberty and strikes the mouth that speaks the [[word]]. ~ [[George William Curtis]]]] [[File:George Washington Bridge, HAER NY-129-68.jpg|thumb|George Washington is one of the beacons placed at intervals along the highroad of [[history]]. ~ Orestes Ferrara]] [[File:Presence of Washington.jpg|thumb|Let us forget the other [[names]] of [[American]] [[statesmen]], that have been stamped upon these hills, but still call the loftiest — [[w:Mount Washington (New Hampshire)| WASHINGTON]]. ~ [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] ]] [[File:MtRushmore GW close.jpg|thumb|He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a [[wise]], a [[good]], and a [[great]] man. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]] ]] [[File:Washington monument base and flags Jan 2006.jpg|thumb|Never did [[nature]] and [[fortune]] combine more [[perfectly]] to make a man [[great]], and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an [[everlasting]] [[remembrance]]. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]] ]] [[File:IMG 2271 - Washington DC - Washington Monument - Cherry Blossoms.JPG|thumb|Let him who looks for a [[monument]] to Washington look around the [[United States]]. Your [[freedom]], your [[independence]], your [[national]] [[power]], your [[prosperity]], and your prodigious [[growth]] are a monument to him. ~ [[w:Lajos Kossuth|Lajos Kossuth]] ]] [[File:Portrait of George Washington-transparent.png|thumb|First in [[war]], first in [[peace]], and first in the [[hearts]] of his countrymen. ~ [[w:Henry Lee|Henry Lee]] ]] [[File:US Navy 050704-N-5608F-020 Fireworks burst above the Washington Monument in celebration of America's 229th birthday.jpg|thumb|To add brightness to the [[sun]], or [[glory]] to the [[name]] of Washington, is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name, and in its naked deathless splendor leave it shining on. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]] ]] [[File:Night view of Washington Monuments.JPG|thumb|You have in American [[history]] one of the [[great]] captains of all times. ~ [[Helmuth von Moltke the Elder]] ]] [[File:Fourth of July fireworks behind the Washington Monument, 1986.jpg|thumb|Washington's [[genius]] lay in his [[understanding]] of [[power]], both [[military]] power, and [[political]] power, an understanding unmatched by that of any of his contemporaries. ~ [[w:Edmund Morgan|Edmund Sears Morgan]] ]] [[File:WDCMemorial.JPG|thumb|The name of an iron man goes round the world. <br /> It takes a long time to forget an iron man. ~ [[Carl Sandburg]] ]] [[File:MTVernonseenfromtheriver.jpg|thumb|When George Washington was fighting for [[freedom]] in the [[Revolutionary War]], he was fighting for the freedom of "whites only." Rich whites, at that. After the so-called Revolution, you couldn't [[vote]] unless you were a white man and you owned a plot of land. The Revolutionary War was led by some rich white boys who got tired of paying heavy [[taxes]] to the king. ~ [[Assata Shakur]]]] [[File:George Washington Statue Inside Washington Monument.JPG|thumb|No man ever united in his own person a more perfect alliance of the [[virtues]] of a [[philosopher]] with the [[talents]] of a [[Soldier|general]].]] :<small>These should be arranged alphabetically by author</small> * '''He is polite with [[dignity]], [[affable]] without formality, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity; [[modest]], [[wise]] and [[good]].''' ** [[Abigail Adams]], in a letter to [[John Adams]], 1789; from ''[[Alexander Hamilton]]'' (2004) by [[w:Ron Chernow|Ron Chernow]], <!-- Penguin Books -->p. 279 * '''More than all, and above all, Washington was master of himself.''' If there be one quality more than another in his character which may exercise a useful control over the men of the present hour, it is the total disregard of self when in the most elevated positions for influence and example. ** [[Charles Francis Adams, Sr.]], as quoted in [http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/5/1/4/15140/15140.htm ''Washington's Birthday : Its History, Observance, Spirit, and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse'' (1918) by Robert Haven Schauffler], p. 143 * If I were to characterize George Washington's feelings toward his country, I should be less inclined than most people to stress what is called Washington's love of his country. What impresses me as far more important is what I should call Washington's respect for his country. ** [http://www.clements.umich.edu/Staffpages/Adams.html Randolph Greenfield Adams], in ''The Dignity of George Washington'' (1932) * There is nothing that will make an Englishman shit so quick as the sight of General Washington. ** Retort attributed to [[Ethan Allen]], commenting after a picture of Washington was hung in a British outhouse; in an anecdote told by [[Abraham Lincoln]], as quoted in ''Lincoln'', Vol. 1 (1996) by David Herbert Donald ** Variant: It is most appropriately hung, nothing ever made the British shit like the sight of George Washington. *The location of Washington's home is most beautiful and commanding, but, oh, the air of dilapidation and decay that everywhere meets the eye, the tottering out-buildings, the mark of slavery o'ershadow[ing] the whole. Oh, the thought that it was here, that he whose name is the pride of this nation was the Slave Master. The humorous, little buildings surrounding, or rather in [the] rear of the great house plainly tell the tale-a Slave, Woman, the cook of the present owner, Grand Nephew of Gen. Washington, told me these buildings were the Servants' Quarters. The tomb is humble indeed. It would seem that, if the profession of reverence for the "Father of his Country" were real, that this home of Washington would be rescued from the curse of slave labor, and made to blossom in the sunshine of free labor.... **[[Susan B. Anthony]], 1854 letter included in ''Mistress of Herself: Speeches and Letters of [[Ernestine Rose]] edited by Paula Doress-Worters (2008) *When everybody says "lesbian," a word connected with [[Sappho]] and the island of Lesbos, that automatically means that your forefathers and foremothers are European, that George Washington is the father of our country and Columbus discovered America-all false assumptions. **[[Gloria E. Anzaldúa]] interview in ''Backtalk: women writers speak out'' by Donna Marie Perry (1993) * George Washington was the right man at the right [[time]] – sometimes he was the first man, but sometimes he simply knew when to ride the crest of a wave or the leading edge of a trend. ** [[Alan Axelrod]], [http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/axelrod.htm Alan Axelrod in an interview with Frank R. Shaw, Aug 23, 2007] * Washington wasn't born good. Only practice and habit made him so. ** [[w:William Bennet|William Bennet]], in ''Our Sacred Honor'' (1997) * '''You can no more love and revere the memory of the biographical George Washington than you can an isosceles triangle or a cubic foot of interstellar space.''' The portrait-painters began it—Gilbert Stuart and the rest of them. They idealized all the humanity out of the poor patriot's face and passed him down to the engravers as a rather sleepy-looking butcher's block. There is not a portrait of Washington extant which a man of taste and knowledge would suffer to hang on the wall of his stable. Then the historians jumped in, raping all the laurels from the brows of the man's great contemporaries and piling them in confusion upon his pate. They made him a god in wisdom, and a giant in arms; whereas, in point of ability and service, he was but little, if at all, superior to any one of a half-dozen of his now over-shadowed but once illustrious co-workers in council and camp, and in no way comparable with Hamilton. '''He towers above his fellows because he stands upon a pile of books.''' ** [[Ambrose Bierce]], "George the Made-over," in ''Tangential Views'' (1911) * When the [[Russian]] [[diplomat]] [[w:Pavel Svinin|Pavel Svinin]] came to the new [[United States]] in the first years of the [[w:19th century|19th century]], he was amazed to find [[w:Bust (sculpture)|busts]] and [[images]] everywhere. In [[homes]], in [[w:Civic space|civic spaces]], in [[businesses]], he kept running into the same image. It was not [[Jesus]], but George Washington. "It is noteworthy that every American considers it his [[sacred]] [[duty]] to have a likeness of Washington in his home," Svinin wrote, "just as we have images of [[God]]'s [[saints]]." ** Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey, [https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Contested-Color-of-Christ/134414 “The Contested Color of Christ”], ''Chronicle'', (17 September 2012) * '''George Washington was perhaps the one indispensable man among the founders.''' It is hard to imagine any of the others commanding the respect needed to lead the Continental Army to victory over Great Britain, preside over the Constitutional Convention, and serve the United States as its first president. Little in Washington's early life gave a hint of the great achievements to come. ** Bob Blythe, in an official [http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/george_washington.html National Park Service profile] * I have learned with inexplicable joy that you have had the goodness to honor me with a treasure from Mount Vernon — the portrait of Washington, some of his venerable reliques, and one of the monuments of his glory, which are to be presented me at your hands in the name of the brothers of '''the Great Citizen, the First-Born Son of the New World.''' No words can set forth all the value that this gift and its embodying considerations, so glorious for me, hold in my heart. ** [[Simón Bolívar]], in a letter to [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette]] (20 March 1826), as quoted in ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'', Vol. 1 (1918) edited by [[w:James Alexander Robertson|James Alexander Robertson]] * Today I have touched with my hands this inestimable present. The image of the first benefactor of the continent of Columbus, presented by the hero citizen, General Lafayette, and offered by the noble scion of that immortal family, was all that could reward the most enlightened merit of the first man in the universe. Shall I be worthy of so much glory? No; but I accept it with a joy and gratitude that will go down with the venerable reliques of the father of America to the most remote generations of my country. ** [[Simón Bolívar]], in a letter of thanks to [[w:George Washington Custis|George Washington Custis]], for an official gift presented by (25 May 1826)), as quoted in ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'', Vol. 1 (1918) edited by [[w:James Alexander Robertson|James Alexander Robertson]] * '''Posterity will talk of Washington as the founder of a great empire, when my name shall be lost in the vortex of revolution.''' ** [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I of France)]], as quoted in ''Quotations for Special Occasions'' (1937) by Maud Van Buren * '''Washington absorbed, and later came to personify what you might call the dignity code.''' The code was based on the same premise as the nation's Constitution — that human beings are flawed creatures who live in constant peril of falling into disasters caused by their own passions. Artificial systems have to be created to balance and restrain their desires. <br /> The dignity code commanded its followers to be disinterested — to endeavor to put national interests above personal interests. It commanded its followers to be reticent — to never degrade intimate emotions by parading them in public. It also commanded its followers to be dispassionate — to distrust rashness, zealotry, fury and political enthusiasm. ** [[David Brooks]] in [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/opinion/07brooks.html?_r=1 "In Search of Dignity" in ''The New York Times'' (6 July 2009)] * George Washington once wrote that leading by conviction gave him "a consolation within that no earthly efforts can deprive me of." He continued: "The arrows of malevolence, however barbed and well pointed, never can reach the most vulnerable part of me." I read those words in Presidential Courage, written by historian Michael Beschloss in 2007. As I told Laura, if they're still assessing George Washington's legacy more than two centuries after he left office, this George W. doesn't have to worry about today's headlines. ** George W. Bush, ''Decision Points'' (2010), p. 122 * <p>Where may the wearied eye repose, <br /> When gazing on the Great; <br /> Where neither guilty glory glows, <br /> Nor despicable state? </p><p> Yes — one — the first — the last — the best— <br /> '''The [[w:Cincinnatus|Cincinnatus]] of the West. <br /> Whom envy dared not hate, <br /> Bequeath'd the name of Washington, <br /> To make man blush there was but one!'''</p> ** [[Lord Byron]], in "Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte" (10 April 1814) * The schools I went to only taught yanqui history. You know stuff like George "I never told a lie" Washington, Bunker Hill, Lincoln freed the slaves. The schools were run by yanquis and discouraged the teaching of Puerto Rican history. But I had a teacher once, Carmen Maria Torres, who used to smuggle into the schools books on Puerto Rican history and she would spend time telling us about Puerto Rican heroes like Betances, and the revolution in Lares on September 23, 1968-I felt re-born. ** [[Blanca Canales]], interview in ''Palante'' (1970) * '''A degree of silence envelops Washington's actions; he moved slowly; one might say that he felt charged with future liberty, and that he feared to compromise it. It was not his own destiny that inspired this new species of hero: it was that of his country; he did not allow himself to enjoy what did not belong to him; but from that profound humility what glory emerged!''' Search the woods where Washington's sword gleamed: what do you find? Tombs? No; a world! Washington has left the United States behind for a monument on the field of battle. … Washington's Republic lives on; [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Bonaparte]]'s empire is destroyed. Washington and Bonaparte emerged from the womb of democracy: both of them born to liberty, the former remained faithful to her, the latter betrayed her. <br /> '''Washington acted as the representative of the needs, the ideas, the enlightened men, the opinions of his age; he supported, not thwarted, the stirrings of intellect; he desired only what he had to desire, the very thing to which he had been called: from which derives the coherence and longevity of his work.''' That man who struck few blows because he kept things in proportion has merged his existence with that of his country: his glory is the heritage of civilisation; his fame has risen like one of those public sanctuaries where a fecund and inexhaustible spring flows. ** [[François-René de Chateaubriand]] in ''[[w:Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe|Mémoires d'outre-tombe]]'' (1848 - 1850) Book VI, Chapter 8: Comparison of Washington and Bonaparte * The first step was to elect a President, and General Washington, the commander of the Revolution, was the obvious choice. Disinterested and courageous, far-sighted and patient, aloof yet direct in manner, inflexible once his mind was made up, Washington possessed the gifts of character for which the situation called. He was reluctant to accept office. Nothing would have pleased him more than to remain in equable but active retirement at Mount Vernon, improving the husbandry of his estate. But, as always, he answered the summons of duty. Gouverneur Morris was right when he emphatically wrote to him, "The exercise of authority depends on personal character. Your cool, steady temper is indispensably necessary to give firm and manly tone to the new Government." There was much confusion and discussion on titles and precedence, which aroused the mocking laughter of critics. But the prestige of Washington lent dignity to the new, untried office. On April 30, 1789, in the recently opened Federal Hall in New York, he was solemnly inaugurated as the first President of the United States. A week later the French States-General met at Versailles. Another great revolution was about to burst upon a bewildered world. ** [[Winston Churchill]], ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume Three: The Age of Revolution'' (1957), "The American Constitution", p. 260 * George Washington holds one of the proudest titles that history can bestow. He was the Father of his Nation. Almost alone his staunchness in the War of Independence held the American Colonies to their united purpose. His services after victory had been won were no less great. His firmness and example while first President restrained the violence of faction and postponed a national schism for sixty years. His character and influence steadied the dangerous leanings of Americans to take sides against Britain or France. He filled his office with dignity and inspired his administration with much of his own wisdom. To his terms as President are due the smooth transition of the Federal Government, the establishment of national credit, and the foundation of a foreign policy. By refusing to stand for a third term he set a tradition in American politics which has only been departed from by President Franklin Roosevelt in the Second World War. For two years Washington lived quietly at his country seat on the Potomac, riding round his plantations, as he had long wished to do. Amid the snows of the last days of the eighteenth century he took to his bed. On the evening of December 14, 1799, he turned to the physician at his side, murmuring, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go." Soon afterward he passed away. ** [[Winston Churchill]], ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume Three: The Age of Revolution'' (1957), "Washington, Adams, and Jefferson", p. 347-348 * [[Lafayette]] valued [[reputation]] and [[glory]], but cared little for the [[power]] that generally results from them. Having one day been asked who was in his opinion the greatest man of this age: "In my idea," replied he, "'''General [[George Washington|Washington]] is the greatest man, for I look upon him as the most virtuous.'''" ** [[w:Jules Germain Cloquet|Jules Germain Cloquet]], in ''Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette'' (1836), Vol. I, p. 24 * We cannot imagine an [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], a [[w:John J. Pershing|Pershing]], a [[Robert E. Lee|Lee]], [[dancing]] with [[joy]] on a dock, but Washington did it. ** [[w:Christopher Collier (historian)|Christopher Collier]] in ''Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787'' (1987), p. 57, on Washington's reaction to the news of [[wikipedia:François Joseph Paul%2C marquis de Grasetilly%2C comte de Grasse | Admiral De Grasse's]] fleet arriving for the [[w:Siege of Yorktown|Battle of Yorktown]]. *Muslims served in the U.S. military under the command of General George Washington, who was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American War for Independence. Rosters of soldiers serving in Washington's Army lists names like Bampett Muhammad, who fought for the Virginia Line between the years 1775 and 1783. Another one of Washington's soldiers, Yusuf Ben Ali, was a North African Arab who worked as an aide to General Thomas Sumter of South Carolina. Peter Buckminster, who fought in Boston, is perhaps Washington's most distinguished Muslim American soldier. Buckminster fired the gun that killed British Major General John Pitcairn at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Years after this famous battle, Peter changed his last name to 'Salaam', the Arabic word meaning 'peace'. Peter Salaam later reenlisted in the Continental Army to serve in the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Stony Point. If Washington had a problem with Muslims serving in his Army, he would not have allowed Muhammad, Ali and Salaam to represent and serve non-Muslim Americans. '''By giving these Muslims the honor of serving America, Washington made it clear that a person did not have to be of a certain religion or have a particular ethnic background to be an American patriot.''' **Craig Considine, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-considine/the-difference-between-an_1_b_8257506.html "The Difference Between 'Anti-Islam' Patriots and Real Patriots" (7 October 2016)]<!-- also in "Saluting Muslim American Patriots" (7 October 2015) --> *The natural equal rights of men. If Washington or [[Jefferson]] or [[Madison]] should utter upon his native soil today the opinions he entertained and expressed upon this question, he would be denounced as a fanatical abolitionist. To declare the right of all men to liberty is sectional, because slavery is afraid of liberty and strikes the mouth that speaks the word. To preach slavery is not sectional — no: because freedom respects itself and believes in itself enough to give an enemy fair play. Thus Boston asked Senator Toombs to come and say what he could for slavery. I think Boston did a good thing, but I think Senator Toombs is not a wise man, for he went. He went all the way from Georgia to show Massachusetts how slavery looks, and to let it learn what it has to say. When will Georgia ask [[Wendell Phillips]] or [[Charles Sumner]] to come down and show her how liberty looks and speaks? **[[George William Curtis]], in "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question", New York City(18 October 1859); published in [https://books.google.com/books?id=y3RaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA86 ''Orations and Addresses of George William Curtis'' Vol. I, p. 86] * With the sure sagacity of a leader of men, Washington at once selected, for the highest and most responsible stations, the three chief Americans who represented the three forces in the nation which alone could command success in the institution of the government. [[Alexander Hamilton|Hamilton]] was the head, [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] was the heart, and [[John Jay]] was the conscience. '''Washington's just and serene ascendancy was the lambent flame in which these beneficent powers were fused, and nothing less than that ascendancy could have ridden the whirlwind and directed the storm that burst around him.''' ** [[George William Curtis]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus Skinner, p. 261 * And has God been pleased to diffuse some Sparks of this Martial Fire through our Country? I hope he has : And though it has been almost extinguished by so long a Peace, and a Deluge of Luxury and Pleasure, now I hope it begins to kindle : And may I not produce you my Brethren, who are engaged in this Expedition, as instances of it *? * As a remarkable Instance of this, I may point out to the Public that heroic Youth Col. Washington whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preferred in so signal a Manner, for some important Service to his Country. ** [[w: Samuel Davies (clergyman)|Samuel Davies]], ''Religion and Patriotism the Constituents of a good Soldier: A Sermon Preached to Captain Overton's Independent Company of Volunteers, raised in Hanover County, Virginia'' * When George Washington dispatched [[Benedict Arnold]] on a mission to court [[w:French Canadian|French Canadians]]’ support for the [[American Revolution]] in 1775, he cautioned Arnold not to let their [[religion]] get in the way. “[[Prudence]], [[policy]] and a [[true]] [[Christian]] [[Spirit]],” Washington advised, “will [[lead]] us to [[look]] with [[compassion]] upon their [[errors]], without [[insulting]] them.” (After [[Benedict Arnold|Arnold]] [[betrayed]] the American cause, he publicly cited [[America]]’s alliance with [[Catholic]] [[France]] as one of his reasons for doing so.) ** [[w:Kenneth C. Davis|Kenneth C. Davis]], [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-true-history-of-religious-tolerance-61312684/ “America’s True History of Religious Tolerance“], ''Smithsonian Magazine'', (October 2010) * He was addressing the members of [[America]]’s oldest [[synagogue]], the [[w:Touro Synagogue|Touro Synagogue]] in [[w:Newport, Rhode Island|Newport, Rhode Island]] (where his letter is read aloud every August). In closing, he wrote specifically to the [[Jews]] a phrase that applies to [[Muslims]] as well: “May the children of the Stock of [[Abraham]], who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.” ** [[w:Kenneth C. Davis|Kenneth C. Davis]], [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-true-history-of-religious-tolerance-61312684/ “America’s True History of Religious Tolerance“], ''Smithsonian Magazine'', (October 2010) * Men are beginning to feel that Washington stands out, not only as the leading American, but as the leading man of the race. '''Of men not named in Sacred Scripture, more human beings this day know and honor the name of George Washington than that of any other of the sons of men.''' ** [[w:Charles Deems|Charles Deems]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus Skinner, p. 261 * A man of quiet strength, he took few friends into complete confidence. His critics mistook his dignified reserve for pomposity. Life for Washington was a serious mission, a job to be tackled soberly, unremittingly. He had little time for humor. Although basically good-natured, he wrestled with his temper and sometimes lost. He was a poor speaker and could become utterly inarticulate without a prepared text. He preferred to express himself on paper. Still, when he did speak, he was candid, direct, and looked people squarely in the eye. Biographer Douglas Southall Freeman conceded that Washington's "ambition for wealth made him acquisitive and sometimes contentious." Even after Washington established himself, Freeman pointed out, "he would insist upon the exact payment of every farthing due him" and was determined "to get everything that he honestly could." Yet neither his ambition to succeed nor his acquisitive nature ever threatened his basic integrity. ** William A. DeGregorio, ''The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents'' (1984), p. 1-2 *Wake up, America. Your liberties are being stolen before your very eyes. What Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln fought for, Truman, Acheson, and McGrath are striving desperately to nullify. Wake up, Americans, and dare to think and say and do. Dare to cry: No More War! **''The Autobiography of [[W.E.B. Du Bois]]: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life from the Last Decade of Its First Century'' (1968) * Why celebrate Columbus? It was the onset of colonialism, the slave trade and dispossession of the Native people of the Americas. So, that is celebrated with a federal holiday. That’s followed then by Thanksgiving, which is a completely made-up story to say the Native people welcomed these people who were going to devastate their civilizations, which is simply a lie. And then you go to Presidents’ Days, the Founding Fathers, in February, and celebrate these slaveowners, Indian killers. George Washington headed the Virginia militia for the very purpose of killing Native people on the periphery of the colony, before, you know, when it was still a Virginia colony. And then we have the big day, the fireworks, July 4th, independence, which is probably the most tragic event in world history, because it gave us—it gave the world a genocidal regime under the guise of democracy. And that’s really the—I’m a historian, so that’s the historical context that I think we have to see Thanksgiving in, that it is a part of that mythology that attempts to cover up the real history of the United States. **[[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]] [https://www.democracynow.org/2016/11/23/historian_roxanne_dunbar_ortiz_on_thanksgiving Interview] with Democracy Now (2016) * I would say [[Benjamin Franklin]] was wiser than Washington, [[Alexander Hamilton|Hamilton]] was more brilliant, [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] was more intellectually sophisticated, [[John Adams|Adams]] was more engaging … [[James Madison|Madison]] was more politically astute, but Washington was still the greatest. And they would all agree to that. ** Joseph Ellis {{source}} * The more important and less ambiguous fact is that Washington possessed a deep-seated capacity to feel powerful emotions. Some models of self-control are able to achieve their serenity easily, because the soul-fires never burned brightly to begin with. Washington became the most notorious model of self-control in all of American history, the original marble man, but he achieved this posture- and sometimes it ''was'' a posture- the same hard-earned way he learned soldiering, by direct experience with difficulty. Unlike Thomas Jefferson, he wrote no lyrical tribute to the interior struggle entitled "Dialogue Between the Head and Heart," but he lived that dialogue in a primal place deep within himself. Appearances aside, he was an intensely passionate man, whose powers of self-control eventually became massive because of the interior urges they were required to master. Nothing was more inherently chaotic or placed a higher premium on self-control than a battle. He had played a leading role in four of them; one a massacre that he oversaw; the other a massacre that he survived; one an embarrassing defeat; the other a hollow victory. Whether it was a miracle, destiny, or sheer luck, he had emerged from these traumatic experiences unscathed and with his reputation, each time, higher than before. He had shown himself to be physically brave, impetuously so at Fort Necessity, and personally proud, irrationally so in the Forbes campaign. His courage, his composure, and his self-control were all of a piece, having developed within that highly lethal environment that was the Ohio Country, where internal shields provided the only defense against dangers that came at you from multiple angles. ** Joseph J. Ellis, ''His Excellency: George Washington'' (2004), p. 37-38 * A final example, his trademark decision to surrender power as commander in chief and then president, was not, as Morris insisted, a sign that he had conquered his ambitions, but rather that he fully realized that all ambitions were inherently insatiable and unconquerable. He knew himself well enough to resist the illusion that he transcended human nature. Unlike Julius Caesar and Oliver Cromwell before him, and Napoleon, Lenin, and Mao after him, he understood that the greater glory resided in posterity's judgment. If you aspire to live forever in the memory of future generations, you must demonstrate the ultimate self-confidence to leave the final judgment to them. And he did. ** Joseph J. Ellis, ''His Excellency: George Washington'' (2004), p. 274-275 * '''George Washington is one of the beacons placed at intervals along the highroad of history.''' For his country he serves as a guide in time of stress and a refuge in tranquil moments; a never-failing example of true goodness; a warning to turbulent youth and a mute accusation of selfish interests. ** [http://orestesferrara.com/ Orestes Ferrara], as quoted in ''Bulletin of the Pan American Union'', Vol. 66 (1932), p. 471 * '''In all history few men who possessed unassailable power have used that power so gently and self-effacingly for what their best instincts told them was the welfare of their neighbors and all mankind.''' ** [[w:James Thomas Flexner|James Thomas Flexner]], in ''Washington : The Indispensable Man'' (1984), Introduction, p. xiv * '''Washington had always taught himself from experience.''' He learned the lessons of the American war all the more readily because he had no conventional lessons to unlearn. … '''Long before the end of the war, Washington had become much more effective than any of his military opponents.''' But this did not mean that what he had taught himself would have made him a great general on the battlefields of Europe. Evolved not from theory but from dealing with specific problems, his preeminence was achieved through a Darwinian adaptation to environment. '''It was the triumph of a man who knows how to learn, not in the narrow sense of studying other people's conceptions, but in the transcendent sense of making a synthesis from the totality of experience. <br /> Among the legacies of the Revolution to the new nation, the most widely recognized and admired was a man: George Washington. He had no rivals.''' ** [[w:James Thomas Flexner|James Thomas Flexner]] in ''Washington : The Indispensable Man'' (1984), Chapter 23 : Goodbye to War, p. 183 * '''Washington's appointments, when President, were made with a view to destroy party and not to create it, his object being to gather all the talent of the country in support of the national government; and he bore many things which were personally disagreeable in an endeavor to do this.''' ** [[w:Paul Leicester Ford|Paul Leicester Ford]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus SkinnerTake, p. 261 * I frequently hear the old Generals of this martial country (who study the maps of America, and mark upon them all your operations) speak with sincere approbation and great applause of your conduct; and join in giving you the character of one of the greatest captains of the age. <br /> I must soon quit the scene, but you may live to see our country flourish; as it will, amazingly and rapidly, after the war is over. ** [[Benjamin Franklin]], in a letter to George Washington (5 March 1780), published in ''The Edinburgh Review'' Vol. 28 (1817), p. 284 * '''From the moment when he took command of the army, Washington was, indeed, "first in the hearts of his countrymen."''' And the student of our history cannot help remarking how providential it was that, at the outset of this struggle, Washington should come to the front. Eighty-Six years later, at the beginning of the rebellion, there was no accepted chief. Lincoln was doubted by the North and, and the army had no true leader. By a slow process Lincoln's commanding strength became known; by an equally tedious sifting of the generals the qualities of Grant, Sherman, Thomas and Meade were discovered. Only the tremendous resources of the North could have withstood the strain of such a delay. Had the same process been necessary at the outset of the Revolution, the colonies could have scarcely maintained the struggle. '''Had not Washington been at hand, accepted by the Congress and admired by the army, the virtual leader of both, the chances of success would have been slight. But he was Lincoln and Grant in one.''' Time and time again, through the long years, it was Washington alone who brought victory from defeat. Without him, the colonies might have won their independence as the result of an almost interminable guerilla warfare; but with him the fight was definite, glorious, and-for the infant republic, mercifully short. **[[w:Allen French|Allen French]] on the importance of Washington, in ''The Siege of Boston'' (1911) * I often say of George Washington that he was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power. ** [[Robert Frost]], as quoted in ''Patriarch: George Washington and the new American Nation'' (1993) by Richard Norton Smith * George Washington might have fought the [[w:Redcoats|Redcoats]]. But he left [[w:Barings|Barings]], the great [[w:London|London]] bank in charge of his personal finances throughout the war, and Barings did not let him down. ** [[w:John Kenneth Galbraith|John Kenneth Galbraith]], [[w:The Age of Uncertainty|The Age of Uncertainty]], Chapter 6, p. 183 * '''Eternity alone can reveal to the human race its debt of gratitude to the peerless and immortal name of Washington.''' ** [[James A. Garfield]], as quoted in ''The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield'' (1881) by Emma Elizabeth Brown, p. 452 * '''Washington is beyond question one of the greatest men in history, one of the noblest men who ever lived.''' He is a towering figure in the establishment of the United States and he did more than any other man to create and preserve the Republic. Here was a man whose very strength resided in his austere sobriety, who in his own person demonstrated this soundness of America. He was a good man, not a demigod; he was an honest administrator, not a brilliant statesman; he was a military man, but never a militarist. He was touchingly proud of America, proud that it was his country that was given the historic chance of becoming a model of religious as well as political freedom. In a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, whose service he once attended, he stressed that in America freedom of religious worship was one of the "inherent natural rights," where government "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." Washington was an exceptional man; with reason he became so merged with America that his is the most prominent name in the land. ** Wendell Garrett, in [http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/features/garrett/garrett11-10-99.asp "George Washington, Man or Myth?" in ''Artnet'' magazine] (November 1999) *If there were a row of pedestals on which to place human gods, I should place Washington on that pedestal as the most fitting occupant of it, so strongly am I impressed with his moral elevation and greatness of character. **[[William Ewart Gladstone]], quoted in [[w:Edward Walter Hamilton|Edward Walter Hamilton]], ''Mr. Gladstone: A Monograph'' (1898), p. 172 * His excellency General Washington has arrived amoungst us, universally admired. Joy was visable on every countenance. ** General [[w:Nathanael Greene|Nathanael Greene]] on the arrival of George Washington in Boston, 1775-1776, McCullough pg 20 * '''No nobler figure ever stood in the forefront of a nation's life.''' Washington was grave and courteous in address; his manners were simple and unpretending; his silence and the serene calmness of his temper spoke of a perfect self-mastery; but little there was in his outer bearing to reveal the grandeur of soul which lifts his figure with all the simple majesty of an ancient statue, out of the smaller passions, the meaner impulses of the world around him. <br /> '''It was only as the weary fight went on that the colonists learned, little by little, the greatness of their leader''' — his clear judgment, his calmness in the hour of danger or defeat; the patience with which he waited, the quickness and hardness with which he struck, the lofty and serene sense of duty that never swerved from its task through resentment or jealousy, that never, through war or peace, felt the touch of a meaner ambition; that knew no aim save that of guarding the freedom of his fellow-countrymen; and no personal longing save that of returning to his own fireside when their freedom was secured. <br /> It was almost unconsciously that men learned to cling to Washington with a trust and faith such as few other men have won, and to regard him with reverence which still hushes us in presence of his memory. ** [[w:John Richard Green|John Richard Green]] in ''History of the English People'' (1880) *old George Washington, who wasn't called "the father of his country" for nothing, tip-toeing around the female slave stables with his pants down. **[[Ollie Harrington]], ''Why I Left America and Other Stories'' (1994) * '''Washington had no smashing, stunning victories. He was not a military genius, and his tactical and strategic maneuvers were not the sort that awed men. Military glory was ''not'' the source of his reputation.''' Something else was involved. '''Washington's genius, his greatness, lay in his character.''' He was, as [[François-René de Chateaubriand|Chateubriand]] said, a "hero of unprecedented kind." There had never been a great many like Washington before. Washington became a great man and was acclaimed as a classical hero because of the way he conducted himself during times of temptation. It was his moral character that set him off from other men. <br /> Washington fit the 18th-century image of a great man, of a man of virtue. This virtue was not given to him by nature. He had to work for it, to cultivate it, and everyone sensed that. Washington was a self-made hero, and this impressed an 18th-century enlightened world that put great stock in men controlling both their passions and their destinies. '''Washington seemed to possess a self-cultivated nobility.''' ** [[w:Don Higginbotham|Don Higginbotham]], in ''George Washington Reconsidered'' (2001), p. 313 * '''Let us forget the other [[names]] of [[American]] [[statesmen]], that have been stamped upon these hills, but still call the loftiest — [[w:Mount Washington (New Hampshire)| WASHINGTON]].''' [[Mountains]] are [[Earth]]'s undecaying [[monuments]]. They must stand while she [[endures]], and never should be consecrated to the mere [[great]] men of their own age and [[country]], but to the mighty ones [[alone]], whose [[glory]] is [[universal]], and whom [[all]] [[time]] will render [[illustrious]]. ** [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], in "Sketches from Memory": The Notch of the White Mountains (1835) * The United States, for example, has never had a President as bad as [[w:George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], but neither has Britain had a king as admirable as [[w:George Washington|George Washington]] (of whom William Thackeray rightly said that 'his glory will descend to remotest ages' while the memory of the sovereign went the other way). **[[Christopher Hitchens]], ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=stfi0I6zcXwC&lpg=PP1&dq=the%20monarchy%20a%20critique&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=the%20monarchy%20a%20critique&f=false The Monarchy: A Critique of Britain's Favourite Fetish]'' (1990), Random House. * '''To him the title of ''Excellency'' is applied with peculiar propriety.''' He is the best: and the greatest man the world ever knew. In private life, he wins the hearts and wears the love of all who are so happy as to fall within the circle of his acquaintance. In his public character, he commands universal respect and admiration. Conscious that the principles on which he acts are indeed founded in virtue and truth, he steadily pursues the arduous work with a mind neither depressed by disappointment and difficulties, nor elated with temporary success. '''He retreats like a General and attacks like a Hero.''' If there are spots in his character, they are like the spots in the Sun; only discernable by the magnifying powers of a telescope. Had he lived in the days of idolatry he had been worshipped as a God. '''One age cannot do justice to his merit; but the united voices of a grateful posterity shall pay a chearful tribute of undissembled praise to the great assertor of their country's freedom.''' ** [[w:Francis Hopkinson|Francis Hopkinson]], one of the signers of the [[w:Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], in "A Political Catechism" (1777). ** Variant: Had Washington been born in the days of idolatry, he would be worshiped as a god. If there are spots on his characters, they are like spots on the sun, only discernible by the magnifying powers of a telescope. *** As quoted in ''Pennsylvania Journal, 1777-1776'' by [[w:David McCullough|David McCullough]], p. 290 *On the hypothesis of a separation of the Union into Northern and Southern, said he had made up his mind to remove and be of the Northern. ** [[w:Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150919061950/http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0441 Notes of a Conversation with Edmund Randolph]. * When the clergy addressed General Washington on his departure from the government, it was observed in their consultation that he had never on any occasion said a word to the public which showed a belief in the Christian religion and they thought they should so pen their address as to force him at length to declare publicly whether he was a Christian or not. They did so. However [Dr.&nbsp;Rush] observed the old fox was too cunning for them. '''He answered every article of their address particularly except that, which he passed over without notice.''' Rush observes he never did say a word on the subject in any of his public papers except in his valedictory letter to the Governors of the states when he resigned his commission in the army, wherein he speaks of the benign influence of the Christian religion. I know that Gouvemeur Morris, who pretended to be in his secrets & believed himself to be so, has often told me that General Washington believed no more of that system than he himself did. ** [[w:Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson]], the ''Anas'' (1 February 1800), on [[w:George Washington|George Washington]]'s absent Christianity. Published in [http://oll.libertyfund.org/ToC/0054.php ''The Works of Thomas Jefferson in Twelve Volumes''], Federal Edition (1904) edited by [[w:Paul Leicester Ford|Paul Leicester Ford]], [http://oll.libertyfund.org/Texts/Jefferson0136/Works/0054-01_Bk.pdf Vol.&nbsp;1], <!-- New York: G.&nbsp;P. Putnam's Sons --> pp. 352–353 * His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though, not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke; and as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], in a letter to Dr. Walter Jones. (2 January 1814) * '''On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect, in nothing bad, in few points indifferent; and it may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance.''' … These are my opinions of General Washington, which I would vouch at the judgment seat of God, having been formed on an acquaintance of thirty years... ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], in a letter to Dr. Walter Jones. (2 January 1814) * The President was much inflamed; got into one of those passions when he cannot command himself; ran on much on the personal abuse which had been bestowed on him; defied any man on earth to produce one single act of his since he had been in the Government, which was not done on the purest motives; '''that he had never repented but once the having slipped the moment of resigning his office, and that was every moment since; that by God he had rather be in his grave than in his present situation; that he had rather be on his farm than to be made Emperor of the world; and yet that they were charging him with wanting to be a King'''. That that rascal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Freneau Freneau] sent him three of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_Gazette his papers] every day, as if he thought he would become the distributor of his papers; that he could see in this, nothing but an impudent design to insult him: he ended in this high tone. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], writing in his diary (known as "[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefBv012.html The Anas]") dated August 2, 1793, relating the reaction of George Washington to a print that depicted him placed on a guillotine. Various writers have turned this account into direct discourse, quoting Washington as saying "I had rather be in my grave than in my present situation, I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world; and yet they charge me with wanting to be a king" (as in ''The Alumni Register of the University of Pennsylvania'' (1925), p. 473). This version goes back at least to a 1906 commencement oration by John Bach McMaster (''Publications of the University of Pennsylvania, Proceedings of Commencement, June 13, 1906'', p. 29) * He was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. '''Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man.''' His temper was naturally high toned; but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over it. If ever, however, it broke its bonds, he was most tremendous in his wrath. In his expenses he was honorable, but exact; liberal in contributions to whatever promised utility; but frowning and unyielding on all visionary projects and all unworthy calls on his charity. '''His heart was not warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to it.''' His person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect and noble; the best horseman of his age, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], in a letter to Dr. Walter Jones.(2 January 1814) * During the [[w:French Indian War|French Indian War]], General George Washington was convinced that his most formidable for was [[smallpox]] and he subjected his men to forced [[variolation]] to stop its spread. Many of the soldiers had only mild reactions, but some became seriously ill and died. The European press, especially among the antivaccine society, bitterly criticized Washington for forcing his men into possible harm without their consent, [[w:Hessian|Hessian]] soldiers, who fought alongside the British, were captured and imprisoned in [[w:Frederick, Maryland|Frederick, Maryland]] where they may have been subjected to variolation experimentation-a safety precaution before Washington would order to the procedure for his own army. ** Evelyn B. Kelly, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1CxDarcSR6cC&pg=PA86#v=onepage&q&f=false “Stem Cells”] (Greenwood Press 2007 ISBN 0-313-33763-2), pp.90-91 * Let him who looks for a monument to Washington look around the United States. Your freedom, your independence, your national power, your prosperity, and your prodigious growth are a monument to him. ** [[w:Lajos Kossuth|Lajos Kossuth]] {{source}} *While new American leaders such as George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Benjamin Franklin studied the Haudenosaunee government, they also engaged in land speculation over territory held by these peoples, and Mohawk lands were ceded through force, coercion, and deceit until fewer than 14,600 acres remained in New York State. **[[Winona LaDuke]] ''All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life'' (1999) * '''Unsupported for the most part by the population among whom he was quartered, and incessantly thwarted by the jealousy of Congress, he kept his army together by a combination of skill, firmness, patience, and judgment which has rarely been surpassed, and he led it at last to a signal triumph.''' <br /> In civil as in military life, he was pre-eminent among his contemporaries for the clearness and soundness of his judgment, for his perfect moderation and self-control, for the quiet dignity and the indomitable firmness with which he pursued every path which he had deliberately chosen. '''Of all the great men in history he was the most invariably judicious, and there is scarcely a rash word or action or judgment recorded of him. Those who knew him well, noticed that he had keen sensibilities and strong passions; but his power of self-command never failed him, and no act of his public life can be traced to personal caprice, ambition, or resentment.''' In the despondency of long-continued failure, in the elation of sudden success, at times when his soldiers were deserting by hundreds and when malignant plots were formed against his reputation, amid the constant quarrels, rivalries, and jealousies of his subordinates, in the dark hour of national ingratitude, and in the midst of the most universal and intoxicating flattery, he was always the same calm, wise, just, and single-minded man, pursuing the course which he believed to be right, without fear or favour or fanaticism; equally free from the passions that spring from interest, and from the passions that spring from imagination. '''He never acted on the impulse of an absorbing or uncalculating enthusiasm, and he valued very highly fortune, position, and reputation; but at the command of duty he was ready to risk and sacrifice them all.''' He was in the highest sense of the words a gentleman and a man of honour, and he carried into public life the severest standard of private morals. It was at first the constant dread of large sections of the American people, that if the old Government were overthrown, they would fall into the hands of military adventurers, and undergo the yoke of military despotism. It was mainly the transparent integrity of the character of Washington that dispelled the fear. '''It was always known by his friends, and it was soon acknowledged by the whole nation and by the English themselves, that in Washington America had found a leader who could be induced by.no earthly motive to tell a falsehood, or to break an engagement, or to commit any dishonourable act.''' ** [[w:William Edward Hartpole Lecky|William Edward Hartpole Lecky]], in ''The History of England in the Eighteenth Century'' Vol. III, p. 468 * '''First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.''' ** [[w:Henry Lee|Henry Lee]], from his eulogy for Washington, presented to Congress (26 December 1799) * This is the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the birthday of Washington. We are met to celebrate this day. '''Washington's is the mightiest name of earth — long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty; still mightiest in moral reformation.''' On that name no eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the sun, or glory to the name of Washington, is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. '''In solemn awe pronounce the name, and in its naked deathless splendor leave it shining on.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], closing words of an address before the Washingtonian Temperance Society, Springfield, Illinois (22 February 1842); published in the ''Sangamon Journal'' at Springfield, Illinois (25 February 1842); the entire speech was published in a letter edition of the ''Sangamon Journal'' (26 March1842)<!-- Copies on file in the Congressional Library --> *Could Washington himself speak, would he cast the blame of that sectionalism upon us, who sustain his policy, or upon you who repudiate it? We respect that warning of Washington. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [https://archive.is/MOWPe Cooper Union speech] (27 February 1860) * Without the great moral qualities that Washington possessed his career would not have been possible; but it would have been quite as impossible if the intellect had not equalled the character. <br /> '''There is no need to argue the truism that Washington was a great man, for that is universally admitted.''' But it is very needful that his genius should be rightly understood, and the right understanding of it is by no means universal. <br /> His character has been exalted at the expense of his intellect, and his goodness has been so much insisted upon both by admirers and critics that we are in danger of forgetting that he had a great mind as well as high moral worth. ** [[Henry Cabot Lodge]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus SkinnerTake, p. 260 *Contrary to the frequent presentations by modern liberals, the 'three-fifths clause' of the Constitution was the anti-slavery movement's response to slave owners who wanted their slaves as property, except when it came to counting population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. In which case the slave owners wanted them counted as people. Thus the move to block slave owners’ power by reducing a slave to “three-fifths” of a person, with the objective of eventually phasing out slavery altogether. Alas, '''the birth of political factions, parties, took place rapidly, to the chagrin of President George Washington'''. In the battles between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton the Democratic-Republican Party, the ancestor of today’s Democrats was born. And the pro-slavery, judge-people-by-skin-color faction became the central, and as it played out, perpetual, driving force of the Democratic Party. **[[w:Jeff Lord|Jeffrey Lord]], as quoted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20150806153347/https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2015/02/will-gop-demand-obama-apology-for-slavery "Will GOP Demand Obama Apology for Slavery?"] (10 February 2015), ''Conservative Review'' * Having formed an army, Congress selected George Washington to command it. Washington had been with Braddock and Forbes's expedition to Fort Duquesne, and in between service with the regulars he had commanded the Virginia militia. As the crisis with England worsened, Washington played an active rle in Virginia's evolution from resistance to revolution, and he attended both the First and Second Continental Congress. He was the only delegate attending the deliberations in Philadelphia attired in a military uniform, perhaps symbolizing his readiness to fight for American rights. Washington was a reasonably experienced soldier, a form advocate of American liberties, impressive in looks, and articulate without being flamboyant. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 52 * "I declare with the utmost sincerity," Washington wrote the president of Congress, "I do not think myself equal to the Command I am honoured with." He probably meant it, since his frontier service had given him no opportunity to become acquainted with cavalry tactics, massed artillery, or the deployment of large forces. Yet Washington eventually embodied the Revolution, with the cause and the commander so intertwined in rebel eyes that they became synonymous. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 52 * During the war with France, Washington had developed an aversion to militiamen and an appreciation for British professionals. He had experienced nothing but problems with the Virginia militia. They never turned out in sufficient numbers, and hose who did he considered insolent and prone to panic and desertion. His opinion did not change during the Revolution, and most Continental officers shared his conviction that "to place any dependence upon Militia is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff." Paradoxically, Washington repeatedly depended on the militia to buttress the Continental Army during innumerable crises. If the militia dismayed Washington, British regulars impressed him, and he strove to mold the Continental Army into a mirror image of Britain's army. He insisted it should be "a respectable Army," not only well organized and disciplined but also officered by "Gentlemen, and Men of Character." He believed that the prospect of such an army endangering civilian supremacy was remote; the slight risk was necessary because the consequence of fighting without a regular army was "certain, and inevitable Ruin." ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 52 * Considering the hypersensative fear of military ascendancy, Congress's selection of Washington was fortuitous. He repeatedly stated his belief in civil supremacy, remaining deferential to Congress even when its inefficiency threatened the army's survival. Having served in the Virginia assembly and in Congress, he understood the often maddeningly slow political process in representative governments and the nation's inadequate administrative machinery for conducting a large-scale war. By reporting to Congress on all matters great or trivial, by religiously adhering to congressional dictates, and through his immense patience in the face of nearly unbearable frustrations, Washington alleviated concern that he would capitalize on his growing military reputation and become a dictator. Although revolutions have frequently given birth to permanent presidents, kings, and emperors, Washington had no desire to become an American Cromwell. Like the men he commanded, he never forgot that he was a citizen first and only second a soldier. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 54 * The militia and the Continental Army were two sides of a double-edged sword. Neither blade was keenly honed, and even in combination they usually did not make a lethal weapon. Washington's task was never easy, but without either army it would have been impossible. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 57 * When Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 2, he was eager to pursue an aggressive strategy. But he could do little immediately. A severe shortage of weapons and powder prevented him from attacking the British Army, and his own army appalled him. The New Englanders struck him as "exceedingly dirty and nasty people" characterized by "an unaccountable kind of stupidity" and a lack of discipline. Knowing the eyes of the continent were upon him and expecting some momentous event, Washington found the inactivity around Boston galling, so in late summer 1775 he ordered Arnold to advance through the Maine wilderness to capture Quebec. Unknown to Washington, Congress had meanwhile ordered General Philip Schuyler to attack Montreal. Americans hoped the invasion would incite a Canadian revolt against Britain and convert the region into a fourteenth colony. Washington also struggled to discipline the army, but before he could achieve much success, that army almost disappeared. When enlistments expired at year's end, most men refused to reenlist. Washington had to discharge one army and recruit another while the enemy was only a musket shot away. He did it by calling out militiamen to fill the gaps until new Continental recruits arrived. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 59 * '''You have in American history one of the great captains of all times.''' It might be said of him, as it was of [[William the Silent]], that he seldom won a battle but he never lost a campaign. ** [[Helmuth von Moltke the Elder]], in a statement in Berlin (1874), as quoted in ''Family Relationships of George Washington'' (1931) by the United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission * '''Be assured his influence carried this government'''; for my own part I have a boundless confidence in him, nor have I any reason to believe he will ever furnish occasion for withdrawing it. ** [[James Monroe]], in a letter to [[Thomas Jefferson]] (12 July 1788), as published in ''The Writings of James Monroe'' (1898), p. 186 * '''Washington's genius lay in his understanding of power, both military power, and political power, an understanding unmatched by that of any of his contemporaries.''' ** [[w:Edmund Morgan|Edmund Sears Morgan]], in ''The Genius of George Washington'' (1982) Ch. 1 : A Sense of Power, p. 6 * And as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship (for so you have been to me, and that in the day of danger) and a hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any. ** [[Thomas Paine]], letter to George Washington (July 30, 1796); Moncure D. Conway, ed., ''The Writings of Thomas Paine'', vol. 3 (1895), p. 252 * His was the belief of reason and revelation; and that belief was illustrated and exemplified in all his actions. No parade accompanied its exercise, no declamation its exhibition; for it was his opinion that a man who is always boasting of his religion, is like one who continually proclaims his honesty—he would trust neither one nor the other. He was not accustomed to argue points of faith, but on one occasion, in reply to a gentleman who expressed doubts on the subject, thus gave his sentiments:— :: “It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being. :: “It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being. :: “It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one.” : On this basis of piety was erected the superstructure of his virtues. :* James Kirke Paulding, ''A Life of Washington'' (New-York, Harper and Brothers, 1835), vol. 2, p. 209-210; Paulding gives no authority for this anecdote * "One afternoon several young gentlemen, visitors at Mount Vernon, and myself were engaged in pitching the bar, one of the athletic sports common in those days, when suddenly the colonel appeared among us. He requested to be shown the pegs that marked the bounds of our efforts; then, smiling, and without putting off his coat, held out his hand for the missile. No sooner,"observed the narrator, with emphasis, "did the heavy iron bar feel the grasp of his mighty hand than it lost the power of gravitation, and whizzed through the air, striking the ground far, very far, beyond our utmost limits. We were indeed amazed, as we stood around, all stripped to the buff, with shirt sleeves rolled up, and having thought ourselves very clever fellows, while the colonel, on retiring, pleasantly observed, ''''When you beat my pitch, young gentlemen, I'll try again.''''" ** [[w:Charles Willson Peale|Charles Willson Peale]], recounting an incident of 1772, as quoted in ''Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington'' (1861), edited by Benson J. Lossing * I bet after seeing us, George Washington would sue us for calling him "father." ** [[Will Rogers]], as quoted in ''Will Rogers' World : America's Foremost Political Humorist Comments on the Twenties and Thirties — And Eighties and Nineties'' (1993) by Bryan B. Sterling and Frances N. Sterling * '''The name of an iron man goes round the world. <br /> It takes a long time to forget an iron man.''' ** [[Carl Sandburg]] in "Washington Monument by Night" in ''Slabs of the Sunburnt West'' (1922) * When George Washington was fighting for freedom in the Revolutionary War, he was fighting for the freedom of "whites only." Rich whites, at that. After the so-called Revolution, you couldn't vote unless you were a white man and you owned a plot of land. The Revolutionary War was led by some rich white boys who got tired of paying heavy taxes to the king. It didn't have anything at all to do with freedom, justice, and equality for all. ** [[Assata Shakur]], ''[[w:Assata: An Autobiography|Assata: An Autobiography]]'' (1988), p. 33 * In his famous Farewell Address of September 17, 1796, Washington said he would not serve as President for more than two terms and advised against entangling alliances with foreign countries. He had served his country so well that he could, with safety, turn over the burdens of office to the next President, John Adams. Washington wanted to spend his last years at home in the peace and quiet of private life. There was little privacy for him, however, when he did return to Mount Vernon. People from all over the United States and from foreign countries journeyed to Washington's home to pay him respect. His house was often crowded with guests. The three and a half years that he lived after he left the Presidency were busy and happy ones. On December 14, 1799, he died at Mount Vernon, and there he was buried. ** Francis Butler Simkins, Spotswood Hunnicutt, Sidman P. Poole, ''Virginia: History, Government, Geography'' (1957), p. 293 * Each year, on February 22, the nation honors the birthday of a great man- George Washington. Many persons admire him for different reasons: for his leadership in a war that brought us independence, for his part in making the Constitution, for his policies as President. Everyone admires Washington for his honesty, his courage, his patience, his good judgment, his firmness, and his greatness of heart. The Commonwealth of Virginia has paid tribute to her great son. While Washington was still alive, the French sculptor Houdon made the famous statue of him which stands in the Rotunda of the Capitol at Richmond. On the Capitol grounds there is a huge figure of Washington on horseback, surrounded by other heroes of the American Revolution. And, of course, the capital of our great country, which he helped found, is on the Potomac River near his home, and is named in his honor. On Washington's death, Henry Lee, in a speech before Congress, uttered these famous words: George Washington was "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." ** Francis Butler Simkins, Spotswood Hunnicutt, Sidman P. Poole, ''Virginia: History, Government, Geography'' (1957), p. 293-294 *In 1790 the Dutch Sephardic Jews of the Touro Synagogue sent a letter of congratulations to the newly elected president George Washington and received from him a reply that included these immortal lines: "The government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance... May the children of the Stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while everyone shall sit in safety under his own wine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid." **[[Ilan Stavans]] Introduction to ''The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature'' (2005) * '''The purest of statesman, and the most perfect of patriots. May it please Heaven that his example shall continue to serve as a beacon to our Republics in their darkest moments of doubt and adversity.''' ** [[w:Jorge Ubico|Jorge Ubico]], as quoted in ''Bulletin of the Pan American Union'', Vol. 66 (1932), p. 464 * [[Deists]] saw the core of the various religions to be essentially the same, but for some, god’s providence was the perfect operation of his physical law, and others saw god as taking a more active agency in human affairs. In this sense, George Washington was not a classic deist, for he held closely to the belief that divine providence meant that god did indeed intervene in human affairs. While serving as a general during the revolution, Washington encouraged soldiers to attend worship services and discouraged profanity among the troops, and as president, he issued two national thanksgiving proclamations. ** Utter, Glenn H.; True, James L. (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=4lGEFFIuNG4C “Conservative Christians and political participation: a reference handbook”]. ABC-CLIO. p.5 ISBN 978-1-85109-513-1. Retrieved 5 January 2012. * George Washington was a famous general who never won a battle. He was our first millionaire, and he believed in property and the dignity of those who held it, and they put together a constitution which would protect property for all time. No nonsense about democracy! ** [[Gore Vidal]], "Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia" documentary film (2013) * Gentlemen, the character of Washington is among the most cherished contemplations of my life. '''It is a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, steady, beneficent light.''' ** [[Daniel Webster]], secretary of state, letter to the New York Committee for the Celebration of the Birthday of Washington (February 20, 1851); in ''The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster'', vol. 12 (1903), p. 261 * There is [[Benjamin Franklin|Franklin]], with his first proposal of Continental union. There is [[James Otis]], with his great argument against Writs of Assistance, and [[Samuel Adams]], with his inexorable demand for the removal of the British regiments from Boston. There is [[Josiah Quincy II|Quincy]], and there is [[w:Joseph Warren|Warren]], the protomartyr of [[w:Battle of Bunker Hill|Bunker Hill]]. There is [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]], with the Declaration of Independence fresh from his pen, and [[John Adams]] close at his side. There are [[Alexander Hamilton|Hamilton]] and [[James Madison|Madison]] and [[John Jay|Jay]] bringing forward the Constitution; but, towering above them all is Washington, the consummate commander, the incomparable President, the world-renowned patriot. ** [[w:Robert Charles Winthrop|Robert Charles Winthrop]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus SkinnerTake, p. 262 * '''That nature has given him extraordinary military talents will hardly be controverted by his most bitter enemies'''; and having been early actuated with a warm passion to serve his country in the military line, he has greatly improved them by unwearied industry, and a close application to the best writers upon tactics, and by a more than common method and exactnels: and, in reality, when it comes to be considered that at first he only headed a body of men entirely unacquainted with military discipline or operations, somewhat ungovernable in temper, and who at best could only be stiled an alert and good militia, acting under very short enlistments, uncloalhed, unaccoutred, and at all times very ill supplied with ammunition and artillery; and that with such an army he withstood the ravages and progress of near forty thousand veteran troops, plentifully provided with, every necessary article, commanded by the bravest officers in Europe, and supported by a very powerful navy, which effectually prevented all movements by water; when, I say, all this comes to be impartially considered, I think I may venture to pronounce, that general '''Washington will be regarded by mankind as one of the greatest military ornaments of the present age, and that his name will command the veneration of the latest posterity.''' ** [[Anonymous]], ''Sketch of the Life and Character of General Washington'' (1780), republished in ''The Critical Review, or, Annals of Literature'' (1780) edited by Tobias George Smollett, p. 473; and ''The New Annual Register, or, General Repository of History'', Vol. 1 (1781), edited by Andrew Kippis, p. 33 * There is a remarkable air of dignity about him, with a striking degree of gracefulness: he has an excellent understanding without much quickness; is strictly just, vigilant, and generous; an affectionate husband, a faithful friend, a father to the deserving soldier; gentle in his manners, in temper rather reserved; a total stranger to religious prejudices, which have so often excited Christians of one denomination to cut the throats of those of another; in his morals irreproachable; he was never known to exceed the bounds of the most rigid temperance: in a word, all his friends and acquaintance universally allow, that '''no man ever united in his own person a more perfect alliance of the virtues of a philosopher with the talents of a general. Candour, sincerity, affability, and simplicity, seem to be the striking features of his character, till an occasion offers of displaying the most determined bravery and independence of spirit.''' ** [[Anonymous]], ''Sketch of the Life and Character of General Washington'' (1780), republished in ''The Critical Review, or, Annals of Literature'' (1780) edited by Tobias George Smollett, p. 473; and ''The New Annual Register, or, General Repository of History'', Vol. 1 (1781), edited by Andrew Kippis, p. 33 * George Washington is the only president who didn't blame the previous administration for his troubles. ** Unknown author, quoted in ''The Quotable Politician'' (2003) by William B. Whitman * He [ [[w:George III of the United Kingdom|George III]]] asked [[w:Benjamin West|West]] what would Washington do were America to be declared independant{{sic}}. West said He believed He would retire to a private situation -- The King said '''if He did He would be the greatest man in the world''' ** From the diaries of [[w:Joseph Farington|Joseph Farington]] (entry of December 28, 1799). Farington is repeating what West told him of the period shortly after the defeat of Cornwallis at [[w:Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]]. {{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Farington |coauthors=James Greig (ed.) |year=1922 |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |title=The Farington Diary, vol. i |pages=278 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.164843/2015.164843.The-Farington-Diaryvol1#page/n325/mode/2up}} ===''Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations''=== :<small>Quotes reported in ''[[Wikisource:Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922)|Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations]]'' (1922), p. 860-62.</small> * The defender of his country—the founder of liberty, <br /> The friend of man, <br /> History and tradition are explored in vain <br /> For a parallel to his character. <br /> In the annals of modern greatness <br /> He stands alone; <br /> And the noblest names of antiquity <br /> Lose their lustre in his presence. <br /> Born the benefactor of mankind, <br /> He united all the greatness necessary <br /> To an illustrious career. <br /> Nature made him great, <br /> He made himself virtuous. ** Part of an Epitaph found on the back of a portrait of Washington, sent to the family from England. See Werner's Readings. No. 49, p. 77 * Simple and brave, his faith awoke <br /> Ploughmen to struggle with their fate; <br /> Armies won battles when he spoke, <br /> And out of Chaos sprang the state. ** [[Robert Bridges]], ''Washington'' * While Washington's a watchword, such as ne'er <br /> Shall sink while there's an echo left to air. ** [[Lord Byron]], ''Age of Bronze'', Stanza 5 * There's a star in the West that shall nerer go down <br /> Till the records of Valour decay, <br /> We must worship its light though it is not our own, <br /> For liberty burst in its ray. <br /> Shall the name of a Washington ever be heard <br /> By a freeman, and thrill not his breast? <br /> Is there one out of bondage that hails not the word, <br /> As a Bethlehem Star of the West? ** [[Eliza Cook]], ''There's a Star in the West'' * The character, the counsels, and example of our Washington * * * they will guide us through the doubts and difficulties that beset us; they will guide our children and our children's children in the paths of prosperity and peace, while America shall hold her place in the family of nations. ** [[Edward Everett]], speech, ''Washington Abroad and at Home'' (July 5, 1858) * Here you would know, and enjoy, what posterity will say of Washington. For a thousand leagues have nearly the same effect with a thousand years. ** [[Benjamin Franklin]], letter to Washington (March 5, 1780) * O Washington! thrice glorious name, <br /> What due rewards can man decree— <br /> Empires are far below thy aim, <br /> And scepters have no charms for thee; <br /> Virtue alone has your regards, <br /> And she must be your great reward. ** [[Philip Freneau]], ''Washington's Arrival in Philadelphia'' * Since ancient Time began, <br /> Ever on some great soul God laid an infinite burden— <br /> The weight of all this world, the hopes of man, <br /> Conflict and pain, and fame immortal are his guerdon. ** [[R. W. Gilder]], ''Washington'', sSpeech at Trenton (Oct. 19, 1893) * Were an energetic and judicious system to be proposed with your signature it would be a circumstance highly honorable to your fame … and doubly entitle you to the glorious republican epithet, <br /> The Father of your Country. ** [[Henry Knox]], letter to Washington (March 19, 1787), urging that Washington attend the Philadelphia Convention. See Ford, ''Washington's Writings'', Volume XI, p. 123 * A nobleness to try for, <br /> A name to live and die for. ** [[George Parsons Lathrop]], ''Name of Washington'' * First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen. ** Gen. [[Henry Lee]], ''Funeral Oration on Washington'' * First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his fellow citizens. ** Resolution on Washington's Death. Prepared by General [[Henry Lee]] and offered in the House of Representatives by [[John Marshall]] * The purely Great <br /> Whose soul no siren passion could unsphere, <br /> Thou nameless, now a power and mixed with fate. ** [[James Russell Lowell]], ''Under the old Elm''. The elm near Cambridge with the inscription "Under this tree, Washington first took command of the American Army, July 3, 1775" * Oh, Washington! thou hero, patriot sage, <br /> Friend of all climes, and pride of every age! ** [[Thomas Paine]] * Every countenance seeked to say, "Long live George Washington, the Father of the People." ** ''Pennsylvania Packet'' (April 21, 1789). After the election of Washington. * Our common Father and Deliverer, to whose prudence, wisdom and valour we owe our Peace, Liberty and Safety, now leads and directs in the great councils of the nation … and now we celebrate an independent Government—an original Constitution! an independent Legislature, at the head of which we this day celebrate The Father of his Country—We celebrate Washington! We celebrate an Independent Empire! ** ''Pennsylvania Packet'' (July 9, 1789), p. 284. See Albert Matthews' article in ''Colonial Society of Mass. Publications. Transactions. 1902–4'', Volume 8, p. 275–287 (pub. 1906). In America the term was already familiar. George II was so-called by Governor Belcher (2 December 1731). George III also, in a petition drawn up by the Massachusetts House of Representatives (June, 30, 1768). Winthrop was styled thus by Governor Hutchinson. (1764). See ''History of Massachusetts'', I, 151 * His work well done, the leader stepped aside <br /> Spurning a crown with more than kingly pride. <br /> Content to wear the higher crown of worth, <br /> While time endures, "First citizen of earth." ** [[James J. Roche]], ''Washington'' *Washington and his associates believed that it was essential to the existence of this Republic that there should never be any union of Church and State; and such union is partially accomplished wherever a given creed is aided by the State or when any public servant is elected or defeated because of his creed. **[[Theodore Roosevelt]], [https://archive.org/stream/immigrationameri00daviuoft/immigrationameri00daviuoft_djvu.txt "Address to the Knights of Columbus"] (12 October 1915) * 'Twas his ambition, generous and great <br /> A life to life's great end to consecrate. ** [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], ''Washington'' * While Washington hath left <br /> His awful memory, <br /> A light for after times. ** [[Robert Southey]], ode written during the War with America (1814) * That name was a power to rally a nation in the hour of thick-thronging public disasters and calamities; that name shone amid the storm of war, a beacon light to cheer and guide the country's friends; it flamed too like a meteor to repel her foes. ** [[Daniel Webster]], speech at a public dinner (22 February 1832) * That name descending with all time, spreading over the whole earth, and uttered in all the languages belonging to all tribes and races of men, will forever be pronounced with affectionate gratitude by everyone in whose breast there shall arise an aspiration for human rights and liberty. ** [[Daniel Webster]], speech at the Centennial Anniversary of Washington (22 February 1832) * America has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind. ** [[Daniel Webster]], ''Completion of Bunker Hill Monument'' (17 June 1843), Volume I, p. 105 ==See also== * [[Founding Fathers of the United States]] * [[List of presidents of the United States]] ==External links== {{wikipedia}} {{Wikisource author}} {{commons | George Washington}} * [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html Official White House site] * [http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/father/index.html Rediscovering George Washington (PBS profile)] * [http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/gw1/gw1.htm Speeches and Addresses of Washington] * [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/ Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia] * [http://etext.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/ Writings of Washington 1744-1799 at the University of Virginia] * [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwintro.html Diaries of Washington at The Library of Congress] * [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress] * [http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/newburgh/ The Newburgh Address] * [http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/washframe.htm "George Washington's Silent Lack of Piety" at Positive Atheism] {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, George}} [[Category:Founding Fathers of the United States of America]] [[Category:Freemasons]] [[Category:Military leaders from the United States]] [[Category:Nationalists]] [[Category:Presidents of the United States]] [[Category:People from Virginia]] [[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1792]] [[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1789]] [[Category:Episcopalians from the United States]] [[Category:Free speech activists]] [[Category:Activists from the United States]] [[Category:Deists]] [[Category:Non-fiction authors from the United States]] [[Category:Farmers]] [[Category:1732 births]] [[Category:1799 deaths]] [[Category:People of the American Revolution]] [[Category:Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff of the United States Army]] 8sgg2avr4pd5vqzryt2cciqqegmdx19 3515430 3515428 2024-05-14T19:51:49Z 67.43.23.34 /* 1770s */ wikitext text/x-wiki 7tr468qgx4axfl41iaxozkw9a5nwgm3 3515431 3515430 2024-05-14T19:52:02Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Koavf wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Gilbert Stuart Williamstown Portrait of George Washington.jpg|thumb|I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that [[honesty]] is always the best [[policy]].]] '''[[w:George Washington|George Washington]]''' ([[22 February]] [[1732]] &ndash; [[14 December]] [[1799]]) was an American military officer, statesman, and [[w:Founding Fathers of the United States|Founding Father]] who served as the first [[president of the United States]] from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the [[w:Second Continental Congress|Second Continental Congress]] as commander of the [[w:Continental Army|Continental Army]] in June 1775, Washington led [[w:Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] forces to victory in the [[American Revolutionary War]] and then served as president of the [[Constitutional Convention (United States)|Constitutional Convention]] in 1787, which drafted and ratified the [[Constitution of the United States]] and established the [[Federal government of the United States|American federal government]]. Washington has thus been called the "[[w:Father of the Nation|Father of his Country]]". [[File:General George Washington at Trenton by John Trumbull.jpeg|thumb|There is a [[Destiny]] which has the control of our [[actions]], not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of [[Human nature|Human Nature]].]] == Quotes == [[File:Washingtoncongress.jpg|thumb|But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my [[reputation]], I beg it may be [[remembered]] by every gentleman in the room that I this day declare with the utmost [[sincerity]], I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.]] === 1750s === * '''[[Nothing]] is a greater stranger to my breast, or a [[sin]] that my [[soul]] more abhors, than that black and detestable one, ingratitude.''' ** Letter to Governor Dinwiddie (29 May 1754) * '''Tis true, I profess myself a Votary to [[Love]] — I acknowledge that a Lady is in the Case — and further I confess, that this Lady is known to you.''' — Yes Madam, as well as she is to one, who is too sensible of her Charms to deny the [[Power]], whose Influence he [[feels]] and must ever Submit to. I feel the force of her amiable beauties in the recollection of a thousand tender passages that I coud wish to obliterate, till I am bid to revive them. — but experience alas! sadly reminds me how Impossible this is. — and evinces an Opinion which I have long entertaind, that '''there is a [[Destiny]], which has the Sovereign controul of our Actions — not to be resisted by the strongest efforts of [[Human nature|Human Nature]].''' <br /> You have drawn me my dear Madam, or rather have I drawn myself, into an honest confession of a Simple Fact — misconstrue not my meaning — ’tis obvious — doubt it not, nor expose it, — the World has no business to know the object of my Love, declard in this manner to — you when I want to conceal it — '''One thing, above all things in this World I wish to know, and only one person of your Acquaintance can solve me that, or guess my meaning. — but adieu to this, till happier times, if I ever shall see them.''' ** [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-06-02-0013#GEWN-02-06-02-0013-fn-0002 Letter to] [[w:Sally Fairfax|Mrs. George William Fairfax (Sally Cary Fairfax)]] (12 September 1758) * '''[[Discipline]] is the [[soul]] of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.''' ** Letter of Instructions to the Captains of the Virginia Regiments (29 July 1759) === 1770s === [[File:George Washington MET DT2823.jpg|thumb|Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.]] [[File:Washington_Crossing_the_Delaware_by_Emanuel_Leutze,_MMA-NYC,_1851.jpg|thumb|The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army...]] [[File:Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette.jpg|thumb|The [[Marquis de Lafayette]] is extremely solicitous of having a command equal to his rank … he is sensible; discreet in his manners; has made great proficiency in our language; and, from the disposition he discovered at the [[w:Battle of Brandywine|battle of Brandywine]], possesses a large share of [[bravery]] and military ardor.]] * The General is sorry to be informed —, that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into a [[fashion]]; — he hopes the officers will, by example as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by impiety and folly; added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it. ** Extract from the Orderly Book of the army under command of Washington, dated at Head Quarters, in the city of New York (3 August 1770); reported in [https://www.thefederalistpapers.org/founders/washington/george-washington-the-foolish-and-wicked-practice-of-profane-cursing-and-swearing ''American Masonic Register and Literary Companion, Volume 1''] (1829), p. 163 * Unhappy it is though to reflect, that a Brother's Sword has been sheathed in a Brother's breast, and that, '''the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice?''' ** Letter to Mr. [[w:George William Fairfax|George William Fairfax]] (31 May 1775) [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw030206)) George Washington Papers] at the Library of Congress *As to pay, Sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress that as no pecuniary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous employment at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish to make any profit from it. **[http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/amrev/contarmy/accepts.html Acceptance speech after being "elected" by the Continental Congress as commander of the yet-to-be-created Continental Army] (15 June 1775) * '''But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my reputation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room that I this day declare with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal to the command I am honored with.''' ** Washington's formal acceptance of command of the Army (16 June 1775), quoted in ''The Writings of George Washington : Life of Washington'' (1837) edited by Jared Sparks, p. 141 *When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen. **[http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/amrev/contarmy/newyork.html George Washington to New York Legislature] (26 June 1775) * '''Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country.''' ** Letter to [[w:Benedict Arnold|Benedict Arnold]] (14 September 1775) * The reflection upon my situation, and that of this army, produces many an uneasy hour, when all around me are wrapped in sleep. '''Few people know the predicament we are in, on a thousand accounts; fewer still will believe, if any disaster happens to these lines, from what cause it flows.''' I have often thought how much happier I should have been, if instead of accepting of a command under such circumstances, I had taken my musket upon my shoulders and entered the rank, or if I could have justified the measure of posterity, and my own conscience, had retired to the back country, and lived in a wigwam. If I shall be able to rise superior to these, and many other difficulties which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of Providence is in it, to blind the eyes of our enemies; for surely if we get well through this month, it must be for want of their knowing the disadvantages we labor under. Could I have foreseen the difficulties which have come upon us, could I have known that such a backwardness would have been discovered in the old soldiers to the service, all the generals upon earth should not have convinced me of the propriety of delaying an attack upon Boston till this time. ** In a letter to [[w:Joseph Reed (jurist)|Joseph Reed]], during the siege of Boston (14 January 1776), quoted in ''History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill'' (1849) by Richard Frothingham, p. 286 * To expect … the same service from raw and undisciplined recruits, as from veteran soldiers, is to expect what never did and perhaps never will happen. Men, who are familiarized to danger, meet it without shrinking; whereas troops unused to service often apprehend danger where no danger is. ** Letter to the President of Congress (9 February 1776) * '''Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.''' ** General Orders, Headquarters, New York (2 July 1776) * '''The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.''' ** General Order (9 July 1776) [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html George Washington Papers] at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799: Series 3g Varick Transcripts * '''The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves'''; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. '''The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.''' ** Address to the Continental Army before the [[w:Battle of Long Island|Battle of Long Island]] (27 August 1776) * There is nothing that gives a man consequence, and renders him fit for command, like a support that renders him independent of everybody but the State he serves. ** Letter to the president of Congress, Heights of Harlem (24 September 1776) * '''To place any dependence upon militia, is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff. '''Men just dragged from the tender scenes of domestic life - unaccustomed to the din of arms - totally unacquainted with every kind of military skill, which being followed by a want of confidence in themselves when opposed to troops regularly trained, disciplined, and appointed, superior in knowledge, and superior in arms, makes them timid and ready to fly from their own shadows. ** Letter to the president of Congress, Heights of Harlem (24 September 1776) * My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than can be reasonably expected; but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses and all that you hold dear. You have worn yourselves out with fatigues and hardships, but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to stay one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty, and to your country, which you probably can never do under any other circumstances. ** Encouraging his men to re-enlist in the army (31 December 1776) * Parade with me my brave fellows, we will have them soon! ** [http://archive.is/20120629215226/findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2746_136/ai_n19377439/pg_2 Rallying his troops] at the [[w:Battle of Princeton|Battle of Princeton]] (3 January 1777) * '''The [[Marquis de Lafayette]] is extremely solicitous of having a command equal to his rank.''' I do not know in what light Congress will view the matter, but it appears to me, from a consideration of his illustrious and important connexions, the attachment which he has manifested for our cause, and the consequences which his return in disgust might produce, that it will be advisable to gratify him in his wishes; and the more so, as several gentlemen from France, who came over under some assurances, have gone back disappointed in their expectations. His conduct with respect to them stands in a favorable point of view; having interested himself to remove their uneasiness, and urged the impropriety of their making any unfavorable representations upon their arrival at home; and in all his letters he has placed our affairs in the best situation he' could. Besides, '''he is sensible; discreet in his manners; has made great proficiency in our language; and, from the disposition he discovered at the [[w:Battle of Brandywine|battle of Brandywine]], possesses a large share of bravery and military ardor.''' ** Letter to the Continental Congress (1 November 1777), as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=3_lEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA665 ''Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States'' Vol. 23, Issue 2 (1835), p. 665] * A great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle [patriotism] alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward. ** Letter to John Banister, Valley Forge (21 April 1778) * While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian. ** General Orders (2 May 1778); published in ''Writings of George Washington'' (1932), Vol.XI, pp. 342-343 * It is not a little pleasing, nor less wonderful to contemplate, that after two years' manoeuvring and undergoing the strangest vicissitudes, that perhaps ever attended any one contest since the creation, both armies are brought back to the very point they set out from, and that which was the offending party in the beginning is now reduced to the use of the spade and pickaxe for defence. '''The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.''' But it will be time enough for me to turn preacher, when my present appointment ceases… ** Letter to Brigadier-General Nelson, 20 August 1778, in Ford's ''Writings of George Washington'' (1890), vol. VII, p. 161. Part of this is often attached to a fragment of a letter to John Armstrong of 11 March 1782; it is also often prefaced with the spurious "governing without God" sentence, as this 1867 example from Henry Wilson (''Testimonies of American Statesmen and Jurists to the Truths of Christianity'') shows: *** It is impossible to govern the world without God. It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits and humbly implore his protection and favor. I am sure there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during the revolution; or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of Him, who is alone able to protect them. '''He must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked, that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.''' * It gives me very sincere pleasure to find that there is likely to be a coalition of the Whigs in your State (a few only excepted) and that the Assembly of it, are so well disposed to second your endeavors in bringing those murderers of our cause—the Monopolizers—forestallers—& Engrossers—to condign punishment. '''It is much to be lamented that each State, long ’ere this, has not hunted them down as the pests of Society, & the greatest enemies we have, to the happiness of America.''' I would to God that one of the most attrocious in each State was hung in Gibbets, up on a gallows five times as high as the one prepared by Haman—No punishment, in my opinion, is too great for the Man, who can build “his greatness upon his Country’s ruin.” ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-18-02-0452 George Washington to Joseph Reed, 12 December 1778], Founders Online, National Archives. Source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Revolutionary War Series, vol. 18, 1 November 1778 – 14 January 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2008, pp. 396–398. [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw4&fileName=gwpage054.db&recNum=1004 Page images] at American Memory (Library of Congress) * In the last place, though first in importance I shall ask—is there any thing doing, or that can be done to restore the credit of our currency? The depreciation of it is got to so alarming a point—that '''a waggon load of money will scarcely purchase a waggon load of provision.''' ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-20-02-0157 Letter to John Jay, 23 April 1779], Founders Online, National Archives. Source: ''The Papers of George Washington, Revolutionary War Series'', vol. 20, 8 April–31 May 1779, ed. Edward G. Lengel. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, p. 177. Also found in ''The Life John Jay With Selections from His Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers. by His Son, William Jay in Two Volumes'', Vol. II., 1833 * '''Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.''' ** Letter to Major-General Robert Howe (17 August 1779), published in "The Writings of George Washington": 1778-1779, edited by Worthington Chauncey Ford (1890) ** Paraphrased variants: ** Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder. ** Few men have virtue enough to withstand the highest bidder * '''Know my good friend that no distance can keep ''anxious'' lovers long asunder, and that the wonders of former ages may be revived in this''' — But alas! will you not remark that amidst all the wonders recorded in holy writ no instance can be produced where a young Woman from ''real inclination'' has prefered an old man — This is so much against me that I shall not be able ''I fear'' to contest the prize with you — yet, under the encouragement you have given me I shall enter the list for so inestimable a jewell. ** Letter to the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] (30 September 1779) * '''A slender acquaintance with the world must convince every man, that actions, not words, are the true criterion of the attachment of his friends, and that the most liberal professions of good will are very far from being the surest marks of it.''' I should be happy that my own experience had afforded fewer examples of the little dependence to be placed upon them. ** Letter to Major-General [[w:John Sullivan|John Sullivan]] (15 December 1779), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1890) by Worthington Chauncey Ford, Vol. 8, p. 139 ====Letter to John Hancock (1775)==== *[F]ree Negroes who have served in this army are very much dissatisfied at being discarded. As it is to be apprehended that they may seek employ in the Ministerial Army, I have … given license for their being enlisted. **[https://web.archive.org/web/20141008220806/http://amrevmuseum.org/reflections/african-americans-continental-army-and-state-militias-during-american-war-independence To John Hancock] (31 December 1775) ==== Letter to Phyllis Wheatley (1776) ==== [[File:Phillis Wheatley frontispiece.jpg|thumb|I shall be happy to see [[Phillis Wheatley|a person so favoured by the Muses]], and to whom [[Nature]] has been so liberal and beneficent in her dispensations.]] :<small>[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw040306))#N0393-312 Letter to Phyllis Wheatley (28 February 1776)]</small> *Mrs. Phillis: Your favour of the 26th of October did not reach my hands 'till the middle of December. Time enough, you will say, to have given an answer ere this. Granted. But a variety of important occurrences, continually interposing to distract the mind and withdraw the attention, I hope will apologize for the delay, and plead my excuse for the seeming, but not real neglect. *I thank you most sincerely for your polite notice of me, in the elegant Lines you enclosed; and however undeserving I may be of such encomium and panegyrick, the style and manner exhibit a striking proof of your great poetical Talents. In honour of which, and as a tribute justly due to you, I would have published the Poem, had I not been apprehensive, that, while I only meant to give the World this new instance of your genius, I might have incurred the imputation of Vanity. This and nothing else, determined me not to give it place in the public Prints. *If you should ever come to Cambridge, or near Head Quarters, I shall be happy to see a person so favoured by the Muses, and to whom Nature has been so liberal and beneficent in her dispensations. I am, with great Respect, etc. ====Letter to Joseph Reed (1778)==== *It gives me very sincere pleasure to find that there is likely to be a coalition … so well disposed to second your endeavours in bringing those murderers of our cause (the monopolizers, forestallers, and engrossers) to condign punishment. It is much to be lamented that each State long ere this has not hunted them down as the pests of society, and the greatest Enemys we have to the happiness of America. I would to God that one of the most attrocious of each State was hung in Gibbets upons a gallows five times as high as the one prepared by Haman. No punishment in my opinion is too great for the Man who can build his greatness upon his Country's ruin. **Dec. 12, 1778 {[http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw3h/001/193192.jpg also found at the Library of Congress]} ***later misquoted against [[#Jews|jews]] ====Letter to Henry Laurens (1779)==== *I am not clear that a discrimination will not render slavery more irksome to those who remain in it. Most of the good and evil things in this life are judged of by comparison; and I fear a comparison in this case will be productive of much discontent in those who are held in servitude. **[https://web.archive.org/web/20141008220806/http://amrevmuseum.org/reflections/african-americans-continental-army-and-state-militias-during-american-war-independence Letter to Henry Laurens (20 March 1779)] ====Letter to Edmund Pendleton (1779)==== *… but I am under no apprehension of a capital injury from any other source than that of the continual depreciation of our Money.<br>This indeed is truly alarming, and of so serious a nature that every other effort is in vain unless something can be done to restore its credit.<br>..<br>Where this has been the policy (in Connecticut for instance) the prices of every article have fallen and the money consequently is in demand; but in the other States you can scarce get a single thing for it, and yet it is with-held from the public by speculators, while every thing that can be useful to the public is engrossed by this tribe of black gentry, who work more effectually against us that the enemys Arms; and are a hundd. times more dangerous to our liberties and the great cause we are engaged in. **Nov. 1, 1779 ([https://web.archive.org/web/20111119215223/http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw3h/001/378378.jpg the original was previously in the Library of Congress's online service]} {{unreliable source? |reason=378378.jpg does not appear to include these words}} ***later misquoted against [[#Jews|jews]] === 1780s === [[File:Great Seal of the United States (reverse).svg|thumb|I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe, that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God, who is alone able to protect them.]] [[File:Naturalization ceremony at Kennedy Space Center.jpg|thumb|America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of ''all'' Nations And Religions; whom we shall wellcome to a participation of all our rights and previleges.]] [[File:Friendship love and truth.jpg|thumb|Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last...]] [[File:La_statue_de_la_liberté_jardin_du_luxembourg.jpg|thumb|The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.]] [[File:MtVernon.jpg|thumb|Unwilling am I, in the evening of a life nearly consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful abode for an Ocean of difficulties...]] [[File:NYC - New York County Supreme Courthouse.jpg|thumb|The due [[administration of justice]] is the firmest pillar of good Government.]] *[A]bolish the name and appearance of a Black Corps. ** Recommendations to reorganize two Rhode Island regiments into integrated rather than segregated groups, in a [http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/the-only-unavoidable-subject-of-regret/ letter to Major General William Heath (29 July 1780)], in ''The Writings of George Washington'', 19:93. According to historian Robert A. Selig, the Continental Army exhibited a degree of integration not reached by the American army again for 200 years (until after World War II). <!-- (see his article, "The Revolution's Black Soldiers: They fought for both sides in their quest for freedom," Colonial Williamsburg (Summer 1997), 15-22) --> * Example, whether it be good or bad, has a powerful influence. ** Letter to Lord Stirling (5 March 1780) *The many remarkable interpositions of the divine government, in the hours of our deepest distress and darkness, have been too luminous to suffer me to doubt the happy issue of the present contest. **[http://www.greatseal.com/mottoes/coeptis.html Letter to General Armstrong (26 March 1781)], as quoted in ''The Religious Opinions and Character of Washington'' (1836) by Edward Charles McGuire, p. 122 *The Commander in Chief earnestly recommends that the troops not on duty should universally attend with that seriousness of Deportment and gratitude of Heart which the recognition of such reiterated and astonishing interpositions of Providence demand of us. ** Notes on general orders to the troops, (20 October 1781), as quoted in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1835) edited by Jared Sparks, Vol. 8, p. 189 * Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive. And with it, everything honorable and glorious. ** To the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] (15 November 1781) * '''I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe, that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God, who is alone able to protect them.''' ** Letter to John Armstrong, 11 March 1782, in Ford's ''Writings of George Washington'' (1891), vol. XII, p. 111. This is frequently attached to part of a letter to Brigadier-General Nelson of 20 August 1778, as in this 1864 example from B. F. Morris, ''The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States'', pp. 33-34: *** '''I am sure that there never was a people who had more reason to acknowledge a divine interposition in their affairs than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency which was so often manifested during the Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them.''' He must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and more than wicked that has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations. * '''Be courteous to all, but intimate with few,''' and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence; true friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. ** Letter to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushrod_Washington Bushrod Washington] (15 January 1783) *Do not conceive that fine Clothes make fine Men, any more than fine feathers make fine Birds—A plain genteel dress is more admired and obtains more credit than lace & embroidery in the Eyes of the judicious and sensible. **[http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu/founders/default.xqy?keys=FOEA-chron-1780-1783-01-15-12 Letter to Bushrod Washington] (15 January 1783) * '''Happy, thrice happy shall they be pronounced hereafter, who have contributed any thing, who have performed the meanest office in erecting this stupendous fabrick of Freedom and Empire on the broad basis of Independency; who have assisted in protecting the rights of humane nature and establishing an Asylum for the poor and oppressed of all nations and religions.''' ** General Orders (18 April 1783) * '''It may be laid down, as a primary position, and the basis of our system, that every citizen who enjoys the protection of a free government, owes not only a proportion of his property, but even of his personal services to the defence of it''', and consequently that the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them, that the Total strength of the Country might be called forth at Short Notice on any very interesting Emergency. ** "Sentiments on a Peace Establishment" in a letter to [[Alexander Hamilton]] (2 May 1783); published in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1938), edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 26, p. 289 *'''The scheme, my dear Marqs., which you propose as a precedent to encourage the emancipation of the black people of this Country from that state of Bondage in wch. they are held, is a striking evidence of the benevolence of your Heart. I shall be happy to join you in so laudable a work; but will defer going into a detail of the business, till I have the pleasure of seeing you.''' **" TO THE PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS." in a letter to [[wikipedia:Thomas_Mifflin|Thomas Mifflin]] (17 JUNE 1783); published in ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1938), edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 26, p. 294 * '''Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.''' ** [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch7s5.html "Circular to the States" (8 June 1783)] * I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection; that he would incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government; to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow citizens of the United States at large; and, particularly, for their brethren who have served in the Geld; and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacifick temper of the mind, which were the characteristicks of the divine Author of our blessed religion ; without an humble imitation of whose example, in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation. ** Circular Letter to the Governours of the several States (18 June 1783). Misreported as "I make it my constant prayer that God would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind, which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion; without a humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy nation", in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, ''Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers'' (1895), p. 315 * The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations And Religions; whom we shall wellcome to a participation of all our rights and previleges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment. ** Letter to the members of the Volunteer Association and other Inhabitants of the Kingdom of Ireland who have lately arrived in the City of New York (2 December 1783), as quoted in John C. Fitzpatrick, ed., ''The Writings of George Washington'' (1938), vol. 27, p. 254 * '''Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theatre of Action'''; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life. ** Address to Congress resigning his commission (23 December 1783) * I am become a private citizen on the banks of the Potomac, and under the shadow of my own Vine and my own Fig-tree, free from the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life, I am solacing myself with those tranquil enjoyments, of which the Soldier who is ever in pursuit of fame, the Statesman whose watchful days and sleepless nights are spent in devising schemes to promote the welfare of his own, perhaps the ruin of other countries, as if this globe was insufficient for us all, and the Courtier who is always watching the countenance of his Prince, in hopes of catching a gracious smile, can have very little conception. I am not only retired from all public employments, but I am retiring within myself; and shall be able to view the solitary walk, and tread the paths of private life with heartfelt satisfaction. '''Envious of none, I am determined to be pleased with all; and this my dear friend, being the order for my march, I will move gently down the stream of life, until I sleep with my Fathers.''' ** [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=296 Letter] to [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette]] (1 February 1784) * A people... who are possessed of the spirit of commerce, who see and who will pursue their advantages may achieve almost anything. ** Letter to [[w:Benjamin Harrison V|Benjamin Harrison V]] (10 October 1784) *[T]he motives which predominate most in human affairs is self-love and self-interest. ** [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-02-02-0135 Letter to James Madison] (3 December 1784) as quoted in ''Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington'' (2008) by Peter R. Henriques, p. 139. * Men's minds are as variant as their faces, and, where the motives of their actions are pure, the operation of the former is no more to be imputed to them as a crime, than the appearance of the latter; for both, being the work of nature, are alike unavoidable. ** Letter to [[w:Benjamin Harrison V|Benjamin Harrison V]] (9 March 1789), published in Washington's ''[https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=DTlEAQAAMAAJ&rdid=book-DTlEAQAAMAAJ&rdot=1 Writings: Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private, Selected and Published from the Original Manuscripts]'', Volume IX, p. 475. * '''Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last.''' ** Letter to the [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette|Marquis de Lafayette]] (25 July 1785) * As the complexion of European politics seems now (from letters I have received from the Marqs. de la Fayette, Chevrs. Chartellux, De la Luzerne, &c.,) to have a tendency to Peace, I will say nothing of war, nor make any animadversions upon the contending powers; otherwise, I might possibly have said that the retreat from it seemed impossible after the explicit declaration of the parties: '''My first wish is to see this plague to mankind banished from off the Earth, and the sons and Daughters of this world employed in more pleasing and innocent amusements, than in preparing implements and exercising them for the destruction of mankind:''' rather than quarrel about territory let the poor, the needy and oppressed of the Earth, and those who want Land, resort to the fertile plains of our western country, the second Promise, and there dwell in peace, fulfilling the first and great commandment. ** Letter to David Humphreys (25 July 1785), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 28, pp. 202-3. The W. W. Abbot transcription (given at [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-03-02-0142 Founders Online]) differs slightly: *** My first wish is, to see this plague to Mankind banished from the Earth; & the Sons & daughters of this World employed in more pleasing & innocent amusements than in preparing implements, & exercising them for the destruction of the human race. *We are either a united people, or we are not. If the former, let us, in all matters of general concern act as a Nation, which have national objects to promote, and a national character to support. If we are not, let us no longer act a farce by pretending to it. **[https://books.google.com/books?id=64MTAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA25 Letter to James Madison, 30 November 1785] * '''My manner of living is plain. I do not mean to be put out of it.''' A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready; and such as will be content to partake of them are always welcome. '''Those, who expect more, will be disappointed, but no change will be effected by it.''' ** Letter to [[w:George William Fairfax|George William Fairfax]] (25 June 1786), published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 175 *There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery. **[https://web.archive.org/web/20060503040039/http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/project/volumes/confederation/essay4.html Letter to Robert Morris] (12 April 1786) * '''If you tell the Legislatures they have violated the treaty of peace and invaded the prerogatives of the confederacy they will laugh in your face. What then is to be done? Things cannot go on in the same train forever.''' It is much to be feared, as you observe, that the better kind of people being disgusted with the circumstances will have their minds prepared for any revolution whatever. '''We are apt to run from one extreme into another. To anticipate & prevent disasterous <!-- [sic] --> contingencies would be the part of wisdom & patriotism.''' <br /> '''What astonishing changes a few years are capable of producing! I am told that even respectable characters speak of a monarchical form of government without horror.''' From thinking proceeds speaking, thence to acting is often but a single step. But how irrevocable & tremendous! What a triumph for the advocates of despotism to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves, and that systems founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal & falacious!<!-- [sic] --> Would to God that wise measures may be taken in time to avert the consequences we have but too much reason to apprehend. <br /> Retired as I am from the world, I frankly acknowledge I cannot feel myself an unconcerned spectator. Yet having happily assisted in bringing the ship into port & having been fairly discharged; it is not my business to embark again on a sea of troubles. Nor could it be expected that my sentiments and opinions would have much weight on the minds of my Countrymen — they have been neglected, tho' given as a last legacy in the most solemn manner. I had then perhaps some claims to public attention. I consider myself as having none at present. ** [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/constitution/1784/jay2.html Letter to John Jay (15 August 1786)] * Altho’ I pretend to no peculiar information respecting commercial affairs, nor any foresight into the scenes of futurity; yet as the member of an infant-empire, '''as a Philanthropist by character, and (if I may be allowed the expression) as a Citizen of the great republic of humanity at large; I cannot help turning my attention sometimes to this subject.''' I would be understood to mean, I cannot avoid reflecting with pleasure on the probable influence that commerce may here after have on human manners & society in general. '''On these occasions I consider how mankind may be connected like one great family in fraternal ties—I endulge a fond, perhaps an enthusiastic idea, that as the world is evidently much less barbarous than it has been, its melioration must still be progressive—that nations are becoming more humanized in their policy—that the subjects of ambition & causes for hostility are daily diminishing—and in fine, that the period is not very remote when the benefits of a liberal & free commerce will, pretty generally, succeed to the devastations & horrors of war.''' ** “From George Washington to Lafayette, 15 August 1786,” [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-04-02-0200 Founders Online, National Archives] Source: ''The Papers of George Washington'', Confederation Series, vol. 4, ''2 April 1786 – 31 January 1787'', ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 214–216. [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw2&fileName=gwpage013.db&recNum=157&tempFile=./temp/~ammem_fmyS&filecode=mgw&next_filecode=mgw&itemnum=1&ndocs=100 Page scan] at American Memory (Library of Congress) * '''If they have real grievances redress them, if possible; or acknowledge the justice of them, and your inability to do it at the moment. If they have not, employ the force of government against them at once.''' ** Letter to [[w:Henry Lee|Henry Lee]] (31 October 1786) * '''Paper money has had the effect in your State that it ever will have, to ruin commerce—oppress the honest, and open a door to every species of fraud and injustice.''' **[https://founders.archives.gov/GEWN-04-04-02-0428 Letter to Jabez Bowen] (9 January 1787) * '''The only stipulations I shall contend for are, that in all things you shall do as you please. I will do the same; and that no ceremony may be used or any restraint be imposed on any one.''' ** Letter to [[w:David Humphreys (soldier)|David Humphreys]], inviting him to an indefinite stay at Mt. Vernon (10 October 1787), as published in ''Life and Times of David Humphreys'' (1917) by Frank Landon Humphreys, Vol. I, p. 426 *Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth. **[http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-james-madison-12/ Letter to James Madison] (2 March 1788) * Your young military men, who want to reap the harvest of laurels, don't care (I suppose) how many seeds of war are sown; but '''for the sake of humanity it is devoutly to be wished, that the manly employment of agriculture and the humanizing benefits of commerce, would supersede the waste of war and the rage of conquest; that the swords might be turned into plough-shares, the spears into pruning hooks, and, as the Scripture expresses it, "the nations learn war no more."''' ** Letter to Marquis de Chastellux (25 April 1788), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 29, p. 485 * '''I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain (what I consider the most enviable of all titles) the character of an honest man''', as well as prove (what I desire to be considered in reality) that I am, with great sincerity & esteem, Dear Sir Your friend and Most obedient Hble Ser⟨vt⟩ ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/04-06-02-0432 Letter to Alexander Hamilton (28 August 1788)] * '''The unfortunate condition of the persons, whose labour in part I employed, has been the only unavoidable subject of regret.''' To make the Adults among them as easy & as comfortable in their circumstances as their actual state of ignorance & improvidence would admit; & to lay a foundation to prepare the rising generation for a destiny different from that in which they were born; afforded some satisfaction to my mind, & could not I hoped be displeasing to the justice of the Creator. ** [http://www.mountvernon.org/george-washington/slavery/the-only-unavoidable-subject-of-regret/ Comment of late 1788 or early 1789 upon his slaves], as recorded by [[w:David Humphreys (soldier)|David Humphreys]], in his notebooks on his conversations with Washington, now in the Rosenbach Library in Philadelphia<!-- as quoted in "Housing and Family Life of the Mount Vernon Negro," unpublished paper by Charles C. Wall, prepared for the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association (May 1962), prefatory note]. --> * '''The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institutions may be abused by human depravity; and that they may even, in some instances be made subservient to the vilest of purposes.''' Should, hereafter, those who are intrusted with the management of this government, incited by the lust of power & prompted by the supineness or venality of their Constituents, overleap the known barriers of this Constitution and violate the unalienable rights of humanity: it will only serve to shew, that no compact among men (however provident in its construction & sacred in its ratification) can be pronounced everlasting and inviolable—and if I may so express myself, that no wall of words—that no mound of parchmt can be so formed as to stand against the sweeping torrent of boundless ambition on the one side, aided by the sapping current of corrupted morals on the other. ** p. 34 of a draft of a discarded and undelivered version of his first inaugural address (30 April 1789) * Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedience to the public summons, repaired to the present station; it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe, who presides in the Councils of Nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the People of the United States, a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes: and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success, the functions allotted to his charge. '''In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own; nor those of my fellow-citizens at large, less than either. No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States.''' Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency. And in the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their United Government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be compared with the means by which most Governments have been established, without some return of pious gratitude along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage. ** First Inaugural Address (30 April 1789), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 30, pp. 292-3 * I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my Country can inspire: since there is no truth more thoroughly established, than that there exists in the oeconomy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity and felicity: Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven, can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained: And since '''the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.''' ** First Inaugural Address (30 April 1789), published in ''The Writings of George Washington'', edited by John C. Fitzpatrick, Vol. 30, pp. 294-5 * For myself the delay may be compared with a reprieve; for in confidence I assure you, with the world it would obtain little credit that '''my movements to the chair of Government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution: so unwilling am I, in the evening of a life nearly consumed in public cares, to quit a peaceful abode for an Ocean of difficulties''', without that competency of political skill, abilities and inclination which is necessary to manage the helm. ** Comment to General [[w:Henry Knox|Henry Knox]] on the delay in assuming office (March 1789) * In executing the duties of my present important station, I can promise nothing but purity of intentions, and, in carrying these into effect, fidelity and diligence. ** Message to the U.S. Congress (9 July 1789); [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC29437768&id=qy2nqT6FnLMC&pg=RA1-PA159&lpg=RA1-PA159&dq=%22carrying+these+into+effect,+fidelity+and+diligence%22&num=100 ''The Writings of George Washington: Being His Correspondence, Addresses, Messages, and Other Papers, Official and Private'' (1837) edited by Jared Sparks, p. 159 (PDF)] * The satisfaction arising from the indulgent opinion entertained by the American People of my conduct, will, I trust, be some security for preventing me from doing any thing, which might justly incur the forfeiture of that opinion. And the consideration that '''human happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected''', will always continue to prompt me to promote the progress of the former, by inculcating the practice of the latter. **Letter to the Protestant Episcopal Church (19 August 1789) [http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw2/038/0580042.jpg Scan at American Memory (Library of Congress).] * Impressed with a conviction that '''the due [[administration of justice]] is the firmest pillar of good Government''', I have considered the first arrangement of the Judicial department as essential to the happiness of our Country, and to the stability of its political system; hence the selection of the fittest characters to expound the law, and dispense justice, has been an invariable object of my anxious concern. ** [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(gw300376)) Letter to U.S. Attorney General] [[w:Edmund Randolph|Edmund Randolph]] (28 September 1789), as published in ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799'' edited by John C. Fitzpatrick *** The inscription on the facade of the [[w:New York Supreme Court court|New York Supreme Court court]] house in New York County is a misquotation from the above letter: ''"The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government."'' See [http://www.nypost.com/seven/02162009/news/regionalnews/george_denied_his_due_155401.htm "George Denied His Due" by Bruce Golding, in the ''New York Post'' (16 February 2009)] ==== The Newburgh Address (1783)==== [[File:George Washington at Princeton.jpg|thumb|If Men are to be precluded from offering their [[sentiments]] on a matter, which may involve the most [[serious]] and alarming [[consequences]], that can invite the [[consideration]] of [[Mankind]]; [[reason]] is of no use to us — the [[freedom of Speech]] may be taken away — and, dumb & [[silent]] we may be led, like [[sheep]], to the Slaughter.]] [[File:Washington Before Yorktown.jpg|thumb|Had this day been wanting, the [[World]] had never seen the last stage of [[perfection]] to which [[human]] [[nature]] is capable of attaining...]] :<small>Washington's response to the [[w:Newburgh Conspiracy|Newburgh Conspiracy]], known as [https://web.archive.org/web/20210308205206/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/quotes/article/for-if-men-are-to-be-precluded-from-offering-their-sentiments-on-a-matter-which-may-involve-the-most-serious-and-alarming-consequences-that-can-invite-the-consideration-of-mankind-reason-is-of-no-use-to-us-the-freedom-of-speech-may-be-taken-away-and-dumb-/ Newburgh Address] (15 March 1783) · [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-10840 Online edition at the National Archives] · [http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/newburgh/text.html The anonymous Newburgh letter, followed by Washington's response at ''Early America Milestones'']</small> * Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for, I have grown not only gray, but almost blind in the service of my country. ** Statement as he put on his glasses before delivering his response to the first [http://www.earlyamerica.com/milestone-events/newburgh-address/ Newburgh Address] (15 March 1783), quoted in a [https://democraticthinker.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/newburgh-crisis-viwashingtons-newburgh-address/ letter] from General [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cobb_(Massachusetts) David Cobb] to Colonel [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Pickering Timothy Pickering] (25 November 1825) * The Author of the piece, is entitled to much credit for the goodness of his Pen: and I could wish he had as much credit for the rectitude of his Heart — for, as Men see thro’ different Optics, and are induced by the reflecting faculties of the Mind, to use different means to attain the same end; the Author of the Address, should have had more charity, than to mark for Suspicion, the Man who should recommend Moderation and longer forbearance — or, in other words, who should not think as he thinks, and act as he advises. But he had another plan in view, in which candor and liberality of Sentiment, regard to justice, and love of Country, have no part; and he was right, to insinuate the darkest suspicion, to effect the blackest designs. <br /> That the Address is drawn with great art, and is designed to answer the most insidious purposes. That it is calculated to impress the Mind, with an idea of premeditated injustice in the Sovereign power of the United States, and rouse all those resentments which must unavoidably flow from such a belief. That the secret Mover of this Scheme (whoever he may be) intended to take advantage of the passions, while they were warmed by the recollection of past distresses, without giving time for cool, deliberative thinking, & that composure of Mind which is so necessary to give dignity & stability to measures, is rendered too obvious, by the mode of conducting the business, to need other proof than a reference to the proceeding. * '''There might, Gentlemen, be an impropriety in my taking notice, in this Address to you, of an anonymous production — but the manner in which that performance has been introduced to the Army — the effect it was intended to have, together with some other circumstances, will amply justify my observations on the tendency of that Writing.''' With respect to the advice given by the Author — to suspect the Man, who shall recommend moderate measures and longer forbearance — I spurn it — as every Man, who regards that [[liberty]], & reveres that [[Justice]] for which we contend, undoubtedly must — for '''if Men are to be precluded from offering their [[sentiments]] on a matter, which may involve the most [[serious]] and alarming [[consequences]], that can invite the [[consideration]] of [[Mankind]]; [[reason]] is of no use to us — the [[freedom of Speech]] may be taken away — and, dumb & [[silent]] we may be led, like [[sheep]], to the Slaughter.''' * '''You will, by the dignity of your Conduct, afford occasion for Posterity to say, when speaking of the glorious example you have exhibited to Mankind, had this day been wanting, the World had never seen the last stage of perfection to which human nature is capable of attaining.''' === 1790s === [[File:M777 Light Towed Howitzer 1.jpg|thumb|To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.]] [[File:US Capitol dome Jan 2006.jpg|thumb|For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.]] * '''The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for giving to Mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy: a policy worthy of imitation.''' All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. '''It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. For happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.'''<br/>May [[w:American Jews|the Children of the Stock of Abraham]], who dwell in [[United States|this land]], continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. ** Letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island (1790) * '''To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.''' ** First Annual Address, to both Houses of Congress (8 January 1790). ** Compare: "Qui desiderat pacem præparet bellum" (translated: "Who would desire peace should be prepared for war"), [[w:Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus|Vegetius]], ''Rei Militari'' 3, Prolog.; "In pace, ut sapiens, aptarit idonea bello" (translated: "In peace, as a wise man, he should make suitable preparation for war"), [[Horace]], Book ii. satire ii. [[File:George Washington - by Lester Spence.jpg|thumb|All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity.]] * '''The advancement of agriculture, commerce and manufactures, by all proper means, will not, I trust, need recommendation. But I cannot forbear intimating to you the expediency of giving effectual encouragement as well to the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad, as to the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home; and of facilitating the intercourse between the distant parts of our country by a due attention to the Post Office and Post Roads.''' ** First Annual Address, to both House of Congress (8 January 1790) * '''A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.''' ** First Annual Address, to both House of Congress (8 January 1790) * '''All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external trappings of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it, beyond the lustre which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity. ''' ** Letter to Catherine Macaulay Graham (9 January 1790) * As mankind become more liberal they will be more apt to allow, that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the Community are equally entitled to the protection of civil Government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality. ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-05-02-0193 Letter to Roman Catholics] (15 March 1790) *[A] good moral character is the first essential in a man, and that the habits contracted at your age are generally indelible, and your conduct here may stamp your character through life. It is therefore highly important that you should endeavor not only to be learned but virtuous. **[http://westillholdthesetruths.org/quotes/60/a-good-moral-character-is-the Letter to Steptoe Washington] (5 December 1790) * '''It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.''' ** Letter to his niece, Harriet Washington (30 October 1791) * '''Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause; and I was not without hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy of the present age would have put an effectual stop to contentions of this kind.''' ** [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi32.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=69&division=div1 Letter to Sir Edward Newenham (22 June 1792)] as published in ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources'' (1939) as edited by John Clement Fitzpatrick <!-- United States Government Printing Office --> * '''Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be deprecated.''' I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society. ** [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi32.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=155&division=div1 Letter to Edward Newenham (20 October 1792)], these statements and one from a previous letter to Newenham seem to have become combined and altered into a misquotation of Washington's original statements to read: ::: Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. I had hoped that liberal and enlightened thought would have reconciled the Christians so that their religious fights would not endanger the peace of Society. :::* As misquoted in ''The Conservative Soul: How We Lost It, How to Get It Back'' (2006) by Andrew Sullivan, p. 131 [[File:George Washington, freemason 02796u original.jpg|thumb|The milder [[virtues]] of the [[heart]] are highly respected by a [[society]] whose [[liberal]] [[principles]] must be founded in the immediate [[laws]] of [[truth]] and [[justice]]. To enlarge the sphere of [[social]] [[happiness]] is worthy the [[benevolent]] design of the [[Freemasonry|Masonic Institution]]; and it is most fervently to be wished, that the conduct of every member of the fraternity, as well as those publications which discover the principles which actuate them may tend to convince Mankind that the grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the [[human]] race.]] * Flattering as it may be to the human mind, & truly honorable as it is to receive from our fellow citizens testimonies of approbation for exertions to promote the public welfare; it is not less pleasing to know that the milder [[virtues]] of the [[heart]] are highly respected by a [[society]] whose [[liberal]] [[principles]] must be founded in the immediate [[laws]] of [[truth]] and [[justice]]. To enlarge the sphere of [[social]] [[happiness]] is worthy the [[benevolent]] design of the [[Freemasonry|Masonic Institution]]; and it is most fervently to be wished, that the conduct of every member of the fraternity, as well as those publications which discover the principles which actuate them may tend to convince Mankind that the grand object of Masonry is to promote the happiness of the [[human]] race. ** [https://www.beliefnet.com/resourcelib/docs/86/Letter_from_George_Washington_to_the_Grand_Master_of_Free_Mas_1.html Letter to the Grand Lodge of Free Masons of Massachusetts (27 December 1792)], published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 201 * '''We have abundant reason to rejoice, that, in this land, the light of truth and reason has triumphed over the power of bigotry and superstition, and that every person may here worship God according to the dictates of his own heart.''' In this enlightened age, & in this land of equal liberty, it is our boast, that a man's religious tenets will not forfeit the protection of the laws, nor deprive him of the right of attaining & holding the highest offices that are known in the United States. <br /> Your prayers for my present and future felicity are received with gratitude; and I sincerely wish, Gentlemen, that you may in your social and individual capacities taste those blessings, which a gracious God bestows upon the righteous. ** [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mgw2&fileName=gwpage039.db&recNum=111 Letter to the members] of [[w:The New Church |The New Church ]] in Baltimore (22 January 1793), published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 201 * '''The friends of humanity will deprecate War, wheresoever it may appear; and we have experience enough of its evils, in this country, to know, that it should not be wantonly or unnecessarily entered upon.''' I trust, that the good citizens of the United States will show to the world, that they have as much wisdom in preserving peace at this critical juncture, as they have hitherto displayed valor in defending their just rights. ** Address to the merchants of Philadelphia (16 May 1793), published in ''The Writings Of George Washington'' (1835) by Jared Sparks, p. 202 *If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace, one of the most powerful instruments of our rising prosperity, it must be known that we are at all times ready for war **[http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/washs05.asp Fifth annual Message] (3 December 1793) * I am very glad to hear that the Gardener has saved so much of the St. foin seed, and that of the India Hemp. Make the most you can of both, by sowing them again in drills. . . Let the ground be well prepared, and the Seed (St. foin) be sown in April. The Hemp may be sown any where. ** George Washington in a letter to William Pearce at Mount Vernon (Philadelphia 24th Feby 1794), The Writings of George Washington, Bicentennial Edition 1939, [https://books.google.de/books?id=WIGyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA279&dq=hemp p.279 books.google], and [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-15-02-0210 founders.archives.gov] ** This quote is often confused with ''Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!'' [http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/spurious-quotations/ George Washington Spurious Quotations] * '''When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly.''' ** Letter to Edmund Pendleton (22 January 1795) * Malignity, therefore, may dart its shafts, but no earthly power can deprive me of the consolation of knowing that I have not, in the whole course of my Administration (however numerous they may have been) committed an intentional error. * [https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-00615 Letter to David Humphreys] (12 June 1796) * '''Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable.''' It may, for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practice will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter; whether in public or private walks of life. ** Letter to George Washington Parke Custis (7 January 1798) [[File:Mtvernon1.jpg|thumb|I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world...]] * '''It is infinitely better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones.''' ** Letter to James McHenry (10 August 1798) * '''I have heard much of the nefarious, & dangerous plan, & doctrines of the [[w:Illuminati|Illuminati]], but never saw the Book until you were pleased to send it to me.''' The same causes which have prevented my acknowledging the receipt of your letter, have prevented my reading the Book, hitherto; namely — the multiplicity of matters which pressed upon me before, & the debilitated state in which I was left after, a severe fever had been removed. And which allows me to add little more now, than thanks for your kind wishes and favourable sentiments, except to correct an error you have run into, of my Presiding over the English lodges in this Country. '''The fact is, I preside over none, nor have I been in one more than once or twice, within the last thirty years. I believe notwithstandings, that none of the Lodges in ''this'' Country are contaminated with the principles ascribed to the Society of the Illuminati.''' ** [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-02-02-0435 Letter to Reverend G. W. Snyder (25 September 1798)] thanking him for a copy of ''Proofs of a Conspiracy against All the Religions and Governments of Europe'' (1798) by John Robison. *You could as soon as scrub the blackamore white, as to change the principles of '''a profest Democrat; and that he will leave nothing unattempted to overturn the Government of this Country.''' **[https://books.google.com/books?id=x4GyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA474#v=onepage&q&f=false ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources 1745-1799, Vol. 36, August 4, 1797-October 28, 1798''] (letter written, 30 September 1798, Mount Vernon) p. 474 * <!-- Revd Sir I have your favor of the 17th instant before me; and my only motive to trouble you with the receipt of this letter, is to explain, and correct a mistake which I perceive the hurry in which I am obliged, often, to write letters, have led you into. <br /> --> '''It was not my intention to doubt that, the Doctrines of the [[w:Illuminati|Illuminati]], and principles of [[w:Jacobin (politics)|Jacobinism]] had not spread in the United States. On the contrary, no one is more truly satisfied of this fact than I am.''' <br /> The idea that I meant to convey, was, that I did not believe that the ''Lodges'' of Free Masons in ''this'' Country had, as ''Societies'', endeavoured to propagate the diabolical tenets of the first, or pernicious principles of the latter (if they are susceptible of seperation<!-- [sic] -->). That Individuals of them may have done it, or that the ''founder'', or ''instrument'' employed to found, the Democratic Societies in the United States, may have had these objects; and actually had a seperation<!-- [sic] --> of the ''People'' from their ''Government'' in view, is too evident to be questioned. <!-- <br /> My occupations are such, that but little leisure is allowed me to read News Papers, or Books of any kind; the reading of letters, and preparing answers, absorb much of my time. With respect — I remain Revd Sir Your Most Obedt Hble Ser. Go: Washington --> ** [http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=WasFi36.xml&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=388&division=div1 Letter to the Reverend G. W. Snyder (24 October 1798)] * '''So far as I am acquainted with the principles & Doctrines of Free Masonry, I conceive it to be founded in benevolence and to be exercised only for the good of mankind.''' If it has been a Cloak to promote improper or nefarious objects, it is a melancholly proof that in unworthy hands, the best institutions may be made use of to promote the worst designs. ** [http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw4/113/0400/0495.jpg Draft of a letter to the Grand Lodge of Free Masons of the State of Maryland (8 November 1798)] *'''As mankind become more liberal they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protection of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations in examples of justice and liberality.''' **[http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/letter-to-the-roman-catholics/ Letter to the Roman Catholics in America] (15 March 1790) * To sell the overplus I cannot, because '''I am principled against this kind of traffic in the human species.''' To hire them out, is almost as bad, because they could not be disposed of in families to any advantage, and to disperse the families I have an aversion. What then is to be done? Something must or I shall be ruined; for all the money (in addition to what I raise by Crops, and rents) that have been received for Lands, sold within the last four years, to the amount of Fifty thousand dollars, has scarcely been able to keep me a float. ** Letter to Robert Lewis, 18 August 1799, published in John Clement Fitzpatrick, ''The writings of George Washington from the original manuscript sources'', volume 37, pp. 338-9 * '''I die hard but am not afraid to go'''. I believed from my first attack that I should not survive it — my breath cannot last long. ** The first sentence here is sometimes presented as being his last statement before dying, but they are reported as part of the fuller statement, and as being said in the afternoon prior to his death in ''Life of Washington'' (1859) by [[Washington Irving]], and his actual last words are stated to have been those reported by [[w:Tobias Lear|Tobias Lear]] below. * '''Tis well.''' ** Washington's last words, as recorded by [[w:Tobias Lear|Tobias Lear]], in his [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/project/exhibit/mourning/lear.html journal (14 December 1799)]. Washington said this after being satisfied that precautions would be taken against his being buried prematurely: :: About ten o'clock he made several attempts to speak to me before he could effect it, at length he said, — "I am just going. Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the Vault in less than three days after I am dead." I bowed assent, for I could not speak. He then looked at me again and said, "Do you understand me? I replied "Yes." "Tis well" said he. ::* A conflation of the last two quotes has also sometimes been reported as his last statement: "It is well. I die hard but am not afraid to go". ====Letter to Catharine Macaulay Graham (1790)==== :<small>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160218134748/http://www.bartleby.com/400/prose/421.html Letter to Catharine Macaulay Graham] (9 January 1790), New York.</small> *'''The establishment of our new government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness by a reasonable compact in civil society'''. It was to be in the first instance, in a considerable degree, a government of accommodation as well as a government of laws. Much was to be done by prudence, much by conciliation, much by firmness. Few, who are not philosophical spectators, can realize the difficult and delicate part, which a man in my situation had to act. All see, and most admire, the glare which hovers round the external happiness of elevated office. To me there is nothing in it beyond the lustre, which may be reflected from its connection with a power of promoting human felicity. ====To the Hebrew Congregation in {{w|Newport, Rhode Island}}, 18 August 1790==== :<small>''[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-06-02-0135 From George Washington to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island, 18 August 1790]'', ''{{w|National Archives and Records Administration}}''.</small> * The reflection on the days of difficulty and danger which are past is rendered the more sweet, from a consciousness that they are succeeded by days of uncommon prosperity and security. If we have wisdom to make the best use of the advantages with which we are now favored, we cannot fail, under the just administration of a good Government, to become a great and happy people. * The Citizens of the United States of America have a right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and [[Liberalism|liberal]] policy: a policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. '''For happily the {{w|Government of the United States}}, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.''' * '''May the [[Jews|children]] of the Stock of [[Abraham]], who dwell [[w:History of the Jews in the United States|in this land]], continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants; while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. May the father of all mercies scatter light and not darkness in our paths, and make us all in our several vocations useful here, and in his own due time and way everlastingly happy.''' ==== Farewell Address (1796) ==== [[File:Gilbert_Stuart,_George_Washington_(Lansdowne_portrait,_1796).jpg|thumb|I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it...]] [[File:Black and white handshake MOD 45148076.jpg|thumb|Nothing is more essential than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated.]] :<small> [[s:Washington's Farewell Address|The Farewell Address (17 September 1796) Full text at Wikisource]] </small> * '''Every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it will be welcome.''' Satisfied, that, if any circumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they were temporary, '''I have the consolation to believe, that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism does not forbid it.''' * '''Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.''' <br/> The unity of Government, which constitutes you one people, is also now dear to you. It is justly so; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very Liberty, which you so highly prize. * '''It is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness'''; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and speak of it as of the Palladium of your political safety and prosperity; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety; discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion, that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts. [[File:EdwardMoran-UnveilingTheStatueofLiberty1886Large.jpg|thumb|Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of your hearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attachment.]] [[File:Ferguson Day 7, Picture 18.png|thumb|Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.]] * While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in Union, all the parts combined cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, proportionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations; and, what is of inestimable value, they must derive from Union an exemption from those broils and wars between themselves, which so frequently afflict neighbouring countries not tied together by the same governments, which their own rivalships alone would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues would stimulate and embitter. '''Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty.''' In this sense it is, that your Union ought to be considered as a main prop of your liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to you the preservation of the other. * '''One of the expedients of party to acquire influence, within particular districts, is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. '''You cannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burnings, which spring from these misrepresentations; they tend to render alien to each other those, who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection. * '''To the efficacy and permanency of your Union, a Government for the whole is indispensable.''' No alliances, however strict, between the parts can be an adequate substitute; they must inevitably experience the infractions and interruptions, which all alliances in all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of a Constitution of Government better calculated than your former for an intimate Union, and for the efficacious management of your common concerns. * '''The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government. But the Constitution which at any time exists, till changed by an explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all.''' The very idea of the power and the right of the people to establish Government presupposes the duty of every individual to obey the established Government. [[File:Eagle and American Flag by Bubbels.jpg|thumb|It is of infinite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense value of your national Union to your collective and individual happiness.]] * I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. '''Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.''' * '''The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.''' But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. '''The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.''' * '''The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. '''<br/> It serves always to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. [[File:Benjamin_Franklin_-_Join_or_Die.jpg|thumb|Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party, generally.]] [[File:Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States.jpg|thumb|If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.]] * '''If in the opinion of the People, the distribution or modification of the Constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.''' * '''Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.''' In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and Citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexions with private and public felicity. ** The Internet document known as "History Forgotten" or "Forsaken Roots" misquotes the opening of this section as follows: "It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible. Of all the dispositions and habits that lead to political prosperity, our religion and morality are the indispensable supports." * Let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect, that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. * '''It is substantially true, that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government. The rule, indeed, extends with more or less force to every species of free government.''' * '''Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.''' * As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is, to use it as sparingly as possible; avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exertions in time of peace to discharge the debts, which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen, which we ourselves ought to bear. [[File:Thanksgiving chapel interior.jpg|thumb|Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports.]] * '''Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.''' Religion and Morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it? It will be worthy of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great Nation, to give to mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt, that, in the course of time and things, the fruits of such a plan would richly repay any temporary advantages, which might be lost by a steady adherence to it? Can it be, that Providence has not connected the permanent felicity of a Nation with its Virtue? * In the execution of such a plan, '''nothing is more essential, than that permanent, inveterate antipathies against particular Nations, and passionate attachments for others, should be excluded; and that, in place of them, just and amicable feelings towards all should be cultivated.''' The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty and intractable, when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. Hence frequent collisions, obstinate, envenomed, and bloody contests. *So likewise, a '''passionate attachment of one Nation for another''' produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite Nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. [[File:Tiffany Education (center).JPG|thumb|In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened...]] * Real Patriots, who may resist the intrigues of the favourite, are liable to become suspected and odious; while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the people, to surrender their interests. (Note: spelling/capitalization likely original.[http://www.bartleby.com/43/24.html]). * The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connexion as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. * ''' 'Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world'''; so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it; for let me not be understood as capable of patronizing infidelity to existing engagements. '''I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.''' I repeat it, therefore, let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But, in my opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. * There can be no greater error than to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. [[File:UN General Assembly.jpg|thumb|Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.]] * '''Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity, and interest.''' * In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old and affectionate friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I could wish; that they will control the usual current of the passions, or prevent our nation from running the course, which has hitherto marked the destiny of nations. '''But, if I may even flatter myself, that they may be productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good; that they may now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism; this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude for your welfare, by which they have been dictated.''' ** This has sometimes been misquoted as: '''Guard against the postures of pretended patriotism.''' * The duty of holding a neutral conduct may be inferred, without any thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the relations of peace and amity towards other nations. * Though, in reviewing the incidents of my administration, I am unconscious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. Whatever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope, that my Country will never cease to view them with indulgence; and that, after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. == Posthumous attributions == [[File:The Old Flag Never Touched the Ground.jpg|thumb|Nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union, by consolidating it in a common bond of principle.]] * Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, (I conjure you to believe me, fellow-citizens,) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake; since history and experience prove, that Foreign Influence is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government. But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial; else it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoided, instead of a defense against it. ** Attributed to [[George Washington]], John Frederick Schroeder, D. D., Maxims of Washington; Political, Social, Moral, and Religious. Third Edition, p. 90, (1854). * So, there lies the brave [[Johann de Kalb|de Kalb]]. The generous stranger, who came from a distant land to fight our battles and to water with his blood the tree of liberty. Would to God he had lived to share its fruits! ** Upon visiting the grave of [[Johann de Kalb]], some years after his death, as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=40wyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA96&dq=%22Would+to+God+he+had+lived+to+share+its+fruits%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2IoZVa3XLuyasQTXiIDoCg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22Would%20to%20God%20he%20had%20lived%20to%20share%20its%20fruits%22&f=false "Baron De Kalb"] (1827), by [[w:George R. Graham|George R. Graham]] and [[Edgar Allan Poe]], ''Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion'', Volume 2, Watson, p. 96. * Not only do I pray for it, on the score of human dignity, but I can clearly forsee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union, by consolidating it in a common bond of principle. ** Attributed to [[w:George Washington|George Washington]], John Bernard, Retrospections of America, 1797–1811, p. 91 (1887). This is from Bernard's account of a conversation he had with Washington in 1798. Reported as unverified in ''Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations'' (1989). {{Disputed begin}} ==Disputed== * Americans! let the opinion then delivered by the greatest and best of men, be ever present to your remembrance. He was collected within himself. His countenance had more than usual solemnity; his, eye was fixed, and seemed to look into futurity. "'''It is''' (said he) '''too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained. If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.'''" This was the patriot voice of Washington; and this the constant tenor of his conduct. With this deep sense of duty, he gave to our Constitution his cordial assent; and has added the fame of a legislator to that of a hero. ** Attributions in an "Oration upon the Death of General Washington, Delivered at the Request of the Corporation of the City of New York On the 31st of December, 1799", by Gouverneur Morris. Though these words, supposedly given at the opening of the Constitutional Convention, were not recorded in [[James Madison]]'s summary of the events of 25 May 1787, George Bancroft accepted them as genuine (''History of the United States of America'', volume VI, Book III, Chapter I). Henry Cabot Lodge however gave cogent reasons for rejecting them (''George Washington'', Volume II, Chapter I). The attribution to Washington was so widely accepted that [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015060022434;view=1up;seq=48 it was engraved above the Fifteenth Street entrance to the Department of Commerce Bldg.] in Washington, D.C., on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Square_Arch the arch in Washington Square Park in New York City] and [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015060022434;view=1up;seq=50 on a bronze plaque above the Eighteenth Street doorway to Constitution Hall]. {{Disputed end}} {{Misattributed begin}} == Misattributed == :<small>Statements originally made by others, that have become wrongly attributed to Washington </small> [[File:George Washington dollar.jpg|thumb|He seemed to enjoy a triumph over me. Methought I heard him think, "Ay! I am fairly out and you are fairly in! See which of us will be the happiest!" ~ [[John Adams]] ]] * '''Associate yourself with Men of good Quality if you Esteem your own Reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad Company.''' ** This is from a set of maxims which Washington copied out in his own hand as a school-boy: [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/the-rules-of-civility/ "Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation]" Rule # 56 written out by Washington ''ca''. 1744: :: These maxims originated in the late sixteenth century in France and were popularly circulated during Washington's time. Washington wrote out a copy of the 110 Rules in his school book when he was about sixteen-years old... During the days before mere hero worship had given place to understanding and comprehension of the fineness of Washington's character, of his powerful influence among men, and of the epoch-making nature of the issues he so largely shaped, it was assumed that Washington himself composed the maxims, or at least that he compiled them. It is a satisfaction to find that his consideration for others, his respect for and deference to those deserving such treatment, his care of his own body and tongue, and even his reverence for his Maker, all were early inculcated in him by precepts which were the common practice in decent society the world over. These very maxims had been in use in France for a century and a half, and in England for a century, before they were set as a task for the schoolboy Washington. ::* Charles Moore in his [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/civility/index.html Introduction to ''George Washington's Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation'' (1926)], edited by Charles Moore, <!-- Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company -->xi-xv * A solemn scene it was indeed... He seemed to enjoy a triumph over me. Methought I heard him think,''' "Ay! I am fairly out and you are fairly in! See which of us will be the happiest!"''' ** [[John Adams]], in a letter to his wife [[Abigail Adams|Abigail]] was here expressing his impression of what Washington seemed to be thinking after Adams was inaugurated as President. These impressions have sometimes been quoted as if they were something Washington had actually said to Adams. Quoted in ''A History of the United States and Its People: From Their Earliest Records to the Present Time'' (1904) by William Abbatt and Elroy McKendree Avery, p. 177; ''John Adams'' (2002) by David G. McCullough, p. 469; and ''The Portable John Adams'' (2004) edited by John Patrick Diggins, p. xi ** Unsourced variants: Well, I am fairly out and you are fairly in. Now we shall see who enjoys it the most! <br /> Ah! I am fairly out and you are fairly in! See which of us will be the happiest! * '''The government of the United States is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.''' ** This statement was made by an official representative of the U.S. during Washington's presidency, but is actually a line from the English version of the ''[[w:Treaty of Tripoli|Treaty of Tripoli]]'' ([http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/bar1796t.asp#art11 Article 11]), which was signed at Tripoli on November 4, 1796, and at Algiers on January 3, 1797. It received ratification unanimously from the U.S. Senate on June 7, 1797 and was signed into law by [[John Adams]]. The wording of the treaty is by [[Joel Barlow]], U.S. Consul, who had served as Washington's chaplain, and was also a good friend of [[Thomas Paine|Paine]] and [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]]; Article 11 of it reads: :::As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion,—as it has in itself no character or enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen,—and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries. * ...we are persuaded that good Christians will always be good citizens, and that where righteousness prevails among individuals the Nation will be great and happy. Thus while just government protects all in their religious rights, '''true religion affords to government its surest support'''. ** This is from a letter written ''to'' Washington on 9 October 1789 by the synod of the Reformed Dutch Church of North America (image of the letter on the Library of Congress site [http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mgw/mgw2/038/0650049.jpg here]). Washington quoted the portion in bold in his reply. * I am a citizen of the greatest Republic of Mankind. I see the human race united like a huge family by brotherly ties. We have made a sowing of liberty which will, little by little, spring up across the whole world. One day, on the model of the United States of America, a United States of Europe will come into being. The United States will legislate for all its nationalities. ** Attributed to Washington in [http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-europefuture/article_344.jsp "Farewell to the United States of Europe: long live the EU!" by André Fontaine at Open Democracy (29 November 2001)]. It appears to have originally circulated in French: ::: Je suis citoyen de la Grande République de l'Humanité. Je vois le genre humain uni comme une grande famille par des liens fraternels. Nous avons jeté une semence de liberté et d'union qui germera peu à peu dans toute la Terre. Un jour, sur le modèle des Etats-Unis d'Amérique, se constitueront les États-Unis d'Europe. Les États-Unis seront le législateur de toutes les nationalités. :: An anonymous blogger in [http://racehist.blogspot.com/2010/01/did-george-washington-predict-united.html "Did George Washington predict a "United States of Europe"? (30 January 2010)] showed that it derived from Gustave Rodrigues, ''Le peuple de l'action: essai sur l'idéalisme américain'' (A. Colin, 1917), p. 207: ::: Washington écrivait à La Fayette qu'il se condérait comme « citoyen de la grande république de l'humanité » et ajoutait : « Je vois le genre humain uni comme une grande famille par des liens fraternels ». Ailleurs il écrivait, prophétiquement: « Nous avons jeté une semence de liberté et d'union qui germera peu à peu dans toute la terre. Un jour, sur le modèle des Etats-Unis d'Amérique, se constitueront les États-Unis d'Europe. » :: A translation by Louise Seymour Houghton ([http://books.google.com/books?id=b8Y9AAAAYAAJ ''The People of Action: An Essay on American Idealism'' (1918)]) reads: ::: Washington wrote to Lafayette that he considered himself a "citizen of the great republic of humanity," adding: "I see the human race a great family, united by fraternal bonds." Elsewhere he wrote prophetically: "We have sown a seed of liberty and union that will gradually germinate throughout the earth. Some day, on the model of the United States of America, will be constituted the United States of Europe." [pp. 209-210] :: The first two quotations come from a letter to the Marquis de Lafayette of 15 August 1786 (see above) as quoted in Joseph Fabre's ''Washington, libérateur de l'Amérique: suivi de Washington et la revolution Américaine'' (Ch. Delagrave, 1886), and the third is also found in that source where, although placed between quotation marks, it is clearly intended as the author's own comments on what "Washington and his friends" were saying to the world by establishing the American Constitution. Gustave Rodrigues mistakenly printed Fabre's words as Washington's alongside some actual observations of his from a letter to Lafayette, and so created the misquotation. * Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s Liberty teeth and keystone under Independence. The church, the plow, the prairie wagon, and citizens’ firearms are indelibly related. From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to insure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and pistol are equally indispensable. Every corner of this Land knows firearms and more than 99 99/100 per cent of them by their silence indicate they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference and they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good. When firearms go all goes, therefore we need them every hour. ** This is the conclusion to an article entitled "Older Ideas of Firearms" by C. S. Wheatley; it was published in the September 1926 issue of ''Hunter, Trader, Trapper'' (vol. 53, no. 3), p. 34. Wheatley had referred to George Washington's address to the second session of the first Congress immediately before this passage, which may have given rise to the mistaken attribution. See [http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/02/26/firearm/ this piece] at ''Quote Investigator'' * The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments. ** US Senator [[w: William Borah|William Edgar Borah]], writing in ''The Reader's Digest'', Vol. 8, Issue 2 (1929), p. 776; this has only rarely begun to be attributed to Washington, since about 2010. * It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy, to deny a man the liberty he hath by nature upon a supposition that he may abuse it. ** [[Oliver Cromwell]], letter to Walter Dundas, 12 September 1650; this is also a recent misattribution. === Spurious attributions === :<small>Statements which evidence indicates are fabrications, never actually said by anyone prior to their being attributed to Washington.</small> * <span id="cannot-lie"></span>'''I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet.''' ** The earliest source of this quote was a famous anecdote in ''The Life of George Washington, with Curious Anecdotes Laudable to Himself and Exemplary to his Countrymen'' (1806) by [[Parson Weems]], which is not considered a credible source, and many incidents recounted in the work are now considered to have sprung entirely from Weems’ imagination. This derives from an anecdote of Washington, as a young boy, confessing to his father Augustine Washington that it was he who had cut a cherished cherry tree. ** Variant:'''Father, I cannot tell a lie''', I cut the tree. * '''What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.''' ** A modern fabrication, possibly derived from David Barton's claim (''Original Intent'', p. 85) that "By George Washington’s own words, what youths learned in America’s schools 'above all' was 'the religion of Jesus Christ.'”. Washington did use the phrase "above all the religion of Jesus Christ" on 12 May 1779 in a reply to a petition from a Lenape delegation asking for assistance in promoting the missionary activities of David Zeisberger among their people: "You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do every thing they can to assist you in this wise intention..." He did not say anything about "What students would learn in American schools," though earlier in the same reply he did say "I am glad you have brought three of the Children of your principal Chiefs to be educated with us." While there's nothing in the reply about how those "Children" might be educated (in fact Congress put two of them through Princeton) it's possible that suggested the fabricated portion. See Louise Phelps Kellogg, ''Frontier Advance on the Upper Ohio 1778-1779'' (Madison WI, 1916), pp. 317-324, for the episode. Washington's reply is also found in John C. Fitzpatrick, ''The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799'', vol. 15 (Washington D.C., 1936), p. 55 * A free people ought not only to be armed and disciplined, but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain a status of independence from any who might attempt to abuse them, which would include their own government. ** A further quote sometimes purported to be from a speech to Congress, January 7, 1790 purportedly in the Boston Independent Chronicle, January 14, 1790, this is actually a corruption of a statement made in his first State of the Union Address, relating to the need for maintaining governmental troops and military preparedness: ::: '''A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies.''' <br /> The proper establishment of the troops which may be deemed indispensable will be entitled to mature consideration. In the arrangements which may be made respecting it it will be of importance to conciliate the comfortable support of the officers and soldiers with a due regard to economy. * '''It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.''' ** Washington is known to have made some official statements of public piety, but this is not one of them. The assertion is very widely reported to have been said in [[wikisource:Washington's Farewell Address|Washington's Farewell Address]] (17 September 1796), but this is ''not'' actually the case, as any search of the documents would reveal. It has also been [http://www.doctorsenator.com/ReligionandTyranny.html presented as] having been part of his Proclamation on January 1, 1795 of February 19th, 1795 as a day of national Thanksgiving. The oldest form of this saying appears as part of an argument for the existence of God attributed to Washington in an undocumented biography written for children. In ''A Life of Washington'' (1836) by [[w:James K. Paulding|James K. Paulding]], Washington is quoted as having stated: *** '''It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being.''' : (For the context see Paulding's anecdote given below in the section of quotations about Washington.) This is unattributed, and no source other than Paulding is known. In 1864 the words "the aid of a Supreme Being" were replaced by the word "God" in Benjamin Franklin Morris, [https://books.google.com/books?id=H92keUU_Xy8C&pg=PA510#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States''] (1864), p. 510: ::*It is impossible ... to govern the universe without '''God...''' :Three years later, in 1867, Henry Wilson (''Testimonies of American Statesmen and Jurists to the Truths of Christianity'', American Tract Society) replaced "universe" with "world": ::*It is impossible to govern the '''world''' without God. : In 1893 Howard H. Russell ([http://books.google.com/books?id=-z0OAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40#v=onepage&q&f=false ''A Lawyer's Examination of the Bible''], 1893) added the word "rightly" and the phrase "and the Bible" to create the most commonly cited form: ::* It is impossible to '''rightly''' govern the world without God '''and the Bible'''. : This form, which is also found in [https://books.google.com/books?id=bb_hAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA35&dq=%22It+is+impossible+to+rightly+govern+the+world+without+God+and+the+Bible%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=whWlVJ61GJDugwTMk4CgDQ&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=%22It%20is%20impossible%20to%20rightly%20govern%20the%20world%20without%20God%20and%20the%20Bible%22&f=false ''Upper Room Bulletin'', Vol. 7, No. 3 (23 October 1920)], rests on no other authority than Russell, who was born long after Washington had died. It is clearly spurious. The saying is often found attached to genuine material such as [http://www.pilgrimhall.org/ThanxProc1789.htm Washington's 1795 Thanksgiving proclamation]: ::*It is in an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced. It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible. It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe, without the agency of a Supreme Being. It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being. It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason, in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to. : The first sentence is an almost accurate rendition of one from the official proclamation, being a portion of this segment: :: In such a state of things''' it is in an especial manner our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experience.''' Deeply penetrated with this sentiment, I, George Washington, President of the United States, do recommend to all religious societies and denominations, and to all persons whomsoever, within the United States to set apart and observe Thursday, the 19th day of February next as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, and on that day to meet together and render their sincere and hearty thanks to the Great Ruler of Nations for the manifold and signal mercies which distinguish our lot as a nation... : It is to be noted that there is genuine piety expressed in this statement, but it is not of any sectarian kind, Christian or otherwise. The last portion of the bogus statement which uses it is a truncation of a statement attributed to him in an undocumented biography written for children. In ''A Life of Washington'' (1836) by [[w:James K. Paulding|James K. Paulding]], Washington is quoted as having stated: :: It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one. :In the spurious version of the Thanksgiving proclamation which uses a portion of this, Washington's allusions to [[Voltaire]]'s famous statement that "If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him" has been omitted. In the cases of these "quotations" it seems that if statements suitable to their sectarian interests do not exist, some people feel it necessary to invent them. * '''Government is not reason, it is not eloquence,—it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.''' ** Attributed to "The First President of the United States" in "Liberty and Government" by W. M., in ''The Christian Science Journal'', Vol. XX, No. 8 (November 1902) edited by [[Mary Baker Eddy]], p. 465; no earlier or original source for this statement is cited; later quoted in ''The Cry for Justice : An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest'' (1915) edited by [[Upton Sinclair]], p. 305, from which it became far more widely quoted and in Frank J. Wilstach, ''A Dictionary of Similes'', 2d ed., p. 526 (1924). In ''The Great Thoughts'' (1985), [[George Seldes]] says, p. 441, col. 2, footnote, this paragraph “although credited to the ‘Farewell’ [address] cannot be found in it. Lawson Hamblin, who owns a facsimile, and Horace Peck, America’s foremost authority on quotations, informed me this paragraph is apocryphal.” It is listed as spurious at the [http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/spurious-quotations/ Mount Vernon website] *** Unsourced variant : Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action. {{anchor|Jews}} * The Jews work more effectively against us than the enemy's armies. They are a hundred times more dangerous to our liberties and the great cause we are engaged in. It is much to be lamented that each state, long ago, has not hunted them down as pests to society and the greatest enemies we have to the happiness of America. ** Sometimes rendered : "They (the Jews) work more effectively against us, than the enemy's armies. They are a hundred times more dangerous to our liberties and the great cause we are engaged in... It is much to be lamented that each state, long ago, has not hunted them down as pest to society and the greatest enemies we have to the happiness of America." ***Both of these are doctored statements that have been widely disseminated as genuine on many anti-semitic websites; They are distortions derived from a statement that was attributed to Washington in ''Maxims of George Washington'' about '''currency speculators''' during the Revolutionary war, ''not'' about Jews: "This tribe of black gentry work more effectually against us, than the enemy's arms. They are a hundred times more dangerous to our liberties, and the great cause we are engaged in. It is much to be lamented that each State, long ere this, has not hunted them down as pests to society, and the greatest enemies we have to the happiness of America." ****More information is available at Snopes. com: [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/thejews.htm "To Bigotry, No Sanction"] **This quotation is a classic anti-semitic hoax, evidently begun during or just before World War Two by American Nazi sympathizers, and since then has been repeated, for example, in foreign propaganda directed at Americans. **It is knitted from two separate letters by Washington, in reverse chronology, neither of them mentioning Jews **#The first part of this forgery is from Washington's [[#Letter to Edmund Pendleton (1779)|letter to Edmund Pendleton in November 1779]] complaining about black marketeers and others undermining the purchasing power of colonial currency **#The second part of this fabricated quote is from Washington's [[#Letter to Joseph Reed (1778)|letter to Joseph Reed in December 1778]] again condemning war profiteers * We had quitters during the Revolution too... we called them "Kentuckians." ** This attribution apparently originated with a statement of a cartoon version of Washington on [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701155/quotes an episode] of [[The Simpsons]]. Though not initially presented as a genuine quote this has sometimes been attributed to Washington. * Make sure you are doing what God wants you to do—then do it with all your strength. ** This saying is not found in any source before 2010, when it was posted by The Ignorant Fisherman at [http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2451682/posts Free Republic] on 15 February. The language is not that of Washington or his time. {{Misattributed end}} ==Quotes about George Washington== :<small>Sorted alphabetically by author or source</small> [[File:Washington 1787-1790.jpg|thumb|More than all, and above all, Washington was master of [[himself]]. ~ [[w:Charles Francis Adams, Sr.|Charles Francis Adams]] ]] [[File:Washington Constitutional Convention 1787.jpg|thumb|He is polite with [[dignity]], [[affable]] without formality, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity; [[modest]], [[wise]] and [[good]]. ~ [[Abigail Adams]]]] [[File:Thomas Hovenden - The Last Moments of John Brown - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The [[natural]] [[equal]] [[rights]] of men. If Washington or [[Jefferson]] or [[Madison]] should utter upon his native soil today the [[opinions]] he entertained and expressed upon this question, he would be denounced as a fanatical [[abolitionist]]. To declare the right of all men to [[liberty]] is sectional, because [[slavery]] is [[afraid]] of liberty and strikes the mouth that speaks the [[word]]. ~ [[George William Curtis]]]] [[File:George Washington Bridge, HAER NY-129-68.jpg|thumb|George Washington is one of the beacons placed at intervals along the highroad of [[history]]. ~ Orestes Ferrara]] [[File:Presence of Washington.jpg|thumb|Let us forget the other [[names]] of [[American]] [[statesmen]], that have been stamped upon these hills, but still call the loftiest — [[w:Mount Washington (New Hampshire)| WASHINGTON]]. ~ [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] ]] [[File:MtRushmore GW close.jpg|thumb|He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a [[wise]], a [[good]], and a [[great]] man. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]] ]] [[File:Washington monument base and flags Jan 2006.jpg|thumb|Never did [[nature]] and [[fortune]] combine more [[perfectly]] to make a man [[great]], and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an [[everlasting]] [[remembrance]]. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]] ]] [[File:IMG 2271 - Washington DC - Washington Monument - Cherry Blossoms.JPG|thumb|Let him who looks for a [[monument]] to Washington look around the [[United States]]. Your [[freedom]], your [[independence]], your [[national]] [[power]], your [[prosperity]], and your prodigious [[growth]] are a monument to him. ~ [[w:Lajos Kossuth|Lajos Kossuth]] ]] [[File:Portrait of George Washington-transparent.png|thumb|First in [[war]], first in [[peace]], and first in the [[hearts]] of his countrymen. ~ [[w:Henry Lee|Henry Lee]] ]] [[File:US Navy 050704-N-5608F-020 Fireworks burst above the Washington Monument in celebration of America's 229th birthday.jpg|thumb|To add brightness to the [[sun]], or [[glory]] to the [[name]] of Washington, is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. In solemn awe pronounce the name, and in its naked deathless splendor leave it shining on. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]] ]] [[File:Night view of Washington Monuments.JPG|thumb|You have in American [[history]] one of the [[great]] captains of all times. ~ [[Helmuth von Moltke the Elder]] ]] [[File:Fourth of July fireworks behind the Washington Monument, 1986.jpg|thumb|Washington's [[genius]] lay in his [[understanding]] of [[power]], both [[military]] power, and [[political]] power, an understanding unmatched by that of any of his contemporaries. ~ [[w:Edmund Morgan|Edmund Sears Morgan]] ]] [[File:WDCMemorial.JPG|thumb|The name of an iron man goes round the world. <br /> It takes a long time to forget an iron man. ~ [[Carl Sandburg]] ]] [[File:MTVernonseenfromtheriver.jpg|thumb|When George Washington was fighting for [[freedom]] in the [[Revolutionary War]], he was fighting for the freedom of "whites only." Rich whites, at that. After the so-called Revolution, you couldn't [[vote]] unless you were a white man and you owned a plot of land. The Revolutionary War was led by some rich white boys who got tired of paying heavy [[taxes]] to the king. ~ [[Assata Shakur]]]] [[File:George Washington Statue Inside Washington Monument.JPG|thumb|No man ever united in his own person a more perfect alliance of the [[virtues]] of a [[philosopher]] with the [[talents]] of a [[Soldier|general]].]] :<small>These should be arranged alphabetically by author</small> * '''He is polite with [[dignity]], [[affable]] without formality, distant without haughtiness, grave without austerity; [[modest]], [[wise]] and [[good]].''' ** [[Abigail Adams]], in a letter to [[John Adams]], 1789; from ''[[Alexander Hamilton]]'' (2004) by [[w:Ron Chernow|Ron Chernow]], <!-- Penguin Books -->p. 279 * '''More than all, and above all, Washington was master of himself.''' If there be one quality more than another in his character which may exercise a useful control over the men of the present hour, it is the total disregard of self when in the most elevated positions for influence and example. ** [[Charles Francis Adams, Sr.]], as quoted in [http://infomotions.com/etexts/gutenberg/dirs/1/5/1/4/15140/15140.htm ''Washington's Birthday : Its History, Observance, Spirit, and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse'' (1918) by Robert Haven Schauffler], p. 143 * If I were to characterize George Washington's feelings toward his country, I should be less inclined than most people to stress what is called Washington's love of his country. What impresses me as far more important is what I should call Washington's respect for his country. ** [http://www.clements.umich.edu/Staffpages/Adams.html Randolph Greenfield Adams], in ''The Dignity of George Washington'' (1932) * There is nothing that will make an Englishman shit so quick as the sight of General Washington. ** Retort attributed to [[Ethan Allen]], commenting after a picture of Washington was hung in a British outhouse; in an anecdote told by [[Abraham Lincoln]], as quoted in ''Lincoln'', Vol. 1 (1996) by David Herbert Donald ** Variant: It is most appropriately hung, nothing ever made the British shit like the sight of George Washington. *The location of Washington's home is most beautiful and commanding, but, oh, the air of dilapidation and decay that everywhere meets the eye, the tottering out-buildings, the mark of slavery o'ershadow[ing] the whole. Oh, the thought that it was here, that he whose name is the pride of this nation was the Slave Master. The humorous, little buildings surrounding, or rather in [the] rear of the great house plainly tell the tale-a Slave, Woman, the cook of the present owner, Grand Nephew of Gen. Washington, told me these buildings were the Servants' Quarters. The tomb is humble indeed. It would seem that, if the profession of reverence for the "Father of his Country" were real, that this home of Washington would be rescued from the curse of slave labor, and made to blossom in the sunshine of free labor.... **[[Susan B. Anthony]], 1854 letter included in ''Mistress of Herself: Speeches and Letters of [[Ernestine Rose]] edited by Paula Doress-Worters (2008) *When everybody says "lesbian," a word connected with [[Sappho]] and the island of Lesbos, that automatically means that your forefathers and foremothers are European, that George Washington is the father of our country and Columbus discovered America-all false assumptions. **[[Gloria E. Anzaldúa]] interview in ''Backtalk: women writers speak out'' by Donna Marie Perry (1993) * George Washington was the right man at the right [[time]] – sometimes he was the first man, but sometimes he simply knew when to ride the crest of a wave or the leading edge of a trend. ** [[Alan Axelrod]], [http://www.electricscotland.com/familytree/frank/axelrod.htm Alan Axelrod in an interview with Frank R. Shaw, Aug 23, 2007] * Washington wasn't born good. Only practice and habit made him so. ** [[w:William Bennet|William Bennet]], in ''Our Sacred Honor'' (1997) * '''You can no more love and revere the memory of the biographical George Washington than you can an isosceles triangle or a cubic foot of interstellar space.''' The portrait-painters began it—Gilbert Stuart and the rest of them. They idealized all the humanity out of the poor patriot's face and passed him down to the engravers as a rather sleepy-looking butcher's block. There is not a portrait of Washington extant which a man of taste and knowledge would suffer to hang on the wall of his stable. Then the historians jumped in, raping all the laurels from the brows of the man's great contemporaries and piling them in confusion upon his pate. They made him a god in wisdom, and a giant in arms; whereas, in point of ability and service, he was but little, if at all, superior to any one of a half-dozen of his now over-shadowed but once illustrious co-workers in council and camp, and in no way comparable with Hamilton. '''He towers above his fellows because he stands upon a pile of books.''' ** [[Ambrose Bierce]], "George the Made-over," in ''Tangential Views'' (1911) * When the [[Russian]] [[diplomat]] [[w:Pavel Svinin|Pavel Svinin]] came to the new [[United States]] in the first years of the [[w:19th century|19th century]], he was amazed to find [[w:Bust (sculpture)|busts]] and [[images]] everywhere. In [[homes]], in [[w:Civic space|civic spaces]], in [[businesses]], he kept running into the same image. It was not [[Jesus]], but George Washington. "It is noteworthy that every American considers it his [[sacred]] [[duty]] to have a likeness of Washington in his home," Svinin wrote, "just as we have images of [[God]]'s [[saints]]." ** Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey, [https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Contested-Color-of-Christ/134414 “The Contested Color of Christ”], ''Chronicle'', (17 September 2012) * '''George Washington was perhaps the one indispensable man among the founders.''' It is hard to imagine any of the others commanding the respect needed to lead the Continental Army to victory over Great Britain, preside over the Constitutional Convention, and serve the United States as its first president. Little in Washington's early life gave a hint of the great achievements to come. ** Bob Blythe, in an official [http://www.nps.gov/revwar/about_the_revolution/george_washington.html National Park Service profile] * I have learned with inexplicable joy that you have had the goodness to honor me with a treasure from Mount Vernon — the portrait of Washington, some of his venerable reliques, and one of the monuments of his glory, which are to be presented me at your hands in the name of the brothers of '''the Great Citizen, the First-Born Son of the New World.''' No words can set forth all the value that this gift and its embodying considerations, so glorious for me, hold in my heart. ** [[Simón Bolívar]], in a letter to [[Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette]] (20 March 1826), as quoted in ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'', Vol. 1 (1918) edited by [[w:James Alexander Robertson|James Alexander Robertson]] * Today I have touched with my hands this inestimable present. The image of the first benefactor of the continent of Columbus, presented by the hero citizen, General Lafayette, and offered by the noble scion of that immortal family, was all that could reward the most enlightened merit of the first man in the universe. Shall I be worthy of so much glory? No; but I accept it with a joy and gratitude that will go down with the venerable reliques of the father of America to the most remote generations of my country. ** [[Simón Bolívar]], in a letter of thanks to [[w:George Washington Custis|George Washington Custis]], for an official gift presented by (25 May 1826)), as quoted in ''The Hispanic American Historical Review'', Vol. 1 (1918) edited by [[w:James Alexander Robertson|James Alexander Robertson]] * '''Posterity will talk of Washington as the founder of a great empire, when my name shall be lost in the vortex of revolution.''' ** [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon Bonaparte (Napoleon I of France)]], as quoted in ''Quotations for Special Occasions'' (1937) by Maud Van Buren * '''Washington absorbed, and later came to personify what you might call the dignity code.''' The code was based on the same premise as the nation's Constitution — that human beings are flawed creatures who live in constant peril of falling into disasters caused by their own passions. Artificial systems have to be created to balance and restrain their desires. <br /> The dignity code commanded its followers to be disinterested — to endeavor to put national interests above personal interests. It commanded its followers to be reticent — to never degrade intimate emotions by parading them in public. It also commanded its followers to be dispassionate — to distrust rashness, zealotry, fury and political enthusiasm. ** [[David Brooks]] in [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/opinion/07brooks.html?_r=1 "In Search of Dignity" in ''The New York Times'' (6 July 2009)] * George Washington once wrote that leading by conviction gave him "a consolation within that no earthly efforts can deprive me of." He continued: "The arrows of malevolence, however barbed and well pointed, never can reach the most vulnerable part of me." I read those words in Presidential Courage, written by historian Michael Beschloss in 2007. As I told Laura, if they're still assessing George Washington's legacy more than two centuries after he left office, this George W. doesn't have to worry about today's headlines. ** George W. Bush, ''Decision Points'' (2010), p. 122 * <p>Where may the wearied eye repose, <br /> When gazing on the Great; <br /> Where neither guilty glory glows, <br /> Nor despicable state? </p><p> Yes — one — the first — the last — the best— <br /> '''The [[w:Cincinnatus|Cincinnatus]] of the West. <br /> Whom envy dared not hate, <br /> Bequeath'd the name of Washington, <br /> To make man blush there was but one!'''</p> ** [[Lord Byron]], in "Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte" (10 April 1814) * The schools I went to only taught yanqui history. You know stuff like George "I never told a lie" Washington, Bunker Hill, Lincoln freed the slaves. The schools were run by yanquis and discouraged the teaching of Puerto Rican history. But I had a teacher once, Carmen Maria Torres, who used to smuggle into the schools books on Puerto Rican history and she would spend time telling us about Puerto Rican heroes like Betances, and the revolution in Lares on September 23, 1968-I felt re-born. ** [[Blanca Canales]], interview in ''Palante'' (1970) * '''A degree of silence envelops Washington's actions; he moved slowly; one might say that he felt charged with future liberty, and that he feared to compromise it. It was not his own destiny that inspired this new species of hero: it was that of his country; he did not allow himself to enjoy what did not belong to him; but from that profound humility what glory emerged!''' Search the woods where Washington's sword gleamed: what do you find? Tombs? No; a world! Washington has left the United States behind for a monument on the field of battle. … Washington's Republic lives on; [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Bonaparte]]'s empire is destroyed. Washington and Bonaparte emerged from the womb of democracy: both of them born to liberty, the former remained faithful to her, the latter betrayed her. <br /> '''Washington acted as the representative of the needs, the ideas, the enlightened men, the opinions of his age; he supported, not thwarted, the stirrings of intellect; he desired only what he had to desire, the very thing to which he had been called: from which derives the coherence and longevity of his work.''' That man who struck few blows because he kept things in proportion has merged his existence with that of his country: his glory is the heritage of civilisation; his fame has risen like one of those public sanctuaries where a fecund and inexhaustible spring flows. ** [[François-René de Chateaubriand]] in ''[[w:Mémoires d'Outre-Tombe|Mémoires d'outre-tombe]]'' (1848 - 1850) Book VI, Chapter 8: Comparison of Washington and Bonaparte * The first step was to elect a President, and General Washington, the commander of the Revolution, was the obvious choice. Disinterested and courageous, far-sighted and patient, aloof yet direct in manner, inflexible once his mind was made up, Washington possessed the gifts of character for which the situation called. He was reluctant to accept office. Nothing would have pleased him more than to remain in equable but active retirement at Mount Vernon, improving the husbandry of his estate. But, as always, he answered the summons of duty. Gouverneur Morris was right when he emphatically wrote to him, "The exercise of authority depends on personal character. Your cool, steady temper is indispensably necessary to give firm and manly tone to the new Government." There was much confusion and discussion on titles and precedence, which aroused the mocking laughter of critics. But the prestige of Washington lent dignity to the new, untried office. On April 30, 1789, in the recently opened Federal Hall in New York, he was solemnly inaugurated as the first President of the United States. A week later the French States-General met at Versailles. Another great revolution was about to burst upon a bewildered world. ** [[Winston Churchill]], ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume Three: The Age of Revolution'' (1957), "The American Constitution", p. 260 * George Washington holds one of the proudest titles that history can bestow. He was the Father of his Nation. Almost alone his staunchness in the War of Independence held the American Colonies to their united purpose. His services after victory had been won were no less great. His firmness and example while first President restrained the violence of faction and postponed a national schism for sixty years. His character and influence steadied the dangerous leanings of Americans to take sides against Britain or France. He filled his office with dignity and inspired his administration with much of his own wisdom. To his terms as President are due the smooth transition of the Federal Government, the establishment of national credit, and the foundation of a foreign policy. By refusing to stand for a third term he set a tradition in American politics which has only been departed from by President Franklin Roosevelt in the Second World War. For two years Washington lived quietly at his country seat on the Potomac, riding round his plantations, as he had long wished to do. Amid the snows of the last days of the eighteenth century he took to his bed. On the evening of December 14, 1799, he turned to the physician at his side, murmuring, "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go." Soon afterward he passed away. ** [[Winston Churchill]], ''A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Volume Three: The Age of Revolution'' (1957), "Washington, Adams, and Jefferson", p. 347-348 * [[Lafayette]] valued [[reputation]] and [[glory]], but cared little for the [[power]] that generally results from them. Having one day been asked who was in his opinion the greatest man of this age: "In my idea," replied he, "'''General [[George Washington|Washington]] is the greatest man, for I look upon him as the most virtuous.'''" ** [[w:Jules Germain Cloquet|Jules Germain Cloquet]], in ''Recollections of the Private Life of General Lafayette'' (1836), Vol. I, p. 24 * We cannot imagine an [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]], a [[w:John J. Pershing|Pershing]], a [[Robert E. Lee|Lee]], [[dancing]] with [[joy]] on a dock, but Washington did it. ** [[w:Christopher Collier (historian)|Christopher Collier]] in ''Decision in Philadelphia: The Constitutional Convention of 1787'' (1987), p. 57, on Washington's reaction to the news of [[wikipedia:François Joseph Paul%2C marquis de Grasetilly%2C comte de Grasse | Admiral De Grasse's]] fleet arriving for the [[w:Siege of Yorktown|Battle of Yorktown]]. *Muslims served in the U.S. military under the command of General George Washington, who was Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American War for Independence. Rosters of soldiers serving in Washington's Army lists names like Bampett Muhammad, who fought for the Virginia Line between the years 1775 and 1783. Another one of Washington's soldiers, Yusuf Ben Ali, was a North African Arab who worked as an aide to General Thomas Sumter of South Carolina. Peter Buckminster, who fought in Boston, is perhaps Washington's most distinguished Muslim American soldier. Buckminster fired the gun that killed British Major General John Pitcairn at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Years after this famous battle, Peter changed his last name to 'Salaam', the Arabic word meaning 'peace'. Peter Salaam later reenlisted in the Continental Army to serve in the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Stony Point. If Washington had a problem with Muslims serving in his Army, he would not have allowed Muhammad, Ali and Salaam to represent and serve non-Muslim Americans. '''By giving these Muslims the honor of serving America, Washington made it clear that a person did not have to be of a certain religion or have a particular ethnic background to be an American patriot.''' **Craig Considine, [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-considine/the-difference-between-an_1_b_8257506.html "The Difference Between 'Anti-Islam' Patriots and Real Patriots" (7 October 2016)]<!-- also in "Saluting Muslim American Patriots" (7 October 2015) --> *The natural equal rights of men. If Washington or [[Jefferson]] or [[Madison]] should utter upon his native soil today the opinions he entertained and expressed upon this question, he would be denounced as a fanatical abolitionist. To declare the right of all men to liberty is sectional, because slavery is afraid of liberty and strikes the mouth that speaks the word. To preach slavery is not sectional — no: because freedom respects itself and believes in itself enough to give an enemy fair play. Thus Boston asked Senator Toombs to come and say what he could for slavery. I think Boston did a good thing, but I think Senator Toombs is not a wise man, for he went. He went all the way from Georgia to show Massachusetts how slavery looks, and to let it learn what it has to say. When will Georgia ask [[Wendell Phillips]] or [[Charles Sumner]] to come down and show her how liberty looks and speaks? **[[George William Curtis]], in "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question", New York City(18 October 1859); published in [https://books.google.com/books?id=y3RaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA86 ''Orations and Addresses of George William Curtis'' Vol. I, p. 86] * With the sure sagacity of a leader of men, Washington at once selected, for the highest and most responsible stations, the three chief Americans who represented the three forces in the nation which alone could command success in the institution of the government. [[Alexander Hamilton|Hamilton]] was the head, [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] was the heart, and [[John Jay]] was the conscience. '''Washington's just and serene ascendancy was the lambent flame in which these beneficent powers were fused, and nothing less than that ascendancy could have ridden the whirlwind and directed the storm that burst around him.''' ** [[George William Curtis]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus Skinner, p. 261 * And has God been pleased to diffuse some Sparks of this Martial Fire through our Country? I hope he has : And though it has been almost extinguished by so long a Peace, and a Deluge of Luxury and Pleasure, now I hope it begins to kindle : And may I not produce you my Brethren, who are engaged in this Expedition, as instances of it *? * As a remarkable Instance of this, I may point out to the Public that heroic Youth Col. Washington whom I cannot but hope Providence has hitherto preferred in so signal a Manner, for some important Service to his Country. ** [[w: Samuel Davies (clergyman)|Samuel Davies]], ''Religion and Patriotism the Constituents of a good Soldier: A Sermon Preached to Captain Overton's Independent Company of Volunteers, raised in Hanover County, Virginia'' * When George Washington dispatched [[Benedict Arnold]] on a mission to court [[w:French Canadian|French Canadians]]’ support for the [[American Revolution]] in 1775, he cautioned Arnold not to let their [[religion]] get in the way. “[[Prudence]], [[policy]] and a [[true]] [[Christian]] [[Spirit]],” Washington advised, “will [[lead]] us to [[look]] with [[compassion]] upon their [[errors]], without [[insulting]] them.” (After [[Benedict Arnold|Arnold]] [[betrayed]] the American cause, he publicly cited [[America]]’s alliance with [[Catholic]] [[France]] as one of his reasons for doing so.) ** [[w:Kenneth C. Davis|Kenneth C. Davis]], [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-true-history-of-religious-tolerance-61312684/ “America’s True History of Religious Tolerance“], ''Smithsonian Magazine'', (October 2010) * He was addressing the members of [[America]]’s oldest [[synagogue]], the [[w:Touro Synagogue|Touro Synagogue]] in [[w:Newport, Rhode Island|Newport, Rhode Island]] (where his letter is read aloud every August). In closing, he wrote specifically to the [[Jews]] a phrase that applies to [[Muslims]] as well: “May the children of the Stock of [[Abraham]], who dwell in this land, continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and figtree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.” ** [[w:Kenneth C. Davis|Kenneth C. Davis]], [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/americas-true-history-of-religious-tolerance-61312684/ “America’s True History of Religious Tolerance“], ''Smithsonian Magazine'', (October 2010) * Men are beginning to feel that Washington stands out, not only as the leading American, but as the leading man of the race. '''Of men not named in Sacred Scripture, more human beings this day know and honor the name of George Washington than that of any other of the sons of men.''' ** [[w:Charles Deems|Charles Deems]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus Skinner, p. 261 * A man of quiet strength, he took few friends into complete confidence. His critics mistook his dignified reserve for pomposity. Life for Washington was a serious mission, a job to be tackled soberly, unremittingly. He had little time for humor. Although basically good-natured, he wrestled with his temper and sometimes lost. He was a poor speaker and could become utterly inarticulate without a prepared text. He preferred to express himself on paper. Still, when he did speak, he was candid, direct, and looked people squarely in the eye. Biographer Douglas Southall Freeman conceded that Washington's "ambition for wealth made him acquisitive and sometimes contentious." Even after Washington established himself, Freeman pointed out, "he would insist upon the exact payment of every farthing due him" and was determined "to get everything that he honestly could." Yet neither his ambition to succeed nor his acquisitive nature ever threatened his basic integrity. ** William A. DeGregorio, ''The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents'' (1984), p. 1-2 *Wake up, America. Your liberties are being stolen before your very eyes. What Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln fought for, Truman, Acheson, and McGrath are striving desperately to nullify. Wake up, Americans, and dare to think and say and do. Dare to cry: No More War! **''The Autobiography of [[W.E.B. Du Bois]]: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life from the Last Decade of Its First Century'' (1968) * Why celebrate Columbus? It was the onset of colonialism, the slave trade and dispossession of the Native people of the Americas. So, that is celebrated with a federal holiday. That’s followed then by Thanksgiving, which is a completely made-up story to say the Native people welcomed these people who were going to devastate their civilizations, which is simply a lie. And then you go to Presidents’ Days, the Founding Fathers, in February, and celebrate these slaveowners, Indian killers. George Washington headed the Virginia militia for the very purpose of killing Native people on the periphery of the colony, before, you know, when it was still a Virginia colony. And then we have the big day, the fireworks, July 4th, independence, which is probably the most tragic event in world history, because it gave us—it gave the world a genocidal regime under the guise of democracy. And that’s really the—I’m a historian, so that’s the historical context that I think we have to see Thanksgiving in, that it is a part of that mythology that attempts to cover up the real history of the United States. **[[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]] [https://www.democracynow.org/2016/11/23/historian_roxanne_dunbar_ortiz_on_thanksgiving Interview] with Democracy Now (2016) * I would say [[Benjamin Franklin]] was wiser than Washington, [[Alexander Hamilton|Hamilton]] was more brilliant, [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] was more intellectually sophisticated, [[John Adams|Adams]] was more engaging … [[James Madison|Madison]] was more politically astute, but Washington was still the greatest. And they would all agree to that. ** Joseph Ellis {{source}} * The more important and less ambiguous fact is that Washington possessed a deep-seated capacity to feel powerful emotions. Some models of self-control are able to achieve their serenity easily, because the soul-fires never burned brightly to begin with. Washington became the most notorious model of self-control in all of American history, the original marble man, but he achieved this posture- and sometimes it ''was'' a posture- the same hard-earned way he learned soldiering, by direct experience with difficulty. Unlike Thomas Jefferson, he wrote no lyrical tribute to the interior struggle entitled "Dialogue Between the Head and Heart," but he lived that dialogue in a primal place deep within himself. Appearances aside, he was an intensely passionate man, whose powers of self-control eventually became massive because of the interior urges they were required to master. Nothing was more inherently chaotic or placed a higher premium on self-control than a battle. He had played a leading role in four of them; one a massacre that he oversaw; the other a massacre that he survived; one an embarrassing defeat; the other a hollow victory. Whether it was a miracle, destiny, or sheer luck, he had emerged from these traumatic experiences unscathed and with his reputation, each time, higher than before. He had shown himself to be physically brave, impetuously so at Fort Necessity, and personally proud, irrationally so in the Forbes campaign. His courage, his composure, and his self-control were all of a piece, having developed within that highly lethal environment that was the Ohio Country, where internal shields provided the only defense against dangers that came at you from multiple angles. ** Joseph J. Ellis, ''His Excellency: George Washington'' (2004), p. 37-38 * A final example, his trademark decision to surrender power as commander in chief and then president, was not, as Morris insisted, a sign that he had conquered his ambitions, but rather that he fully realized that all ambitions were inherently insatiable and unconquerable. He knew himself well enough to resist the illusion that he transcended human nature. Unlike Julius Caesar and Oliver Cromwell before him, and Napoleon, Lenin, and Mao after him, he understood that the greater glory resided in posterity's judgment. If you aspire to live forever in the memory of future generations, you must demonstrate the ultimate self-confidence to leave the final judgment to them. And he did. ** Joseph J. Ellis, ''His Excellency: George Washington'' (2004), p. 274-275 * '''George Washington is one of the beacons placed at intervals along the highroad of history.''' For his country he serves as a guide in time of stress and a refuge in tranquil moments; a never-failing example of true goodness; a warning to turbulent youth and a mute accusation of selfish interests. ** [http://orestesferrara.com/ Orestes Ferrara], as quoted in ''Bulletin of the Pan American Union'', Vol. 66 (1932), p. 471 * '''In all history few men who possessed unassailable power have used that power so gently and self-effacingly for what their best instincts told them was the welfare of their neighbors and all mankind.''' ** [[w:James Thomas Flexner|James Thomas Flexner]], in ''Washington : The Indispensable Man'' (1984), Introduction, p. xiv * '''Washington had always taught himself from experience.''' He learned the lessons of the American war all the more readily because he had no conventional lessons to unlearn. … '''Long before the end of the war, Washington had become much more effective than any of his military opponents.''' But this did not mean that what he had taught himself would have made him a great general on the battlefields of Europe. Evolved not from theory but from dealing with specific problems, his preeminence was achieved through a Darwinian adaptation to environment. '''It was the triumph of a man who knows how to learn, not in the narrow sense of studying other people's conceptions, but in the transcendent sense of making a synthesis from the totality of experience. <br /> Among the legacies of the Revolution to the new nation, the most widely recognized and admired was a man: George Washington. He had no rivals.''' ** [[w:James Thomas Flexner|James Thomas Flexner]] in ''Washington : The Indispensable Man'' (1984), Chapter 23 : Goodbye to War, p. 183 * '''Washington's appointments, when President, were made with a view to destroy party and not to create it, his object being to gather all the talent of the country in support of the national government; and he bore many things which were personally disagreeable in an endeavor to do this.''' ** [[w:Paul Leicester Ford|Paul Leicester Ford]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus SkinnerTake, p. 261 * I frequently hear the old Generals of this martial country (who study the maps of America, and mark upon them all your operations) speak with sincere approbation and great applause of your conduct; and join in giving you the character of one of the greatest captains of the age. <br /> I must soon quit the scene, but you may live to see our country flourish; as it will, amazingly and rapidly, after the war is over. ** [[Benjamin Franklin]], in a letter to George Washington (5 March 1780), published in ''The Edinburgh Review'' Vol. 28 (1817), p. 284 * '''From the moment when he took command of the army, Washington was, indeed, "first in the hearts of his countrymen."''' And the student of our history cannot help remarking how providential it was that, at the outset of this struggle, Washington should come to the front. Eighty-Six years later, at the beginning of the rebellion, there was no accepted chief. Lincoln was doubted by the North and, and the army had no true leader. By a slow process Lincoln's commanding strength became known; by an equally tedious sifting of the generals the qualities of Grant, Sherman, Thomas and Meade were discovered. Only the tremendous resources of the North could have withstood the strain of such a delay. Had the same process been necessary at the outset of the Revolution, the colonies could have scarcely maintained the struggle. '''Had not Washington been at hand, accepted by the Congress and admired by the army, the virtual leader of both, the chances of success would have been slight. But he was Lincoln and Grant in one.''' Time and time again, through the long years, it was Washington alone who brought victory from defeat. Without him, the colonies might have won their independence as the result of an almost interminable guerilla warfare; but with him the fight was definite, glorious, and-for the infant republic, mercifully short. **[[w:Allen French|Allen French]] on the importance of Washington, in ''The Siege of Boston'' (1911) * I often say of George Washington that he was one of the few in the whole history of the world who was not carried away by power. ** [[Robert Frost]], as quoted in ''Patriarch: George Washington and the new American Nation'' (1993) by Richard Norton Smith * George Washington might have fought the [[w:Redcoats|Redcoats]]. But he left [[w:Barings|Barings]], the great [[w:London|London]] bank in charge of his personal finances throughout the war, and Barings did not let him down. ** [[w:John Kenneth Galbraith|John Kenneth Galbraith]], [[w:The Age of Uncertainty|The Age of Uncertainty]], Chapter 6, p. 183 * '''Eternity alone can reveal to the human race its debt of gratitude to the peerless and immortal name of Washington.''' ** [[James A. Garfield]], as quoted in ''The Life and Public Services of James A. Garfield'' (1881) by Emma Elizabeth Brown, p. 452 * '''Washington is beyond question one of the greatest men in history, one of the noblest men who ever lived.''' He is a towering figure in the establishment of the United States and he did more than any other man to create and preserve the Republic. Here was a man whose very strength resided in his austere sobriety, who in his own person demonstrated this soundness of America. He was a good man, not a demigod; he was an honest administrator, not a brilliant statesman; he was a military man, but never a militarist. He was touchingly proud of America, proud that it was his country that was given the historic chance of becoming a model of religious as well as political freedom. In a letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, whose service he once attended, he stressed that in America freedom of religious worship was one of the "inherent natural rights," where government "gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance." Washington was an exceptional man; with reason he became so merged with America that his is the most prominent name in the land. ** Wendell Garrett, in [http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/features/garrett/garrett11-10-99.asp "George Washington, Man or Myth?" in ''Artnet'' magazine] (November 1999) *If there were a row of pedestals on which to place human gods, I should place Washington on that pedestal as the most fitting occupant of it, so strongly am I impressed with his moral elevation and greatness of character. **[[William Ewart Gladstone]], quoted in [[w:Edward Walter Hamilton|Edward Walter Hamilton]], ''Mr. Gladstone: A Monograph'' (1898), p. 172 * His excellency General Washington has arrived amoungst us, universally admired. Joy was visable on every countenance. ** General [[w:Nathanael Greene|Nathanael Greene]] on the arrival of George Washington in Boston, 1775-1776, McCullough pg 20 * '''No nobler figure ever stood in the forefront of a nation's life.''' Washington was grave and courteous in address; his manners were simple and unpretending; his silence and the serene calmness of his temper spoke of a perfect self-mastery; but little there was in his outer bearing to reveal the grandeur of soul which lifts his figure with all the simple majesty of an ancient statue, out of the smaller passions, the meaner impulses of the world around him. <br /> '''It was only as the weary fight went on that the colonists learned, little by little, the greatness of their leader''' — his clear judgment, his calmness in the hour of danger or defeat; the patience with which he waited, the quickness and hardness with which he struck, the lofty and serene sense of duty that never swerved from its task through resentment or jealousy, that never, through war or peace, felt the touch of a meaner ambition; that knew no aim save that of guarding the freedom of his fellow-countrymen; and no personal longing save that of returning to his own fireside when their freedom was secured. <br /> It was almost unconsciously that men learned to cling to Washington with a trust and faith such as few other men have won, and to regard him with reverence which still hushes us in presence of his memory. ** [[w:John Richard Green|John Richard Green]] in ''History of the English People'' (1880) *old George Washington, who wasn't called "the father of his country" for nothing, tip-toeing around the female slave stables with his pants down. **[[Ollie Harrington]], ''Why I Left America and Other Stories'' (1994) * '''Washington had no smashing, stunning victories. He was not a military genius, and his tactical and strategic maneuvers were not the sort that awed men. Military glory was ''not'' the source of his reputation.''' Something else was involved. '''Washington's genius, his greatness, lay in his character.''' He was, as [[François-René de Chateaubriand|Chateubriand]] said, a "hero of unprecedented kind." There had never been a great many like Washington before. Washington became a great man and was acclaimed as a classical hero because of the way he conducted himself during times of temptation. It was his moral character that set him off from other men. <br /> Washington fit the 18th-century image of a great man, of a man of virtue. This virtue was not given to him by nature. He had to work for it, to cultivate it, and everyone sensed that. Washington was a self-made hero, and this impressed an 18th-century enlightened world that put great stock in men controlling both their passions and their destinies. '''Washington seemed to possess a self-cultivated nobility.''' ** [[w:Don Higginbotham|Don Higginbotham]], in ''George Washington Reconsidered'' (2001), p. 313 * '''Let us forget the other [[names]] of [[American]] [[statesmen]], that have been stamped upon these hills, but still call the loftiest — [[w:Mount Washington (New Hampshire)| WASHINGTON]].''' [[Mountains]] are [[Earth]]'s undecaying [[monuments]]. They must stand while she [[endures]], and never should be consecrated to the mere [[great]] men of their own age and [[country]], but to the mighty ones [[alone]], whose [[glory]] is [[universal]], and whom [[all]] [[time]] will render [[illustrious]]. ** [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], in "Sketches from Memory": The Notch of the White Mountains (1835) * The United States, for example, has never had a President as bad as [[w:George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], but neither has Britain had a king as admirable as [[w:George Washington|George Washington]] (of whom William Thackeray rightly said that 'his glory will descend to remotest ages' while the memory of the sovereign went the other way). **[[Christopher Hitchens]], ''[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=stfi0I6zcXwC&lpg=PP1&dq=the%20monarchy%20a%20critique&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=the%20monarchy%20a%20critique&f=false The Monarchy: A Critique of Britain's Favourite Fetish]'' (1990), Random House. * '''To him the title of ''Excellency'' is applied with peculiar propriety.''' He is the best: and the greatest man the world ever knew. In private life, he wins the hearts and wears the love of all who are so happy as to fall within the circle of his acquaintance. In his public character, he commands universal respect and admiration. Conscious that the principles on which he acts are indeed founded in virtue and truth, he steadily pursues the arduous work with a mind neither depressed by disappointment and difficulties, nor elated with temporary success. '''He retreats like a General and attacks like a Hero.''' If there are spots in his character, they are like the spots in the Sun; only discernable by the magnifying powers of a telescope. Had he lived in the days of idolatry he had been worshipped as a God. '''One age cannot do justice to his merit; but the united voices of a grateful posterity shall pay a chearful tribute of undissembled praise to the great assertor of their country's freedom.''' ** [[w:Francis Hopkinson|Francis Hopkinson]], one of the signers of the [[w:Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], in "A Political Catechism" (1777). ** Variant: Had Washington been born in the days of idolatry, he would be worshiped as a god. If there are spots on his characters, they are like spots on the sun, only discernible by the magnifying powers of a telescope. *** As quoted in ''Pennsylvania Journal, 1777-1776'' by [[w:David McCullough|David McCullough]], p. 290 *On the hypothesis of a separation of the Union into Northern and Southern, said he had made up his mind to remove and be of the Northern. ** [[w:Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20150919061950/http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-28-02-0441 Notes of a Conversation with Edmund Randolph]. * When the clergy addressed General Washington on his departure from the government, it was observed in their consultation that he had never on any occasion said a word to the public which showed a belief in the Christian religion and they thought they should so pen their address as to force him at length to declare publicly whether he was a Christian or not. They did so. However [Dr.&nbsp;Rush] observed the old fox was too cunning for them. '''He answered every article of their address particularly except that, which he passed over without notice.''' Rush observes he never did say a word on the subject in any of his public papers except in his valedictory letter to the Governors of the states when he resigned his commission in the army, wherein he speaks of the benign influence of the Christian religion. I know that Gouvemeur Morris, who pretended to be in his secrets & believed himself to be so, has often told me that General Washington believed no more of that system than he himself did. ** [[w:Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson]], the ''Anas'' (1 February 1800), on [[w:George Washington|George Washington]]'s absent Christianity. Published in [http://oll.libertyfund.org/ToC/0054.php ''The Works of Thomas Jefferson in Twelve Volumes''], Federal Edition (1904) edited by [[w:Paul Leicester Ford|Paul Leicester Ford]], [http://oll.libertyfund.org/Texts/Jefferson0136/Works/0054-01_Bk.pdf Vol.&nbsp;1], <!-- New York: G.&nbsp;P. Putnam's Sons --> pp. 352–353 * His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his penetration strong, though, not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke; and as far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], in a letter to Dr. Walter Jones. (2 January 1814) * '''On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect, in nothing bad, in few points indifferent; and it may truly be said, that never did nature and fortune combine more perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with whatever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance.''' … These are my opinions of General Washington, which I would vouch at the judgment seat of God, having been formed on an acquaintance of thirty years... ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], in a letter to Dr. Walter Jones. (2 January 1814) * The President was much inflamed; got into one of those passions when he cannot command himself; ran on much on the personal abuse which had been bestowed on him; defied any man on earth to produce one single act of his since he had been in the Government, which was not done on the purest motives; '''that he had never repented but once the having slipped the moment of resigning his office, and that was every moment since; that by God he had rather be in his grave than in his present situation; that he had rather be on his farm than to be made Emperor of the world; and yet that they were charging him with wanting to be a King'''. That that rascal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Freneau Freneau] sent him three of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_Gazette his papers] every day, as if he thought he would become the distributor of his papers; that he could see in this, nothing but an impudent design to insult him: he ended in this high tone. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], writing in his diary (known as "[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/JefBv012.html The Anas]") dated August 2, 1793, relating the reaction of George Washington to a print that depicted him placed on a guillotine. Various writers have turned this account into direct discourse, quoting Washington as saying "I had rather be in my grave than in my present situation, I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world; and yet they charge me with wanting to be a king" (as in ''The Alumni Register of the University of Pennsylvania'' (1925), p. 473). This version goes back at least to a 1906 commencement oration by John Bach McMaster (''Publications of the University of Pennsylvania, Proceedings of Commencement, June 13, 1906'', p. 29) * He was incapable of fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. '''Perhaps the strongest feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every consideration, was maturely weighed; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once decided, going through with his purpose, whatever obstacles opposed. His integrity was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. He was, indeed, in every sense of the words, a wise, a good, and a great man.''' His temper was naturally high toned; but reflection and resolution had obtained a firm and habitual ascendancy over it. If ever, however, it broke its bonds, he was most tremendous in his wrath. In his expenses he was honorable, but exact; liberal in contributions to whatever promised utility; but frowning and unyielding on all visionary projects and all unworthy calls on his charity. '''His heart was not warm in its affections; but he exactly calculated every man's value, and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to it.''' His person, you know, was fine, his stature exactly what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect and noble; the best horseman of his age, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horseback. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], in a letter to Dr. Walter Jones.(2 January 1814) * During the [[w:French Indian War|French Indian War]], General George Washington was convinced that his most formidable for was [[smallpox]] and he subjected his men to forced [[variolation]] to stop its spread. Many of the soldiers had only mild reactions, but some became seriously ill and died. The European press, especially among the antivaccine society, bitterly criticized Washington for forcing his men into possible harm without their consent, [[w:Hessian|Hessian]] soldiers, who fought alongside the British, were captured and imprisoned in [[w:Frederick, Maryland|Frederick, Maryland]] where they may have been subjected to variolation experimentation-a safety precaution before Washington would order to the procedure for his own army. ** Evelyn B. Kelly, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1CxDarcSR6cC&pg=PA86#v=onepage&q&f=false “Stem Cells”] (Greenwood Press 2007 ISBN 0-313-33763-2), pp.90-91 * Let him who looks for a monument to Washington look around the United States. Your freedom, your independence, your national power, your prosperity, and your prodigious growth are a monument to him. ** [[w:Lajos Kossuth|Lajos Kossuth]] {{source}} *While new American leaders such as George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Benjamin Franklin studied the Haudenosaunee government, they also engaged in land speculation over territory held by these peoples, and Mohawk lands were ceded through force, coercion, and deceit until fewer than 14,600 acres remained in New York State. **[[Winona LaDuke]] ''All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life'' (1999) * '''Unsupported for the most part by the population among whom he was quartered, and incessantly thwarted by the jealousy of Congress, he kept his army together by a combination of skill, firmness, patience, and judgment which has rarely been surpassed, and he led it at last to a signal triumph.''' <br /> In civil as in military life, he was pre-eminent among his contemporaries for the clearness and soundness of his judgment, for his perfect moderation and self-control, for the quiet dignity and the indomitable firmness with which he pursued every path which he had deliberately chosen. '''Of all the great men in history he was the most invariably judicious, and there is scarcely a rash word or action or judgment recorded of him. Those who knew him well, noticed that he had keen sensibilities and strong passions; but his power of self-command never failed him, and no act of his public life can be traced to personal caprice, ambition, or resentment.''' In the despondency of long-continued failure, in the elation of sudden success, at times when his soldiers were deserting by hundreds and when malignant plots were formed against his reputation, amid the constant quarrels, rivalries, and jealousies of his subordinates, in the dark hour of national ingratitude, and in the midst of the most universal and intoxicating flattery, he was always the same calm, wise, just, and single-minded man, pursuing the course which he believed to be right, without fear or favour or fanaticism; equally free from the passions that spring from interest, and from the passions that spring from imagination. '''He never acted on the impulse of an absorbing or uncalculating enthusiasm, and he valued very highly fortune, position, and reputation; but at the command of duty he was ready to risk and sacrifice them all.''' He was in the highest sense of the words a gentleman and a man of honour, and he carried into public life the severest standard of private morals. It was at first the constant dread of large sections of the American people, that if the old Government were overthrown, they would fall into the hands of military adventurers, and undergo the yoke of military despotism. It was mainly the transparent integrity of the character of Washington that dispelled the fear. '''It was always known by his friends, and it was soon acknowledged by the whole nation and by the English themselves, that in Washington America had found a leader who could be induced by.no earthly motive to tell a falsehood, or to break an engagement, or to commit any dishonourable act.''' ** [[w:William Edward Hartpole Lecky|William Edward Hartpole Lecky]], in ''The History of England in the Eighteenth Century'' Vol. III, p. 468 * '''First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.''' ** [[w:Henry Lee|Henry Lee]], from his eulogy for Washington, presented to Congress (26 December 1799) * This is the one hundred and tenth anniversary of the birthday of Washington. We are met to celebrate this day. '''Washington's is the mightiest name of earth — long since mightiest in the cause of civil liberty; still mightiest in moral reformation.''' On that name no eulogy is expected. It cannot be. To add brightness to the sun, or glory to the name of Washington, is alike impossible. Let none attempt it. '''In solemn awe pronounce the name, and in its naked deathless splendor leave it shining on.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], closing words of an address before the Washingtonian Temperance Society, Springfield, Illinois (22 February 1842); published in the ''Sangamon Journal'' at Springfield, Illinois (25 February 1842); the entire speech was published in a letter edition of the ''Sangamon Journal'' (26 March1842)<!-- Copies on file in the Congressional Library --> *Could Washington himself speak, would he cast the blame of that sectionalism upon us, who sustain his policy, or upon you who repudiate it? We respect that warning of Washington. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [https://archive.is/MOWPe Cooper Union speech] (27 February 1860) * Without the great moral qualities that Washington possessed his career would not have been possible; but it would have been quite as impossible if the intellect had not equalled the character. <br /> '''There is no need to argue the truism that Washington was a great man, for that is universally admitted.''' But it is very needful that his genius should be rightly understood, and the right understanding of it is by no means universal. <br /> His character has been exalted at the expense of his intellect, and his goodness has been so much insisted upon both by admirers and critics that we are in danger of forgetting that he had a great mind as well as high moral worth. ** [[Henry Cabot Lodge]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus SkinnerTake, p. 260 *Contrary to the frequent presentations by modern liberals, the 'three-fifths clause' of the Constitution was the anti-slavery movement's response to slave owners who wanted their slaves as property, except when it came to counting population for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. In which case the slave owners wanted them counted as people. Thus the move to block slave owners’ power by reducing a slave to “three-fifths” of a person, with the objective of eventually phasing out slavery altogether. Alas, '''the birth of political factions, parties, took place rapidly, to the chagrin of President George Washington'''. In the battles between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton the Democratic-Republican Party, the ancestor of today’s Democrats was born. And the pro-slavery, judge-people-by-skin-color faction became the central, and as it played out, perpetual, driving force of the Democratic Party. **[[w:Jeff Lord|Jeffrey Lord]], as quoted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20150806153347/https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2015/02/will-gop-demand-obama-apology-for-slavery "Will GOP Demand Obama Apology for Slavery?"] (10 February 2015), ''Conservative Review'' * Having formed an army, Congress selected George Washington to command it. Washington had been with Braddock and Forbes's expedition to Fort Duquesne, and in between service with the regulars he had commanded the Virginia militia. As the crisis with England worsened, Washington played an active rle in Virginia's evolution from resistance to revolution, and he attended both the First and Second Continental Congress. He was the only delegate attending the deliberations in Philadelphia attired in a military uniform, perhaps symbolizing his readiness to fight for American rights. Washington was a reasonably experienced soldier, a form advocate of American liberties, impressive in looks, and articulate without being flamboyant. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 52 * "I declare with the utmost sincerity," Washington wrote the president of Congress, "I do not think myself equal to the Command I am honoured with." He probably meant it, since his frontier service had given him no opportunity to become acquainted with cavalry tactics, massed artillery, or the deployment of large forces. Yet Washington eventually embodied the Revolution, with the cause and the commander so intertwined in rebel eyes that they became synonymous. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 52 * During the war with France, Washington had developed an aversion to militiamen and an appreciation for British professionals. He had experienced nothing but problems with the Virginia militia. They never turned out in sufficient numbers, and hose who did he considered insolent and prone to panic and desertion. His opinion did not change during the Revolution, and most Continental officers shared his conviction that "to place any dependence upon Militia is, assuredly, resting upon a broken staff." Paradoxically, Washington repeatedly depended on the militia to buttress the Continental Army during innumerable crises. If the militia dismayed Washington, British regulars impressed him, and he strove to mold the Continental Army into a mirror image of Britain's army. He insisted it should be "a respectable Army," not only well organized and disciplined but also officered by "Gentlemen, and Men of Character." He believed that the prospect of such an army endangering civilian supremacy was remote; the slight risk was necessary because the consequence of fighting without a regular army was "certain, and inevitable Ruin." ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 52 * Considering the hypersensative fear of military ascendancy, Congress's selection of Washington was fortuitous. He repeatedly stated his belief in civil supremacy, remaining deferential to Congress even when its inefficiency threatened the army's survival. Having served in the Virginia assembly and in Congress, he understood the often maddeningly slow political process in representative governments and the nation's inadequate administrative machinery for conducting a large-scale war. By reporting to Congress on all matters great or trivial, by religiously adhering to congressional dictates, and through his immense patience in the face of nearly unbearable frustrations, Washington alleviated concern that he would capitalize on his growing military reputation and become a dictator. Although revolutions have frequently given birth to permanent presidents, kings, and emperors, Washington had no desire to become an American Cromwell. Like the men he commanded, he never forgot that he was a citizen first and only second a soldier. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 54 * The militia and the Continental Army were two sides of a double-edged sword. Neither blade was keenly honed, and even in combination they usually did not make a lethal weapon. Washington's task was never easy, but without either army it would have been impossible. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 57 * When Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 2, he was eager to pursue an aggressive strategy. But he could do little immediately. A severe shortage of weapons and powder prevented him from attacking the British Army, and his own army appalled him. The New Englanders struck him as "exceedingly dirty and nasty people" characterized by "an unaccountable kind of stupidity" and a lack of discipline. Knowing the eyes of the continent were upon him and expecting some momentous event, Washington found the inactivity around Boston galling, so in late summer 1775 he ordered Arnold to advance through the Maine wilderness to capture Quebec. Unknown to Washington, Congress had meanwhile ordered General Philip Schuyler to attack Montreal. Americans hoped the invasion would incite a Canadian revolt against Britain and convert the region into a fourteenth colony. Washington also struggled to discipline the army, but before he could achieve much success, that army almost disappeared. When enlistments expired at year's end, most men refused to reenlist. Washington had to discharge one army and recruit another while the enemy was only a musket shot away. He did it by calling out militiamen to fill the gaps until new Continental recruits arrived. ** Allan R. Millett, Peter Maslowski, and William B. Feis, ''For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States From 1607 to 2012'' (2012), p. 59 * '''You have in American history one of the great captains of all times.''' It might be said of him, as it was of [[William the Silent]], that he seldom won a battle but he never lost a campaign. ** [[Helmuth von Moltke the Elder]], in a statement in Berlin (1874), as quoted in ''Family Relationships of George Washington'' (1931) by the United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission * '''Be assured his influence carried this government'''; for my own part I have a boundless confidence in him, nor have I any reason to believe he will ever furnish occasion for withdrawing it. ** [[James Monroe]], in a letter to [[Thomas Jefferson]] (12 July 1788), as published in ''The Writings of James Monroe'' (1898), p. 186 * '''Washington's genius lay in his understanding of power, both military power, and political power, an understanding unmatched by that of any of his contemporaries.''' ** [[w:Edmund Morgan|Edmund Sears Morgan]], in ''The Genius of George Washington'' (1982) Ch. 1 : A Sense of Power, p. 6 * And as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship (for so you have been to me, and that in the day of danger) and a hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any. ** [[Thomas Paine]], letter to George Washington (July 30, 1796); Moncure D. Conway, ed., ''The Writings of Thomas Paine'', vol. 3 (1895), p. 252 * His was the belief of reason and revelation; and that belief was illustrated and exemplified in all his actions. No parade accompanied its exercise, no declamation its exhibition; for it was his opinion that a man who is always boasting of his religion, is like one who continually proclaims his honesty—he would trust neither one nor the other. He was not accustomed to argue points of faith, but on one occasion, in reply to a gentleman who expressed doubts on the subject, thus gave his sentiments:— :: “It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being. :: “It is impossible to govern the universe without the aid of a Supreme Being. :: “It is impossible to reason without arriving at a Supreme Being. Religion is as necessary to reason, as reason is to religion. The one cannot exist without the other. A reasoning being would lose his reason in attempting to account for the great phenomena of nature, had he not a Supreme Being to refer to; and well has it been said, that if there had been no God, mankind would have been obliged to imagine one.” : On this basis of piety was erected the superstructure of his virtues. :* James Kirke Paulding, ''A Life of Washington'' (New-York, Harper and Brothers, 1835), vol. 2, p. 209-210; Paulding gives no authority for this anecdote * "One afternoon several young gentlemen, visitors at Mount Vernon, and myself were engaged in pitching the bar, one of the athletic sports common in those days, when suddenly the colonel appeared among us. He requested to be shown the pegs that marked the bounds of our efforts; then, smiling, and without putting off his coat, held out his hand for the missile. No sooner,"observed the narrator, with emphasis, "did the heavy iron bar feel the grasp of his mighty hand than it lost the power of gravitation, and whizzed through the air, striking the ground far, very far, beyond our utmost limits. We were indeed amazed, as we stood around, all stripped to the buff, with shirt sleeves rolled up, and having thought ourselves very clever fellows, while the colonel, on retiring, pleasantly observed, ''''When you beat my pitch, young gentlemen, I'll try again.''''" ** [[w:Charles Willson Peale|Charles Willson Peale]], recounting an incident of 1772, as quoted in ''Recollections and Private Memoirs of Washington'' (1861), edited by Benson J. Lossing * I bet after seeing us, George Washington would sue us for calling him "father." ** [[Will Rogers]], as quoted in ''Will Rogers' World : America's Foremost Political Humorist Comments on the Twenties and Thirties — And Eighties and Nineties'' (1993) by Bryan B. Sterling and Frances N. Sterling * '''The name of an iron man goes round the world. <br /> It takes a long time to forget an iron man.''' ** [[Carl Sandburg]] in "Washington Monument by Night" in ''Slabs of the Sunburnt West'' (1922) * When George Washington was fighting for freedom in the Revolutionary War, he was fighting for the freedom of "whites only." Rich whites, at that. After the so-called Revolution, you couldn't vote unless you were a white man and you owned a plot of land. The Revolutionary War was led by some rich white boys who got tired of paying heavy taxes to the king. It didn't have anything at all to do with freedom, justice, and equality for all. ** [[Assata Shakur]], ''[[w:Assata: An Autobiography|Assata: An Autobiography]]'' (1988), p. 33 * In his famous Farewell Address of September 17, 1796, Washington said he would not serve as President for more than two terms and advised against entangling alliances with foreign countries. He had served his country so well that he could, with safety, turn over the burdens of office to the next President, John Adams. Washington wanted to spend his last years at home in the peace and quiet of private life. There was little privacy for him, however, when he did return to Mount Vernon. People from all over the United States and from foreign countries journeyed to Washington's home to pay him respect. His house was often crowded with guests. The three and a half years that he lived after he left the Presidency were busy and happy ones. On December 14, 1799, he died at Mount Vernon, and there he was buried. ** Francis Butler Simkins, Spotswood Hunnicutt, Sidman P. Poole, ''Virginia: History, Government, Geography'' (1957), p. 293 * Each year, on February 22, the nation honors the birthday of a great man- George Washington. Many persons admire him for different reasons: for his leadership in a war that brought us independence, for his part in making the Constitution, for his policies as President. Everyone admires Washington for his honesty, his courage, his patience, his good judgment, his firmness, and his greatness of heart. The Commonwealth of Virginia has paid tribute to her great son. While Washington was still alive, the French sculptor Houdon made the famous statue of him which stands in the Rotunda of the Capitol at Richmond. On the Capitol grounds there is a huge figure of Washington on horseback, surrounded by other heroes of the American Revolution. And, of course, the capital of our great country, which he helped found, is on the Potomac River near his home, and is named in his honor. On Washington's death, Henry Lee, in a speech before Congress, uttered these famous words: George Washington was "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." ** Francis Butler Simkins, Spotswood Hunnicutt, Sidman P. Poole, ''Virginia: History, Government, Geography'' (1957), p. 293-294 *In 1790 the Dutch Sephardic Jews of the Touro Synagogue sent a letter of congratulations to the newly elected president George Washington and received from him a reply that included these immortal lines: "The government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance... May the children of the Stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while everyone shall sit in safety under his own wine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid." **[[Ilan Stavans]] Introduction to ''The Schocken Book of Modern Sephardic Literature'' (2005) * '''The purest of statesman, and the most perfect of patriots. May it please Heaven that his example shall continue to serve as a beacon to our Republics in their darkest moments of doubt and adversity.''' ** [[w:Jorge Ubico|Jorge Ubico]], as quoted in ''Bulletin of the Pan American Union'', Vol. 66 (1932), p. 464 * [[Deists]] saw the core of the various religions to be essentially the same, but for some, god’s providence was the perfect operation of his physical law, and others saw god as taking a more active agency in human affairs. In this sense, George Washington was not a classic deist, for he held closely to the belief that divine providence meant that god did indeed intervene in human affairs. While serving as a general during the revolution, Washington encouraged soldiers to attend worship services and discouraged profanity among the troops, and as president, he issued two national thanksgiving proclamations. ** Utter, Glenn H.; True, James L. (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=4lGEFFIuNG4C “Conservative Christians and political participation: a reference handbook”]. ABC-CLIO. p.5 ISBN 978-1-85109-513-1. Retrieved 5 January 2012. * George Washington was a famous general who never won a battle. He was our first millionaire, and he believed in property and the dignity of those who held it, and they put together a constitution which would protect property for all time. No nonsense about democracy! ** [[Gore Vidal]], "Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia" documentary film (2013) * Gentlemen, the character of Washington is among the most cherished contemplations of my life. '''It is a fixed star in the firmament of great names, shining without twinkling or obscuration, with clear, steady, beneficent light.''' ** [[Daniel Webster]], secretary of state, letter to the New York Committee for the Celebration of the Birthday of Washington (February 20, 1851); in ''The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster'', vol. 12 (1903), p. 261 * There is [[Benjamin Franklin|Franklin]], with his first proposal of Continental union. There is [[James Otis]], with his great argument against Writs of Assistance, and [[Samuel Adams]], with his inexorable demand for the removal of the British regiments from Boston. There is [[Josiah Quincy II|Quincy]], and there is [[w:Joseph Warren|Warren]], the protomartyr of [[w:Battle of Bunker Hill|Bunker Hill]]. There is [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]], with the Declaration of Independence fresh from his pen, and [[John Adams]] close at his side. There are [[Alexander Hamilton|Hamilton]] and [[James Madison|Madison]] and [[John Jay|Jay]] bringing forward the Constitution; but, towering above them all is Washington, the consummate commander, the incomparable President, the world-renowned patriot. ** [[w:Robert Charles Winthrop|Robert Charles Winthrop]], as quoted in ''Manual Of Patriotism : For Use in the Public Schools of the State of New York'' (1900) By Charles Rufus SkinnerTake, p. 262 * '''That nature has given him extraordinary military talents will hardly be controverted by his most bitter enemies'''; and having been early actuated with a warm passion to serve his country in the military line, he has greatly improved them by unwearied industry, and a close application to the best writers upon tactics, and by a more than common method and exactnels: and, in reality, when it comes to be considered that at first he only headed a body of men entirely unacquainted with military discipline or operations, somewhat ungovernable in temper, and who at best could only be stiled an alert and good militia, acting under very short enlistments, uncloalhed, unaccoutred, and at all times very ill supplied with ammunition and artillery; and that with such an army he withstood the ravages and progress of near forty thousand veteran troops, plentifully provided with, every necessary article, commanded by the bravest officers in Europe, and supported by a very powerful navy, which effectually prevented all movements by water; when, I say, all this comes to be impartially considered, I think I may venture to pronounce, that general '''Washington will be regarded by mankind as one of the greatest military ornaments of the present age, and that his name will command the veneration of the latest posterity.''' ** [[Anonymous]], ''Sketch of the Life and Character of General Washington'' (1780), republished in ''The Critical Review, or, Annals of Literature'' (1780) edited by Tobias George Smollett, p. 473; and ''The New Annual Register, or, General Repository of History'', Vol. 1 (1781), edited by Andrew Kippis, p. 33 * There is a remarkable air of dignity about him, with a striking degree of gracefulness: he has an excellent understanding without much quickness; is strictly just, vigilant, and generous; an affectionate husband, a faithful friend, a father to the deserving soldier; gentle in his manners, in temper rather reserved; a total stranger to religious prejudices, which have so often excited Christians of one denomination to cut the throats of those of another; in his morals irreproachable; he was never known to exceed the bounds of the most rigid temperance: in a word, all his friends and acquaintance universally allow, that '''no man ever united in his own person a more perfect alliance of the virtues of a philosopher with the talents of a general. Candour, sincerity, affability, and simplicity, seem to be the striking features of his character, till an occasion offers of displaying the most determined bravery and independence of spirit.''' ** [[Anonymous]], ''Sketch of the Life and Character of General Washington'' (1780), republished in ''The Critical Review, or, Annals of Literature'' (1780) edited by Tobias George Smollett, p. 473; and ''The New Annual Register, or, General Repository of History'', Vol. 1 (1781), edited by Andrew Kippis, p. 33 * George Washington is the only president who didn't blame the previous administration for his troubles. ** Unknown author, quoted in ''The Quotable Politician'' (2003) by William B. Whitman * He [ [[w:George III of the United Kingdom|George III]]] asked [[w:Benjamin West|West]] what would Washington do were America to be declared independant{{sic}}. West said He believed He would retire to a private situation -- The King said '''if He did He would be the greatest man in the world''' ** From the diaries of [[w:Joseph Farington|Joseph Farington]] (entry of December 28, 1799). Farington is repeating what West told him of the period shortly after the defeat of Cornwallis at [[w:Siege of Yorktown|Yorktown]]. {{cite book |first=Joseph |last=Farington |coauthors=James Greig (ed.) |year=1922 |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |title=The Farington Diary, vol. i |pages=278 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.164843/2015.164843.The-Farington-Diaryvol1#page/n325/mode/2up}} ===''Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations''=== :<small>Quotes reported in ''[[Wikisource:Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922)|Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations]]'' (1922), p. 860-62.</small> * The defender of his country—the founder of liberty, <br /> The friend of man, <br /> History and tradition are explored in vain <br /> For a parallel to his character. <br /> In the annals of modern greatness <br /> He stands alone; <br /> And the noblest names of antiquity <br /> Lose their lustre in his presence. <br /> Born the benefactor of mankind, <br /> He united all the greatness necessary <br /> To an illustrious career. <br /> Nature made him great, <br /> He made himself virtuous. ** Part of an Epitaph found on the back of a portrait of Washington, sent to the family from England. See Werner's Readings. No. 49, p. 77 * Simple and brave, his faith awoke <br /> Ploughmen to struggle with their fate; <br /> Armies won battles when he spoke, <br /> And out of Chaos sprang the state. ** [[Robert Bridges]], ''Washington'' * While Washington's a watchword, such as ne'er <br /> Shall sink while there's an echo left to air. ** [[Lord Byron]], ''Age of Bronze'', Stanza 5 * There's a star in the West that shall nerer go down <br /> Till the records of Valour decay, <br /> We must worship its light though it is not our own, <br /> For liberty burst in its ray. <br /> Shall the name of a Washington ever be heard <br /> By a freeman, and thrill not his breast? <br /> Is there one out of bondage that hails not the word, <br /> As a Bethlehem Star of the West? ** [[Eliza Cook]], ''There's a Star in the West'' * The character, the counsels, and example of our Washington * * * they will guide us through the doubts and difficulties that beset us; they will guide our children and our children's children in the paths of prosperity and peace, while America shall hold her place in the family of nations. ** [[Edward Everett]], speech, ''Washington Abroad and at Home'' (July 5, 1858) * Here you would know, and enjoy, what posterity will say of Washington. For a thousand leagues have nearly the same effect with a thousand years. ** [[Benjamin Franklin]], letter to Washington (March 5, 1780) * O Washington! thrice glorious name, <br /> What due rewards can man decree— <br /> Empires are far below thy aim, <br /> And scepters have no charms for thee; <br /> Virtue alone has your regards, <br /> And she must be your great reward. ** [[Philip Freneau]], ''Washington's Arrival in Philadelphia'' * Since ancient Time began, <br /> Ever on some great soul God laid an infinite burden— <br /> The weight of all this world, the hopes of man, <br /> Conflict and pain, and fame immortal are his guerdon. ** [[R. W. Gilder]], ''Washington'', sSpeech at Trenton (Oct. 19, 1893) * Were an energetic and judicious system to be proposed with your signature it would be a circumstance highly honorable to your fame … and doubly entitle you to the glorious republican epithet, <br /> The Father of your Country. ** [[Henry Knox]], letter to Washington (March 19, 1787), urging that Washington attend the Philadelphia Convention. See Ford, ''Washington's Writings'', Volume XI, p. 123 * A nobleness to try for, <br /> A name to live and die for. ** [[George Parsons Lathrop]], ''Name of Washington'' * First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen. ** Gen. [[Henry Lee]], ''Funeral Oration on Washington'' * First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his fellow citizens. ** Resolution on Washington's Death. Prepared by General [[Henry Lee]] and offered in the House of Representatives by [[John Marshall]] * The purely Great <br /> Whose soul no siren passion could unsphere, <br /> Thou nameless, now a power and mixed with fate. ** [[James Russell Lowell]], ''Under the old Elm''. The elm near Cambridge with the inscription "Under this tree, Washington first took command of the American Army, July 3, 1775" * Oh, Washington! thou hero, patriot sage, <br /> Friend of all climes, and pride of every age! ** [[Thomas Paine]] * Every countenance seeked to say, "Long live George Washington, the Father of the People." ** ''Pennsylvania Packet'' (April 21, 1789). After the election of Washington. * Our common Father and Deliverer, to whose prudence, wisdom and valour we owe our Peace, Liberty and Safety, now leads and directs in the great councils of the nation … and now we celebrate an independent Government—an original Constitution! an independent Legislature, at the head of which we this day celebrate The Father of his Country—We celebrate Washington! We celebrate an Independent Empire! ** ''Pennsylvania Packet'' (July 9, 1789), p. 284. See Albert Matthews' article in ''Colonial Society of Mass. Publications. Transactions. 1902–4'', Volume 8, p. 275–287 (pub. 1906). In America the term was already familiar. George II was so-called by Governor Belcher (2 December 1731). George III also, in a petition drawn up by the Massachusetts House of Representatives (June, 30, 1768). Winthrop was styled thus by Governor Hutchinson. (1764). See ''History of Massachusetts'', I, 151 * His work well done, the leader stepped aside <br /> Spurning a crown with more than kingly pride. <br /> Content to wear the higher crown of worth, <br /> While time endures, "First citizen of earth." ** [[James J. Roche]], ''Washington'' *Washington and his associates believed that it was essential to the existence of this Republic that there should never be any union of Church and State; and such union is partially accomplished wherever a given creed is aided by the State or when any public servant is elected or defeated because of his creed. **[[Theodore Roosevelt]], [https://archive.org/stream/immigrationameri00daviuoft/immigrationameri00daviuoft_djvu.txt "Address to the Knights of Columbus"] (12 October 1915) * 'Twas his ambition, generous and great <br /> A life to life's great end to consecrate. ** [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]], ''Washington'' * While Washington hath left <br /> His awful memory, <br /> A light for after times. ** [[Robert Southey]], ode written during the War with America (1814) * That name was a power to rally a nation in the hour of thick-thronging public disasters and calamities; that name shone amid the storm of war, a beacon light to cheer and guide the country's friends; it flamed too like a meteor to repel her foes. ** [[Daniel Webster]], speech at a public dinner (22 February 1832) * That name descending with all time, spreading over the whole earth, and uttered in all the languages belonging to all tribes and races of men, will forever be pronounced with affectionate gratitude by everyone in whose breast there shall arise an aspiration for human rights and liberty. ** [[Daniel Webster]], speech at the Centennial Anniversary of Washington (22 February 1832) * America has furnished to the world the character of Washington! And if our American institutions had done nothing else, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of mankind. ** [[Daniel Webster]], ''Completion of Bunker Hill Monument'' (17 June 1843), Volume I, p. 105 ==See also== * [[Founding Fathers of the United States]] * [[List of presidents of the United States]] ==External links== {{wikipedia}} {{Wikisource author}} {{commons | George Washington}} * [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/gw1.html Official White House site] * [http://www.pbs.org/georgewashington/father/index.html Rediscovering George Washington (PBS profile)] * [http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/P/gw1/gw1.htm Speeches and Addresses of Washington] * [http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/ Papers of George Washington at the University of Virginia] * [http://etext.virginia.edu/washington/fitzpatrick/ Writings of Washington 1744-1799 at the University of Virginia] * [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwintro.html Diaries of Washington at The Library of Congress] * [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gwhtml/gwhome.html George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress] * [http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/newburgh/ The Newburgh Address] * [http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/washframe.htm "George Washington's Silent Lack of Piety" at Positive Atheism] {{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, George}} [[Category:Founding Fathers of the United States of America]] [[Category:Freemasons]] [[Category:Military leaders from the United States]] [[Category:Nationalists]] [[Category:Presidents of the United States]] [[Category:People from Virginia]] [[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1792]] [[Category:United States presidential candidates, 1789]] [[Category:Episcopalians from the United States]] [[Category:Free speech activists]] [[Category:Activists from the United States]] [[Category:Deists]] [[Category:Non-fiction authors from the United States]] [[Category:Farmers]] [[Category:1732 births]] [[Category:1799 deaths]] [[Category:People of the American Revolution]] [[Category:Commanding Generals and Chiefs of Staff of the United States Army]] 8sgg2avr4pd5vqzryt2cciqqegmdx19 0 126270 3515606 3501821 2024-05-15T06:01:59Z Ficaia 3085955 /* A */ wikitext text/x-wiki qnzerp9elc1634x107na6cgxc58sbn2 0 126470 3515665 3447454 2024-05-15T09:35:12Z P3Y229 502951 /* Quotes */ - Added 1 quote wikitext text/x-wiki 0dv57iduj3824e9zf18f0hq6xuz9dje 3515666 3515665 2024-05-15T09:35:31Z P3Y229 502951 /* Quotes */ - Added 1 image wikitext text/x-wiki lem3s5jmk1vnjgjh50vz8joyznzjtnr 0 126520 3515416 3503561 2024-05-14T19:45:31Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki ryf3chy7cmy84nzmqz73zgxedkgs8w7 3515417 3515416 2024-05-14T19:45:37Z Leonidlednev 3105635 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by 2001:8003:DCA9:E700:5517:DF66:D3F6:B572 wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Catéchiste prisonnier dans un filet, Les Baloïs (Haut-Oubanghi), 1905.jpg|thumb|There are and always will be some who, ashamed of the behavior of their ancestors, try to prove that slavery wasn't so bad after all, that its evils and its cruelty were the exaggerations of propagandists and not the habitual lot of the slaves. Men will say (and accept) anything in order to foster national pride or soothe a troubled conscience. ~ [[C. L. R. James]]]] '''[[w:Slavery|Slavery]]''' is a form of forced labor in which human beings are forcibly held under the involuntary control of others, and required to work under legal penalty. __NOTOC__ {{TOCalpha|[[#Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln]] • [[#Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1989)|''Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations'']] • [[#Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations|''Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations'']]}} ==A== [[File:Cruzeiro_em_Belém-PB.jpg|thumb|[[Consenting]] to slavery is a sacrilegious breach of [[trust]], as offensive in the sight of [[God]] as it is derogatory from our own [[honor]] or [[interest]] or [[happiness]]. ~ [[John Adams]]]] [[File:Slaveshipposter_(cropped).jpg|thumb|Slavery is an evil of colossal magnitude and I am utterly averse to the admission of slavery. ~ [[John Adams]]]] [[File:Sandro Botticelli 050.jpg|thumb|The [[good]] [[man]], though a slave, is [[free]]; the [[wicked]], though he reigns, is a slave. ~ [[Augustine of Hippo]] ]] * If my present theme were the institution of slavery in general, I should endeavour to show that it has been a mighty instrument not for evil only, but for good in the providential order of the world. Almighty God, in His mysterious ways, has poured down blessings even through servitude itself, by awakening the spirit of sacrifice on the one hand, and the spirit of charity on the other. ** [[John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton|Lord Acton]], ''Historical Studies and Essays'' (1907), pp. 135–36 * Let us see delineated before us the true map of man. Let us hear the dignity of his nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works of [[God]]—that consenting to slavery is a sacrilegious breach of [[trust]], as offensive in the sight of God as it is derogatory from our own [[honor]] or interest or [[happiness]]. ** [[John Adams]], [http://www.vindicatingthefounders.com/author/jaffa_v_mansfield.pdf ''Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law''] (1765), as quoted in ''Works of John Adams'', ed. Charles Francis Adams (Boston: Little, Brown, 1865), 3:462–3 * Every measure of prudence, therefore, ought to be assumed for the eventual total extirpation of slavery. ** [[John Adams]], as quoted in [http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/2127#lf1431-10_head_152 letter to Robert J. Evans] (8 June 1819) * I Shall not pause to consider whether my Opinion will be popular or unpopular with the Slave Holders, or Slave Traders, in the Northern the Middle, the Southern, or the Western, States—I respect all those who are necessarily subjected to this Evil.—But Negro '''Slavery is an evil of Colossal Magnitude.''' … '''I am therefore utterly averse to the admission of Slavery into the [[w:Missouri_Territory|Missouri Territory]],''' and heartily wish that every Constitutional measure may be adopted for the preservation of it. ** [[John Adams]], [http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-7261 Letter] to [[w:William Tudor (1779–1830)|William Tudor, Jr.]], 20 November 1819. Partially quoted in ''Founding Brothers : The Revolutionary Generation'' (2000) by Joseph J. Ellis, p.&nbsp;240 * The first steps of the slaveholder to justify by argument the peculiar institutions is to deny the self-evident truths of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]]. He denies that all men are created equal. He denies that he has inalienable rights. ** [[John Quincy Adams]] "Letter to the 12th Congressional District" (29 June 1839) * Slavery must have differed in details in one country from that in another, but after all, it was shameful in [[Brazil]], shameful in the [[United States]], just as it is shameful at any other spot underneath the blue sky. ** [[w:Herbert B. Alexander|Herbert B. Alexander]], [[s:Brazilian and United States Slavery Compared|''Brazilian and United States Slavery Compared'']] (1922) * I did more for the [[Russia]]n serf in giving him land as well as personal [[liberty]], than [[United States|America]] did for the [[Slavery in the United States|negro slave]] set free by the [[Emancipation Proclamation|proclamation]] of [[Abraham Lincoln|President Lincoln]]. I am at a loss to understand how you [[United States|Americans]] could have been so blind as to leave the negro slave without tools to work out his salvation. In giving him personal liberty, you have him an obligation to perform to the state which he must be unable to fulfill. Without property of any kind he cannot educate himself and his children. I believe the time must come when many will question the manner of American emancipation of the negro slaves in 1863. The vote, in the hands of an ignorant man, without either [[property]] or self respect, will be used to the damage of the people at large; for the rich man, without honor or any kind of [[patriotism]], will purchase it, and with it swamp the rights of a free people. ** [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]], emperor of Russia, conversation with Wharton Barker, Pavlovski Palace (August 17, 1879); reported in Barker, "The Secret of Russia's Friendship", ''The Independent'' (March 24, 1904), p. 647 * You arrive in America, land of opportunity, milk and honey, and guess what? You all get to be slaves! Split up, sold off and worked to death! The lucky ones get Sunday off to sleep and fuck and make more slaves, and all for what? For [[cotton]]? [[w:Indigo|Indigo]]? For a fucking purple shirt? The only good news is the [[tobacco]] your grandkids are gonna farm for free is gonna give a shitload of these white motherfuckers [[cancer]]. And I ain't even started yet. A hundred years later, you're fucked! A hundred years after that, fucked! A hundred years after you get free, you still getting fucked outta jobs and shot at by [[Law enforcement in the United States|police]]! ** the [[w:Akan people|Akan]] god [[w:Anansi|Anansi]] as depicted addressing enslaved people during the [[w:Middle Passage|Middle Passage]] in the speculative fiction television series ''[[American Gods (TV series)|American Gods]]'' (first season, 2017) * Slavery does not merely mean a legalized form of subjection. It means a state of society in which some men are forced to accept from others the purposes which control their conduct. This condition obtains even where there is no slavery in the legal sense. It is found where, as in the [[Caste system in India|Caste System]], some persons are compelled to carry on certain prescribed callings which are not of their choice. ** [[B. R. Ambedkar]], Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Writings & Speeches Vol. 1 * Everybody infers that Islam must be free from slavery and caste. Regarding slavery nothing needs to be said. It stands abolished now by law. But while it existed much of its support was derived from Islam and Islamic countries. ** [[B. R. Ambedkar]], Pakistan or The Partition of India (1946) (p. 228-230) * '''Slavery did not end with [[Abolitionism|abolition]] in the [[19th century]]. Instead, it changed its forms and continues to harm people in every country in the world.''' Whether they are [[women]] forced into [[prostitution]], [[Man|men]] forced to work in [[agriculture]] or [[Building|construction]], [[Child labor|children in sweatshops]] or girls forced to marry older men, their lives are controlled by their exploiters, they no longer have a free choice and they have to do as they’re told. They are in slavery. [[W:Modern slavery|Today slavery]] is less about people literally owning other people – although that still exists – but more about being exploited and completely controlled by someone else, without being able to leave. [...] Many people think that slavery happens only overseas, in developing countries. In fact, '''no country is free from modern slavery,''' even [[United Kingdom|Britain]]. The [[Government of the United Kingdom|Government]] estimates that there are tens of thousands people in modern [[Slavery in Britain|slavery in the UK]]. ** [[Anti-Slavery International]], ''[https://www.antislavery.org/slavery-today/modern-slavery/ What is modern slavery?]'' * '''The dominion of bad men is hurtful chiefly to themselves who rule, for they destroy their own souls by greater license in [[wickedness]]; while those who are put under them in service are not hurt except by their own [[wiktionary:iniquity#Noun|iniquity]].''' For to the just all the evils imposed on them by unjust rulers are not the [[punishment]] of [[crime]], but the test of [[virtue]]. '''Therefore the good man, although he is a slave, is free; but the bad man, even if he reigns, is a slave, and that not of one man, but, what is far more grievous, of as many masters as he has vices'''; of which vices when the divine [[Religious text|Scripture]] treats, it says, “For of whom any man is overcome, to the same he is also the bond-slave.” ** [[Augustine of Hippo]], ''[[w:City of God (book)|The City of God]]'' (early 400s), [[s:The City of God/Book IV/Chapter 3|IV, 3]] ** Variant translation: '''The good man, though a slave, is free; the wicked, though he reigns, is a slave''', and not the slave of a single man, but — what is worse — the slave of as many masters as he has vices. === Melinda A. Anderson, [https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/02/what-kids-are-really-learning-about-slavery/552098/ “What Kids Are Really Learning About Slavery”], ''The Atlantic'', (Feb 1, 2018) === * A class of middle-schoolers in [[w:Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[North Carolina]], was asked to cite “four reasons why Africans made good slaves.” Nine third-grade teachers in suburban [[w:Atlanta|Atlanta]] assigned [[Mathematics education|math]] word problems about slavery and beatings. A high school in the [[Los Angeles]]-area reenacted a [[w:Slave ship|slave ship]]—with students’ lying on the dark classroom floor, wrists taped, as staff play the role of slave ship captains. And for a lesson on [[w:Thirteen Colonies|Colonial America]], fifth-graders at a school in northern [[New Jersey]] had to create posters advertising slave auctions. <br /> School assignments on slavery routinely draw national headlines and scorn. Yet beyond the outraged parents and school-district apologies lies a complex and entrenched set of education challenges. A new report released by the [[w:Southern Poverty Law Center|Southern Poverty Law Center]]’s Teaching Tolerance project points to the widespread failure to accurately teach the hard, and nuanced, history of [[Slavery in the United States|American slavery]] and enslaved people. Collectively, the report finds that slavery is mistaught, mischaracterized, sanitized, and sentimentalized—leaving students poorly educated, and contemporary issues of [[race]] and [[Racism in the United States|racism]] misunderstood. * Among 12th-graders, only 8 percent could identify slavery as the cause of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Fewer than one-third (32 percent) correctly named the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|13th Amendment]] as the formal end of U.S. slavery, with a slightly higher share (35 percent) choosing the Emancipation Proclamation. And fewer than half (46 percent) identified the “[[w:Middle_Passage|Middle Passage]]” as the transport of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America. <br /> Maureen Costello, the director of Teaching Tolerance, said the research, conducted in 2017, revealed the urgent need for schools to do a better job of teaching slavery. “Students are being deprived of the truth about [[History of the United States|our history]] [and] the materials that teachers have are not particularly good,” she said. “I would hope that students would look at this and realize that they deserve to know better … and teachers need to know there are better ways to teach this [topic].” <br /> The student results, which the report labels “dismal,” extend beyond factual errors to a failure to grasp key concepts underpinning the nature and legacy of slavery. Fewer than one-quarter (22 percent) of participating high-school seniors knew that “protections for slavery were embedded in [America’s] founding documents”—that rather than a “peculiar institution” of the [[Southern United States|South]], slavery was a Constitutionally enshrined right. And fewer than four in 10 students surveyed (39 percent) understood how slavery “shaped the fundamental beliefs of Americans about race and whiteness.” <br /> Examining the teachers’ survey results might help explain why students struggled to answer questions on American enslavement: Educators are struggling themselves. While teachers overwhelmingly (92 percent) claim they are “comfortable discussing slavery” in their classroom, their teaching practices reveal profound lapses. Only slightly more than half (52 percent) teach their students about slavery’s legal roots in the nation’s founding documents, while just 53 percent emphasize the extent of slavery outside of the antebellum South. And 54 percent teach the continuing legacy of slavery in today’s society. <br /> Additionally, dozens of teachers rely on “simulations”—role-playing and games—to teach slavery, a method that Teaching Tolerance has warned against on the grounds that it can lead to stereotypes and oversimplification. * “Can you teach slavery without it being psychologically violent to the children? The answer is no, violence will occur and is expected,” he said. “The key is the recognition of white supremacy and [of] the humanity of black people that helps aid in the complexity of the subject.” * “It’s clear that the United States is still struggling with how to talk about the history of slavery and its aftermath,” the report concludes. “The front lines of this struggle are in schools, as teachers do the hard work of explaining this country’s history and helping students to understand how the present relates to the past.” ==B== * A slave owner is not a man but a master. By denying the humanity of his slaves he also abrogates his own humanity. ** [[Mikhail Bakunin]], "Man, Society, and Freedom" (1871) * It may be that local custom and culture support slavery and that most of the population knows of its existence, but admitting it is something else again. Here false contracts conceal slavery. Slaveholders can easily force their slaves to sign anything: mortgages, loan agreements, indentures, or labor contracts. If questions are raised, signed contracts are produced and corrupt law enforcement looks the other way. Even in countries with mostly honest and conscientious police, the contracts hide slavery. ** {{w|Kevin Bales}}, in ''Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy'' (1999), p. 27 <!-- Revised edition, ''Berkeley: University of California Press ISBN 978-0-520-27291-0 --> * Slave-owning planters, and merchants who dealt in slaves and slave produce, were among the richest people in 18th-century Britain. Profits from these activities helped to endow [[University of Oxford|All Souls College, Oxford]], with a splendid [[Libraries|library]], to build a score of [[Banking|banks]], including Barclays, and to finance the experiments of [[James Watt]], inventor of the first really efficient [[steam engine]]. ** {{w|Robin Blackburn}}, [http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_article_01.shtml “Enslavement and Industrialisation”], ''BBC'' (17 February 2011) * Notwithstanding the interruptions of war, the plantations made a very substantial contribution for many decades, indeed for the greater part of the century after 1720. Between 1761 and 1808, British traders hauled across the Atlantic 1,428,000 African captives and pocketed £60 million - perhaps £8 billion in today's money - from slave sales. ** {{w|Robin Blackburn}}, “Enslavement and Industrialisation”, ''BBC'' (17 February 2011) * It is estimated that the acreage required to grow the cotton, sugar and timber imported by Britain from the [[Americas|New World]] in 1830 would have been somewhere between 25 and 30 million acres - or more than Britain's total arable and pasture land combined. <br /> By this time some European countries were refining sugar from beets, but this would have also required vast acreage. Wood could, perhaps, have been imported from elsewhere and was anyway not mainly logged by slave labourers. But as Pomeranz observes: raising enough sheep to replace the yarn made with Britain's New World cotton imports would have required staggering quantities of land, almost nine million acres in 1815 ... and over 23 million acres by 1830.' <br /> One might add that cotton yarn was much more suitable for early industrial processes than wool, and that the price paid for each pound of raw cotton dropped by one half between 1790 and 1820 as an expanding slave population, the new cotton gin and steam transport opened the inland states to cotton cultivation. <br /> While the acres of fertile land were an 'ecological windfall', the forced labour of several million enslaved people brought them swiftly into cultivation. As late as 1860, six million slaves toiled in the fields of the [[Southern United States|American South]], [[Cuba]] and [[Brazil]], producing vast quantities of [[cotton]], [[w:Sugar|sugar]] and [[coffee]]. The thousands of millions of hours of slave toil helped to underpin the global ascendancy of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[United Kingdom|Britain]]. <br /> Overall, enslaved people on the plantations of the Americas made a large and measurable contribution to British prosperity. While the idea of inherited [[guilt]] is wrong-headed - we are not responsible for our forebears' crimes and misdeeds - the idea of inherited [[privilege]] is perfectly valid. ** {{w|Robin Blackburn}}, “Enslavement and Industrialisation”, ''BBC'' (17 February 2011) * In the United States one cannot sell himself as a peon or slave — the law is fixed and established to protect the weak-minded, the poor, the miserable. Men will sometimes sell themselves for a meal of victuals or contract with another who acts as surety on his [sic] bond to work out the amount of the bond upon his [sic] release from jail. Any such contract is positively null and void and the procuring and causing of such contract to be made violates these statutes. ** [[w:en:United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[w:en:Francis Biddle|Francis Biddle]] (1941). "Circular No. 3591, Re: Involuntary Servitude, Slavery, and Peonage." Francis Biddle to All United States Attorneys, Dec. 12, 1941, File 50-821, Record Group 60, Department of Justice, National Archives * Let [[Tyranny|tyrants]] shake their iron rod, and slavery clank her galling [[chain]]s. We fear them not, [[w:In God We Trust|we trust in God]]. [[New England]]'s God forever reigns. The foe comes on with haughty stride. Our troops advance with martial noise. Their veterans flee before our youth, and generals yield to beardless boys. ** [[w:William Billings|William Billings]], [[w:Chester (song)|"Chester"]] (1770), ''The New England Psalm Singer'' * Personally I believe the bicentenary offers us a chance not just to say how profoundly shameful the [[Atlantic slave trade|slave trade]] was – how we condemn its existence utterly and praise those who fought for its abolition, but also to express our deep sorrow that it ever happened, that it ever could have happened and to rejoice at the different and better times we live in today. ** [[Tony Blair]], in a [http://www.ethnicmedia.co.uk/news/newnationpage2.pdf statement to ''New Nation'' (27 November 2006)] * Slavery was widely practiced, and deeply rooted in Africa long before the arrival of Europeans. ** William Roberston Boggs, [https://www.amren.com/news/2020/02/why-is-africa-poor/ Why Is Africa Poor?], ''American Renaissance'', January 1992 * I have ever held the South was right. The very nomination of [[Abraham Lincoln]], four years ago, spoke plainly... Looking upon African slavery... I for one, have ever considered it one of the greatest blessings, both for themselves and us... ** [[w:John Wilkes Booth|John Wilkes Booth]], as quoted in [http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9902E6D81F30EE34BC4951DFB266838E679FDE "The murderer of Mr. Lincoln"] (21 April 1865), [https://web.archive.org/web/20150322010831/http://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/21/news/murderer-mr-lincoln-extraordinary-letter-john-wilkes-booth-proof-that-he.html ''The New York Times''] (1865) * Slavery, throughout its entire existence in the [[United States]], is none other than the most barbarous, unprovoked and unjustifiable war of one portion of its citizens against another portion, the only conditions of which are perpetual imprisonment and hopeless servitude, or absolute extermination, in utter disregard and violation of those eternal and self-evident truths set forth in our Declaration of Independence. ** [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]], "[http://web.archive.org/web/20110421025226/http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/johnbrown/brownconstitution.html Provisional Constitution and Ordinances]" (1858) * The master-slave relationship is the most popular fantasy perversion in the literature of [[pornography]]. The image of a scantly clothed slave girl, always nubile, always beautiful, always docile, who sinks to her knees gracefully and dutifully before her master, who stands with or without boots, with or without whip, is commonly accepted as a scene of titillating [[sexuality]]. From the slave [[Harem|harems]] of the Orient potentate, celebrated in [[poetry]] and [[dance]], to the breathless description of light-skinned fancy women, ''de rigueur'' in a particular genre of pulp [[w:historical_fiction|historical fiction]], the glorification of [[w:sex_slavery|forced sex under slavery]], institutional rape, has been a part of our cultural heritage, feeding the [[Ego|egos]] of [[Man|men]] while subverting the egos of [[women]]—and doing irreprable damaage to the healthy sexual process. The very word "slave girl" impart to many a vision of voluptuous sexuality redolent of perfumes gardens and soft [[music]] strummed on a lyre. Such is the legacy of male-controlled sexuality under which we struggle. ** [[w:Susan Brownmiller|Susan Brownmiller]], ''[[w:Against Our Will: Men Women and Rape|Against Our Will: Men Women and Rape]]'' pp. 169-170 as quoted in ''[[Wonder Woman]]: Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peter comics, 1941-1948'' pp. 20-21 *you who feel the sobs of the homeland that breathes slavery **''tu que sientes los gemidos de la patria que respira esclavitud'' **Canción de la verdad sencilla/Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of [[Julia de Burgos]] translated by [[Jack Agüeros]] (1997) * Partial freedom seems to me the most invidious form of slavery. ** [[Edmund Burke]], as quoted in [https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/is-the-party-over "Is the Party Over?"] (2017), by Daniel Ritchie, ''National Affairs'' * '''Conquer thyself. Till thou hast done that, thou art a slave; for it is almost as well to be in subjection to another's appetite as thine own.''' ** [[Robert Burton]], as quoted in ''Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers'' (1895) edited by Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, p.&nbsp;377 ==C== [[File:Giacomo Casanova by Anton Raphael Mengs.jpg|thumb|[[Man]] is [[free]]; yet we must not suppose that he is at [[liberty]] to do everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave the [[moment]] he allows his [[actions]] to be [[ruled]] by [[passion]]. The man who has sufficient [[power]] over [[himself]] to wait until his [[nature]] has recovered its even balance is the [[truly]] [[wise]] man, but such beings are seldom met with. ~ [[Giacomo Casanova]] ]] [[File:22nd US Colored Troops banner.jpg|thumb|You cannot make soldiers of slaves, nor slaves of soldiers. ~ [[Howell Cobb]] ]] [[File:The Old Flag Never Touched the Ground.jpg|thumb|There is no substitute for a militant freedom. The only alternative is submission and slavery. ~ [[Calvin Coolidge]]]] [[File:DemDonkey.svg|thumb|The Democratic Party then, as now, was in open alliance with slavery, in a conspiracy against the Constitution and the peace of the country. ~ [[George William Curtis]] ]] * Scripture points out this difference between believers and unbelievers; the latter, as old slaves of their incurable perversity, cannot endure the rod; but the former, like children of noble birth, profit by [[repentance]] and [[Prison|correction]]. ** [[John Calvin]], ''Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life'', pg. 57 * The prevailing Notion now is to Continue the most abject State of Slavery in [[Virginia|this Common-Wealth]]... ** [[w:Robert Carter III|Robert Carter III]], [http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/Databases/Encyclopedia/search.php?serial=M0100 letter to James Manning] * '''[[Man]] is [[free]]; yet we must not suppose that he is at [[liberty]] to do everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave the [[moment]] he allows his [[actions]] to be [[ruled]] by [[passion]]. The man who has sufficient [[power]] over [[himself]] to wait until his [[nature]] has recovered its even balance is the [[truly]] [[wise]] man, but such beings are seldom met with.''' ** [[Giacomo Casanova]], ''Memoirs of J. Casanova de Seingalt'' (1894) * The slave-holder claims the slave as his Property. The very idea of a slave is, that he belongs to another, that he is bound to live and labor for another, to be another’s instrument, and to make another’s will his habitual law, however adverse to his own. Another owns him, and, of course, has a right to his time and strength, a right to the fruits of his labor, a right to task him without his consent, and to determine the kind and duration of his toil, a right to confine him to any bounds, a right to extort the required work by stripes, a right, in a word, to use him as a tool, without contract, against his will, and in denial of his right to dispose of himself, or to use his power for his own good. “A slave,” says the Louisiana code, “is in the power of the master to whom he belongs. The master may sell him, dispose of his person, his industry, his labor; he can do nothing, possess nothing, nor acquire any thing, but which must belong to his master.” “Slaves shall be deemed, taken, reputed, and adjudged,” say the [[South Carolina|South-Carolina]] laws, “to be chattels personal in the hands of their masters, and possessions to all intents and purposes whatsoever.” Such is slavery, a claim to man as property. Now this claim of property in a human being is altogether false, groundless. No such right of man in man can exist. A human being cannot be justly owned. To hold and treat him as property is to inflict a great wrong, to incur the guilt of oppression. ** [[William Ellery Channing]], [http://www.libertarianism.org/publications/essays/human-being-cannot-be-justly-owned "A Human Being Cannot Be Justly Owned"] (1835) * For, what is slavery?&nbsp; It is the complete and absolute subjection of one person to the control and disposal of another person, by legalized force.&nbsp; We need not argue that no person can be, rightfully, compelled to submit to such control and disposal.&nbsp; All such subjection must originate in force; and, private force not being strong enough to accomplish the purpose, public force, in the form of law, must lend its aid.&nbsp; The Government comes to the help of the individual slaveholder, and punishes resistance to his will, and compels submission.&nbsp; <!--NOTE: This is how the text appears in the original.-->T<small>HE</small> G<small>OVERNMENT</small>, ''therefore'', ''in the case of every individual slave'', ''is'' <small>THE REAL ENSLAVER</small><!--NOTE: This is how the text appears in the original.-->, depriving each person enslaved of all liberty and all property, and all that makes life dear, without imputation of crime or any legal process whatsoever.&nbsp; This is precisely what the [[Federal government of the United States|Government of the United States]] is forbidden to do by the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]].&nbsp; The Government of the United States, therefore, cannot create or continue the relation of master and slave.&nbsp; Nor can that relation be created or continued in any place, district, or territory, over which the jurisdiction of the National Government is exclusive; for slavery cannot subsist a moment after the support of the public force has been withdrawn. ** [[Salmon P. Chase]], [http://alexpeak.com/twr/libertyparty/saw/ “The Address of the Southern and Western Liberty Convention”], in ''Anti-slavery Addresses of 1844 and 1845'' by Salmon Portland Chase and Charles Dexter Cleveland, ed. C. D. C. (London: Sampson Low, Son, and Martson, 1867), pp. 75–125 * The proposition to make soldiers of our slaves is the most pernicious idea that has been suggested since the war began. It is to me a source of deep mortification and regret to see the name of that good and great man and soldier, General [[Robert E. Lee|R. E. Lee]], given as authority for such a policy. My first hour of despondency will be the one in which that policy shall be adopted. '''You cannot make soldiers of slaves, nor slaves of soldiers. The moment you resort to negro soldiers your white soldiers will be lost to you'''; and one secret of the favor with which the proposition is received in portions of the army is the hope that when negroes go into the Army they will be permitted to retire. It is simply a proposition to fight the balance of the war with negro troops. You can't keep white and black troops together, and '''you can't trust negroes''' by themselves. It is difficult to get negroes enough for the purpose indicated in the President's message, much less enough for an Army. Use all the negroes you can get, for all the purposes for which you need them, but '''don't arm them. The day you make soldiers of them is the beginning of the end of the revolution. If slaves make good soldiers our whole theory of slavery is wrong'''. But they won't make soldiers. As a class they are wanting in every qualification of a soldier. Better by far to yield to the demands of England and France and abolish slavery and thereby purchase their aid, than resort to this policy, which leads as certainly to ruin and subjugation as it is adopted; you want more soldiers, and hence the proposition to take negroes into the Army. Before resorting to it, at least try every reasonable mode of getting white soldiers. I do not entertain a doubt that you can, by the volunteering policy, get more men into the service than you can arm. I have more fears about arms than about men, For Heaven’s sake, try it before you fill with gloom and despondency the hearts of many of our truest and most devoted men, by resort to the suicidal policy of arming our slaves. ** [[Howell Cobb]], [http://deadconfederates.com/2015/01/08/real-confederates-didnt-know-about-black-confederates-2/ regarding suggestions that the Confederates turn their slaves into soldiers] (1865). As quoted in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (1911), Hugh Chisholm, editor, 11th ed., Cambridge University Press. Also quoted as 'You cannot make soldiers of slaves, or slaves of soldiers. The day you make a soldier of them is the beginning of the end of the Revolution. And if slaves seem good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong'. * The [[worker]] is the slave of [[capitalist]] society, the [[female worker]] is the slave of that slave. ** [[James Connolly]] ''[https://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1915/rcoi/chap06.htm The Re-conquest of Ireland]'' (1915), Chapter VI: Woman, p. 38, ''{{w|Marxists Internet Archive}}'' * No slave in this State shall be emancipated by any act done to take effect in this State, or any other country. ** Article IV, Section 1, Constitution of the State of Alabama (1861) * '''The [[w:Florida General Assembly|General Assembly]] shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipation of slaves.''' ** Section 1, Article XV, [[s:Constitution of the State of Florida (1861)|Constitution of the State of Florida]] (10 January 1861) * '''No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the [[Right to property|right of property]] in negro slaves shall be passed.''' ** Page 10, section 9, [[s:Constitution of the Confederate States of America|Constitution of the Confederate States of America]] (11 March 1861) * The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all the privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states, and shall have the right of transit and sojourn in any state of this Confederacy, with '''their slaves and other property''': and '''the right of property in said slaves shall not be thereby impaired.''' ** Article IV, Section 9, [[s:Constitution of the Confederate States of America|Constitution of the Confederate States of America]] (11 March 1861) * Mother do you know I asked myself this question. What right have I simply because I am white to be the master race, while this man knowing more than I should be a slave because he is black? ** Chauncey Herbert Cooke, [https://archive.org/stream/soldierboyslette00cook/soldierboyslette00cook_djvu.txt letter to mother] * There is no substitute for a militant [[freedom]]. The only alternative is submission and slavery. ** [[Calvin Coolidge]], ''The Price of Freedom: Speeches and Addresses'', Coolidge, The Minerva Group (2001), p. 159 ** Acceptance of the Memorial to General Ulysses S. Grant (27 April 1922) * One of the reasons that schools don't teach the {{w|civil rights movement}} particularly effectively, is because we don't do a very good job of teaching the history that made it necessary, which is [[w:History of slavery in the United States|our long history of slavery]]. ** [[Maureen Costello]], as quoted in ''[https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/02/04/582468315/why-schools-fail-to-teach-slaverys-hard-history Why Schools Fail To Teach Slavery's 'Hard History']'' (February 4, 2018) by Cory Turner, ''{{w|NPR}}'' * I would not have a slave to till my ground, <br /> To carry me, to fan me while I sleep, <br /> And tremble when I wake, for all the wealth <br /> That sinews bought and sold have ever earn'd. ** [[William Cowper]], in ''[[w:The Task (poem)|The Task]]'' (1785), Book II, line 29 * Slaves cannot breathe in England; if their lungs <br /> Receive our air, that moment they are free; <br /> They touch our country, and their shackles fall. ** [[William Cowper]], in ''The Task'' (1785), Book II, line 40, ''The Timepiece'' * As to any other laws that slave-holders may make among themselves, as respecting slaves, they can be of no better kind, nor give them any better character, than what is implied in the common report—that there may be some honesty among thieves. ** [[Ottobah Cugoano]], ''Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery'' (1787) *'''There was not in all the colonial legislation of America one single law which recognized the rightfulness of slavery in the abstract; that in 1774 [[Virginia]] stigmatized the slave-trade as 'wicked, cruel, and unnatural'; that in the same year [[w:Continental_Congress|Congress]] protested against it 'under the sacred ties of virtue, honor, and love of country';''' that in 1775 the same Congress denied that God intended one man to own another as a slave; that the new Discipline of the Methodist Church, in 1784, and the Pastoral Letter of the Presbyterian Church, in 1788, denounced slavery; that abolition societies existed in slave States, and that it was hardly the interest even of the cotton-growing States, where it took a slave a day to clean a pound of cotton, to uphold the system... Jefferson, in his address to the Virginia Legislature of 1774, says that 'the abolition of domestic slavery is the greatest object of desire in these colonies, where it was unhappily introduced in their infant state'; and while he constantly remembers to remind us that the Jeffersonian prohibition of slavery in the territories was lost in 1784, he forgets to add that it was lost, not by a majority of votes — for there were sixteen in its favor to seven against it — but because the sixteen votes did not represent two thirds of the States; and he also incessantly forgets to tell us that this Jeffersonian prohibition was restored by the Congress of 1785, and erected into the famous Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which was re-enacted by the first Congress of the United States and approved by the first [[President of the United States|President]]. ** [[George William Curtis]], [https://archive.org/details/orationsandaddr03curtgoog "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question"] (18 October 1859)<!-- New York City --> *The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] then, as now, was in open alliance with slavery, in a conspiracy against the Constitution and the peace of the country. **[[George William Curtis]], in "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question"] (18 October 1859) * If [[George Washington|Washington]] or [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] or [[James Madison|Madison]] should utter upon his native soil today the opinions he entertained and expressed upon this question, he would be denounced as a fanatical abolitionist. To declare the right of all men to [[liberty]] is sectional, because slavery is afraid of liberty and strikes the mouth that speaks the word. To preach slavery is not sectional — no: because [[freedom]] respects itself and believes in itself enough to give an enemy fair play. Thus [[Boston]] asked [[w:Robert Toombs|Senator Toombs]] to come and say what he could for slavery. I think Boston did a good thing, but I think Senator Toombs is not a wise man, for he went. He went all the way from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] to show [[Massachusetts]] how slavery looks, and to let it learn what it has to say. When will Georgia ask [[Wendell Phillips]] or [[Charles Sumner]] to come down and show her how liberty looks and speaks? ** [[George William Curtis]], in "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question"] (18 October 1859) * I confess I secretly suspect the [[Republicanism]] of an orator who is more anxious to show his hearers that he respects what he calls the rights of slavery than that he loves the [[Human rights|rights of man]]. If God be just and the human instinct true, slavery has no rights at all. It has only a legalized toleration. Have I a right to catch a weaker man than I, and appropriate him, his industry, and his family, forever, against his will, to my service? Because if I have, any man stronger than I has the same right over me. But if I have not, what possible right is represented by the two thousand million dollars of property in human beings in this country? It is the right of Captain Kidd on the sea, of Dick Turpin on the land. I certainly do not say that every slave-holder is a bad man, because I know the contrary. The complicity of many with the system is inherited, and often unwilling. But to rob a man of his liberty, to make him so far as possible a brute and a thing, is not less a crime against human nature because it is organized into a hereditary system of frightful proportions. A wrong does not become a right by being vested. ** [[George William Curtis]], in "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question"] (18 October 1859) * '''As to the doctrine of slavery and the right of [[Christianity|Christians]] to hold [[Africa]]ns in perpetual servitude, and sell and treat them as we do our horses and cattle, that, it is true, has been heretofore countenanced by the Province Laws formerly, but nowhere is it expressly enacted or established. It has been a usage&ndash;a usage which took its origin from the practice of some of the [[Europe]]an nations, and the regulations of [[Great Britain|British]] government''' respecting the then-colonies, for the benefit of trade and wealth. But whatever sentiments have formerly prevailed in this particular or slid in upon us by the example of others, '''a different idea has taken place with the people of [[United States|America]], more favorable to the natural rights of mankind, and to that natural, innate desire of liberty, with which [[Heaven]], without regard to color, complexion, or shape of noses-features, has inspired all the human race. And upon this ground our constitution of government''', by which the people of [[w:Massachusetts|this Commonwealth]] have solemnly bound themselves, sets out with declaring that all men are born free and equal, and that every subject is entitled to liberty, and to have it guarded by the laws, as well as life and property&ndash;and in short is totally repugnant to the idea of being born slaves. This being the case, I think the idea of slavery is inconsistent with our own conduct and constitution; and there can be no such thing as perpetual servitude of a rational creature, unless his liberty is forfeited by some criminal conduct or given up by personal consent or contract. ** [[w:William Cushing|William Cushing]], as quoted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20040128112051/http://www.slavenorth.com/massemancip.htm ''Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Jennison''] (1783) * Independence without slavery, would be valueless... The South without slavery would not be worth a mess of pottage. ** [[w:Caleb Cutwell|Caleb Cutwell]], as quoted in a letter to the ''Galvaston Tri-Weekly''] (22 February 1865) *We have got to choose between two results. With these four millions of Negroes, either you must have four millions of disfranchised, disarmed, untaught, landless, thriftless, non-producing, non-consuming, degraded men, or else you must have four millions of land-holding, industrious, arms-bearing, and voting population. Choose between the two! Which will you have? **[[w:Richard Henry Dana, Jr.|Richard Henry Dana, Jr.]], as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=ixsgquUHhn4C&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=%22arms-bearing,+and+voting+population.+Choose+between+these+two%22&source=bl&ots=XZPvguF1nM&sig=8KE59oGl8Q0-Aye9aNlcrSZTkAM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAGoVChMIzsGdwZ-QxwIVQxw-Ch3yzQZs#v=onepage&q=%22arms-bearing%2C%20and%20voting%20population.%20Choose%20between%20these%20two%22&f=false ''Religion, Race, and Reconstruction: The Public School in the Politics of the 1870s''] (1998), by Ward M. McCafee, Albany, New York: State University of New York, p. 11 ==D== [[File:US flag 13 stars.svg|thumb|We are not influenced by any contracted or interested motives, but a general philanthropy for all mankind, of whatever climate, language, or complexion. We hereby declare our disapprobation and abhorrence of the unnatural practice of slavery... We therefore resolve, at all times to use our utmost endeavors for the manumission of slaves. ~ [[w:Darien Georgia|Darien Committee]]]] [[File:Juliao14.JPG|thumb|Slavery is essentially barbarous in its character. It, above all things else, dreads the presence of an advanced civilization. It flourishes best where it meets no reproving frowns, and hears no condemning voices. ~ [[Frederick Douglass]]]] [[File:Official_medallion_of_the_British_Anti-Slavery_Society_(1795).jpg|thumb|No man can put a [[chain]] about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck. ~ [[Frederick Douglass]] ]] * To show the world that we are not influenced by any contracted or interested motives, but a general [[philanthropy]] for all mankind, of whatever climate, language, or complexion, we hereby declare our disapprobation and abhorrence of the unnatural practice of slavery in America, however the uncultivated state of our country, or other specious arguments may plead for it, a practice founded in injustice and cruelty, and highly dangerous to our liberties, as well as our lives, debasing part of our fellow-creatures below men, and corrupting the virtue and morals of the rest; and is laying the basis of that liberty we contend for, and which we pray the Almighty to continue to the latest posterity, upon a very wrong foundation. We therefore resolve, at all times to use our utmost endeavors for the manumission of slaves. **[[w:Darien Georgia|Darien Committee]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=suGs9JNciAoC&pg=RA1-PA153&dq=%22founded+in+injustice+and+cruelty+and+highly+dangerous%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDMQ6AEwBGoVChMIrKPrg-bRxwIVBnQ-Ch1i0gpZ#v=onepage&q=%22founded%20in%20injustice%20and%20cruelty%20and%20highly%20dangerous%22&f=false ''Darien Resolutions''] (12 January 1775), Georgia * Expediency governed the slave-holders' posture toward female slaves: when it was [[profit]]able to exploit them as if they were men, they were regarded, in effect, as genderless, but when they could be exploited, punished and repressed in ways suited only for women, they were locked into their exclusively female roles. ** [[Angela Davis]], {{cite book | title=Women, Race, & Class | publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group | series=Vintage | year=2011 | isbn=978-0-307-79849-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74QzFiv1w10C&pg=PA6|page=6}} {{W|Women, Race, & Class|1st edition, 1981}} * In 1770, on the eve of the [[American Revolution]], African American slavery was legal and almost unquestioned throughout the New World. The ghastly slave trade from Africa was still expanding and for many decades had been shipping five Africans across the Atlantic for every European immigrant to the Americas. An imaginary “hemispheric traveler” would have seen black slaves in every colony from [[Canada]] and [[New England]] all the way south to [[Spain|Spanish]] [[Peru]] and [[Chile]]. In the incomparably rich colonies of the [[w:Caribbean|Caribbean]], they often constituted population majorities of 90 percent or more. But in 1888, one hundred and eighteen years later, when Brazil finally freed all its slaves, the institution had been outlawed throughout the Western Hemisphere. This final act of liberation, building on Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation achievement in the American Civil War, took place only a century after the creation of the first antislavery societies in human history—initially small groups in such places as [[Philadelphia]], [[London]], [[w:Manchester|Manchester]], and [[New York City|New York]]. The abolition of New World slavery depended in large measure on a major transformation in moral perception—on the emergence of writers, speakers, and reformers, beginning in the mid-eighteenth century, who were willing to condemn an institution that had been sanctioned for thousands of years and who also strove to make human society something more than an endless contest of greed and power. ** [[David Brion Davis]], ''Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World'' (2006), p. 1 * Why, then, in the absence of all control over the subject of African slavery, are you agitated in relation to it? With [[Pharisees|Pharisaical]] pretension it is sometimes said it is a moral obligation to agitate, and I suppose they are going through a sort of vicarious repentance for other men's [[Sin|sins]]. ... Who gave them a right to decide that it is a sin? By what standard do they measure it? Not the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]]; the Constitution recognizes the property in many forms, and imposes obligations in connection with that recognition. Not the Bible; that justifies it. Not the good of society; for if they go where it exists, they find that society recognizes it as good... ** [[Jefferson Davis]], [http://jeffersondavis.rice.edu/Content.aspx?id=80 Speech in Boston] (11 October 1858) * The middle of the fourth millennium B.C. is the period at which [[w:Neolithic|Neolithic]] society in the great eastern river valleys developed the first form of civilization. ...For understanding how the impressive [[Technology|technological]] achievements of the early civilizations were brought about, it is important to notice that, '''even when the tiller of the soil was regarded as a free man rather than as a serf, forced labor on public works was commonly exacted''' (in [[Egypt]] it was still customary when [[w:Ferdinand de Lesseps|de Lesseps]] began to dig the [[w:Suez Canal|Suez Canal]])... we may trace from this period the growth of slavery, which had its origin at the stage when it first paid to keep captives alive because their work was worth more than their keep. Every [[war]] produced its quota of human plunder; traders, too, dealt rapidly in a [[commodity]] that could carry itself to [[market]]; and within the community enslavement was commonly the fate of the [[criminal]] and the [[debtor]]. Slaves of the god or of his [[temple]] and of the king or of his state provided a numerous body of workers, sometimes well trained and often cruelly exploited, while '''throughout ancient history almost every reference to [[agriculture]] or [[industry]] in [[Developed country|civilized countries]] must be taken to imply the employment of slaves''', usually in small numbers, alongside farmers and craftsmen enjoying different degrees of personal freedom.<!-- pp.6-7--> ** T. K. Derry & Trevor I. Williams, ''A Short History of Technology: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900'' (1960) Ch.1 General Historical Survey; "Mesopotamian and Egyptian Civilizations" * '''How great was the temptation to use... slaves of the state as easily expendable pioneers''' may perhaps be judged by the fact that in an age of machinery [[w:Prisoners of war|prisoners of war]] have been worked to death in [[Rail transport|railway]] building, in [[Europe]] as well as [[Asia]]. Secondly, the city of [[w:Ancient Rome|Rome]] under the early empire, with perhaps 200,000 slaves in a total population of less than a million, is an outstanding instance... for example, 660 slaves maintained the 280 miles of aqueducts which gave a daily water supply of 38 gallons a head. Finally, there was the exploitation of slave labour in [[mining]], which was used to enrich the [[w:United_Kingdom_of_Israel|kingdom]] of [[David]] and [[Solomon]] as well as the fifth-century [[w:Athenian democracy|Athenian democracy]] and spread as far west as [[w:Romanization of Hispania|Roman Spain]]: '''this won the [[Metallurgy|metals]], on which technical progress largely depended, by methods that stretched manpower to exhaustion.''' We lack the details, but [[Diodorus Siculus]] in the reign of [[Augustus]] writes that '''in the Spanish silver-mines the strongest workers were the most unfortunate, because they were the slowest to die.''' ** T. K. Derry & Trevor I. Williams, A Short History of Technology: From the Earliest Times to A.D. 1900 (1960) Ch.5, Building Construction, "Man and Animal Power * '''[[Plato]] defined a [[slave]] as one who accepts from another the purposes which control his conduct. This condition obtains even where there is no slavery in the legal sense.''' It is found wherever men are engaged in activity which is socially serviceable, but whose service they do not understand and have no personal interest in. ** [[John Dewey]], in ''[[w:Democracy and Education|Democracy and Education]]'' (1916), Section 7: The Democratic Conception in Education * Once [[w:Diogenes of Sinope|Diogenes]], who was washing vegetables, ridiculed him as he passed by, and said, "If you had learnt to eat these vegetables, you would not have been a slave in the palace of a tyrant." But Aristippus replied, "And you, if you had known how to behave among men, would not have been washing vegetables." ** [[Diogenes Laertius]] ''Aristippus'', 4 * When some one boasted that at the Pythian games he had vanquished men, Diogenes replied, "'''Nay, I defeat men, you defeat [[slaves]].'''" ** [[Diogenes Laërtius]], vi. 33, 43 * To [[w:Xeniades|Xeniades]], who had purchased Diogenes at the slave market, he said, "Come, see that you obey orders." ** [[Diogenes Laërtius]], vi. 36 * When the slave auctioneer asked in what he was proficient, he replied, "In [[Rule|ruling]] [[people]]." ** [[Diogenes Laërtius]], vi. 74 * '''Once a [[man]] has tasted [[freedom]] he will never be content to be a slave.''' ** [[Walt Disney]], Radio address "Our American Culture" broadcast during an intermission of the Metropolitan Opera. (1 March 1941) * '''I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things I wanted.''' ** [[Frederick Douglass]], ''[[w:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave|Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave]]'' (1845) * '''I have often been utterly astonished, since I came to the north, to find persons who could speak of the [[singing]], among slaves, as evidence of their contentment and happiness. It is impossible to conceive of a greater mistake.''' Slaves sing most when they are most unhappy. The songs of the slave represent the sorrows of his heart; and he is relieved by them, only as an aching heart is relieved by its tears. At least, such is my experience. '''I have often sung to drown my sorrow, but seldom to express my happiness.''' Crying for joy, and singing for joy, were alike uncommon to me while in the jaws of slavery. The singing of a man cast away upon a desolate island might be as appropriately considered as evidence of contentment and happiness, as the singing of a slave; the songs of the one and of the other are prompted by the same emotion. ** [[Frederick Douglass]], ''Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave'' (1845) * I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence. From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom. This good spirit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise. ** [[Frederick Douglass]], ''Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave'' (1845) * Where there is seeming contentment with slavery, there is certain treachery to freedom. ** Madison Washington in ''{{w|The Heroic Slave}}'' by [[Frederick Douglass]], published in ''Autographs for Freedom'', edited by {{w|Julia Griffiths}}, Cleveland: {{w|John P. Jewett & Company}}, 1853 * When their day's work in the field is down, the most of them have their washing, mending and cooking to do, and having few or none of the ordinary facilities for doing either of these, very many of their sleeping hours are consumed in preparing for the field the coming day; and when this is done…they drop down side by side on one common bed - the cold damp floor… ** Frederick Douglass, ''The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass''; as quoted in [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter4.shtml “Story of Africa”], ''BBC'' * Slavery is essentially barbarous in its character. It, above all things else, dreads the presence of an advanced civilization. It flourishes best where it meets no reproving frowns, and hears no condemning voices. ** [[Frederick Douglass]], [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/the-constitution-of-the-united-states-is-it-pro-slavery-or-anti-slavery/ ''The Constitution of the United States: Is It Pro-Slavery or Anti-Slavery?''] (26 March 1860), Glasgow, United Kingdom * 'Inferiority' is an old dodge, as I have said; for wherever men oppress their fellows, wherever they enslave them, they will endeavor to find the needed apology for such enslavement and oppression in the character of the people oppressed and enslaved. ** [[Frederick Douglass]], [http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/what-the-black-man-wants/ "What the Black Man Wants"], speech in Boston, Massachusetts (1865) * '''No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck.''' ** [[Frederick Douglass]], Speech at Civil Rights Mass Meeting, Washington, D.C. (22 October 1883) * Slavery was the wickedest thing in the world, the greatest curse the earth had ever felt... The sin of slavery is so clearly written out, and so much talked against, that if any one says he don't know, and has not heard, he must, I think, be a liar. ** John Dumont (1849), a former [[w:slaveholder|slaveholder]] and former master of [[Sojourner Truth]]. <small>As quoted in Olive Gilbert & Sojourner Truth (1878), Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Bondswoman of Olden Time, page 124</small> * God has authorized the practice of slavery, not only by the bare permission of his Providence, but the express provision of his word. Therefore, slavery is not a moral evil. ** Pastor Dunwody, of South Carolina, as quoted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20110321183207/http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/why-non-slaveholding.html "Why Non-Slaveholding Southeners Fought"] (25 January 2011), by Gordon Rhea, ''Civil War Trust'' ==E== [[File:Engels painting2.jpg|thumb|The only difference as compared with the old, outspoken slavery is this, that the worker of today seems to be free because he is not sold once for all, but piecemeal by the day, the week, the year, and because no one owner sells him to another, but he is forced to sell himself in this way instead, being the slave of no particular person, but of the whole property-holding class. ~ [[Friedrich Engels]]]] * '''Slavery is disheartening; but [[Nature]] is not so helpless but it can rid itself of every last wrong.''' But the spasms of nature are centuries and ages and will tax the faith of shortlived men. '''Slowly, slowly the Avenger comes, but comes surely.''' The proverbs of the nations affirm these delays, but affirm the arrival. They say, "[[God]] may consent, but not forever." The delay of the Divine Justice — this was the meaning and soul of the Greek Tragedy, — this was the soul of their [[religion]]. ** [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], in "The Fugitive Slave Law" , Lecture in New York City (7 March 1854), ''The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson'' (1904), p. 238 * I do not see how a barbarous community and a civilized community can constitute a state. I think we must get rid of slavery or we must get rid of freedom. ** [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]], ''The Assault upon Mr. Sumner's Speech'' (May 26, 1856) * The only difference as compared with the old, outspoken slavery is this, that the worker of today seems to be free because he is not sold once for all, but piecemeal by the day, the week, the year, and because no one owner sells him to another, but he is forced to sell himself in this way instead, being the slave of no particular person, but of the whole [[Bourgeoisie|property-holding class]]. ** [[Friedrich Engels]], ''[[w:The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844|The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844]]'' * As long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. ** [[Paul]], [[Epistle to the Galatians]] 4:1-7 NIV * But this is slavery, not to [[speak]] one's [[thought]]. ** [[Euripides]], ''The Phoenician Women'', line 392; reported in David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, eds., ''The Complete Greek Tragedies'' (1958), vol. 4, p. 392 ==F== [[File:Spear_point_knife_blade.jpg|thumb|'''[[w:Roy Batty|Roy Batty]]''': Quite an [[experience]] to [[live]] in [[fear]], isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave. ~ [[w:Hampton Fancher|Hampton Fancher]] and [[w:David Peoples|David Peoples]]]] [[File:Telenoid™ R4 (tele-presence robot for mobile communication) by ATR Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratory, exhibited at Miraikan (2015-06-15 03.48.40 by Franklin Heijnen) (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[danger]] of the [[past]] was that [[men]] became slaves. The danger of the [[future]] is that men may become [[robots]]. ~ [[Erich Fromm]] ]] * Quite an [[experience]] to [[live]] in [[fear]], isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave. ** [[w:Roy Batty|Roy Batty]] as interpreted by [[w:Rutger Hauer|Rutger Hauer]] in ''[[Blade Runner]]'', (1982), written by [[w:Hampton Fancher|Hampton Fancher]] and [[w:David Peoples|David Peoples]] * Control every single moment of a slaves life, every minute of their day; it would tell them where to go, what to wear, where to sleep, when to work, when to eat, what to eat, when to speak, when to be silent. '''This is probably the biggest form of government that human beings have ever invented in the whole of history'''. ** Joshua Felipe, as quoted in [https://diplomatdc.wordpress.com/2010/06/05/the-libertarian-attack-on-abraham-lincoln-by-gregory-hilton/ "The Libertarian Attack on Abraham Lincoln"] (5 June 2010), by Gregory Hilton, ''The DC World Affairs Blog'', WordPress * This fight is against slavery; '''if we lose it, you will be made free'''. ** [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]], as quoted in ''Report of the Joint Select Committee'' * '''Renfield''': I'm loyal to you, Master, I am your slave, I didn't betray you! Oh, no, don't! Don't kill me! Let me live, please! Punish me, torture me, but let me live! I can't die with all those lives on my conscience! All that blood on my hands! ** [[Dracula (1931 English-language film)]] written by Garrett Fort * ''Every man'' of the commonalty (excepting [[Infant|infants]], insane persons, and criminals) is, of common right, and by the [[Divine law|laws of God]], ''a freeman'', and entitled to the free enjoyment of ''liberty''. ...liberty or freedom consists in having an actual share in the appointment of those who are to frame the laws and who are to be the guardians of every man's life, property, and peace. For '''the all of one man is as dear to him as the all of another; and the poor man has an equal right, but more need to have [[Representation|representatives]] in the [[Legislature]] than the rich one. ...they who have no voice or vote in the electing of representatives, do not enjoy liberty, but are absolutely enslaved to those who have votes and their representatives; for to be enslaved is to have governors whom other men have set over us, and to be subject to laws made by the representatives of others, without having had representatives of our own to give consent in our behalf.''' ** [[Benjamin Franklin]], "Some Good Whig Principles. Declaration of those Rights of the Community of Great Britain, without which they cannot be Free," as quoted in ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jmMFAAAAQAAJ Memoirs of the Llife and Writings of Benjamin Franklin]'' (1818) by Benjamin Franklin & William Temple Franklin<!--p.186--> * In the [[19th century]] inhumanity meant [[cruelty]]; in the 20th century it means schizoid self-alienation. '''The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that men may become [[Robot|robots]].''' True enough, robots do not rebel. But given man’s nature, robots cannot live and remain sane, they become "Golems”; they will destroy their world and themselves because they cannot stand any longer the boredom of a meaningless life. ** [[Erich Fromm]], ''The Sane Society'' (1955), Ch. 9: Summary — Conclusion, p. 102 ** Fromm is here referencing a statement made by [[Adlai Stevenson]] at Columbia University in 1954, which he had quoted earlier in the work: "We are not in danger of becoming slaves any more, but of becoming robots.” * But on the other hand we must remember, as the point that was made, is that the church is very loose on moral evils, because although they try to accuse people like me, who believe in [[empiricism]] and the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], of somehow what they call [[moral relativism]], as if it’s some appalling sin, where what it actually means is thought, they for example thought that slavery was perfectly fine, absolutely okay, and then they didn’t. And what is the point of the [[Catholic Church|Catholic church]] if it says ‘oh, well we couldn’t know better because nobody else did,’ then what are you for? ** [[Stephen Fry]] [http://www.amindatplay.eu/en/2009/12/02/intelligence%C2%B2-catholic-church-debate-transcript/ Intelligence² Catholic church debate: Transcript] ==G== [[File:Flag of the 22nd Regiment, United States Colored Troops.png|thumb|The sin of slavery is one of which it may be said that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. ~ [[James A. Garfield]] ]] [[File:Day 12 Occupy Wall Street September 28 2011 Shankbone 33.JPG|thumb|None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. ~ [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]] ]] [[File:Flag of the Confederate States of America (1865).svg|thumb|There will be people who will not be consoled for the loss of a cause which they believed to be holy. As time passes, people, even of the South, will begin to wonder how it was possible that their ancestors ever fought for or justified institutions which acknowledged the right of property in man. ~ [[Ulysses S. Grant]]]] [[File:Georges Gurdjieff.JPG|thumb|Without [[self]] [[knowledge]], without [[understanding]] the [[working]] and functions of his [[machine]], [[man]] cannot be [[free]], he cannot [[govern]] [[himself]] and he will always remain a [[slave]]. ~ [[G. I. Gurdjieff]] ]] * The will of the nation, speaking with the voice of battle and through the amended [[United States Constitution|Constitution]], has fulfilled the great promise of 1776 by proclaiming '[[w:Liberty Bell|liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants thereof]].' '''The elevation of the negro race from slavery to the full rights of citizenship is the most important political change we have known since the adoption of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution of 1787]]. NO thoughtful man can fail to appreciate its beneficent effect upon our institutions and people.''' It has freed us from the perpetual danger of war and dissolution. It has added immensely to the moral and industrial forces of our people. It has liberated the master as well as the slave from a relation which wronged and enfeebled both. It has surrendered to their own guardianship the manhood of more than 5,000,000 people, and has opened to each one of them a career of freedom and usefulness. ** [[James A. Garfield]], [http://web.archive.org/web/20000523111834/http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/inaug/garfield.htm inaugural address] (4 March 1881) * The sin of slavery is one of which it may be said that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. ** [[James A. Garfield]], diary entry (8 June 1881) *The day of happiness will be the memorable day of the emancipation of the people, and the day of emancipation will be the one when the great are put down and the small raised up; when there are neither masters nor slaves; bosses nor subordinates; powerful nor weak; oppressors nor oppressed; but when the vast Brazil is called the common homeland of Brazilian citizens or [[w:United States of Brazil|United States of Brazil]]. ** [[Luís Gama]], Correio Paulistano, January 29, 1867. Translation from: [https://aventurasnahistoria.uol.com.br/noticias/reportagem/defendeu-escravizados-o-inestimavel-legado-do-jornalista-luiz-gama-.phtml Defendeu escravizados: O inestimável legado do jornalista Luiz Gama]. *[[Slavery]] is a kind of social leprosy: it has often been abolished by legislators and restored by education under various aspects. ** [[Luís Gama]], 1876. Translation from: [https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/brasil/luiz-gama-foi-o-1o-jornalista-brasileiro-negro-mas-ainda-e-desconhecido/ Luiz Gama foi o 1º jornalista brasileiro negro, mas ainda é desconhecido]. * Oh, give us a flag, '''all free without a slave!''' We'll fight to defend it, as our fathers did so brave. ** [http://www.civilwarpoetry.org/union/songs/give_us_a_flag.html "Give Us A Flag"] * I heard my mother remark occasionally: 'A man who accepts a job under anyone is a slave.' That impression became so indelibly fixed that even after my marriage I refused all positions. I met expenses by investing my family endowment in land. Moral: Good and positive suggestions should instruct the sensitive ears of children. Their early ideas long remain sharply etched. * Do not allow yourself to be thrashed by the provoking whip of a beautiful face. How can sense slaves enjoy the world? Its subtle flavours escape them while they grovel in primal mud. All nice discriminations are lost to the man of elemental lusts. ** [[Yukteswar Giri]] ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' (1946) * I believe the slave trade to be by far the foulest crime that taints the history of mankind in any Christian or pagan country. ** [[William Ewart Gladstone]], [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1850/mar/19/slave-trade#column_1158 speech] in the House of Commons (19 March 1850) * If one looks across the expanse of history, one cannot help but notice a curious sense of identification between the most exalted and the most degraded; particularly, between emperors and kings, and slaves. Many kings have surrounded themselves with slaves, appoint slave ministers-there have even been, as with the Mamluks of Egypt, actual dynasties of slaves. Kings surround themselves with slaves for the same reason they surround themselves with eunuchs: because the slaves and criminals have no families or friends, no possibility of other loyalties-or at least that, in principle, they shouldn't. But in a way, kings should really be like that too. As many an African proverb emphasizes: a proper king has no relatives either, or at least, he acts as if he does not. '''In other words, the king and slave are mirror images, in that unlike normal human beings who are defined by their commitments to others, they are defined only by relations of power. They are as close to perfectly isolated, alienated beings as one can possibly become.''' ** [[David Graeber]], ''Debt: The First 5000 Years'' (2011) * As soon as slavery fired upon the flag it was felt, we all felt, even those who did not object to slaves, that slavery must be destroyed. We felt that it was a stain to the Union that men should be bought and sold like cattle. ** [[Ulysses S. Grant]], to Otto von Bismarck (June 1878), as quoted in ''Around the World with General Grant'' (1879) * It is with regret that I have again to announce a continuance of the disturbed condition of the island of [[Cuba]]. No advance toward the pacification of the discontented part of the population has been made. While the insurrection has gained no advantages and exhibits no more of the elements of power or of the prospects of ultimate success than were exhibited a year ago, Spain, on the other hand, has not succeeded in its repression, and the parties stand apparently in the same relative attitude which they have occupied for a long time past. This contest has lasted now for more than four years. Were its scene at a distance from our neighborhood, we might be indifferent to its result, although humanity could not be unmoved by many of its incidents wherever they might occur. It is, however, at our door. '''I can not doubt that the continued maintenance of [[w:Slavery_in_Cuba|slavery in Cuba]] is among the strongest inducements to the continuance of this strife. A terrible wrong is the natural cause of a terrible evil'''. ** [[Ulysses S. Grant]], [[s:Ulysses_S._Grant%27s_Fourth_State_of_the_Union_Address|Fourth State of the Union Address]] (2 December 1872) * Slavery in [[Cuba]] is a principal cause of the lamentable condition of the island. **[[Ulysses S. Grant]], [[s:Ulysses_S._Grant%27s_Fifth_State_of_the_Union_Address|Fifth State of the Union Address]] (1 December 1873) * For the present, and so long as there are living witnesses of the great war of sections, '''there will be people who will not be consoled for the loss of a cause which they believed to be holy. As time passes, people, even of the South, will begin to wonder how it was possible that their ancestors ever fought for or justified institutions which acknowledged the right of property in man'''. ** [[Ulysses S. Grant]], [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4367 ''Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant''] (1885), by U.S. Grant, Ch. 12 * At the time of writing there are, by one measure, more slaves in the world than at any time in history: 27 million people all told, in forced labour camps, debt bondage, the sex industry, professional beggary, domestic servitude, and work—work without pay and under threat of violence, which is the definition of slavery—in agriculture, mining and factories. A very large proportion of them are children, many of whom are commercially trafficked….<br>Those who are enslaved by history—who dwell on past wrongs, who keep ancient conflicts and quarrels alive, who even seek reparations for the wrongs suffered by their ancestors—would do the world a greater service by turning their attention to present-day slavery instead. A concerted effort might open the gates of [[China]]’s [[w:laogai|forced labour camps]], free the [[Haiti|Haitian]] sugar-plantation slaves, rescue the [[w:Child_prostitutes|child prostitutes]] of [[w:Southeast_Asia|Southeast Asia]], and end the chattel slavery in [[w:Mauritania|Mauritania]] and the [[Sudan]] where slave markets still exist and where you can buy six children for one Kalashnikov. ** [[A. C. Grayling]], ''Life, Sex, and Ideas: The Good Life Without God'' (2002), {{ISBN|0-19-517755-X}}, Chapter 42, "Slavery" (ellipsis represents the elision of one paragraph of examples) * 'I got me slaves and slave-girls.' For what price, tell me? What did you find in existence worth as much as this human nature? What price did you put on [[Reason|rationality]]? How many [[w:Obol (coin)|obols]] did you reckon the equivalent of the likeness of God? How many [[w:Stater|staters]] did you get for selling that being shaped by God? God said, Let us make man in our own image and likeness. If he is in the likeness of God, and rules the whole earth, and has been granted authority over everything on earth from God, who is his buyer, tell me? Who is his seller? To God alone belongs this power; or, rather, not even to God himself. For his gracious gifts, it says, are irrevocable. God would not therefore reduce the human race to slavery, since he himself, when we had been enslaved to sin, spontaneously recalled us to freedom. But if God does not enslave what is free, who is he that sets his own power above God's? ** [[Gregory of Nyssa]], ''Homilies on Ecclesiastes'', Hall and Moriarty, tr., de Gruyter (New York, 1993) p. 74 * '''Did not [[Jesus]] condemn slavery? Let us examine some of his precepts. ''"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them"'', Let every slaveholder apply these queries to his own heart; Am I willing to be a slave —Am I willing to see my wife the slave of another — Am I willing to see my mother a slave, or my father, my sister or my brother? If not, then in holding others as slaves, I am doing what I would not wish to be done to me or any relative I have; and thus have I broken this [[w:Golden Rule|golden rule]] which was given me to walk by".''' ** [[w:Angelina Grimké|Angelina Grimké]], Christian abolitionist and activist. ''[http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abesaegat.html Appeal to the Christian Women of the South]'' (1836), American Anti-Slavery Society * '''None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.''' ** [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]], ''[[w:Elective Affinities|Elective Affinities]]'' (1809), Bk. II, Ch. 5 * '''Without [[self]] [[knowledge]], without [[understanding]] the [[working]] and functions of his [[machine]], man cannot be [[free]], he cannot [[govern]] [[himself]] and he will always remain a [[slave]].''' ** [[G. I. Gurdjieff]], Quotations of Gurdjieff from ''In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching'' (1949) by [[P. D. Ouspensky]] * The history of slavery is a history of [[suffering]] and [[barbarity]] that shows [[humanity]] at its [[worst]]. <br> But it is also a history of [[awe]]-inspiring [[courage]] that shows human beings at their [[best]] – starting with enslaved people who rose up against [[impossible]] [[odds]] and extending to the [[abolitionists]] who spoke out against this atrocious [[crime]]. <br> And yet, the legacy of the [[Transatlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]] [[haunts]] us to this [[day]]. <br> We can draw a straight line from the centuries of [[colonial]] exploitation to the [[social]] and [[economic]] [[inequalities]] of [[today]]. <br> And we can recognize the [[racist]] tropes popularized to [[rationalize]] the inhumanity of the slave trade in the [[white supremacist]] [[hate]] that is resurgent today. ** [[António Guterres]], [https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2023-03-25/secretary-generals-message-the-international-day-of-remembrance-of-the-victims-of-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade-%28scroll-down-for-french-versi-on%29?_gl=1*161wr6u*_ga*OTkwNzU0NTM0LjE2ODAyMDczMDY.*_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z*MTY4MDIwNzM0Ny4xLjAuMTY4MDIwNzM0Ny4wLjAuMA.. “Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade”], ''United Nations'', (25 March 2023) * By [[teaching]] the [[history]] of slavery, we help to guard against humanity’s most vicious impulses. <br> By studying the [[assumptions]] and [[beliefs]] that allowed the practice to flourish for centuries, we unmask the [[racism]] of our own [[time]]. <br> And by [[honouring]] the [[victims]] of slavery, we restore some measure of [[dignity]] to those who were so mercilessly stripped of it. ** [[António Guterres]], [https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2023-03-25/secretary-generals-message-the-international-day-of-remembrance-of-the-victims-of-slavery-and-the-transatlantic-slave-trade-%28scroll-down-for-french-versi-on%29?_gl=1*161wr6u*_ga*OTkwNzU0NTM0LjE2ODAyMDczMDY.*_ga_TK9BQL5X7Z*MTY4MDIwNzM0Ny4xLjAuMTY4MDIwNzM0Ny4wLjAuMA.. “Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade”], ''United Nations'', (25 March 2023) ==H== * Time-servers are the cowering slaves of slaves, <br /> Alone on earth, who serves the Lord is free, <br /> Each soul shall win the gift that it most craves; <br /> Seek God, my soul — God shall your portion be! ** [[Judah Halevi]], ''Time-Servers'' * The laws of certain states …give an ownership in the service of negroes as [[personal property]]…. But being men, by the laws of God and nature, they were capable of acquiring liberty—and when the captor in war …thought fit to give them liberty, the gift was not only valid, but irrevocable. ** [[Alexander Hamilton]], ''Philo Camillus no. 2'' (1795), as quoted in [http://www.vindicatingthefounders.com/library/five-founders-on-slavery.html ''Papers of Alexander Hamilton''], ed. Harold C. Syrett (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961-), 19:101-2 * Besides being able to borrow on personal security, an individual might sell himself or a family member into slavery. ** [[Code of Hammurabi]]; as quoted in Anthony Appiah, Martin Bunzl (2007-07-02), Buying freedom, pp. 95–97, ISBN 978-0-691-13010-1 ** Alternate translation: If any one fail to meet a claim for debt, and sell himself, his wife, his son, and daughter for money or give them away to forced labor: they shall work for three years in the house of the man who bought them, or the proprietor, and in the fourth year they shall be set free. ** "The Code of Hammurabi. Translated by L. W. King". The Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy. Yale Law School. Retrieved (12 March 2018) * It is a sad state of affairs when we have a culture that rightly hates slavery and looks back upon our history of enslaving an entire people group with revulsion and horror and yet, apparently, cannot see that we are doing the exact same thing with a different group of people. We have dehumanized the unborn and turned them into legal property to be kept or discarded at the whim of the 'owner' just as we did for blacks in the days of slavery. It was a shame then and it is a shame now. It must stop. '''We have to recognize and protect the inherent human rights of all human beings, regardless of race, age, gender, disability, or location.''' ** Lindsay Harold, [http://therationalabolitionist.blogspot.com/2015/04/legal-battle-over-frozen-embryos-shows.html "Legal Battle over Frozen Embryos shows our Dehumanization of the Unborn"] (29 April 2015), ''The Rational Abolitionist'' * Shall the prejudices and paralysis of slavery continue to hang upon the skirts of progress? How long will those who rejoice that slavery no longer exists cherish or tolerate the incapacities it put upon their communities? ** [[Benjamin Harrison]], ''[[s:Benjamin Harrison's First State of the Union Address|Benjamin Harrison's First State of the Union Address]]'' (3 December 1889) * The colored people did not intrude themselves upon us. They were brought here in chains and held in the communities where they are now chiefly found by a cruel slave code. '''Happily for both races, they are now free'''. ** [[Benjamin Harrison]], ''[[s:Benjamin Harrison's First State of the Union Address|Benjamin Harrison's First State of the Union Address]]'' (3 December 1889) * Are we disposed to be the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, '''I consider it as nothing less than a question of [[freedom]] or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can [[hope]] to arrive at [[truth]], and fulfill the [[great]] [[responsibility]] which we hold to [[God]] and our [[country]].''' [...] Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? '''Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty [[God]]! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me [[liberty]] or give me [[death]]!''' ** [[w:Give me liberty, or give me death!|Atributed to]] [[Patrick Henry]] from a speech he made to the {{w|Second Virginia Convention}} on March 23, 1775. The speech was not published until ''{{w|The Port Folio}}'' printed a version of it in 1816. The version of the speech that is known today first appeared in print in ''Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry'', a biography of Henry by [[w:William Wirt (Attorney General)|William Wirt]] in 1817. There is debate among historians as to whether and to what extent Henry or Wirt should be credited with authorship of the speech and its famous closing words. * I will not, I cannot justify it. ** [[Patrick Henry]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=QQH6lsN4TIIC&pg=PA73&dq=%22I+believe+a+time+will+come+when+an+opportunity+will+be+offered+to+abolish+this+lamentable+evil.%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAmoVChMI6NiP0LjSxwIVBD0-Ch1EqwFq#v=onepage&q=%22I%20believe%20a%20time%20will%20come%20when%20an%20opportunity%20will%20be%20offered%20to%20abolish%20this%20lamentable%20evil.%22&f=false Letter to Robert Pleasants] (18 January 1773) * I believe a time will come when an opportunity will be offered to abolish this lamentable evil. Everything we do is to improve it, if it happens in our day; if not, let us transmit to our descendants, together with our slaves, a pity for their unhappy lot and an abhorrence of slavery. ** [[Patrick Henry]], [http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew/quotes/slavery.html letter to Robert Pleasants] (18 January 1773) * The selling and enslaving of the human species is a direct violation of the natural rights alike vested in them by their creator, and utterly inconsistent with the avowed principles on which this, and the other states have carried on their struggle for liberty. ** [https://books.google.com/books?id=Pel2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA30&dq=%22utterly+inconsistent+with+the+avowed%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAWoVChMIg_zf_uLRxwIVAx0-Ch3Bxwr2 ''House of Representatives of the State of New York''] (1776) *I don't think we can imagine what slavery has done to the people here, it goes very deep, these things take a very long time long, even the opposition to colonialism has traces of it. Here it was quite late, 1830, but a little further west, slavery lasted 3 to 4 centuries, 40 to 60 million people are estimated, were moved from here, to America, that's no small thing, you would say that is an African holocaust. **[https://books.google.be/books/about/Het_Einde_van_een_tijdperk.html?id=GJKiAAAACAAJ&redir_esc=y The end of an era: 130 years of experiences of Dutch missionaries] Marga Kerklaan, Ambo, 1992. testimony by Dr. H Hinfelaar (White Fathers) ==I== * We have enslaved the rest of the [[Animals|animal]] creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the [[Devil]] in human form. ** [[William Ralph Inge]], [http://books.google.com/books?id=TbgYAAAAYAAJ&q=Devil+in+human+form "The Idea of Progress"] ([[w:Romanes Lecture|Romanes Lecture]], 27 May 1920), reprinted in ''Outspoken Essays: Second Series'' (1922) ==J== [[File:Bataille Jemmapes.jpg|thumb|It is much to be wished that slavery may be abolished. The honour of the States, as well as justice and humanity, in my opinion, loudly call upon them to emancipate these unhappy people. To contend for our own liberty, and to deny that blessing to others, involves an inconsistency not to be excused. ~ [[John Jay]]]] [[File:A Rebel Guerrilla Raid In A Western Town (1862), by Thomas Nast.png|thumb|There must doubtless be an unhappy influence on the manners of our people produced by the existence of slavery among us.&nbsp;The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous [[passions]], the most unremitting [[despotism]] on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other.&nbsp; Our [[children]] see this, and learn to imitate it; for man is an imitative [[animal]].&nbsp;This quality is the germ of all [[education]] in him. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]]]] [[File:Cock_ca1804_attrib_to_JamesAkin_AmericanAntiquarianSociety.png|thumb|What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man! Who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment and death itself in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment, be deaf to all those motives whose powers supported him through his trial, and inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]]]] [[File:AdoptionOf13thAmendment.jpg|thumb|This abomination must have an end, and there is a superior bench reserved in heaven for those who hasten it. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]]]] [[File:Emancipation Day in South Carolina (1863), by Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly.png|thumb|The hour of emancipation is advancing, in the march of time. It will come. ~ [[Thomas Jefferson]]]] * There are and always will be some who, ashamed of the behavior of their ancestors, try to prove that slavery wasn't so bad after all, that its evils and its cruelty were the exaggerations of propagandists and not the habitual lot of the slaves. Men will say (and accept) anything in order to foster national pride or soothe a troubled conscience. ** [[C. L. R. James]], ''[[w:The Black Jacobins|The Black Jacobins]]'' (1938), p. 13 * That men should pray and fight for their own freedom, and yet keep others in slavery, is certainly acting a very inconsistent, as well as unjust and, perhaps, impious part, but the history of mankind is filled with instances of human improprieties. ** [[John Jay]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=dkssAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA174&dq=%22That+men+should+pray+and+fight+for+their%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAmoVChMI75Wyh9_RxwIVjBk-Ch2XYgdH#v=onepage&q=%22That%20men%20should%20pray%20and%20fight%20for%20their%22&f=false Letter to Reverend Doctor Price] (27 September 1785) * It is much to be wished that slavery may be abolished. The honour of the States, as well as justice and humanity, in my opinion, loudly call upon them to emancipate these unhappy people. To contend for our own liberty, and to deny that blessing to others, involves an inconsistency not to be excused. ** [[John Jay]], [http://econfaculty.gmu.edu/wew/quotes/slavery.html Letter to R. Lushington] (15 March 1786) * Our people had been so long accustomed to the practice and convenience of having slaves, that very few among them even doubted the propriety and rectitude of it. Some liberal and conscientious men had indeed, by their conduct and writings, drawn the lawfulness of slavery into question. ** [[John Jay]], as quoted in [http://www.vindicatingthefounders.com/library/jay-to-english-society.html letter to the President of the English Society for Promoting the Manumission of Slaves] (June 1788) * Slaves, though held by the laws of men, are free by the laws of [[God]]. ** [[John Jay]], as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=y3RaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA69&dq=%22We+intend+this+Constitution+to+be+the+great+charter+of+human+liberty+to+the+unborn+%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAGoVChMI2ai6jcCsxwIVRRs-Ch38_wz2#v=onepage&q=%22We%20intend%20this%20Constitution%20to%20be%20the%20great%20charter%20of%20human%20liberty%20to%20the%20unborn%20%22&f=false "The Present Aspect of the Slavery Question"] (18 October 1859), by George William Curtis, ''Orations and Addresses of George William Curtis'' * There must doubtless be an unhappy influence on the manners of our people produced by the existence of slavery among us.&nbsp;The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous [[passions]], the most unremitting [[despotism]] on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other.&nbsp; Our [[children]] see this, and learn to imitate it; for man is an imitative [[animal]].&nbsp;This quality is the germ of all [[education]] in him. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], as quoted in ''[[Notes on the State of Virginia]]'' (1785), [http://alexpeak.com/twr/jefferson/#1784 Query XVIII] * What a stupendous, what an incomprehensible machine is man! Who can endure toil, famine, stripes, imprisonment and death itself in vindication of his own liberty, and the next moment, be deaf to all those motives whose powers supported him through his trial, and inflict on his fellow men a bondage, one hour of which is fraught with more misery than ages of that which he rose in rebellion to oppose. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=u1xgWBntGYIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=jaffa+new+birth&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5BYSVeC0EYfegwTbzoKoCw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=soul%20of%20the&f=false letter to Jean Nicholas Demeunier] (24 January 1786) Bergh 17:103 * I congratulate you, my dear friend, on the law of your state for suspending the importation of slaves, and for the glory you have justly acquired by endeavoring to prevent it forever. '''This abomination must have an end, and there is a superior bench reserved in heaven for those who hasten it'''. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], as quoted in [http://alexpeak.com/twr/jefferson/#1784 letter to Edward Rutledge] (14 July 1787) * Your favour of July 31, was duly received, and was read with peculiar pleasure. The sentiments breathed through the whole do honor to both the head and heart of the writer. Mine '''on the subject of slavery of negroes have long since been in possession of the public, and time has only served to give them stronger root. The love of justice and the love of country plead equally the cause of these people, and it is a moral reproach to us that they should have pleaded it so long in vain'''. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], [http://alexpeak.com/twr/jefferson/#1784 Letter to Edward Coles] (25 August 1814) * Yet '''the hour of emancipation is advancing, in the march of time. It will come'''. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], [http://alexpeak.com/twr/jefferson/#1784 Letter to Edward Coles] (25 August 1814) * The abolition of the evil is not impossible; it ought never therefore to be despaired of. Every plan should be adopted, every experiment tried, which may do something towards [[Freedom|the ultimate object]]. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], [http://alexpeak.com/twr/jefferson/#1784 Letter to Frances Wright] (7 August 1825) * Slavery is hard history, it is hard to comprehend the inhumanity that defined it. It is hard to discuss the violence that sustained it. It is hard to teach the ideology of [[white supremacy]] that justified it. And it is hard to learn about those who abided it. ** [[Hasan Kwame Jeffries]], as quoted in ''[https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/02/04/582468315/why-schools-fail-to-teach-slaverys-hard-history Why Schools Fail To Teach Slavery's 'Hard History']'' (February 4, 2018) by Cory Turner, ''{{w|NPR}}'' * Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour’s service without wages and giveth him not for his work. ** Jeremiah 22:13 * The rulers of the [[Gentiles]] lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. ** [[Jesus]] as reported in Matthew 20:25-27. * The Greeks used the slaves, with which their frequent wars supplied them, in all kinds of menial and laborious occupations, and a notion that such occupations could not be filled without slaves, became so familiar, that even their acutest philosophers seem never to have doubted its accuracy or justice. A commonwealth, says Aristotle, consists of families, and a family to be complete must consist of freemen and slaves, and in fixing on the form of government, which according to him would be most perfect, and conduce the most to the happiness of mankind, he requires that his territory should be cultivated by slaves of different races and destitute of spirit, that so they may be useful for labor, and that the absence of any disposition to revolt may be securely relied on. 2 The condition of Africa is now in this particular, much like that of Greece then. One of the late travellers was explaining to an African chief that there are no slaves in England. "No slaves," exclaimed their auditor, "then what do you do "for servants?" ** [[Richard Jones (economist)|Richard Jones]], ''[https://archive.org/details/peasantrentsbein00jonerich Peasant rents : being the first half of an essay on the distribution of wealth and on the sources of taxation]'' (1831), pp. 68-69 *Slavery was a fact of life throughout the [[Antiquity|ancient world]]. Slaves – people defined as property, forced to work, stripped of their rights, and socially ‘dead,’ could be found in every significant realm of the age. In [[China]], the Qin, Han, and Xin dynasties enforced various forms of slavery; so too did ancient rulers of [[Egypt]], [[w:Assyria|Assyria]], [[w:Babylonia|Babylonia]], and India. ‘Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves,’ [[God]] told the [[w:Israelites|Israelites]], asking them only to refrain from enslaving one another. Yet [[Roman Empire|Rome]] was different. There have been a bare few handful of examples in recorded history of true ‘slave-states’ in which slavery permeated every facet of society, and on which an entire economy and culture was built. Rome was one. **Dan Jones, ''Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages'' (2021), p. 26 *Yet despite occasional [[w:Slave rebellions|slave rebellions]] – most famously the [[w:Third Servile War|Spartacus War]] of 73 BC – there was no movement to abolish Roman slaveholding, seemingly on the part of anyone. Only occasionally were efforts made to protect slaves from the grossest abuses: [[w:Hadrian|Hadrian]] (r. AD 117-138) unsuccessfully tried to stop slave-traders castrating African boys, while [[Constantine the Great|Constantine I]] (AD 307-337) forbade the practice of facial tattooing – an edict very likely made with overzealous slave-owners in mind. But to go very much further – still less to contemplate a world without slaves – would have been nonsensical. Philosophically, slavery was assumed to be essential to a free society – a natural phenomenon without which liberty for the true and noble Roman could not exist. Economically, the entire edifice of [[Rome]] and its [[empire]] relied upon mass bondage, facilitated by the same long and complex trading networks that supplied the empire with essential commodities and luxury goods. Ultimately, Rome was a [[Patriarchy|patriarchal society]] in which slaves occupied a position of inferiority that was simply their lot. [[John Chrysostom]], a [[Early Christianity|Christian]] preacher of the late third century AD, sketched out this hierarchy for his audience. Even in a poor man’s house, he said: ‘the [[man]] rules his [[Wives|wife]], the wife rules the slaves, the slaves rule their own wives, and again the men and women rule the children’. During the [[Middle Ages]] that followed, slavery declined in scale, yet it remained ubiquitous across the west. And even in places where slavery seemed to die out, its place as a pillar of economy and culture was often replaced by [[w:serfdom|serfdom]] – a system of human bondage to the land. This was not quite the same as chattel slavery, although the difference would have felt slight to the people involved. And a large part of western attachment to slaving sprang from the fact that slavery had been indistinguishable from Rome’s swaggering glory. **Dan Jones, ''Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages'' (2021), pp. 30-31 ==K== * Who cares if it's legal? I don't care if it's legal. Slavery was legal once too, and not just in America, but just about every other country in the world. The powerful have always legalized their subjugation of the less powerful. ** John Kass, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/kass/ct-kass-planned-parenthood-met-0719-20150719-column.html "Evil with salad and a nice red"] (19 July 2015), ''Chicago Tribune'', Illinois * It is to meekness that [[Christ]] summons his followers: Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart. Yes, he was meek. He did indeed carry lightly the heavy burden that far exceeded the powers of a human being, indeed, of humankind. But when someone, at the same time as he himself is carrying this heaviest burden, has the time and the willingness and sympathy and self-sacrifice to concern himself unceasingly with others, to help others, to heal the sick, to visit the miserable, to rescue the despairing-is he not carrying the burden lightly! He carried the heaviest burden in solicitude, solicitude for fallen humankind; but he carried it so lightly that he did not quench a smoking wick or break a bruised reed. As the prototype was, so also ought the follower to be. Thus, if the one who does not know today what he is going to have tomorrow, if he, in accordance with the [[Gospel]] test (since Christ did not come into the world ''in order'' to abolish worry about making a living by bringing prosperity), does not worry about tomorrow, then he is indeed carrying the heavy burden lightly. If someone who is born a slave, if he, according to the apostle’s fervent admonition (for Christ did not come ''in order'' to abolish slavery, even though that will follow from it) is not concerned about freedom and only if it is offered chooses to be free-then he is carrying the heavy burden lightly. ** [[Soren Kierkegaard]], 1847 ''Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits'', Hong p. 240-242 * '''Racial segregation must be seen for what it is — and that is an [[evil]] [[system]], a new form of slavery covered up with certain niceties of complexity.''' ** [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] ''Keep Moving From This Mountain'' (1965) * If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands. ** [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], ''Letter from a Birmingham Jail'' (1963) * I have a dream: that one day, right down in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and [[Mississippi]] and [[Alabama]], the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to live together as brothers. ** [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], Speech during the Great March on Detroit at Cobo Hall (23 June 1963) * I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. ** [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], ''I Have A Dream'' (August 28, 1963) * We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When the slaves get together, that's the beginning of getting out of slavery. Now let us maintain unity. ** [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], ''I've Been to the Mountaintop'' (1968) * A slave is a [[dead]] man. ** [[Jack Kirby]], [https://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/17tot.html "Jack Kirby interview"], ''Train of Thought'' #5, (1971); February 1990, posted May 23, 2011 in issue 134 of "The Comics Journal", now on TCJ Archive * "When [[Charles Darwin]] entered the world 200 years ago, there was one clear and simple answer to the slave's question. All men were men and brothers, because all were descended from [[Adam]]. By the time [[Charles Darwin|Darwin]] had reached [[adulthood]], however, opinions around him were growing more equivocal [...] By the mid-19th-century, many influential voices denied that the enslaved African was a brother, and it was broadly taken for granted that as a man, he was of an inferior sort to his white master". **[[w:Marek Kohn|Marek Kohn]], ''The Independent'' (30 January 2009) * “In one sense of the word” observes [[Robert Lee Hale|Robert Lee Hales]], “no [[labor]] is “involuntary"-not even that of a [[slave]]. It is performed through the voluntary muscular movements of the laborer, who chooses to perform it in order to avoid something worse. Obviously, the word is not used in the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]] in this restricted sense.” [[Nat Turner]], who has hanged in [[Virginia]] in 1831 after leading a bloody [[w:Slave rebellion|slave rebellion]], would probably have agreed with [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel|Hegel]] that “if a man is a slave, his own [[will]] is responsible for his slavery, just as it is its will which is responsible if a people is subjugated. Hence the [[wrong]] of slavery lies at the door not simply of [[enslavers]] or [[conquerors]] but of the slaves and the conquered themselves.” But Hegel did not infer that slavery therefore was legitimate. If the ubiquity of [[consent]] in this sense is not to vitiate the thirteenth amendment altogether, the amendment must be understood as standing for the proposition that there are certain [[choices]] that a person should not find herself having to make: specifically, choices between submitting to servitude or denying a need (for example, the need for [[food]], or to be free form [[pain]]) that almost all human beings find irresistible. That is why the courts should not give their imprimatur to choices made under such circumstances. ** Andrew Koppelman, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090225130324/http:/www.law1.northwestern.edu/faculty/fulltime/koppelman/forcedlabor.pdf "Forced Labor: A Thirteenth Amendment Defense of Abortion"], ''Northwestern Law Review'', Vol. 84 (1990), p.501 * [[Cities]] like [[London]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Berlin]], [[Paris]], [[Chicago]], [[Pittsburgh]], [[Detroit]], or [[w:Glasgow|Glasgow]] are high spots of slavery in comparison to [[Albania]], [[w:Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], or even [[w:Central_Africa|Central Africa]]. The slavery of the watch and clock, the bourgeois, anthropocentric slavery of material prestige and successful [[competition]] (to slave in order to keep up standards), the [[wage slavery]] of the [[proletarian]], the school slavery of the [[children]], the conscription slavery of the [[Teenagers|adolescents]], the road slavery, the factory slavery, the barrack slavery, the party slavery, the office slavery, the parlor slavery of manners and conventions — all these slaveries make political "[[freedom]]" appear a bitter joke. ** [[Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn]], ''The Menace of the Herd'' (1943), p. 85 ==L== [[File:Cicatrices de flagellation sur un esclave.jpg|thumb|If there breathe on earth a slave, <br /> Are ye truly free and brave? ~ [[James Russell Lowell]] <!-- Whipped slave, [[w:Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[w:Louisiana|Louisiana]], [[w:April 2|April 2]] [[w:1863|1863]]. --> ]] [[File:Otroci.jpg|thumb|If any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly, those who desire it for others. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]]]] [[File:President-Jefferson-Davis.jpg|thumb|Familiarize yourselves with the [[chains]] of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]]]] [[File:Mines 1.jpg|thumb|It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just [[God]]'s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]]]] [[File:Abraham lincoln memorial-london.jpg|thumb|Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's nature — opposition to it, in his love of justice. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]] ]] [[File:SlavesForSaleNewOrleans1861.jpeg|thumb|You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]] ]] [[File:Lee Surrenders to Grant at Appomattox.jpg|thumb|This is a world of compensation; and he would be no slave must consent to have no slaves. Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it. ~ [[Abraham Lincoln]] ]] [[File:James Russell Lowell, Brady-Handy Photograph Collection.jpg|thumb|If there breathe on earth a slave, <br /> Are ye truly free and brave? <br /> If ye do not feel the [[chain]], <br /> When it works a brother's pain, <br /> Are ye not base slaves indeed, <br /> Slaves unworthy to be freed? ~ [[James Russell Lowell]] ]] *'''Q''': What manner of man ought a Free and Accepted Mason to be? :'''A''': A free man, born of a free woman, brother to a King, fellow to a Prince or to a beggar, if a Mason, and found worthy. :'''Q''': Why freeborn? :'''A''': In allusion to that grand festival which [[Abraham]] made at the weaning of his son [[w:Isaac|Isaac]], when [[w:Sarah|Sarah]], Abraham's wife, observing [[Ishmael]], the son of [[w:Hagar|Hagar]] the [[Egypt|Egyptian]] bondwoman, teasing and perplexing her son, remonstrated with her husband, and said: Put away that bondwoman and her son, for such as he shall not inherit with the freeborn, even with my son Isaac. She spake as being endued with a prophetic spirit, well knowing that from Isaac's loins would spring a great and mighty people, who would serve the Lord with freedom, fervency, and zeal; and fearing that if the two youths were brought up together, Isaac might imbibe some of Ishmael's slavish principles; it being a general remark in those days, as well as the present, that the minds of slaves are more vitiated and less enlightened than those of the freeborn. This is the reason we, as [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]], give why every Mason ought to be freeborn; but in the present day, slavery being generally abolished, it has therefore been considered under our Constitution, that if a man be free, although he may not have been freeborn, he is eligible to be made a Mason. :* [http://www.brad.ac.uk/webofhiram/?section=lectures_craft&page=1Lec.html The Lecture of the First Degree of Freemasonry] as quoted by [[w:Robert Lomas|Robert Lomas]] ''Web of Hiram'' * They bound him in a narrow hold, <br /> With others of his kind ; <br /> For weeks did that accursed ship <br /> Sail on before the wind. <br /> Now shame upon the cruel wind, <br /> And on the cruel sea, <br /> That did not with some mighty storm, <br /> Set those poor captives free : <br /> . . . . . <br /> At length a lovely island rose <br /> From out the ocean wave, <br /> They took him to the market-place, <br /> And sold him for a slave. ** [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]], ''Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832'' (1831), 'The African' * '''We spend our lives fighting to get people very slightly more stupid than ourselves to accept truths that the great men have always known.''' They have known for thousands of years that to lock a sick person into solitary confinement makes him worse. They have known for thousands of years that a poor man who is frightened of his [[Ownership|landlord]] and of the [[police]] is a slave. They have known it. We know it. But do the great enlightened mass of the [[British people]] know it? No. It is our task, Ella, yours and mine, to tell them. Because the great men are too great to be bothered. They are already discovering how to colonise [[Venus]] and to irrigate the [[moon]]. That is what is important for our time. You and I are the boulder-pushers. All our lives, you and I, we’ll put all our energies, all our talents into pushing a great boulder up a mountain. The boulder is the truth that the great men know by instinct, and the mountain is the stupidity of mankind. ** [[Doris Lessing]] Paul Tanner, in "Free Women: 1"<!-- p. 173 --> *'''Andrew Ryan''': The [[assassin]] has overcome my final [[defense]], and now, he's come to [[murder]] me. In the end, what separates a man from a slave? [[Money]]? [[Power]]? No. A man [[chooses]]; a slave [[obeys]]. You think you have [[memories]]: a farm, a family, an airplane, a crash, and then this place. Was there really a family? Did that [[airplane]] crash, or was it hijacked? Forced down by something less than a man, something bred to sleepwalk through life until activated by a simple phrase from their kindly master? Was a man sent to kill, or a slave? A man chooses; a slave obeys. ** [[w:Ken Levine|Ken Levine]], ''[[Bioshock]]'', (August 2007). * Your [[male]] and [[female]] slaves are to come from the [[nations]] around you; from them you may buy slaves. ** [[Leviticus]], 25:44 (NIV) * "[[#Abraham Lincoln|''See below'']]" ** [[#Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln]] * Viewing the success awarded to opening up the new country as a development of Divine Providence in relation to the [[Africa|African]] family, the mind naturally turns to the probable influence it may have on negro slavery, and more especially on the practice of it by a large portion of our own race... '''We claim a right to speak about this [[evil]], and also to act in reference to its [[w:Abolitionism|removal]], the more especially because we are of one blood.''' It is on the Anglo-American race that the hopes of the world for liberty and progress rest. Now '''it is very grievous to find one portion of this race practicing the gigantic evil, and the other aiding, by increased demands for the produce of slave labor, in perpetuating the enormous wrong.''' ** [[David Livingstone]], ''[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1039/1039-h/1039-h.htm Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa]'' (1857). * Slavery is so vile and miserable an estate of man, and so directly opposite to the generous temper and courage of our nation; that 'tis hardly to be conceived, that an Englishman, much less a gentleman, should plead for it. ** [[John Locke]], [[S:Two Treatises on Government|''Two Treatises on Government'']], (1689) * '''If there breathe on earth a slave, <br /> Are ye truly free and brave?''' <br /> If ye do not feel the chain, <br /> When it works a brother's pain, <br /> Are ye not base slaves indeed, <br /> Slaves unworthy to be freed? ** [[James Russell Lowell]], "Stanzas on Freedom" (1843) * '''They are slaves who fear to speak <br /> For the fallen and the weak'''; <br /> They are slaves who will not choose <br /> Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, <br /> Rather than in silence shrink <br /> From the truth they needs must think; <br /> '''They are slaves who dare not be <br /> In the right with two or three.''' ** [[James Russell Lowell]], "Stanzas on Freedom" (1843) === Abraham Lincoln === * If A. can prove, however conclusively, that he may, of right, enslave B. Why may not B. snatch the same argument, and prove equally, that he may enslave A? '''You say A. is white, and B. is black. It is color, then; the lighter, having the right to enslave the darker? Take care. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with a fairer skin than your own. You do not mean color exactly? '''You mean the whites are intellectually the superiors of the blacks, and, therefore have the right to enslave them? Take care again. By this rule, you are to be slave to the first man you meet, with an intellect superior to your own. But, say you, it is a question of interest; and, if you can make it your interest, you have the right to enslave another. Very well. And if he can make it his interest, he has the right to enslave you.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], Fragment on slavery (April 1, 1854?). As quoted in [http://web.archive.org/web/20140203223031/http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln2/1:264?rgn=div1;view=fulltext ''Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln''] (1953), Vol. 2, p. 222-223 * [[Thomas Jefferson|Mr. Jefferson]]... a slave-holder; conceived the idea... to prevent slavery ever going into the north-western territory. ...and to cede the territory, making the prohibition of slavery therein, a condition of the deed. Congress accepted the cession... provided that slavery should never be permitted therein. ...Thenceforward, for sixty-one years, and until in 1848... all parties acted in quiet obedience to this ordinance. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln2/1:282?rgn=div1;view=fulltext Speech at Peoria, Illinois,] Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 2. (16 October, 1854) p. 250. * The foregoing history may not be precisely accurate in every particular; but I am sure it is sufficiently so, for all the uses I shall attempt to make of it, and in it, we have before us, the chief material enabling us to correctly judge whether [[w:Kansas–Nebraska Act|the repeal of the Missouri Compromise]] is right or wrong. <br /> I think, and shall try to show, that it is wrong; wrong in its direct effect, letting slavery into [[Kansas]] and [[w:Nebraska|Nebraska]]—and wrong in its prospective principle, allowing it to spread to every other part of the wide world, where men can be found inclined to take it. <br /> This ''declared'' indifference, but as I must think, covert ''real'' zeal for '''the spread of slavery, I can not but hate. I hate it because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world—enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites—causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity, and especially because it forces so many really good men amongst ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty—criticising the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]], and insisting that there is no right principle of action but ''self-interest''.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[w:Abraham Lincoln Peoria speech|Speech at Peoria, Illinois]] (1854), [http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3503 Online text Speech at Peoria, Illinois, in Reply to Senator Douglas (16 October 1854)]; published in ''The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1894) Vol. 2 * I think I have no prejudice against the Southern people. They are just what we would be in their situation. If slavery did not now exist amongst them, they would not introduce it. If it did now exist amongst us, we should not instantly give it up. This I believe of the masses north and south. Doubtless there are individuals, on both sides, who would not hold slaves under any circumstances; and others who would gladly introduce slavery anew, if it were out of existence. We know that some southern men do free their slaves, go north, and become tip-top abolitionists; while some northern ones go south, and become most cruel slave-masters. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [https://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln2/1:282?rgn=div1;view=fulltext Speech at Peoria, Illinois,] Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. Volume 2. (16 October, 1854) p. 256. * '''When the white man governs himself, that is self-government; but when he governs himself and also governs ''another'' man, that is ''more'' than self-government — that is despotism. If the negro is a ''man'', why then my ancient faith teaches me that "[[United States Declaration of Independence|all men are created equal]]," and that there can be no moral right in connection with one man's making a slave of another.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[w:Abraham Lincoln Peoria speech|Speech at Peoria, Illinois]] (1854), [http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3503 Online text Speech at Peoria, Illinois, in Reply to Senator Douglas (16 October 1854)]; published in ''The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1894) Vol. 2 * [[Stephen A. Douglas|Judge Douglas]] frequently, with bitter irony and sarcasm, paraphrases our argument by saying: "The white people of Nebraska are good enough to govern themselves, ''but they are not good enough to govern a few miserable negroes''!" <br /> Well! I doubt not that the people of Nebraska are and will continue to be as good as the average of people elsewhere. I do not say the contrary. What I do say is that '''no man is good enough to govern another man ''without that other's consent.''''' I say '''this is the leading principle, the sheet-anchor of American republicanism.''' Our [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] says: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, ''deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed''." <br /> I have quoted so much at this time merely to show that, according to our ancient faith, '''the just powers of [[Government|governments]] are derived from the consent of the governed.''' Now the relation of master and slave is ''pro tanto'' a total violation of this principle. '''The master not only governs the slave without his consent, but he governs him by a set of rules altogether different from those which he prescribes for himself. Allow ALL the governed an equal voice in the government, and that, and that only, is self-government.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[w:Abraham Lincoln Peoria speech|Speech at Peoria, Illinois]] (1854), [http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3503 Online text Speech at Peoria, Illinois, in Reply to Senator Douglas (16 October 1854)]; published in ''The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1894) Vol. 2 * '''Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man's nature — opposition to it, in his love of justice.''' These principles are an eternal antagonism; and when brought into collision so fiercely, as slavery extension brings them, shocks, and throes, and convulsions must ceaselessly follow. '''Repeal the [[w:Missouri Compromise|Missouri Compromise]] — repeal all [[Compromise|compromises]] — repeal the Declaration of Independence — repeal all past history, you still can not repeal human nature. It still will be the abundance of man's heart, that slavery extension is wrong; and out of the abundance of his heart, his mouth will continue to speak.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[w:Abraham Lincoln Peoria speech|Speech at Peoria, Illinois]] (1854), [http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3503 Online text Speech at Peoria, Illinois, in Reply to Senator Douglas (16 October 1854)]; published in ''The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1894) Vol. 2 * '''Little by little, but steadily as man's march to the grave, we have been giving up the OLD for the NEW faith. Near eighty years ago we began by declaring that all men are created equal; but now from that beginning we have run down to the other declaration, that for SOME men to enslave OTHERS is a “sacred right of self-government.” These principles can not stand together. They are as opposite as [[God]] and [[w:Mammon|mammon]]; and whoever holds to the one, must despise the other.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[w:Abraham Lincoln Peoria speech|Speech at Peoria, Illinois]] (1854), [http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3503 Online text Speech at Peoria, Illinois, in Reply to Senator Douglas (16 October 1854)]; published in ''The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1894) Vol. 2 * The Autocrat of all the Russias will resign his crown, and proclaim his subjects free republicans sooner than will our American masters voluntarily give up their slaves. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], letter to George Robertson (15 August 1855) * If I find a venomous snake lying on the open prairie, I seize the first stick and kill him at once. But if that snake is in bed with my children, I must be more cautious. I shall, in striking the snake, also strike the children, or arouse the reptile to bite the children. Slavery is the venomous snake in bed with the children. But if the question is whether to kill it on the prairie or put it in bed with other children, I think we'd kill it! ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/lincoln4/1:2?rgn=div1;view=fulltext "Speech at Hartford"] (5 March 1860), ''Evening Press''<!-- http://archive.org/stream/collectedworksof015582mbp/collectedworksof015582mbp_djvu.txt--> * "A house divided against itself cannot stand". '''I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.''' I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], speech (17 June 1858), alluding to the words of [[Jesus Christ]] in Matthew 12:25 * '''What constitutes the bulwark of our own [[liberty]] and independence?''' It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength our gallant and disciplined army? These are not our reliance against a resumption of tyranny in our fair land. All of those may be turned against our liberties, without making us weaker or stronger for the struggle. '''Our reliance is in the love of liberty which [[God]] has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you are preparing your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of those around you, you have lost the genius of your own independence, and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s speech at Edwardsville, Illinois (11 September 1858); quoted in Lincoln, Abraham; Mario Matthew Cuomo, Harold Holzer, G. S. Boritt, ''[http://books.google.de/books?id=8bWmmyJEMZoC&pg=PA128&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false Lincoln on Democracy]'' (Fordham University Press, September 1, 2004), 128. {{ISBN|978-0823223459}}. *** Variant of the above quote: What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, our army and our navy. These are not our reliance against tyranny All of those may be turned against us without making us weaker for the struggle. Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in us. Our defense is in the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you. **** Fragment of Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois, 13 September 1858; quoted in Lincoln, Abraham; ''[http://www.classic-literature.co.uk/american-authors/19th-century/abraham-lincoln/the-writings-of-abraham-lincoln-05/ebook-page-05.asp The Writings of Abraham Lincoln V05]'') p. 6-7 * That is the real issue. That is the issue that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. '''It is the eternal struggle between these two principles — [[right and wrong]] — throughout the world.''' They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle. The one is the common right of humanity, and the other the [[divine right of kings]]. It is the same principle in whatever shape it develops itself. It is the same spirit that says, "You toil and work and earn bread, and I'll eat it." '''No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the mouth of a king who seeks to bestride the people of his own nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same tyrannical principle.''' ** Seventh and Last Joint Debate with Steven Douglas, at Alton, Illinois (15 October 1858) * '''This is a world of compensation; and he would be no slave must consent to have no slaves. Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], ''Letter to H.L. Pierce and others (Springfield, Illinois, 6 April 1859)'', published in ''[http://books.google.de/books?id=wCozjDf2C9QC&pg=PT676&lpg=PT676&dq=The+Democracy+of+to-day+hold+the+liberty+of+one+man+to+be+absolutely+nothing,+when+in+conflict+with+another+man%27s+right+of+property.+Republicans,+on+the+contrary,+are+both+for+the+man+and+the+dollar,+but,+in+case+of+conflict,+the+man+before+the+dollar.&source=bl&ots=IUIDU4YgQu&sig=GtkSSXezzBblIhuCZMG5oveTWN0&hl=de&sa=X&ei=lZkHU6fSG8HUtAaOmYHQDw&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=The%20Democracy%20of%20to-day%20hold%20the%20liberty%20of%20one%20man%20to%20be%20absolutely%20nothing%2C%20when%20in%20conflict%20with%20another%20man's%20right%20of%20property.%20Republicans%2C%20on%20the%20contrary%2C%20are%20both%20for%20the%20man%20and%20the%20dollar%2C%20but%2C%20in%20case%20of%20conflict%2C%20the%20man%20before%20the%20dollar.&f=false Essential American History: Abraham Lincoln - The Complete Papers and Writings, Biographically Annotated, The Papers and Writings of Abraham Lincoln]'' © 2012, Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck, 86450 Münster, Germany, ISBN: 97838496200103 * One of the reasons why I am opposed to slavery is just here. What is the true condition of the laborer? I take it that it is best for all to leave each man free to acquire property as fast as he can. Some will get wealthy. I don't believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good. So while we do not propose any war upon capital, we do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else. When one starts poor, as most do in the race of life, free society is such that he knows he can better his condition; he knows that there is no fixed condition of labor, for his whole life. I am not ashamed to confess that twenty-five years ago I was a hired laborer, mauling rails, at work on a flat-boat, just what might happen to any poor man's son! I want every man to have the chance, and I believe a black man is entitled to it, in which he can better his condition. When he may look forward and hope to be a hired laborer this year and the next, work for himself afterward, and finally to hire men to work for him! That is the true system. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/haven.htm "Allow the humblest man an equal chance"] [http://books.google.de/books?id=8bWmmyJEMZoC&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=abraham+lincoln+While+we+do+not+propose+any+war+upon+capital,+we+do+wish+to+allow+the+humblest+man+an+equal+chance+to+get+rich+with+everybody+else.&source=bl&ots=vFissaWjnv&sig=jte7zDvn8Ia0tivqhxHAfzYZLyE&hl=de&sa=X&ei=rIahUunBJIbEtAbE5IGwAg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=abraham%20lincoln%20While%20we%20do%20not%20propose%20any%20war%20upon%20capital%2C%20we%20do%20wish%20to%20allow%20the%20humblest%20man%20an%20equal%20chance%20to%20get%20rich%20with%20everybody%20else.&f=false speech] (6 March 1860) at New Haven, Connecticut * '''Slaves are human beings. Men, not property'''. That '''some of the things, at least, stated about men in the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] apply to them as well as to us.''' I say, we think, most of us, that '''this charter of freedom applies to the slave as well as to ourselves''', that the class of arguments put forward to batter down that idea, are also calculated to break down the very idea of a free government, even for white men, and to undermine the very foundations of free society. '''We think [[slavery]] a great moral wrong''', and while we do not claim the right to touch it where it exists, '''we wish to treat it as a wrong in the territories, where our votes will reach it. We think that a respect for ourselves, a regard for future generations and for the God that made us, require that we put down this wrong where our votes will properly reach it'''. We think that species of labor an injury to free white men. '''In short, we think [[slavery]] a great moral, social, and political evil, tolerable only because, and so far as its actual existence makes it necessary to tolerate it, and that beyond that, it ought to be treated as a wrong'''. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/haven.htm "Allow the humblest man an equal chance"] (6 March 1860), New Haven, Connecticut. As quoted in [http://books.google.de/books?id=8bWmmyJEMZoC&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=abraham+lincoln+While+we+do+not+propose+any+war+upon+capital,+we+do+wish+to+allow+the+humblest+man+an+equal+chance+to+get+rich+with+everybody+else.&source=bl&ots=vFissaWjnv&sig=jte7zDvn8Ia0tivqhxHAfzYZLyE&hl=de&sa=X&ei=rIahUunBJIbEtAbE5IGwAg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=abraham%20lincoln%20While%20we%20do%20not%20propose%20any%20war%20upon%20capital%2C%20we%20do%20wish%20to%20allow%20the%20humblest%20man%20an%20equal%20chance%20to%20get%20rich%20with%20everybody%20else.&f=false ''Lincoln on Democracy''], by Mario Matthew Cuomo and G.S. Boritt, pp. 176-177 * Slavery is ''wrong''. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/haven.htm "Allow the humblest man an equal chance"] [http://books.google.de/books?id=8bWmmyJEMZoC&pg=PA176&lpg=PA176&dq=abraham+lincoln+While+we+do+not+propose+any+war+upon+capital,+we+do+wish+to+allow+the+humblest+man+an+equal+chance+to+get+rich+with+everybody+else.&source=bl&ots=vFissaWjnv&sig=jte7zDvn8Ia0tivqhxHAfzYZLyE&hl=de&sa=X&ei=rIahUunBJIbEtAbE5IGwAg&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=abraham%20lincoln%20While%20we%20do%20not%20propose%20any%20war%20upon%20capital%2C%20we%20do%20wish%20to%20allow%20the%20humblest%20man%20an%20equal%20chance%20to%20get%20rich%20with%20everybody%20else.&f=false speech] (6 March 1860) at New Haven, Connecticut * '''I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me–and I think He has–I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but truth is everything. I know I am right because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I have told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Christ and reason say the same; and they will find it so'''. [[Stephen A. Douglas|Douglas]] doesn't care whether slavery is voted up or voted down, '''but God cares, and humanity cares, and I care; and with God’s help I shall not fail. I may not see the end; but it will come and I shall be vindicated; and these men will find that they have not read their Bibles aright'''. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], anecdote registered by novelist [[w:Josiah Gilbert Holland|Josiah Gilbert Holland]], in his ''Life of Abraham Lincoln'' (1866), Chapter XVI, p. 287. [[w:University of Nebraska Press|University of Nebraska Press]], as something that Lincoln said in a conversation with educator Newman Bateman, in the Autumn of 1860. * The Confederacy stands for slavery and the Union for [[freedom]]. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=cpLsLWYhMLoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22not+a+man+shall+be+a+slave%22+%22Mcpherson%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAzgKahUKEwjiwOnYqoLIAhUIez4KHaTnDok#v=onepage&q=slavery&f=false private conversation] (January 1862) * '''In giving freedom to the slave we assure freedom to the free; honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], Annual Message to the U.S. Congress (1 December 1862) * Neither party expected for [[American Civil War|the war]], the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the ''cause'' of [[American Civil War|the conflict]] might cease with, or even before, [[American Civil War|the conflict itself]] should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. '''It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just [[God]]'s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged'''. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has his own purposes. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[s:Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address|Second Inaugural Address]] (March 1865), Washington, D.C.; Lincoln was alluding to [[Jesus]]' words in in Matthew 7:1 "Judge not, that ye be not judged." (KJV) * '''I have always thought that all men should be free; but if any should be slaves, it should be first those who desire it for themselves, and secondly, those who desire it for others.''' When I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], in an address to an Indiana Regiment passing through Washington (17 March 1865); ''The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln'' Volume VIII * '''As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master.''' This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy. **[[Abraham Lincoln]], in notes for a speech from a fragment presented by to the Chicago Veterans Druggist's Association in 1906 by Judge James B. Bradwell, who claimed to have received it from Mary Todd Lincoln. ''Collected Works'', 2:532 * In reference to you, colored people, let me say '''God has made you free.''' Although you have been deprived of your God-given rights by your so-called 'masters', you are now as free as I am, and if those that claim to be your superiors do not know that you are free, take the sword and bayonet and teach them that you are; for '''God created all men free, giving to each the same rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.''' ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], speech to freed slaves in Richmond, Virginia (4 April 1865), as quoted in [http://web.archive.org/web/20130517052731/http://mrlincolnandfreedom.org/inside.asp?ID=84&subjectID=3 ''Recollected Words of Abraham Lincoln''] (1996), by Don Edward Fehrenbacher and Virginia Fehrenbacher, editor, p. 257 *The slave trade has another character; it is the very denial of every law, of all social order. Man-hunting constitutes a crime of high treason against humanity. It ought to be repressed wherever it can be reached, on land as well as by sea. **[https://archive.org/details/newafricaessayon00desciala/page/152/mode/2up New Africa; an essay on government civilization in new countries, and on the foundation, organization and administration of the Congo Free State, THE ORIENTAL SLAVE-TRADE, Page 132.] Lambermont at the Berlin Conference. * Base trade in human beings carried on in the most barbarous fashion, those who wield power, those who sway empires, those who desire that the rights of nature and humanity be respected, and those who desire the progress of religion, to unite everywhere towards the abolition of this most shameful and most criminal traffic. **[https://archive.org/details/newafricaessayon00desciala/page/152/mode/2up New Africa; an essay on government civilization in new countries, and on the foundation, organization and administration of the Congo Free State, THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT, Page 136.] Leo XIII. re-echoed the cry of alarm raised by Leopold II of Belgium. in 1876. * You have truly spoken, Cardinal : since We have been Pope, Our regards have turned towards that disinherited land. Our heart has been touched at the thought of the enormous amount of physical and moral misery that exists there. We have repeatedly urged all those who have power in their hands to put a stop to the hideous traffic called the slave-trade, and to use all and every means to secure that end. And, in as much as the African Continent is the principal scene of this traffic and, as it were, the home of slavery, We recommend all missionaries who there preach the Holy Gospel to devote their whole efforts, their whole life, to this sublime work of redemption. But it is upon you, Cardinal, that We count especially for success. **[https://archive.org/details/newafricaessayon00desciala/page/152/mode/2up New Africa; an essay on government civilization in new countries, and on the foundation, organization and administration of the Congo Free State, THE ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT, Page 136-137.] [[Pope Leo XIII]] to Cardinal Lavigerie. ==M== [[File:57mm-AT-gun-Korea-1950.JPG|thumb|The magnificence of the courage and fortitude of [[South Korea|the Korean people]] defies description. They have chosen to risk [[death]] rather than slavery. ~ [[Douglas MacArthur]] ]] [[File:Marti (5978031269).jpg|thumb|Man is not free to watch impassively the enslavement and dishonor of men, nor their struggles for liberty and honor. ~ [[José Martí]] ]] * '''Man is not free to watch impassively the enslavement and dishonor of men, nor their struggles for liberty and honor.''' ** [[José Martí]], My Race (1893), "Mi Raza", first published in ''Patria'' (16 April 1893) [http://www.historyofcuba.com/history/race/MyRace.htm Full translation online] * The [[Korean War|tragedy of Korea]] is further heightened by the fact that its military action is confined to its territorial limits. It condemns that nation, which it is our purpose to save, to suffer the devastating impact of full naval and air bombardment while the enemy's sanctuaries are fully protected from such attack and devastation. '''Of the nations of the world, [[South Korea|Korea]] alone, up to now, is the sole one which has risked its all against [[communism]]. The magnificence of the courage and fortitude of the [[Koreans|Korean people]] defies description. They have chosen to risk [[death]] rather than slavery.''' Their last words to me were: 'Don't scuttle the Pacific!' ** [[Douglas MacArthur]], as quoted in [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurfarewelladdress.htm farewell address to a Joint Session of Congress] (19 April 1951) * When I became conscious of what my situation was, I thought of the best way to escape without being caught. '''I knew that if I didn't find that way, I could be killed.''' ** A former slave named Mattala, in [http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL1824335520070321?src=032107_1624_FEATURES_international&pageNumber=2 "I was born a slave" - Matalla tells his story, ''Reuters'' (21 March 2007)] * Another of my wishes is to depend as little as possible on the labor of slaves. ** [[James Madison]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=zkRKqnxjbAoC&pg=PA199&dq=%22liberate+and+make+soldiers+at+once+of%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC4Q6AEwA2oVChMIyeyr5cPRxwIVDDU-Ch2IxQjN#v=onepage&q=%22liberate%20and%20make%20soldiers%20at%20once%20of%22&f=false Letter to Edmund Randolph] (26 July 1785) * Where slavery exists, the republican theory becomes still more fallacious. ** [[James Madison]], [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/a4_4s2.html ''Vices of the Political System of the United States''] (April 1787), Papers 9:350-51 * We have seen the mere [[Bigotry|distinction of]] [[Race|color]] made, in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man. ** [[James Madison]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=zkRKqnxjbAoC&pg=PA199&dq=%22liberate+and+make+soldiers+at+once+of%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC4Q6AEwA2oVChMIyeyr5cPRxwIVDDU-Ch2IxQjN#v=onepage&q=%22liberate%20and%20make%20soldiers%20at%20once%20of%22&f=false speech at the Constitutional Convention] (6 June 1787) * Twenty years will produce all the mischief that can be apprehended from the liberty to import slaves. So long a term will be more dishonorable to the National character than to say nothing about it in the Constitution. ** [[James Madison]], [http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_825.asp Madison Debates] (25 August 1787) * The United States, having been the first to abolish within the extent of their authority the transportation of the natives of Africa into slavery, by prohibiting the introduction of slaves and by punishing their citizens participating in the traffic, cannot but be gratified at the progress made by concurrent efforts of other nations toward a general suppression of so great an evil. ** [[James Madison]], as quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=PsFnB7FA11YC&pg=PA200&dq=%22Rendered+impossible+by+the+prejudices+of+the+whites%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAWoVChMI8uuN6dbUxwIVBD0-Ch1EqwFq#v=onepage&q=%22Rendered%20impossible%20by%20the%20prejudices%20of%20the%20whites%22&f=false ''State of the Nation''] (3 December 1816) * The great evil under which the nation labors. **[[James Madison]], [http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch15s65.html letter to Robert J. Evans] (15 June 1819) * I have long thought that our vacant territory was the resource which, in some mode or other, was most applicable and adequate as a gradual cure for the portentous evil. ** [[James Madison]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=EgpFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR20&dq=%22portentous+evil%22+%22Madison%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAWoVChMIzqj-_8bOxwIVBnc-Ch365g4C#v=onepage&q=%22portentous%20evil%22%20%22Madison%22&f=false Letter to Tench Coxe] (20 March 1820), Montpelier * States are much at variance in the civic character giving to free persons of colour; those of most of the States, not excepting such as have abolished slavery, imposing various disqualifications, which degrade them from the rank and rights of white persons. '''All these perplexities develop more and more the dreadful fruitfulness of the original sin of the African trade'''. ** [[James Madison]], [https://archive.org/stream/jstor-2713830/2713830_djvu.txt Letter to General Marquis de Lafayette] (25 November 1820), Montpelier * I do not mean to discuss the question how far ''slavery'' and ''farming'' are incompatible. Our opinions agree as to the evil, moral, political, and economical, of the former. ** [[James Madison]], [https://archive.org/stream/jstor-2713830/2713830_djvu.txt letter to F. Corbin (26 November 1820)], as quoted in [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2713830?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents ''Letters and other Writings of James Madison: 1816-1828''], III, [https://books.google.com/books?id=CDkMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA194&lpg=PA194&dq=%22It+has+been+said+that+America+is+a+country+for+the+poor%22&source=bl&ots=IhaCmIE8FV&sig=NQAjX5Ue9GMcFLNji9FjLkXWaP8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwBGoVChMIxtjzuvXYxwIVBNg-Ch2ckg_0#v=onepage&q=%22It%20has%20been%20said%20that%20America%20is%20a%20country%20for%20the%20poor%22&f=false pp. 194-195] * Slavery is, as you justly complain, a sad blot on our free country. ** [[James Madison]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=Elh0sAhIVvAC&pg=PA85&dq=%22SAD+BLOT+ON+OUR+FREE+COUNTRY%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAmoVChMI47DWxfTQxwIVRFQ-Ch2fvwWA#v=onepage&q=%22SAD%20BLOT%20ON%20OUR%20FREE%20COUNTRY%22&f=false letter to La Fayette] (1821) * The blot on our Republican character. ** [[James Madison]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=ugpFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA667&lpg=PA667&dq=%22blot+on+our+republican+character%22&source=bl&ots=9klTpr9e3D&sig=9YxqGdBRlh_e_o-2nd4_Fzy_31w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC4Q6AEwBGoVChMIz-3HiqvNxwIVwXU-Ch0Kkwh5#v=onepage&q=%22blot%20on%20our%20republican%20character%22&f=false letter to Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette] (1 February 1830), regarding slavery, as quoted in ''The Last of the Fathers: James Madison and the Republican Legacy'' (1989), by Drew R. McCoy, Cambridge University Press, p. 252 * If I take the wages of everyone here, individually it means nothing, but collectively all of the earning power or wages that you earned in one week would make me wealthy. And if I could collect it for a year, I'd be rich beyond dreams. Now, when you see this, and then you stop and consider the wages that were kept back from millions of Black people, not for one year but for 310 years, you'll see how this country got so rich so fast. And what made the economy as strong as it is today. And all that slave labor that was amassed in unpaid wages, is due someone today. And you're not giving us anything when we say that it's time to collect. ** [[Malcolm X]], "Twenty million black people in prison," in ''Malcolm X: The Last Speeches'', p. 51 * The U.S. Constitution also bent over backwards to avoid using the term 'slave' or 'slavery' in the document, but the pro-slavery CSA apparently didn't have a problem calling a spade a spade. ** [[w:Jim McCullough|Jim McCullough]], as quoted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20151108133240/http://www.jjmccullough.com/CSA.htm "The Constitution of the Confederate States of America: What was changed? And why?"] (July 2006), by J. McCullough * I say, Archbishop, what do you think I'd have done about this slavery business, if I'd had my own way? I'd have done nothing at all! I'd have left it all alone. It's all a pack of nonsense! Always have been slaves in all the most civilised countries; the Greeks and Romans had slaves; however, they ''would'' have their fancy, and so we've abolished slavery; but it's a great folly. ** [[William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne|Lord Melbourne]] to [[Richard Whately]], quoted in E. Jane Whately (ed.), '' Life and Correspondence of Richard Whately, D.D. Late Archbishop of Dublin. Volume II'' (1866), pp. 451-52 * Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest of the world … a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. ** Mississippi Declaration of Secession [http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/declarationofcauses.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/] * Execrable son! so to aspire <br /> Above his brethren, to himself assuming <br /> Authority usurp'd, from God not given. <br /> He gave us only over beast, fish, fowl, <br /> Dominion absolute; that right we hold <br /> By his donation; but man over men <br /> He made not lord; such title to himself <br /> Reserving, human left from human free. ** [[John Milton]], ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (1667; 1674), Book XII, line 64 * The abolition of slavery and serfdom is to be attributed neither to the teachings of theologians and moralists nor to weakness or generosity on the part of the masters. There were among the teachers of religion and ethics as many eloquent defenders of bondage as opponents. Servile labor disappeared because it could not stand the competition of free labor; its unprofitability sealed its doom in the market economy. ** [[Ludwig von Mises]], Human Action, p. 625 * If one treats men like cattle, one cannot squeeze out of them more than cattle-like performances. But it then becomes significant that man is physically weaker thanoxen and horses, and that feeding and guarding a slave is, in proportion to theperformance to be reaped, more expensive than feeding and guarding cattle. When treated as a chattel, man renders a smaller yield per unit of cost expended forcurrent sustenance and guarding than domestic [[animals]]. If one asks from an unfreelaborer human performances, one must provide him with specifically humaninducements. If the employer aims at obtaining products which in quality andquantity excel those whose production can be extorted by the whip, he must interestthe toiler in the yield of his contribution. Instead of punishing laziness and sloth, he must reward [[diligence]], [[skill]], and [[eagerness]]. But whatever he may try in thisrespect, he will never obtain from a bonded worker, i.e., a worker who does notreap the full market price of his contribution, a performance equal to that renderedby a freeman, i.e., a man hired on the unhampered labor market. The upper limitbeyond which it is impossible to lift the quality and quantity of the products andservices rendered by slave and serf labor is far below the standards of free labor.In the production of articles of superior quality an enterprise employing theapparently cheap labor of unfree workers can never stand the competition ofenterprises employing free labor. It is this fact that has made all systems ofcompulsory labor disappear. * The state of slavery is in its own nature bad. It is neither useful to the master nor to the slave; not to the slave, because he can do nothing through a motive of virtue; nor to the master, because by having an unlimited authority over his slaves he insensibly accustoms himself to the want of all moral virtues, and thence becomes fierce, hasty, severe, choleric, voluptuous, and cruel. ** [[Montesquieu]], ''The Spirit of the Laws'', Book 15, Chapter 1 * It was a nefarious institution. It was the curse of heaven on the states where it prevailed. ** [[w:Gouverneur Morris|Gouverneur Morris]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=-WKjBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA87&dq=%22in+defiance+of+the+most+sacred%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC4Q6AEwA2oVChMIgNjKlvTRxwIVRWw-Ch2KcAwL#v=onepage&q=%22in%20defiance%20of%20the%20most%20sacred%22&f=false Constitutional Convention] (1787) * Upon what principle is it that the slaves shall be computed in the representation? Are they men? Then make them citizens, and let them vote. Are they property? Why, then, is no other property included? The Houses in [[Philadelphia|this city]] are worth more than all the wretched slaves which cover the rice swamps of [[South Carolina]]. ** [[w:Gouverneur Morris|Gouverneur Morris]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=-WKjBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA87&dq=%22in+defiance+of+the+most+sacred%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC4Q6AEwA2oVChMIgNjKlvTRxwIVRWw-Ch2KcAwL#v=onepage&q=%22in%20defiance%20of%20the%20most%20sacred%22&f=false Constitutional Convention] (1787) * Allah's Apostle said, '''"You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin."''' ** [[Muhammad]] Narrated [[w:Anas_bin_Malik|Anas bin Malik]], in ''Bukhari'', Volume 9, Book 89, Number 256 * The Prophet said, '''"He who has a slave-girl and teaches her good manners and improves her education and then manumits and marries her, will get a double reward; and any slave who observes Allah's right and his master's right will get a double reward."''' ** [[Muhammad]] narrated Abu Musa Al-Ashari, in ''Bukhari'', Volume 3, Book 46, Number 723 * In his discussion on slavery [[Aristotle]] said that when the shuttle wove by itself and the [[w:Plectrum|plectrum]] played by itself chief workmen would not need helpers nor masters slaves. At the time he wrote, he believed that he was establishing the eternal validity of slavery; but for us today he was in reality justifying the existence of the machine. Work, it is true, is the constant form of man's interaction with his environment, if by [[work]] one means the sum total of exertions necessary to maintain life; and the lack of work usually means an impairment of function and a breakdown in organic relationship that leads to substitute forms of work, such as invalidism and neurosis. But work in the form of unwilling drudgery or of that sedentary routine which... the Athenians so properly despised—work in these forms is the true province of machines. Instead of reducing human beings to work-mechanisms, we can now transfer the main part of burden to automatic machines. This potentially... is perhaps the largest justification of the mechanical developments of the last thousand years. ** [[Lewis Mumford]], ''Technics and Civilization'' (1934) * '''We used to own our slaves; now we just rent them.''' ** [[Anonymous]] statement attributed by [[Edward R. Murrow]] to an unnamed farmer in "[[w:Harvest of Shame|Harvest of Shame]]", ''CBS Reports'' (24 November 1960) ==N== * If the trade is at present carried on to the same extent and nearly in the same manner, while we are delaying from year to year to put a stop to our part in it, '''the blood of many thousands of our helpless, much injured fellow creatures is crying against us'''. The pitiable state of the survivors who are torn from their relatives, connections, and their native land must be taken into account. I fear the African trade is a national sin, for the enormities which accompany it are now generally known; and though, perhaps, the greater part of the nation would be pleased if it were suppressed, yet, as it does not immediately affect their own interest, they are passive. {...] Can we wonder that the calamities of the present war begin to be felt at home, when we ourselves wilfully and deliberately inflict much greater calamities upon the native Africans, who never offended us?. "''Woe unto thee that spoilest, and thou wast not spoiled when thou shalt cease to spoil, thou shalt be spoiled''. ** [[John Newton]] (1797), former slave-trader who later became an [[abolitionism|abolitionist]]. <small>. Alluding to the biblical verse in Isaiah 33:1. As quoted in ''The Works of the Rev. John Newton... to which are Prefixed Memoirs of His Life'' (1839), Vol. 2, U. Hunt., page 438</small> * I should be inexcusable, considering the share I have formerly had in that unhappy business, if, upon this occasion, I should omit to mention the African slave-trade. I do not rank this amongst our national sins, because I hope, and believe, a very great majority of the nation earnestly long for its suppression. But, hitherto, petty and partial interest prevail against the voice of justice, humanity and truth. This enormity, however, is not sufficiently laid to heart. If you are justly shocked by what you hear of the cruelties practised in [[France]], you would, perhaps, be shocked much more, if you could fully conceive of the evils and miseries inseparable from this traffic, which I apprehend, not from hearsay, but from my own observation, are equal in atrocity, and, perhaps superior in number, in the course of a single year, to any or all the worst actions which have been known in France since the commencement of their [[French Revolutionary Wars|revolution]]. There is a cry of blood against us; a cry accumulated by the accession of fresh victims, of thousands, of scores of thousands, I had almost said of hundreds of thousands, from year to year. **[[John Newton]] (1797), former slave-trader who later became an [[abolitionism|abolitionist]].<small> As quoted in ''The Works of the Rev. John Newton... to which are Prefixed Memoirs of His Life'' (1839), Vol. 2, U. Hunt, pages 429-230.</small> * The leaders and scholars of Jesus’ time had first enslaved themselves to the law. This not only enhanced their prestige in society, it also gave them a sense of security. Man fears the responsibility of being free. It is often easier to let others make the decisions or to rely upon the letter of the law. Some men want to be slaves. After enslaving themselves to the letter of the law, such men always go on to deny freedom to others. They will not rest until they have imposed the same oppressive burdens upon everyone ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matt]] 23:4,15). ** [[Albert Nolan]], ''Jesus Before Christianity'' (1976), p. 71 * The speculation that the slaves did not reproduce themselves has been most strongly urged by [[w:Adolphe_Landry|Adolphe Landry]], “La Depopulation dans l’antiquite’” ''Revue historique'' 177 (1936), 1, 5. A modern sociologist speculates in much the same way, with a little hard evidence, that slave conditions in the [[Southern United States|American South]] led to an aversion to childbearing and to careless killing of infants by parents who had not desired them (Melville J. Herskovits, ''The Myth of the Negro Past'', New York, 1941, p. 103). <br> On the other hand, in the somewhat more humane conditions of the Old South, the American negro population increased considerably over the number brought in by the slave trade (Robert R. Kuczynski, ''Population Movements'', Oxford, 1936), pp. 6-7; Marcel R Reinhard, ''Histore de la population mondile de 1700 a 1948'', Paris 1949, p. 346). There is no law that slave populations must decrease. On the liberal manumission policy and on the large number of children of slaves who had become free men, see ''Tenney Frank'', “[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1835889 Race Mixture in the Roman Empire],” ''American Historical Review'' 21, (1911), 698-699. The laws ''Aelia sentia'' and ''Fufia Caninia'' appear in gaius. ''Institutes'' 1.18, 42-47, in vol. II of ''Foontes iuris romani anteiustiniani'', ed. Salvatore Riccobono et al. (Florence, 1941-1943), hereafter cited as ''FIRA''. As far as the slave owners were concerned, it is argued by Landry that slave [[pregnancy]] meant interruption of [[work]], and because of particularly inadequate care, infant mortality among slaves must have been even higher than the high general rate. Moreover, child-raising meant expense. Thus, if the slaves were easily obtainable by conquest, economic considerations were against breeding them as a deliberate business. On the other hand a healthy slave child was a valuable possession, outweighing the cost in underemployment of his mother, and the ''Lex Aquilia'' recognized his value by giving the owner a right to damages if he were injured (''Digest'' 9.2). One small piece of evidence on slaveowner attitudes in a period late in the Empire when Rome was very weak is a sermon of [[w:Caesarius_of_Arles|Caesarius of Arles]]. He suggests that a slaveowner would be shocked at her slaves’ using [[contraceptives]] (''Sermons'' 44.2, CC 103:196). ** [[w:John Noonan|John Noonan]], [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Contraception/nBPTPIxZy-YC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover “Contraception: A History of Its Treatment by the Catholic Theologians and Canonists”], Harvard University Press, 1965 (2nd edition 1986), ch.1, “Contraception in the Roman Empire” ==O== [[File:Barack Obama at the Clinton Global Initiative.jpg|thumb|When a man, desperate for work, finds himself in a factory or on a fishing boat or in a field, working, toiling, for little or no pay, and beaten if he tries to escape — that is slavery. When a woman is locked in a sweatshop, or trapped in a home as a domestic servant, alone and abused and incapable of leaving — that’s slavery. When a little boy is kidnapped, turned into a child soldier, forced to kill or be killed — that’s slavery. When a little girl is sold by her impoverished family ... runs away from home, or is lured by the false promises of a better life, and then imprisoned in a brothel and tortured if she resists — that’s slavery. It is [[barbaric]], and it is [[evil]], and it has no place in a [[civilized]] [[world]]. ~ [[Barack Obama]] ]] *'''It ought to concern every person, because it is a debasement of our common humanity. It ought to concern every community, because it tears at our social fabric. It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets. It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers [[w:Public health|public health]] and fuels [[violence]] and [[organized crime]]. I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name — modern slavery.''' ** [[Barack Obama]], [https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/23/remarks-president-clinton-global-initiative Remarks by the President to the Clinton Global Initiative] at Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City, New York (25 September 2012) * '''When a man, desperate for work, finds himself in a factory or on a fishing boat or in a field, working, toiling, for little or no pay, and beaten if he tries to escape — that is slavery. When a woman is locked in a sweatshop, or trapped in a home as a domestic servant, alone and abused and incapable of leaving — that’s slavery. When a little boy is kidnapped, turned into a child soldier, forced to kill or be killed — that’s slavery. When a little girl is sold by her impoverished family''' — girls my daughters’ age — '''runs away from home, or is lured by the false promises of a better life, and then imprisoned in a brothel and tortured if she resists — that’s slavery. It is [[barbaric]], and it is [[evil]], and it has no place in a [[civilized]] [[world]].''' ** [[Barack Obama]], [https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/09/23/remarks-president-clinton-global-initiative Remarks by the President to the Clinton Global Initiative] at Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City, New York (25 September 2012) * The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth. ** [[George Orwell]], ''[[Animal Farm]]'' * It is a clear truth that those who every day barter away other men's liberty will soon care little for their own. ** [[w:James Otis, Jr.|James Otis]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=n0IABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA74&dq=%22james+otis%22+%22freeborn+As+indeed+all+men+are%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC4Q6AEwA2oVChMIsMPjxNfRxwIVyTI-Ch1OgwSt#v=onepage&q=%22james%20otis%22%20%22freeborn%20As%20indeed%20all%20men%20are%22&f=false The Rights of the British Colonies]'' (1764) ==P== [[File:Thomas paine statue.jpg|thumb|right|Slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case. ~ [[Thomas Paine]] ]] [[File:Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg|thumb|To Americans, that some desperate wretches should be willing to steal and enslave men by violence and murder for gain, is rather lamentable. ~ [[Thomas Paine]]]] [[File:Theodore Parker BPL c1855-crop.jpg|thumb|In America, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] thinks slavery is 'indispensable to good government', and is 'the normal condition of one seventh part of the people'. ~ [[Theodore Parker]] ]] * '''The [[w:voting_rights|right of voting]] for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery, for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another, and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case.''' ** [[Thomas Paine]], "Dissertation on First Principles of Government" (1795), republished in Moncure D. Conway, ed., ''The Writings of Thomas Paine'', vol. 3 (1895), p. 267. * If Americans should now turn back, submit again to slavery, it would be a betrayal so base the [[Humanity|human race]] might better perish. **[[Isabel Paterson]], ''The God of the Machine'' (1943), p. 292 * In America, the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] thinks slavery is 'indispensable to good government', and is 'the normal condition of one seventh part of the people'. ** [[Theodore Parker]], [https://archive.org/details/ASPC0005189300 "The relation of slavery to a Republican form of government"] (26 May 1858), New England Anti-Slavery Convention * Slavery isn't a uniquely [[American]] sin, but rather one of [[mankind]] throughout the course of [[history]]. ** [[w:Katie Pavlich|Catherine M. Pavlich]], [http://thehill.com/opinion/katie-pavlich/246440-katie-pavlich-america-is-not-racist "Katie Pavlich: America Is Not Racist"] (29 June 2015), ''The Hill'', News Communications, Inc * Faced with the [[nightmarish]] conditions of the voyage and the [[unknown]] [[future]] that lay beyond, many [[Africans]] preferred to [[die]]. But even the [[choice]] of [[suicide]] was taken away from these [[persons]]. From the captain's point of view, his human cargo was extremely valuable and had to be kept alive and, if possible, uninjured. A slave who tried to [[starve]] him or herself was [[tortured]]. If torture didn't work, the slave was [[force fed]] with the help of a contraption called a [[w:Speculum orum|speculum orum]], which held the [[mouth]] open. ** [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p277.html ''Africans in America'',] Part 1: "The Middle Passage", ''PBS'', (22 October 2017) * Slavery usually engenders an interesting discussion because it’s a highly emotive conflict—people have a hard time feeling neutral about it. ** Mark A. Peterson, [https://web.archive.org/web/20030411120547/http://kennedy.byu.edu/papers/Peterson.pdf ''Korean Slavery''] (2000) * I have never been in favor of the abolition of slavery until since this war has determined me in the conviction that it is a greater sin than our Government is able to stand... It is opposed to the Spirit of the age, and in my opinion this Rebellion is but the death struggle of the overgrown monster. ** [[w:Eli K. Pickett|Eli K. Pickett]], United States Army sergeant, in a letter to his wife (27 March 1863) * War is bad, heaven knows, but slavery is far worse. If the doom of slavery is not sealed by the war, I shall curse the day I entered the Army. ** Walter Stone Poor, a Union soldier from [[w:Maine in the American Civil War|Maine]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=1qhEHVki8tEC&pg=PA117 letter to George Fox] (15 May 1861), Sandy Hook * Poor Daniel was lame in the hip, and could not keep up with the rest of the slaves; and our master would order him to be stripped and laid down on the ground, and have him beaten with a rod of rough briar till his skin was quite red and raw... This poor man's wounds were never healed and I have often seen them full of maggots…He was an object of pity and terror to the whole gang of slaves, and in his wretched case we saw, each of us, our own lot, if we should live to be as old." ** Mary Prince, ''The History of Mary Prince''; as quoted in [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter4.shtml “Story of Africa”], ''BBC'' ==R== [[File:RWB-donkey.png|thumb|We love freedom more, vastly more, than slavery. Consequently, we hope to keep clear of [[Democratic Party (United States)|the Democrats]]! ~ [[w:Joseph Hayne Rainey|Joseph Hayne Rainey]] ]] [[File:James Ramsay by Carl Frederik von Breda.jpg|thumb|For the prime design of society is the extension of the operation of law, and the equal treatment and protection of the citizens. Slavery, therefore, being the negation of law, cannot arise from law, or be compatible with it. As far as slavery prevails in any community, so far must that community be defective in answering the purposes of society. ~ Rev. [[w:James Ramsay (abolitionist)|James Ramsay]] ]] [[File:Inspecting New Arrivals by Giulio Rosati 2.jpg|thumb|Slavery is an unnatural state of opression on the one side, and of suffering on the other; and needs only to be laid open or exposed in its native colours, to command the abhorrence and opposition of every man of feeling and sentiment. ~ Rev. [[w:James Ramsay (abolitionist)|James Ramsay]] ]] [[File:Captive Slave.jpg|thumb|Although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave. ~ [[w:George Frederick Root|George Frederick Root]] ]] *If the Negroes, numbering one-eighth of the population of these United States, would only cast their votes in the interest of the Democratic Party, all open measures against them would be immediately suspended and their rights as American citizens recognized. But as to the real results of such a state of affairs, and speaking in behalf of those with whom I am conversant, I can only say that we love freedom more, vastly more, than slavery. Consequently, we hope to keep clear of the Democrats! I say to the entire membership of the Democratic Party, that upon your hands rests the blood of the loyal men of the south. Disclaim it as you will; the stain is there to prove your criminality before God and the world in the day of retribution. **[[Joseph Hayne Rainey]], as quoted in [http://www.nationalblackrepublicans.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.OtherNewsKilledSlavery speech] (1871) * '''For the prime design of society is the extension of the operation of law, and the equal treatment and protection of the citizens. Slavery, therefore, being the negation of law, cannot arise from law, or be compatible with it. As far as slavery prevails in any community, so far must that community be defective in answering the purposes of society.''' And this we affirm to be in the highest degree the case of our colonies. '''Slavery''', indeed, in the manner wherein it is found there, '''is an unnatural state of opression on the one side, and of suffering on the other; and needs only to be laid open or exposed in its native colours, to command the [[abhorrence]] and [[opposition]] of every man of feeling and sentiment.''' ** Rev. [[w:James Ramsay (abolitionist)|James Ramsay]], Anglican priest and leading abolitionist. ''An Essay on the Treatment and Conversion of African Slaves in the British Sugar Colonies'' (1784), p. 16 * While the rest of the western world followed an historic trajectory dedicated to abolishing slavery and bringing an expanded meaning to the concepts of human rights and participatory democracy, the south marched off in an opposite direction. The [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] was a nation dedicated to the proposition that all men are not created equal, and that the government's job is to preserve and ensure that inequality. **[[w:Gordon Rhea|Gordon Rhea]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110321183207/http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/why-non-slaveholding.html “Why Non-Slaveholding Southeners Fought”] (25 January 2011), ''Civil War Trust'' * Although they may be poor, '''not a man shall be a slave.''' ** [[w:George Frederick Root|George Frederick Root]], "[[w:Battle Cry of Freedom|Battle Cry of Freedom]]" (1862) *It is utterly impossible for us, as finite beings, with the utmost stretch of the imagination, to conceive the depth and immensity of the horrors of slavery. **[[Ernestine Rose]] [https://speakingwhilefemale.co/anti-slavery-rose1/ Speech] (August 4, 1853) at the Anniversary of West Indian Emancipation * Slaves lose everything in their chains, even the desire of escaping from them: they love their servitude, as the comrades of [[w:Odysseus|Ulysses]] loved their brutish condition. If then there are slaves by nature, it is because there have been slaves against nature. Force made the first slaves, and their cowardice perpetuated the condition. ** [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], ''[[The Social Contract]]'', (1762), I, Ch. 2 * Now, a man who becomes the slave of another does not give himself; he sells himself, at the least for his subsistence: but for what does a people sell itself? A king is so far from furnishing his subjects with their subsistence that he gets his own only from them; and, according to [[François Rabelais|Rabelais]], kings do not live on nothing. Do subjects then give their persons on condition that the king takes their goods also? I fail to see what they have left to preserve. ** [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], ''[[The Social Contract]]'', I, Ch. 4 * '''The right of conquest has no foundation other than the right of the strongest.''' If war does not give the conqueror the right to massacre the conquered peoples, the right to enslave them cannot be based upon a right which does not exist. No one has a right to kill an enemy except when he cannot make him a slave, and the right to enslave him cannot therefore be derived from the right to kill him. It is accordingly an unfair exchange to make him buy at the price of his liberty his life, over which the victor holds no right. Is it not clear that there is a vicious circle in founding the right of life and death on the right of slavery, and the right of slavery on the right of life and death? ** [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], ''[[The Social Contract]]'', I, Ch. 4 * '''From whatever aspect we regard the question, the right of slavery is null and void, not only as being illegitimate, but also because it is absurd and meaningless. The words slave and right contradict each other, and are mutually exclusive.''' It will always be equally foolish for a man to say to a man or to a people: “I make with you a convention wholly at your expense and wholly to my advantage; I shall keep it as long as I like, and you will keep it as long as I like.” ** Ibid, I, Ch. 4 * [[Hugo Grotius|Grotius]] and the rest find in war another origin for the so-called right of slavery. The victor having, as they hold, the right of killing the vanquished, the latter can buy back his life at the price of his liberty; and this convention is the more legitimate because it is to the advantage of both parties. But it is clear that this supposed right to kill the conquered is by no means deducible from the state of war. ** Ibid, I, Ch. 4 ==S== [[File:Confederate Navy Jack (light blue).svg|thumb|Our great and necessary domestic institution of slavery shall be preserved! ~ ''[http://civilwarcauses.org/punch.htm Southern Punch]'']] [[File:Mary Fields.jpg|thumb|There can be no fanatics in the cause of genuine liberty. Fanaticism is excessive zeal. There may be, and have been fanatics in false religion; in the bloody religions of the heathen. There are fanatics in superstition. But there can be no fanatic, however warm their zeal, in the true religion, even although you sell your goods and bestow your money on the poor, and go on and follow your Master. There may, and every hour shows around me, fanatics in the cause of false liberty – that infamous liberty which justifies human bondage, that liberty whose 'corner-stone is slavery'. ~ [[Thaddeus Stevens]] ]] [[File:Prozac pills cropped.jpg|thumb|What had been [[w:Drapetomania|drapetomania]] became [[depression]]. ... Modern man runs away from a life that seems to him a kind of slavery. ~ [[Thomas Szasz]]]] * What we’ve been hearing from the panelists is how the global food system works right now... It’s based on a radical denial of the economic rights of poor people... We’ve just heard from the Minister of the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. Many point a finger of blame at the DRC and other poor countries for their [[poverty]]. Yet we don’t seem to remember, or want to remember, that starting around 1870, [[W:King Leopold II|King Leopold of Belgium]] created [[Congo Free State|a slave colony in the Congo]] that lasted for around 40 years; and then the government of [[Belgium]] ran [[Belgian Congo|the colony]] for another 50 years. In 1961, after independence of the DRC, the [[CIA]] then [[assassinated]] the DRC’s first popular leader, [[Patrice Lumumba]], and installed a US-backed [[dictator]], [[Mobutu Sésé Seko|Mobutu Sese Seko]], for roughly the next 30 years. And in recent years, [[W:Glencore|Glencore]] and other [[Multinational corporation|multinational companies]] suck out the DRC’s cobalt without paying a level of royalties and [[taxes]]. We simply don’t reflect on the real history of the DRC and other poor countries struggling to escape from [[poverty]]. Instead, we point fingers at these countries and say, “What’s wrong with you? Why don’t you govern yourselves properly?” ** [[Jeffrey Sachs|Jeffrey Sachs']], Speech at the UN Food Systems Pre-summit, [https://www.jeffsachs.org/recorded-lectures/5jf86pp5lxch35e6z3nct6xnmb8zy5 Speech transcript] (October 2021) * Base is the slave that pays. ** [[William Shakespeare]], ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' (c. 1599), Act II, scene 1, line 100 * You have among you many a purchas'd slave, <br /> Which, like your asses and your dogs and mules, <br /> You use in abject and in slavish parts, <br /> Because you bought them. ** [[William Shakespeare]], ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' (late 1590s), Act IV, scene 1, line 90 * ''Vis tu cogitare istum, quem servum tuum vocas, ex isdem seminibus ortum eodem frui caelo, aeque spirare, aeque vivere, aeque mori!'' ** '''Kindly remember that he whom you call your slave sprang from the same stock, is smiled upon by the same skies, and on equal terms with yourself breathes, lives, and dies.''' ** [[Seneca the Younger]], [[wikisource:Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_47|Moral letters to Lucilius, Letter 47: On master and slave]], 10, circa 65 AD * 'The people of the South', says a contemporary, 'are not fighting for slavery but for independence'. '''Let us look into this matter. It is an easy task, we think, to show up this new-fangled heresy, a heresy calculated to do us no good, for it cannot deceive foreign statesmen nor peoples, nor mislead any one here nor in [[United States|Yankeeland]]'''... Our doctrine is this. '''WE ARE FIGHTING''' FOR INDEPENDENCE '''THAT OUR GREAT AND NECESSARY DOMESTIC INSTITUTION OF SLAVERY SHALL BE PRESERVED''', and for the preservation of other institutions of which slavery is the ground work. ** [http://civilwarcauses.org/punch.htm ''Southern Punch''] (19 September 1864), Richmond. As quoted in [https://archive.is/jcaoZ ''The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem''] (2005), by John M. Coski * Slavery originated in force, by the stronger against the weaker party, and not by natural right; that it is maintained and upheld by oppression and wrong, and against the law of nature. This usurped ownership in man is not that kind of property which is recognized by the general consent of mankind. The advanced state of civilized society does not recognize the right of one man to own another man against his will. The inalienable right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, is conceded to all. The right of every man to himself, to enjoy the fruits of his own ingenuity and industry, are among the natural rights of every person made in the image of [[God]]. ** [[Elbridge G. Spaulding]], [https://archive.org/stream/republicanplatfo00spau/republicanplatfo00spau_djvu.txt speech] (May 1860) * '''If slavery, barbarism and desolation are to be called peace, men can have no worse misfortune.''' No doubt there are usually more and sharper quarrels between parents and children, than between masters and slaves; yet it advances not the art of household management to change a father's right into a right of property, and count children but as slaves. '''Slavery, then, and not peace, is furthered by handing, over the whole authority to one man.''' ** [[Baruch Spinoza]], in ''Political Treatise'' (1677), [http://www.constitution.org/bs/poltr-00.htm ''Tractatus Politicus'' as translated by A. H. Gosset (1883)], Ch. 6, On Monarchy - [http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1710&chapter=143847&layout=html&Itemid=27 Alternate site] (this is an unfinished work, left incomplete by Spinoza's death) * It remains to point out the advantage of a knowledge of this doctrine as bearing on conduct, and this may be easily gathered from what has been said. The doctrine is good, (1) Inasmuch as it teaches us solely according to the decree of God, and to '''be partakers of the Divine nature''', and so much the more, as we perform more perfect actions and more and more understand God. Such a doctrine not only completely tranquilizes our spirit, but also shows us where '''our highest happiness or blessedness is''', namely, '''solely in the knowledge of God, whereby we are led to act only as love and piety shall bid us'''. We may thus '''clearly understand, how far astray from a true estimate of virtue are those who expect to be decorated by God with high rewards for their virtue, and their best actions, as for having endured the direct slavery; as if virtue and the service of God were not in itself happiness and perfect freedom.''' (2) Inasmuch as it teaches us, how we ought to conduct ourselves with respect to the gifts of fortune, or matters which are not in our power, and do not follow from our nature. For it shows us that '''we should await and endure fortune's smiles or frowns with an equal mind, seeing that all things follow from the eternal decree of God by the same necessity'''... (3) This doctrine raises social life, inasmuch as it teaches us to hate no man, neither to despise, to deride, to envy, or to be angry with any. Further, as it tells us that '''each should be content with his own, and helpful to his neighbor''', not from any womanish pity, favor, or superstition, but solely from the guide of reason, according as the time and occasion demand... (4) Lastly, this doctrine confers no small advantage on the commonwealth; for it teaches how '''citizens should be governed and lead, not so as to become slaves, but so that they may freely do whatsoever things are best'''. ** [[Baruch Spinoza]], ''[[w:Ethics (book)|Ethica Ordine Geometrico Demonstrata]]'' (''Ethics Geometrically Demonstrated'') (published in 1677), Part II: On the Nature and Origin of the Mind, Prop. 49: Note, [[s:Ethics (Spinoza)/Part 2|Full text online]] * '''I can never acknowledge the right of slavery'''. I will bow down to no deity however worshipped by professing Christians — however dignified by the name of the Goddess of Liberty, whose footstool is the crushed necks of the groaning millions, and who rejoices in the resoundings of the tyrant's lash, and the cries of his tortured victims. ** [[Thaddeus Stevens]], letter (4 May 1838), quoted in ''Shapers of the Great Debate on the Civil War : A Biographical Dictionary'' (2005) by Dan Monroe and Bruce Tap, p. 255 * '''There can be no fanatics in the cause of genuine liberty. [[Fanaticism]] is excessive zeal. There may be, and have been fanatics in false religion; in the bloody religions of the heathen.''' There are fanatics in [[superstition]]. But there can be no fanatic, however warm their zeal, in the true religion, even although you sell your goods and bestow your money on the poor, and go on and follow your Master. There may, and every hour shows around me, fanatics in the cause of false liberty – that infamous liberty which justifies human bondage, that liberty whose 'corner-stone is slavery'. But there can be no fanaticism however high the enthusiasm, in the cause of rational, universal liberty – the liberty of the Declaration of Independence. ** [[Thaddeus Stevens]], "The California Question" (10 June 1850), as quoted in [http://books.google.com/books?id=A0Fs655TKfsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false ''The Selected Works of Thaddeus Stevens''] * '''The accursed system of slavery will fall, as did [[Satan]] from [[Heaven]].''' ** [[w:Austin Steward|Austin Steward]], ''Colored American'' (2 June 1838) * '''[[Torture]] was necessary to maintain slavery. It was integral to slavery. You cannot have slavery without some torture or the threat of torture; and you cannot have torture without slavery.''' You cannot imprison a free man for ever unless you have broken him; and you can only forcibly break a man's soul by torturing it out of him. Slavery dehumanizes; torture dehumanizes in exactly the same way. The torture of human beings who have no freedom and no recourse to the courts ''is'' slavery. ** [[Andrew Sullivan]], [http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2007/02/slavery_and_tor.html "Slavery and Torture"], ''The Daily Dish'' (23 February 2007) * The Senator from South Carolina has read many books of chivalry, and believes himself a chivalrous [[knight]], with sentiments of honor and courage. Of course he has chosen a mistress to whom he has made his vows, and who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight I mean the harlot, Slavery. For her, his tongue is always profuse in words. ** [[Charles Sumner]], "[[wikisource:The Crime against Kansas|The Crime against Kansas]]," speech in the Senate (18 May 1856). The claims made against Senator [[w:Andrew Butler|Andrew Butler]] of [[w:South Carolina|South Carolina]] so angered Butler's cousin, Representative [[w:Preston Brooks|Preston Brooks]], that Brooks assaulted Sumner with a cane in the Senate chamber a few weeks later. * '''Slavery is in itself an arrogant denial of [[human rights]]''', and by no human reason can the power to establish such a wrong be placed among the attributes of any just [[sovereignty]]. ** [[Charles Sumner]] in his [[w:Charles_Sumner#.22Crime_against_Kansas.22_and_attack_by_Brooks|The Crime Against Kansas]] speech (May 19-20, 1856) * What had been [[w:Drapetomania|drapetomania]] became [[depression]]. ... Modern man runs away from a life that seems to him a kind of slavery. ** [[Thomas Szasz]], "The Sane Slave: Social Control and Legal Psychiatry," ''American Criminal Law Review'', vol. 10 (1971), p. 346 == T == [[File:Rumpelstiltskin.jpg|thumb|[A]ccording to Graeber, slavery as a concept was widely looked down upon across [[Europe]] prior to the establishment of the [[Atlantic slave trade|Atlantic slave trade]]; the church opposed it; and by the time [[Portuguese]] and [[Dutch]] merchants found the opportunity to kick-start a modern human slave trade on the western coast of the continent of [[Africa]], slavery proper had otherwise vanished from European culture, save the persistence of wage labor and indentured servitude, often indistinguishable from more explicit forms of slavery (Graeber, 250, 346). ~ Ryan Tracy]] [[File:Donald Trump official portrait.jpg|thumb|Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery. ~ [[Donald Trump]] ]] [[File:Flag of the United States (1777-1795).svg|thumb|[P]erfectly irreconcilable a state of slavery is to the principles of a democracy, which form the basis and foundation of our government. ~ [[St. George Tucker]] ]] * '''I am a poor, ignorant man . . . but I have heard of the [[Declaration of Independence]], and have read [[the Bible]]. The Declaration says all men are created equal, and the Bible says [[God]] has made us all of one blood. I think ... we are entitled to good treatment, that it is wrong to hold men in slavery.''' ** Arthur Tappan, an elderly black man who spoke at the New York City Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. <small> As quoted by Stern, Joseph (1941), ''Science & Society'', Vol 5, p. 168. See also Ottley, Roi (1948), ''Inside Black America'', p. 14.</small> ** The quotation "God has made us all of one blood." is a reference to the [[New Testament]] Book ''[[w:Acts of the Apostles|Acts of the Apostles]]'' where [[Paul of Tarsus]] says about God: "And [he] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: [[w:Epimenides|For in him we live, and move, and have our being]]; as certain also of your own poets have said, [[w:Aratus|For we are also his offspring.]]" ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017:26-28&version=KJV Acts, 17:26-28 King James Version]) The ''one blood'' is [[Adam and Eve]], for "God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201:27&version=NIV Genesis, 1-27 New International Version]) ** According to the New International Version the poets in this bible passage "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘[[w:Epimenides|For in him we live and move and have our being.]]’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘[[w:Aratus|We are his offspring.]]’" ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2017:26-28&version=NIV Acts, 17:26-28 New International Version]) are the Cretan philosopher Epimenides and the Cilician Stoic philosopher Aratus. * The men and women who created this first great sugar boom in the world lived well. Many stories are told of the opulence of the planters in old Brazil, their tables laden with silver and fine china bought from captains on their way back from the East, doors with gold locks, women wearing huge precious stones, musicians enlivening the banquets, beds covered with damask; and an army of slaves of many colours always hovering. ** Hugh Thomas, ''The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade''; as quoted in [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter4.shtml “Story of Africa”], ''BBC'' * The foundation of [[Economy of the United States|American economic prosperity]] rested on the labor of four to five million black slaves. In fact, the suffering inflicted on Native and Black Americans has not remained confined to those two races, but has become part of the collective American painbody. It is always the case that both victim and perpetrator suffer the consequences of any acts of violence, oppression, or brutality. For what you do to others, you do to yourself. ** [[Eckhart Tolle]], in ''[[A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose]]'' (2005) * '''As soon as men live entirely in accord with the law of love natural to their hearts and now revealed to them, which excludes all resistance by violence, and therefore hold aloof from all participation in [[violence]] — as soon as this happens, not only will hundreds be unable to enslave millions, but not even millions will be able to enslave a single individual.''' ** [[Leo Tolstoy]], in [[s:A Letter to a Hindu|A Letter to a Hindu (1908)]] * It is not within the limits of this thesis to fully account for how much of the preoccupation with slavery that came to dominate [[European]] thought was directly tied to reflection on and opposition to the [[Atlantic slave trade|trans-Atlantic slave trade]], and how much was residual from the common knowledge that the history of Western civilization was (and is still) largely a history of enslavement. However, according to Graeber, slavery as a concept was widely looked down upon across Europe prior to the establishment of the Atlantic slave trade; the church opposed it; and by the time [[Portuguese]] and [[Dutch]] merchants found the opportunity to kick-start a modern human slave trade on the western coast of the continent of [[Africa]], slavery proper had otherwise vanished from European culture, save the persistence of wage labor and indentured servitude, often indistinguishable from more explicit forms of slavery (Graeber, 250, 346). There was also opposition to the enslavement of Africans, resulting in the prohibition of slavery within certain European national borders. But we can at least see that anxieties about the enslavement of the modern self were grounded in material realities. If one could not pay one‟s debts, one could be rounded up and shipped off to the New World in indentured servitude (Graeber, 2011). An enslaved man was a man who was “dead to world.” Lost to society. ** Ryan Tracy, [http://www.etd.ceu.edu/2013/tracy_ryan.pdf “MASTURBATION AS A WAY OF LIFE”], [[w:Central European University|Central European University]], Budapest, Hungary, (2013), pp.19-20 * I…took the little sufferer in my lap. I observed a general titter among the white members of the family…The youngest of the family, a little girl about the age of the young slave, after gazing at me for a few moments in utter astonishment, exclaimed: 'My! If Mrs. Trollope has not taken her in her lap, and wiped her nasty mouth! Why I would not have touched her mouth for two hundred dollars'…The idea of really sympathising in the sufferings of a slave appeared to them as absurd as weeping over a calf that had been slaughtered by the butcher." ** Fanny Trollope's ''Domestic Manners of the Americans''; as quoted in [http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter4.shtml “Story of Africa”], ''BBC'' * '''[[w:Human_trafficking|Human trafficking]] is a form of modern slavery.''' Throughout the United States and around the world, human trafficking tears apart communities, fuels criminal activity, and threatens the [[national security]] of the United States. It is estimated that millions of individuals are trafficked around the world each year — including into and within the United States. As the United States continues to lead the global fight against human trafficking, we must remain relentless in resolving to eradicate it in our cities, suburbs, rural communities, tribal lands, and on our transportation networks. Human trafficking in the United States takes many forms and can involve exploitation of both adults and children for labor and sex. ** [[Donald Trump]], [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-human-trafficking-online-child-exploitation-united-states/ Executive Order on Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States] (31 January 2020) * I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but [[Jesus]] heard me! And ain't I a woman? ** ''Ain't I a Woman?'' (1851), by [[Sojourner Truth]] * '''[[Civil rights]]''', as we may remember, '''are reducible to three primary heads; the right of personal security; the right of personal liberty; and the right of private property. In a state of slavery, the two last are wholly abolished, the person of the slave being at the absolute disposal of his master; and property, what he is incapable, in that state, either of acquiring, or holding, in his own use. Hence, it will appear how perfectly irreconcilable a state of slavery is to the principles of a democracy, which form the basis and foundation of our government.''' ** [[St. George Tucker]] ''[https://archive.org/details/dissertationonsla00tuck A Dissertation on Slavery: With a Proposal for the Gradual Abolition of it, in the State of Virginia]'' (1796) ==U== [[File:Prisoner_of_war,_from_Belle_Isle,_Richmond,_at_the_U.S._General_Hospital,_Div._1,_Annapolis.jpg|thumb|'''The [[law]] of [[nations]] knows of no distinction of color''', and if an [[enemy]] of the [[United States]] should enslave and sell any captured persons of their [[army]], it would be a case for the severest retaliation, if not redressed upon complaint. ~ [[w:United States Department of War|United States Department of War]]]] *'''The [[law]] of [[nations]] knows of no distinction of color''', and if an [[enemy]] of the [[United States]] should enslave and sell any captured persons of their [[army]], it would be a case for the severest retaliation, if not redressed upon complaint. ** [[w:United States Department of War|United States Department of War]], ''[[w:Lieber Code|Lieber Code]]'', (1863) ==V== * [T]he spread of [[capitalism]] and [[Free market|free markets]] in the [[Modernity|modern era]] is strongly correlated with the decline and death of slavery. ** Ivo Vegter, [https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2017-11-07-the-russian-revolution-the-birth-of-a-deadly-doomed-dream/#.WhiY3kpKvqY "The Russian Revolution: The birth of a deadly, doomed dream"] (7 November 2017), ''Daily Maverick'' ==W== [[File:Booker T Washington by Frances B Johnston, c1895-crop.jpg|thumb|In any country, regardless of what its laws say, wherever people act upon the idea that the disadvantage of one man is the good of another, there slavery exists. ~ [[Booker T. Washington]] ]] [[File:Booker T Washington 16114a.jpg|thumb|Of all forms of slavery there is none that is so harmful and degrading as that form of slavery which tempts one human being to hate another by reason of his race or color. ~ [[Booker T. Washington]] ]] [[File:Flag of the Confederate States of America (1861-1863).svg|thumb|Louisiana looks to the formation of a southern confederacy to preserve the blessings of African slavery. ~ [[w:George Williamson|George Williamson]]]] [[File:Eagle and American Flag by Bubbels.jpg|thumb|Nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union, by consolidating it in a common bond of principle. ~ [[George Washington]]]] [[File:Betsy-Ross-Flag.jpg|thumb|When it became clear that slavery was not going away by itself, Americans faced a choice. They could keep their slaves and reject their founding principles. Or they could affirm their principles and limit the growth of slavery. ~ [[w:Thomas G. West|Thomas G. West]]]] * '''Of all forms of slavery there is none that is so harmful and degrading as that form of slavery which tempts one [[human]] being to hate another by reason of his race or color.''' One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him. ** [[Booker T. Washington]], [http://web.archive.org/20050322051431/www.historycooperative.org/btw/Vol.10/html/35.html An Address on Abraham Lincoln before the Republican Club of New York City (12 February 1909)] * '''In any [[country]], regardless of what its [[laws]] say, wherever [[people]] act upon the [[idea]] that the disadvantage of one man is the [[good]] of another, there slavery exists. Wherever, in any country the whole people [[Feelings|feel]] that the [[happiness]] of [[Humanity|all]] is dependent upon the happiness of the [[Weakness|weakest]], there [[freedom]] exists.''' ** [[Booker T. Washington]], An Address on Abraham Lincoln before the Republican Club of New York City (12 February 1909) * A healthy man owes to the sick all that he can do for them. An educated man owes to the ignorant all that he can do for them. A free man owes to the world’s slaves all that he can do for them. And what is to be done is more, much more, than good works, Christmas baskets, bonuses and tips and bread and circuses. There is only one thing to be done with slaves… free them. ** [[Orson Welles]], Moral Indebtedness (October 1943) * Are you a ''man''? Then you should have a ''human'' heart. But have you indeed? What is your heart made of? Is there no such principle as compassion there? Do you never ''feel'' another's pain? Have you no sympathy? No sense of human woe? No pity for the miserable? When you saw the flowing eyes, the heaving breasts, or the bleeding sides and tortured limbs of your fellow-creatures, was you a stone, or a brute? Did you look upon them with the eyes of a tiger? When you squeezed the agonizing creatures down in the ship, or when you threw their poor mangled remains into the sea, had you no relenting? Did not one tear drop from your eye, one sigh escape from your breast? Do you feel no relenting ''now''? If you do not, you must go on, till the measure of your iniquities is full. Then will the great God deal with ''you'', as you have dealt with ''them'', and require all their blood at your hands. And at that day it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for ''you''! ** [[John Wesley]], ''Thoughts Upon Slavery'' (1774), quoted in ''The Works of the Rev. John Wesley: Volume X'' (1827), p. 503 * I would do anything that is in my power toward the extirpation of that trade which is a scandal not only to Christianity but humanity. ** [[John Wesley]], letter to Henry Moore (14 March 1790), quoted in John Telford (ed.), ''The Letters of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M. Vol. VIII: July 24, 1787, to February 24, 1791'' (1960), p. 207 * When it became clear that slavery was not going away by itself, Americans faced a choice. They could keep their slaves and reject their founding principles. Or they could affirm their principles and limit the growth of slavery, placing it, in Lincoln's words, 'in the course of ultimate extinction'. ** [[w:Thomas G. West|Thomas G. West]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=DjlpSl-x1gMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=vindicating+the+founders&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAGoVChMI0Jf4v8jRxwIVAXo-Ch1tYgf2#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Vindicating the Founders''] (2001), Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., p. 33 * The [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] recognizes in "[[Song of the South]]" remarkable artistic merit in the music and in the combination of living actors and the [[Animation|cartoon]] technique. It regrets, however, that in an effort neither to offend audiences in the north or south, the production helps to perpetuate a dangerously glorified picture of slavery. Making use of the beautiful Uncle Remus folklore, "Song of the South" unfortunately gives the impression of an idyllic master-slave relationship which is a distortion of the facts. ** Walter Francis White, as quoted in ''Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America'' (1997) by Karl F. Cohen * Does any one suppose a slave trade would help their civilization? Is it not plain that she must suffer from it; that civilization must be checked; that her barbarous manners must be made more barbarous; and that the happiness of her millions of inhabitants must be prejudiced with her intercourse with Britain? Does not every one see that a slave trade carried on around her coasts must carry violence and desolation to her very center? ** [[William Wilberforce]], main leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade in [[England]] * The true way to virtue is by withdrawing from temptation; let us then withdraw from these wretched Africans those temptations to fraud, violence, cruelty, and injustice, which the slave trade furnishes. Wherever the sun shines, let us go round the world with him, diffusing our benevolence; but let us not traffic, only that we may set kings against their subjects, subjects against their kings, sowing discord in every village, fear and terror in every family, setting millions of our fellow creatures a-hunting each other for slaves, creating fairs and markets for human flesh through one whole continent of the world, and, under the name of policy, concealing from ourselves all the baseness and iniquity of such a traffic ** [[William Wilberforce]], "[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_the_Horrors_of_the_Slave_Trade On the Horrors of the Slave Trade]", speech delivered in the House of Commons (12 May 1789) * [[God]] Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners ([[morality]]). ** [[William Wilberforce]] * The willingness of Africans to participate in the slave trade in Africa allowed it to flourish. Africans delivered fellow Africans into the clutches of European subjugation and servitude, something the mosquito made impossible for Europeans to do themselves. The mosquito would not allow Europeans to pluck Africans from their homelands. Without African slavery, New World [[Mercantilism|mercantilist]] plantation economics would have failed, quinine would not have been discovered, and Africa would have remained African. The entire [[w:"Columbian Exchange|Columbian Exchange]] would have been vastly different, or perhaps not have occurred at all.<br>As it was, however, the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]], and eventually the [[w:Spanish_Empire|Spanish]], [[British Empire|English]], [[French Colonial Empire|French]], [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]], and other Europeans, were able to tap into the existing internal African slave culture that revolved around captives of war. Africans initially sold their captives to the Portuguese, and small, localized slave trade emerged. Originally, it generally operated under the cultural umbrella of customary and conventional African slavery. By exploiting this traditional feuding among African nations and social networks, Europeans were able to introduce a vastly different form of captive slavery, one of bulk commercial export. African leaders and monarchs began raiding traditional enemies and allies alike, solely for the purpose of capturing slaves to sell at a growing number of slave forts on the coast, operated by an increasingly broad range of European nationalities. The European demand was met by an African supply of African slaves. ** [[Timothy C. Winegard]], ''The Mosquito'' (2019), p. 176 * I’m feeling honored that I am being chosen as a Nobel laureate and I have been honored with this – this precious award, the Nobel Peace Prize. And I’m proud that I’m the first [[Pakistan|Pakistani]] and the first young woman or the first young person who is getting this award. It’s a great honor for me. And I’m also really happy that I’m sharing this award with a person – with a person from [[India]] whose name is [[Kailash Satyarthi]] and his great work for child’s right, his great work against – against child [[slavery]]. ** ''[[Malala Yousafzai]]'s Nobel Peace Prize Winner Speech'' (10 October 2014) ==''Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations'' (1989)== * But this momentous question, like a fire bell in the night, awakened and filled me with terror. ** [[Thomas Jefferson]], letter to John Holmes, April 22, 1820.—The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Paul L. Ford, vol. 10, p. 157 (1899). Jefferson refers to the Missouri question, whether to admit Missouri as a slave state but prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase. Holmes was a representative from Massachusetts from 1817 to March 15, 1820, when he resigned to attend the Maine constitutional convention. He was elected to the Senate from Maine and served from June 13, 1820, to 1827, and 1829–1833. * Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We say we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We—even we here—hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free—honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best, hope of earth. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], annual message to Congress, December 1, 1862; in Roy P. Basler, ed., ''The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1953), vol. 5, p. 537 * I do not understand that because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife. My understanding is that I can just let her alone. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], fourth debate with Senator Stephen A. Douglas, Charleston, Illinois, September 18, 1858; in Roy P. Basler, ed., ''The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1953), vol. 3, p. 146. Lincoln used similar wording in a speech in Springfield, Illinois, June 26, 1857: "Now I protest against that counterfeit logic which concludes that, because I do not want a black woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife. I need not have her for either. I can just leave her alone".—Collected Works, vol. 2, p. 405 (1953) * Those arguments that are made, that the inferior race are to be treated with as much allowance as they are capable of enjoying; that as much is to be done for them as their condition will allow. What are these arguments? They are the arguments that kings have made for enslaving the people in all ages of the world. You will find that all the arguments in favor of kingcraft were of this class; they always bestrode the necks of the people, not that they wanted to do it, but because the people were better off for being ridden. That is their argument, and this argument of the Judge is the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it. Turn in whatever way you will—whether it comes from the mouth of a King, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race, it is all the same old serpent, and I hold if that course of argumentation that is made for the purpose of convincing the public mind that we should not care about this, should be granted, it does not stop with the negro. ** [[Abraham Lincoln]], speech at Chicago, Illinois, July 10, 1858; in Roy P. Basler, ed., ''The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1953), vol. 2, p. 500 * Whenever [I] hear any one, arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. ** President [[Abraham Lincoln]], speech to 140th Indiana regiment, March 17, 1865; in Roy P. Basler, ed., ''The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln'' (1953), vol. 8, p. 361 *'''To [[Americans]], that some desperate wretches should be willing to [[steal]] and enslave men by [[violence]] and [[murder]] for gain, is rather lamentable''' than [[strange]]. But that many [[civilized]], nay, [[christianized]] people should approve, and be concerned in the [[savage]] practice, is [[surprising]]; and still persist, though it has been so often proved contrary to the [[light]] of [[nature]], to every principle of [[Justice]] and [[Humanity]], and even good policy, by a succession of eminent men, and several late publications. **[[Thomas Paine]], as quoted in ''[[s:African Slavery in America|African Slavery in America]]'' (1775) * Slavery existed all over the [[world]]. The [[Egyptians]] had slaves. The [[Chinese]] had slaves. The [[Africans]] did. [[American Indians]] had slaves long before [[Columbus]], and tragically, slavery continues today in many countries. What's uniquely [[w:Western world|western]] is the [[w:Abolition of slavery|abolition of slavery]], and what's uniquely [[American]] is the [[fighting]] of [[American Civil War|a great war]] to end it. ** [[Dinesh D'Souza]], ''[[America: Imagine the World Without Her]]'' (2014) * All socialism involves slavery…. That which fundamentally distinguishes the slave is that he labours under coercion to satisfy another's desires. ** [[Herbert Spencer]], "The Coming Slavery", The Contemporary Review, April 1884, p. 474. This essay was reprinted in chapter 2 of his book, Man vs. the State (1884) * Not only do I pray for it, on the score of human dignity, but I can clearly forsee that nothing but the rooting out of slavery can perpetuate the existence of our union, by consolidating it in a common bond of principle. ** Attributed to [[George Washington]], in ''Retrospections of America, 1797–1811'' (1887) by John Bernard, p. 91; this is from Bernard's account of a conversation he had with Washington in 1798, but it is reported as unverified in ''Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations'' (1989) * In returning I read a very different book, published by an honest [[Quaker]], on that execrable sum of all villanies, commonly called the Slave-trade. ** [[John Wesley]] Journal (12 February 1772) after reading ''Some historical accounts of Guinea'' by [[w:Anthony Benezet|Anthony Benezet]] * Like a light-skinned slave boy, we're in the motherfucking house! ** [[Kanye West|Kanye O. West]], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfQOawFwx6w "All Day"] (2015), ''SWISH'' (2015) * All the leading [[Founding Fathers of the United States|Founders]] affirmed on many occasions that blacks are created equal to whites and that slavery is wrong. ** [[w:Thomas G. West|Thomas G. West]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=DjlpSl-x1gMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=vindicating+the+founders&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAGoVChMI0Jf4v8jRxwIVAXo-Ch1tYgf2#v=onepage&q&f=false ''Vindicating the Founders''], p. 4 * The triumphs of Christianity rest this very hour upon slavery... **[[w:John T. Wightman|John T. Wightman]], ''The Glory of God, the Defence of the South'' (1861), Yorkville, South Carolina * '''[[w:Louisiana|Louisiana]] looks to the formation of a southern confederacy to preserve the blessings of African slavery'''... ** [[w:George Williamson|George Williamson]], speech to the Texan secession convention (March 1861), as quoted in ''Journal of the Secession Convention of Texas'' (1861), by E.W. Winkler, Texas * Hurrah! Hurrah! [[Emancipation|We bring the jubilee!]] Hurrah! Hurrah! [[w:Flag of the United States|The flag]] [[Emancipation|that makes you]] [[Freedom|free]]! ** [[w:Henry Clay Work|Henry Clay Work]], as quoted in "[[w:Marching Through Georgia|Marching Through Georgia]]" (1865), by H.C. Work ==''Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations''== :<small>Quotes reported in ''[[Wikisource:Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922)|Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations]]'' (1922), p. 715-16.</small> * ''Servi peregrini, ut primum Galliæ fines penetraverint eodem momento liberi sunt.'' ** Foreign slaves, as soon as they come within the limits of Gaul, that moment they are free. ** [[Bodinus]], Book I, Chapter V * [[Lord Mansfield]] first established the grand doctrine that the air of England is too pure to be breathed by a slave. ** [[Lord Campbell]], ''Lives of the Chief Justices'', Volume II, p. 418 * No more slave States and no more slave territory. ** [[Salmon P. Chase]], ''Resolutions Adopted at the Free-Soil National Convention'' (9 August 1848) * ''Cotton is King; or Slavery in the Light of Political Economy.'' ** [[David Christy]], title of book (pub. 1855), the phrase "Cotton is King" was later used by [[James H. Hammond]] in the US Senate in March, 1858, and Gov. Manning of South Carolina, in a speech at Columbia, S. C. (1858) * It [Chinese Labour in South Africa] could not, in the opinion of His Majesty's Government, be classified as slavery in the extreme acceptance of the word without some risk of terminological inexactitude. ** [[Winston Churchill]] in the British House of Commons (22 February 1906) * ''Nimia libertas et populis et privatis in nimiam servitutem cadit.'' ** Excessive liberty leads both nations and individuals into excessive slavery. ** [[Cicero]], ''De Republica'', I. 44 * ''Fit in dominatu servitus, in servitute dominatus.'' ** He is sometimes slave who should be master; and sometimes master who should be slave. ** [[Cicero]], ''Oratio Pro Rege Deiotaro'', XI * Corrupted freemen are the worst of slaves. ** [[David Garrick]], Prologue to Ed. Moore's ''Gamesters'' * Resolved, That the compact which exists between the North and the South is a covenant with death and an agreement with hell; involving both parties in atrocious criminality, and should be immediately annulled. ** [[William Lloyd Garrison]], adopted by the Mass. Anti-Slavery Society. Fanueil Hall. Jan. 27, 1843 * The man who gives me employment, which I must have or suffer, that man is my master, let me call him what I will. ** [[Henry George]], ''Social Problems'', Chapter V * The very mudsills of society. * * * We call them slaves. * * * But I will not characterize that class at the North with that term; but you have it. It is there, it is everywhere, it is eternal. ** [[James H. Hammond]], speech in the U. S. Senate. (March 1858) * Whatever day <br /> Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away. ** [[Homer]], ''The Odyssey'', Book XVII, line 392. Pope's translation * [England] a soil whose air is deemed too pure for slaves to breathe in. ** [[Capel Lofft]], ''Reports'', p. 2. Margrave's Argument. (14 May 1772) * The air of England has long been too pure for a slave, and every man is free who breathes it. ** [[Lord Mansfield]]. Said in the case of a negro, James Somersett, carried from Africa to Jamaica and sold * Where bastard Freedom waves <br /> Her fustian flag in mockery over slaves. ** [[Thomas Moore]], ''To the Lord Viscount Forbes'', written from the City of Washington * And ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves, <br /> While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves. ** [[Robert Paine]], ''Ode'', ''Adams and Liberty'' (1798) * Englishmen never will be slaves; they are free to do whatever the Government and public opinion allow them to do. ** [[Bernard Shaw]], ''Man and Superman'' * Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, <br /> Slavery! said I—still thou art a bitter draught. ** [[Laurence Sterne]], ''Sentimental Journey'', ''The Passport'', ''The Hotel at Paris'' * By the Law of Slavery, man, created in the image of God, is divested of the human character, and declared to be a mere chattel. ** [[Charles Sumner]], ''The Anti-Slavery Enterprise'', address at New York (9 May 1859) * Where Slavery is there Liberty cannot be; and where Liberty is there Slavery cannot be. ** [[Charles Sumner]], ''Slavery and the Rebellion'', speech before the New York Young Men's Republican Union (5 November 1864) * They [the blacks] had no rights which the white man was bound to respect. ** [[Roger B. Taney]], ''The Dred Scot Case''. See Howard's Rep, Volume XIX, p. 407 * Slavery is also as ancient as war, and war as human nature. ** [[Voltaire]], ''Dictionnaire philosophique portatif'' ("''A Philosophical Dictionary''") (1764), "Slaves" * I never mean, unless some particular circumstances should compel me to do it, to possess another slave by purchase, it being among my first wishes to see some plan adopted by which slavery in this country may be abolished by law. ** [[George Washington]], Farewell Address * That execrable sum of all villanies commonly called the Slave-trade. ** [[John Wesley]], ''Journal'' (12 February 1792) * A Christian! going, gone! <br /> Who bids for God's own image?—for his grace, <br /> Which that poor victim of the market-place <br /> Hath in her suffering won? ** [[John Greenleaf Whittier]], ''Voices of Freedom'', ''The Christian Slave'' * Our fellow-countrymen in chains! <br /> Slaves—in a land of light and law! <br /> Slaves—crouching on the very plains <br /> Where rolled the storm of Freedom's war! ** [[John Greenleaf Whittier]], ''Voices of Freedom'', Stanzas * What! mothers from their children riven! <br /> What! God's own image bought and sold! <br /> AMERICANS to market driven, <br /> And bartered as the brute for gold! ** [[John Greenleaf Whittier]], ''Voices of Freedom'', Stanzas ==See also == * [[Abolitionism]] * [[Christian views on slavery]] * [[Enslaved women's resistance in the United States and Caribbean]] * [[Freedom]] * [[Islamic views on slavery]] * [[Reparations for slavery]] * [[Sexual slavery]] * [[Slavery in the United States]] * [[Wage slavery]] ==External links== {{wikipedia}} {{wiktionary|slavery}} {{commonscat}} *[http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=46469 Life after slavery], video clip about slavery in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania [[Category:Slavery| ]] [[Category:Racism]] [[Category:Human rights abuses]] l587niqm6d2lhagswlkfrlpywa40m3k 0 130480 3515456 3508370 2024-05-14T20:31:28Z 2600:1007:B0A7:3A84:0:23:DC2C:E201 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki nftsinxc8nm90vlooejsn60n18hizw8 0 130591 3515599 3416670 2024-05-15T04:58:44Z Markyeoh1327 2921341 /* Going Home [3.11] */ wikitext text/x-wiki t72pcr99sjuqbfbdhulpbbi8ez16q1d 3515602 3515599 2024-05-15T05:05:11Z Markyeoh1327 2921341 /* Firebird [5.20] */ wikitext text/x-wiki tvx86ypz8puy9boslvvbff8qyqdgbl0 0 131470 3515601 3495862 2024-05-15T05:00:05Z Philip Cross 7192 /* 2022–present */ ce wikitext text/x-wiki m7bcg8bhyyojqq7xkr9x9kccbi93fx5 3515603 3515601 2024-05-15T05:08:10Z Philip Cross 7192 /* 2022–present */ + " I think if you ask Tory party members right now they'd vote for me to be leader and not [[Rishi Sunak]]" (last February) wikitext text/x-wiki im0zmxa429tzy8zus3vxapow7n4fz5w 3515684 3515603 2024-05-15T11:02:19Z Philip Cross 7192 /* 2022–present */ + " We have [[Jacob Rees-Mogg]]. There are others – like [[Liz Truss]] and [[w:Mark Francois|Mark Francois]] – who have views similar to me" (yesterday)" wikitext text/x-wiki 3pt9tck22tqcwlagh71dirhoh8wzf9r 0 132669 3515303 3505938 2024-05-14T14:39:02Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F wikitext text/x-wiki jsbgmtmsc6rgap7nlcbjq9tf5kjbhit 3515304 3515303 2024-05-14T14:42:25Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F /* Cast */ wikitext text/x-wiki erzxu08pgojhuid9jlxi0aqoqakhyja 3515305 3515304 2024-05-14T14:42:38Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F /* Cast */ wikitext text/x-wiki mfnneqy8fq0193o05voaiyl2jn9fyzx 3515306 3515305 2024-05-14T14:43:11Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F /* Cast */ wikitext text/x-wiki erzxu08pgojhuid9jlxi0aqoqakhyja 3515307 3515306 2024-05-14T14:43:29Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F /* Cast */ wikitext text/x-wiki 64nlstdf2g17cdcw37fau0adne9ls5z 0 134699 3515299 3514828 2024-05-14T14:33:41Z BurningLibrary 3137151 /* Dialogue */Punctuation wikitext text/x-wiki jddymdf3mmkeug7710h5kulsuhcv9e3 0 136628 3515501 3515089 2024-05-14T22:27:27Z Caleblaw85 2991627 /* Larry-Boy! and the Fib from Outer Space! */ wikitext text/x-wiki mku5gy20l5pluyteq1nas69u9xn5xni 0 137043 3515368 3514916 2024-05-14T18:40:23Z TOPG11256 3183864 wikitext text/x-wiki 0svpod71yajd68hmpx3mglj8phyecy6 3515369 3515368 2024-05-14T18:40:43Z Civvì 209223 Reverted edit by [[User:TOPG11256|TOPG11256]] ([[User talk:TOPG11256|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/TOPG11256|contributions]]) to last version by Codename Noreste wikitext text/x-wiki nfb2tr67n4o4k1vj121zmt44mf0pjok 3515378 3515369 2024-05-14T19:12:37Z TOPG11256 3183864 wikitext text/x-wiki 86rbeb5ao1y7efiwe1cxq956zjjtru3 0 138870 3515557 3512423 2024-05-15T02:21:54Z 03isrflo62410 1485946 /* Turban Cowboy */ wikitext text/x-wiki g001r1mg08hpjz68ganfd68qldj052o 2 142345 3515497 3498194 2024-05-14T22:06:32Z Apisite 3043558 /* Entry Wishlist */ wikitext text/x-wiki lvv752nehg8a57sfnnmdzt8dpbtn09a 0 146083 3515323 3514297 2024-05-14T16:32:53Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:AC52:740D:4597:7D71 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki hxy2p4l1yumfl02x1omw6ajjys4pr6c 0 148719 3515358 3388689 2024-05-14T18:03:17Z 2601:240:4101:7350:47E:A0BA:2246:F800 /* External links */ wikitext text/x-wiki 83cgvmulyet4g15p7zhl0dc2u3z5k6t 3515361 3515358 2024-05-14T18:11:14Z Philip Cross 7192 updating wikitext text/x-wiki l20l68r0osfruwikmp8f20ag5vj1b40 0 152229 3515462 3512496 2024-05-14T20:41:49Z CensoredScribe 856601 Godoy, format. wikitext text/x-wiki 1ca743gjbw4c6jtwrelew4muk7pq6ch 0 157638 3515703 3112987 2024-05-15T11:42:35Z 2.196.177.65 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki 3eg67ai0oaiyuqv2s3rv7omzxhnjze0 0 162805 3515301 3382886 2024-05-14T14:36:28Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F wikitext text/x-wiki d7w69l7799wum3bft5fcz3bwwtp3ln2 0 174244 3515702 3474338 2024-05-15T11:41:57Z 2.196.177.65 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki if0a63pq3mvuo1curjd9j2uo3lee37t 0 181654 3515334 3502531 2024-05-14T17:05:29Z 204.81.108.212 /* Ruins */ wikitext text/x-wiki lfny8dfgcdr4aihk59jhvgrko4b2q1w 0 184205 3515359 3515161 2024-05-14T18:07:39Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Operation: T.U.R.N.I.P. [1.09] */ wikitext text/x-wiki hhkrplbwbhldp89hox63pflbn2eooor 3515360 3515359 2024-05-14T18:08:20Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Operation: T.U.R.N.I.P. [1.09] */ wikitext text/x-wiki b1zwd7rsey3tqw1e5wcrmq23pl3ow8r 3515362 3515360 2024-05-14T18:11:24Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Operation: C.O.W.G.I.R.L. [1.08] */ wikitext text/x-wiki b75xb70gq00lb2ap9kct3qk95srvy48 3515549 3515362 2024-05-15T01:13:56Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: C.H.A.D. [1.20] */ wikitext text/x-wiki qq3ihgfrmjbzj97axds733u6h1332l2 3515550 3515549 2024-05-15T01:16:52Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: C.H.A.D. [1.20] */ wikitext text/x-wiki gd2fml0okuyydqvgyq543zht2po02u9 3515590 3515550 2024-05-15T04:04:12Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: C.H.A.D. [1.20] */ wikitext text/x-wiki 9u5fb9nmytokjvv8bowxp30g6sdwb37 0 184206 3515363 3515046 2024-05-14T18:19:12Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Operation: M.O.V.I.E. [2.07] */ wikitext text/x-wiki g4ah7hp7wzep8wucwrws8edzay3p7ca 0 184208 3515357 3515045 2024-05-14T18:01:20Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:6D47:505:197A:629B /* Operation: A.F.L.O.A.T. [3.02] */ wikitext text/x-wiki 1oj1cwhxqlyomepwdc03i244e8i4ktv 3515536 3515357 2024-05-15T00:50:24Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: A.F.L.O.A.T. [3.02] */ wikitext text/x-wiki fah9azzlczywjlwjdgigigonl6339cc 3515537 3515536 2024-05-15T00:52:33Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: A.F.L.O.A.T. [3.02] */ wikitext text/x-wiki ltrwpaowyrouejx7vymt6ejhk5vjls0 3515538 3515537 2024-05-15T00:55:55Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: R.O.B.B.E.R.S. [3.05] */ wikitext text/x-wiki lq2890kuc1qrjebopwqaajdz5vn57x2 3515539 3515538 2024-05-15T00:56:14Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: R.O.B.B.E.R.S. [3.05] */ wikitext text/x-wiki pete7qcq468xxw5d2329mv89tnptcer 3515540 3515539 2024-05-15T00:56:50Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: A.F.L.O.A.T. [3.02] */ wikitext text/x-wiki t8wpoce0onhqw0uiw5pwkenmpq693li 3515543 3515540 2024-05-15T00:59:51Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: H.U.G.S. [3.15] */ wikitext text/x-wiki e2p15nhf9sgwywsaxvdnq7yiwkhx6gg 3515544 3515543 2024-05-15T01:00:15Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: H.U.G.S. [3.15] */ wikitext text/x-wiki e10rwanl79d4xirssqdcy0hf8dlyp2i 3515545 3515544 2024-05-15T01:02:40Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: H.U.G.S. [3.15] */ wikitext text/x-wiki t4ygkzwkxc0761aevuxg2hutq9w5l41 3515546 3515545 2024-05-15T01:03:49Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: H.U.G.S. [3.15] */ wikitext text/x-wiki 20dqel9ucw6yh7ugkintd4ccdkdh3mn 3515547 3515546 2024-05-15T01:04:29Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:D1BD:D0B5:CD3B:2EB9 /* Operation: H.U.G.S. 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109.166.131.250 /* Fame */ wikitext text/x-wiki 1uo25ageafklw02kiekxm9j6thq8e99 3515279 3515278 2024-05-14T12:58:26Z 109.166.131.250 /* Fame */ wikitext text/x-wiki ig1uzgeirh648nnmbjf87zak0jw838w 3515280 3515279 2024-05-14T13:00:02Z 109.166.131.250 /* Fame */ wikitext text/x-wiki jeyc9x5yhpg9enqy3a7chhyyutpwc8v 3515283 3515280 2024-05-14T13:17:40Z 109.166.131.250 /* Duped */ wikitext text/x-wiki 0vr9ilne2hk1s3fz1egnsv0l68r21o8 3515285 3515283 2024-05-14T13:21:10Z 109.166.131.250 /* Reflected Glory */ wikitext text/x-wiki l8o84d5ye4a6ugbcxergl4glw9010x3 3515287 3515285 2024-05-14T13:38:33Z 109.166.131.250 /* Reflected Glory */ wikitext text/x-wiki 5xvpt03t8wjjer7dwj3uhaxeb6s4w0p 3515288 3515287 2024-05-14T13:41:27Z 109.166.131.250 /* Reflected Glory */ wikitext text/x-wiki o3wr1jqfvyd67hhnxgj0684wrk5chsg 3515289 3515288 2024-05-14T13:45:52Z 109.166.131.250 /* Reflected Glory */ wikitext text/x-wiki iav3ah0evah428htppze3xm8h8a05mc 0 194979 3515326 3515207 2024-05-14T16:42:25Z 185.43.188.122 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki mwvc8q9acbpm27qi6ixgpqhi3xvx5x2 3515327 3515326 2024-05-14T16:45:20Z 185.43.188.122 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 3fn1x1hs0lz7ecqdfsvg98m9shfd1gv 3515329 3515327 2024-05-14T16:55:03Z 185.43.188.122 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki qveoyxmx6lxn21m5ikm9qwl006vot8m 3515332 3515329 2024-05-14T16:57:51Z 185.43.188.122 /* Boss Baby */ wikitext text/x-wiki ro9bz80jh61kza8cceq021xmannq316 3515333 3515332 2024-05-14T17:02:03Z 185.43.188.122 wikitext text/x-wiki 114bm3syzapz6a92a3ymp2lfjv9re4a 3515339 3515333 2024-05-14T17:15:10Z 185.43.188.122 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki o7xfhtoo22bsx7qvr8o4ohk5v9ehhz6 0 207432 3515300 3515047 2024-05-14T14:34:55Z 2.124.123.251 This is not how the ending goes. wikitext text/x-wiki pm50ushahhp9z20112ie0ng3xazybth 3515314 3515300 2024-05-14T15:08:15Z 207.177.166.236 Sunset Shimmer: Dude. Stop. wikitext text/x-wiki 6v2i52wb1zq7xt12yqjwxzf8y5t1j02 3515319 3515314 2024-05-14T15:50:40Z 207.177.166.236 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki dscav93oy0fj79xtc357vl5us0biqp4 3515324 3515319 2024-05-14T16:35:40Z 92.18.150.96 Can someone please protect this page? wikitext text/x-wiki pm50ushahhp9z20112ie0ng3xazybth 3515344 3515324 2024-05-14T17:26:28Z 98.252.123.147 Stop it! This is the final battle. It's all about pain, violence, and betrayal. Not hugs, forgiveness and friendship... PAIN! wikitext text/x-wiki dscav93oy0fj79xtc357vl5us0biqp4 3515345 3515344 2024-05-14T17:27:30Z 98.252.123.147 wikitext text/x-wiki 7jlrvwimctlaako6z4g90ct4f37yglv 3515376 3515345 2024-05-14T19:08:15Z 92.18.150.96 This is a girl's cartoon movie. So it should be child friendly. wikitext text/x-wiki pm50ushahhp9z20112ie0ng3xazybth 3515381 3515376 2024-05-14T19:20:04Z 98.252.123.147 Sunset Shimmer: Dude, quit it! This movie need to stay as an friendly but violence movie. Because this is who it is, dude. So we are NOT doing that, okay? OKAY? wikitext text/x-wiki bhm410cj5ojmc6fljkvagka2cew07ot 3515386 3515381 2024-05-14T19:27:06Z 92.18.150.96 Sunset Shimmer reformed at the end of the movie. wikitext text/x-wiki pm50ushahhp9z20112ie0ng3xazybth 3515399 3515386 2024-05-14T19:40:56Z 98.252.123.147 Sunset Shimmer: UGH! I rather lick the candle and puke than being an reformed piece of crap. Besides, It's the creators super finale ending, he'll do what he wanted. wikitext text/x-wiki hbg1qhh7imarv1gg7vzvigb19m7x9tz 3515412 3515399 2024-05-14T19:44:39Z 03isrflo62410 1485946 You are not the director. Get the fuck outta here. wikitext text/x-wiki a0npbebwei1f6o3ylr0fhprbgrs2iqp 3515415 3515412 2024-05-14T19:45:26Z 98.252.123.147 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki n91nmuhlkuh6yb5cf4dibkaxx4ui9zy 3515532 3515415 2024-05-15T00:26:27Z 03isrflo62410 1485946 Nonsense. There was no Hanazuki in the movie. wikitext text/x-wiki an46z3fxtdg7s9jverfqpcmj2kr15iv 3515552 3515532 2024-05-15T01:40:47Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki sq4u8bt3btfofqv68fifbdz8ptqs0nx 3515558 3515552 2024-05-15T02:23:19Z 03isrflo62410 1485946 This scene didn't exist in the actual film, Also, who the fuck is "Flamley"? wikitext text/x-wiki an46z3fxtdg7s9jverfqpcmj2kr15iv 3515560 3515558 2024-05-15T02:38:31Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki 8xondkuo2aq0kektsb3et1gygereh3j 3515562 3515560 2024-05-15T02:50:25Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki gj5ebr9vyo7m6pm12nmp5jgx0ksf7ge 3515563 3515562 2024-05-15T02:50:55Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki a4qjqbo6ujxquks533lvu8y16ve8cwk 3515564 3515563 2024-05-15T02:51:08Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki medf03dfakl9ro3b1tlbcwk6nnj78ds 3515565 3515564 2024-05-15T02:56:43Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki aar07gmvdupxlzwnu8dnwei8knqpoua 3515567 3515565 2024-05-15T03:00:57Z 03isrflo62410 1485946 wikitext text/x-wiki an46z3fxtdg7s9jverfqpcmj2kr15iv 3515568 3515567 2024-05-15T03:09:55Z 207.177.166.236 You know what? Fuck it! You can HAVE this movie to be normal! FUCK IT! wikitext text/x-wiki jkjpvyobr6yd5izjl0o3ezxp2sus6ju 3515569 3515568 2024-05-15T03:10:45Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki 555psvuw2lhmszkfxcxxk8k6fxyddtg 3515570 3515569 2024-05-15T03:13:34Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki 1jtmviu4yinfvxztrg2gaa9gbo92p3d 3515662 3515570 2024-05-15T09:31:47Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki 825ovzxp6db3uemhmydhsojur11qjm3 3515664 3515662 2024-05-15T09:32:07Z 207.177.166.236 wikitext text/x-wiki 7cfvnsr2f67t8fv0g5hb8p7jzel49fs 0 208737 3515525 3481498 2024-05-15T00:14:27Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki nyn9nefy5cls8ktyc66ua4ef2ubv0ah 3515526 3515525 2024-05-15T00:14:46Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki k5gwxze7gdfd1t0m10xnu8my1whir0m 0 209733 3515475 3498802 2024-05-14T21:17:59Z ᘙ 3105225 add section for Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani wikitext text/x-wiki k3bbvh9cajitfh9pmlx5vq3jeprr7s1 3515476 3515475 2024-05-14T21:19:28Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani */ wikitext text/x-wiki dgumel8puw4qshad43icinh6oe5fy90 3515478 3515476 2024-05-14T21:23:58Z ᘙ 3105225 wikitext text/x-wiki ail5yazsuljdwwn8r16fkitbyaxtsj2 3515480 3515478 2024-05-14T21:25:44Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani */ wikitext text/x-wiki qdk1zhb8edlmktumbvpux93dkofvpeq 3515500 3515480 2024-05-14T22:27:04Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Tabaqat-i-Nasiri by Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani */ rm duplicate, ce wikitext text/x-wiki 7kf0myf0o2k2w3thcqdpg1vp1xx9lt0 3515503 3515500 2024-05-14T22:33:46Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Tabaqat-i-Nasiri by Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani */ wikitext text/x-wiki awmqn9e91mh75x4mj8u4rukpd3zejbu 0 210244 3515691 3488107 2024-05-15T11:19:48Z Philip Cross 7192 + comments last night on GB News wikitext text/x-wiki 4gmrqwy7g0udkzrd48okhc8fconkhwi 0 212882 3515302 3408333 2024-05-14T14:37:22Z 88.202.145.122 /* Emperor Nero */ wikitext text/x-wiki 9ubpcuc9czngw0bwhjkde7zkrsfgeb4 0 213010 3515461 3376072 2024-05-14T20:41:11Z 2600:1007:B0A7:3A84:0:23:DC2C:E201 /* 2017 release on Signature Edition (Rated PG Edition) */ wikitext text/x-wiki 6jz4sq7m95520vvbsjm5osadaz0kzbp 3515484 3515461 2024-05-14T21:32:47Z 03isrflo62410 1485946 Removed non-quote sections. wikitext text/x-wiki 5ci2dry8fv7fjde2oxcsajwvxkm1aay 0 213765 3515499 3466167 2024-05-14T22:23:14Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ Source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/47564/pg47564-images.html#Page_77 wikitext text/x-wiki 0o5e200ze2ufgj23beuhtrduxivi0cr 3515502 3515499 2024-05-14T22:28:02Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki juhx8mpbfw1bbh9nqa7yre1pp3aa5cu 3515504 3515502 2024-05-14T22:35:25Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki h33wrq23h0sany11fb3a7sifnk36rtp 3515505 3515504 2024-05-14T22:38:08Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki 0s7rk5124t2tdspmyswfj1udt44r4iv 3515506 3515505 2024-05-14T22:39:11Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki hvnzdixd627x1skqmo1hwowv1f59lpn 3515507 3515506 2024-05-14T22:40:36Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki pcg9ca9k0fcze6d4k5v17r1gte7xgc5 3515508 3515507 2024-05-14T22:40:51Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki lkisbzp1zeoyivtgw6f98rnhserqv30 3515509 3515508 2024-05-14T22:41:28Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki dmlf9u1oonk92i74jclsgzgkvtia495 3515510 3515509 2024-05-14T22:42:49Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki 2qy7nkbjbzud214nmh0k9vv9c3087ro 3515511 3515510 2024-05-14T22:50:09Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki lk5dsias36jpm10q5yrz6fixr6gks7q 3515512 3515511 2024-05-14T22:52:30Z Apisite 3043558 /* Twilight Land (1895) */ wikitext text/x-wiki rkyit1ear3kc3rv4whnjggmtbx6cq2d 3515513 3515512 2024-05-14T22:58:47Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki o6j1xqrjcr7tgjze4g3cn1otmz8b4w9 0 217539 3515479 3343599 2024-05-14T21:24:47Z TJRC 40429 /* Quotes */ That "quote" isn't even close to what he said at launch; see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGNryrsT7OI#t=5m50s or (edited slightly) https://images.nasa.gov/details/Apollo_11_Intro_720p; or (audio only) https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/static/history/afj/ap11fj/audio/a11_0000000.mp3 (audio only) wikitext text/x-wiki 29s0vn30ctg7u0geotb2gjvko9vgdk7 3515481 3515479 2024-05-14T21:26:44Z TJRC 40429 /* References */ {{reflist}} wikitext text/x-wiki 8il2m1aada9pztvrjo3oj5ewtlt8rtg 0 218505 3515438 3133812 2024-05-14T19:56:39Z 79.30.43.244 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki l6nzo6s0myuo6v1rblvjd1a1kmp0w24 0 219391 3515316 3228539 2024-05-14T15:17:14Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F wikitext text/x-wiki 8hdiozlq8xfkd126u9tnhub4uigw51b 3515317 3515316 2024-05-14T15:21:38Z 2601:6C1:585:6A0:50FD:89F4:F6F1:546F wikitext text/x-wiki 40193nd2lmnma78f11uaa19fbdyouvl 0 220923 3515342 3445827 2024-05-14T17:21:50Z A23423413 3125316 adds wikitext text/x-wiki f9j2dk8sl262oqxi0jplfi6416slykz 0 225150 3515644 2851732 2024-05-15T07:56:58Z 2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki tsivtcv8hgdlu0usoa1n8okdhd3bhvz 3515645 3515644 2024-05-15T07:57:04Z Codename Noreste 3154048 Undid edits by [[Special:Contribs/2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161]] ([[User talk:2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|talk]]) to last version by CommonsDelinker wikitext text/x-wiki ttq7kqxqh33jptd6vnomw6f5at5a4ht 0 226783 3515471 3508597 2024-05-14T20:59:35Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 3po5zipzp5pzkf83lqd3zkv6nnpsm6j 0 226805 3515466 3506975 2024-05-14T20:54:03Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki nvkftg8crogjg1cdkcltjj04edyr3p9 3515467 3515466 2024-05-14T20:54:41Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki ca4cu4a0nad1asa1c5xhvv6fi7u4cbp 3515472 3515467 2024-05-14T21:04:43Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Culture change during the Late Harappan period at Harappa: new insights on Vedic Aryan issues (2005) */ wikitext text/x-wiki hng5eqbxuaistf4mmrgym358y24r7lt 3515488 3515472 2024-05-14T21:47:25Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Culture change during the Late Harappan period at Harappa: new insights on Vedic Aryan issues (2005) */ wikitext text/x-wiki 97ovhr3uqj0v2i8dp2dfn2okwhnyw9i 0 227289 3515260 3510933 2024-05-14T12:09:04Z 2600:1014:B094:503:0:9:FA5E:6201 /* Too Much TV / Trick or Treat [1.5] */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4q97fys7gsejnj8shbtb8xzphgktn6v 3515262 3515260 2024-05-14T12:14:39Z 2600:1014:B094:503:0:9:FA5E:6201 /* The Slumber Party / The Homework Hassle [1.8] */ wikitext text/x-wiki kpp1h2onyfvxypr8rxhag6bct9ojmk4 0 227290 3515259 3510928 2024-05-14T12:07:45Z 2600:1014:B094:503:0:9:FA5E:6201 /* The Big Blooper / Nothing to Do [2.5] */ wikitext text/x-wiki g3jv6i6nlpndwxi5ttjd38dow85mtoc 0 228130 3515551 3502521 2024-05-15T01:38:13Z Jan Kalewen 3183996 Undo revision [[Special:Diff/3502521|3502521]] by [[Special:Contributions/204.122.255.111|204.122.255.111]] ([[User talk:204.122.255.111|talk]]). This original version is from Toki Pona: The Language of Good. wikitext text/x-wiki fyfis0ls2grwur6acgty6yuhknck7q5 0 228623 3515298 3108047 2024-05-14T14:32:12Z 88.202.145.122 /* Yosemite Sam */ wikitext text/x-wiki tp7i3z2sb276gxt5l82lpuslz2zh4lh 0 230403 3515296 3490587 2024-05-14T14:29:47Z 88.202.145.122 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki t5zj61rwfwqdib7axrwjzl4muzdg31y 3515297 3515296 2024-05-14T14:30:15Z 88.202.145.122 wikitext text/x-wiki 3tzu38tavy4mp8h6y4f4a347ldj1s3t 2 230557 3515348 3507774 2024-05-14T17:34:47Z Lekkha Moun 3065847 wikitext text/x-wiki m1e5sso5vwhpsqiol6ud7k00galc7wi 0 231896 3515442 3493418 2024-05-14T20:06:24Z 79.30.43.244 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki cuomkpxk100sqqod596uwva0qa9mt9d 3515445 3515442 2024-05-14T20:09:42Z 79.30.43.244 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki j2kf316ldfd9wncnr7y9k38xgm651g8 3515446 3515445 2024-05-14T20:11:20Z 79.30.43.244 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4wu875e6qx4w15fh5q4z150ksc3s2w9 3515447 3515446 2024-05-14T20:11:39Z 79.30.43.244 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki fxpdxyhbp2xsnu5nbrjn4f4ubpvo50r 0 234817 3515364 3450814 2024-05-14T18:19:53Z Philip Cross 7192 ce wikitext text/x-wiki 4hb5vh193lsmvhhbvb028hxurj7yq23 0 237369 3515514 2961957 2024-05-14T23:05:07Z Gilldragon 2514030 wikitext text/x-wiki jyti077uvi42svcs6b2efdxpsmozxeh 0 239540 3515627 3514621 2024-05-15T07:03:53Z 2001:8003:DD56:5500:251A:5F4C:D17E:F4DF /* Dominic "Dom" James */ wikitext text/x-wiki hh1b42lh5adpc3ick6gj48x04fgj48p 3515628 3515627 2024-05-15T07:08:36Z 2001:8003:DD56:5500:251A:5F4C:D17E:F4DF /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 9oee8drnfo85j9h10odjpdx3jg2l7hx 0 240155 3515692 3510331 2024-05-15T11:23:57Z 2001:F40:907:202:702F:11D:2682:C1D0 /* What If... Strange Supreme Intervened? */ wikitext text/x-wiki 1ti0e2iall5uf5evjz9m5r77qyxx7m5 0 241071 3515460 3513107 2024-05-14T20:37:51Z CensoredScribe 856601 Rovner wikitext text/x-wiki 7rm5s1v2nfuht18ukl1sx0jrpmzkzc9 0 241301 3515695 3465508 2024-05-15T11:35:27Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki nxwyer76v2m0uwew9kgr7a0q86pa9e9 0 241470 3515693 3465499 2024-05-15T11:32:32Z ᘙ 3105225 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4vl6dzhoamfajmge0k3zeqpkzold1zw 3515696 3515693 2024-05-15T11:35:35Z ᘙ 3105225 moving to 29 September 2008 western India bombings wikitext text/x-wiki klj9tbu3peu6oc5y5kax2np93gz5gw1 0 242978 3515340 3430869 2024-05-14T17:20:24Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:AC52:740D:4597:7D71 /* True Spies / Bagel and the Beast [2.21] */ wikitext text/x-wiki 9pcx3z58xkf3gayx8lccv9jq1k8msjg 3515341 3515340 2024-05-14T17:21:28Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:AC52:740D:4597:7D71 /* True Spies / Bagel and the Beast [2.21] */ wikitext text/x-wiki nbfwmacj0lhfd4yc1eqxrppl4opuf17 3515343 3515341 2024-05-14T17:25:22Z 2600:1700:C361:A40:AC52:740D:4597:7D71 /* Big Dog on Campus / Dog's Best Friend [1.21] */ wikitext text/x-wiki ax451k4fl385r8s093fgloa9ejiyxjd 0 248853 3515528 3135040 2024-05-15T00:20:21Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki 5io4g92z6qsrrtitqbwoqk6jgogiw1l 3515529 3515528 2024-05-15T00:20:41Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki mij1o3p9cgvfo7zicrxgzezydt5qhmo 3515530 3515529 2024-05-15T00:20:57Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki 078af0yx1m5nbdy85lvbsftmqqskcyn 3515531 3515530 2024-05-15T00:22:26Z Apisite 3043558 /* External links */ wikitext text/x-wiki j19nftr6cuzt43esnhug6r83l5b3z1b 3 249111 3515347 3507773 2024-05-14T17:34:10Z Lekkha Moun 3065847 Blanked the page wikitext text/x-wiki phoiac9h4m842xq45sp7s6u21eteeq1 0 249198 3515349 3182050 2024-05-14T17:35:35Z Lekkha Moun 3065847 wikitext text/x-wiki ltwl1ci0kols5ega0ds1jtf8cf956y8 0 249265 3515267 3513912 2024-05-14T12:25:10Z 98.179.157.218 wikitext text/x-wiki oflqelrb1npg2pzqjg8vk81o4nolw66 0 253329 3515527 3278377 2024-05-15T00:15:29Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki 6aaaqdky5cvdr5tguzikrf8eq5hck4t 0 254338 3515390 3511825 2024-05-14T19:36:34Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki 5tmq4zqmn51goxadjae7wnzes4myu5v 3515391 3515390 2024-05-14T19:37:38Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by MathXplore wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Andrew Tate on 'Anything Goes With James English' in 2021.jpg|thumb|Andrew Tate (2021)]] '''[[w:Andrew Tate|Emory Andrew Tate III]]''' (born December 1, 1986) is an American and British social media personality, businessman and a former professional [[w:kickboxer|kickboxer]]. Following his kickboxing career, he began offering paid courses and memberships through his website and later rose to fame as an [[w:Internet celebrity|Internet celebrity]]. His [[w:misogynistic|misogynistic]] commentary has resulted in his suspension from several social media platforms. On December 29, 2022, Tate and his brother, Tristan, were arrested in [[Romania]] along with two other suspects, and charged with [[w:Human trafficking|human trafficking]] and forming an [[w:Organized crime|organized crime]] group. Romanian police allege that victims were coerced into creating paid pornography for social media through false displays of affection, called the "loverboy" method. On December 30, 2022, a judge ordered him remanded in custody for 30 days. On June 20, 2023, they were charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women. Both men reject all charges. ==Quotes== * [On how he would respond to a woman if she accused him of adultery.] It's bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch. * [On his move to Romania, avoiding rape charges being "probably 40% of the reason"] I'm not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free. * [Tate's comment from one of his videos.] I inflict, I expect, absolute loyalty from my woman [...] I ain't having my chicks talking to other dudes, liking other dudes. My chicks don't go to the club without me, they are at home. ** From a profile by Shanti Das [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star "Inside the violent, misogynistic world of TikTok’s new star, Andrew Tate"], ''The Observer'' (August 6, 2022) *absolutely a misogynist ([[w:YouTube|YouTube]] video) *I'm a realist and when you're a realist you're sexist. There's no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist. (same YouTube video) *playing a comedic character (statement to ''The Guardian'') *Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that im [sic] anti women when nothing could be further from the truth. (statement to ''The Guardian'') ** As cited in [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/19/andrew-tate-instagram-facebook-removed "'Dangerous misogynist' Andrew Tate removed from Instagram and Facebook"], ''The Guardian'' (August 19, 2022) * Romania is a beautiful place. There's no feminists, there's no open homosexuality. [...] No homosexual agenda. No feminists. It's corrupt, which suits me because I'm fucking rich. [...] No immigrants or refugees which is great because it means no one gets stabbed. * I love [[Donald Trump|Trump]], he’s the best we could ever have hoped for. ** As quoted in [https://hopenothate.org.uk/2022/08/19/act-andrew-tate/ "Act Now: Tech platforms must act against dangerous misogynist Andrew Tate"], ''Hope not Hate'' (August 19, 2022) * [On a need for authority over the women he dates.] You can't be responsible for a dog if it doesn’t obey you. * [In response to the [[w:Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases|claims of sexual assault made against Harvey Weinstein]].] If you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must [bear] some responsibility. I'm not saying it's OK you got raped. ** Cited in [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/21/andrew-tate-tiktok-instagram/ "TikTok and Meta ban self-described misogynist Andrew Tate"], ''The Washington Post'' (August 21, 2022) * [On his assertion women are men's property.] I'm not saying they're property [...] I am saying they are given to the man and belong to the man. ** From an interview with the Barstool Sports ''BFF'' (July 2022) podcast, cited in [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/technology/andrew-tate-banned-tiktok-instagram.html "Why Social Media Sites Are Removing Andrew Tate’s Accounts"], ''The New York Times'' (August 24, 2022) * [In a video for Hustler's University, considered a scam by the media, on how to gain further recruits via online comments.] What you ideally want is a mix of 60-70 per cent fans and 30-40 per cent haters [...] You want arguments, you want war. ** Cited in [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/at-home-with-andrew-tate-the-face-of-toxic-masculinity-37ndjdm5k "At home with Andrew Tate, the face of toxic masculinity"], ''The Times'' (London, September 24, 2022) *Hello @GretaThunberg I have 33 cars. My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad turbo. My TWO Ferrari 812 competizione have 6.5L v12s. This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions. ** December 27, 2022 [https://twitter.com/Cobratate/status/1607677190254235648 tweet] to [[Greta Thunberg]], two days prior to his arrest in Romania. Thunberg responded: "Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com". Exchange as cited in [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-luton-to-porn-millionaire-how-andrew-tate-became-master-of-misogyny-ttgmqbxjk "From Luton to porn millionaire: how Andrew Tate became master of misogyny"], ''The Sunday Times'' (December 31, 2022) * It appears the insanity of the ruling elite is exposed worldwide now. They have one command, do not speak out, behave as sheep. ** Tweet after arrest, cited in [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/12/31/andrew-tate-blames-rape-arrest-insanity-ruling-elite-prepares/ "Andrew Tate blames arrest on 'insanity of ruling elite' as he prepares appeal"], ''The Telegraph'' (London, December 31, 2022) * The more you didn't like it, the more I enjoyed it. I f**king loved how much you hated it. ** Alleged voice mail cited in [https://www.salon.com/2023/07/13/tucker-carlsons-twitter-interview-with-andrew-tate-proves-elon-musk-is-desperate/ "Tucker Carlson's Twitter interview with Andrew Tate: Elon Musk is really getting desperate"], ''Salon'' (July 13, 2023) ==About Tate== :<small>'''In alphabetical order by author or source.'''</small> * [W]hat he is doing today online fits every international definition of radicalisation. It takes a situation where there is a power imbalance and suggests that the one with the power is actually the minority. It is how all radicalisation works. These young people have been groomed.<br />It starts with a viral YouTube video of a takedown of a feminist argument. It starts with a picture of a woman with a black eye. It is a drip, drip, drip, which eventually leads to real-world consequences. ** [[Laura Bates]] cited in [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-luton-to-porn-millionaire-how-andrew-tate-became-master-of-misogyny-ttgmqbxjk "From Luton to porn millionaire: how Andrew Tate became master of misogyny"]''The Sunday Times'' (December 31, 2022) * Andrew Tate is probably the most famous internet celebrity in the world right now.<br />In recent weeks he has been Googled more often than the President of America, more often than Donald Trump and more often than most major pop stars. As of this week, the #AndrewTate hashtag has over 12.7 billion views on TikTok. * It is no secret that the internet is awash with ugly and harmful content. However, it is rare when someone like Andrew Tate rises to become one of the most famous people on social media ''because'' of their harmful content.<br />While many are already speaking out against Tate, there is a legion of (primarily male) supporters who consume, venerate and share his dangerous content.<br />Here in the UK, it is not an exaggeration to say that many young students returning to school at the end of the summer holidays will have seen something produced by Andrew Tate. The effect that Tate’s brand of vitriolic misogyny can have on the young male audience is deeply concerning. His content is widely celebrated by his fans for having brought back "traditional masculinity".<br />However, we also know that misogyny can be a gateway to other extreme and discriminatory views, and there is a serious danger that some people, sucked in by his sexist content, will align with his wider far-right politics. ** [https://hopenothate.org.uk/2022/08/19/act-andrew-tate/ "Act Now: Tech platforms must act against dangerous misogynist Andrew Tate"] ''Hope not Hate'' (August 19, 2022) * And then there is Andrew Tate. How does a man like this become a "trillionaire" guru to teenage boys? You may think he is ludicrous: a globular kickboxing star and former ''Big Brother'' contestant. But his reach is staggering: over 11 billion views on [[w:TikTok|TikTok]]. And what is he pouring into young minds? Streams of grim misogyny: tales of hitting women, choking them, smashing their faces in if they cheat, while maintaining that any cheating on his part is just "exercise".<br />It is as if someone has taken every type of woman-hater you can think of — a footballer, an [[w:Incel|incel]], an Arab sheikh, the [[w:Simon Leviev|Tinder Swindler]] — and rolled them into one menacing, manscaped action doll, given them loads of guns, money and cars and made them say worse things than [[Donald Trump]]. He is a God to many boys. ** [[Camilla Long]] [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ascent-of-a-lowlife-like-andrew-tate-proves-that-misogyny-is-baked-into-our-everyday-lives-9q96597gk "The ascent of a lowlife like Andrew Tate proves that misogyny is baked into our everyday lives"] ''The Sunday Times'' (January 1, 2023) * We had a good chat, Tate and I, but the guy gives me the horrors. Not all the time, but enough of the time, I simply hate what he thinks. If I had a son, I'd hate the thought of him being exposed to it, and I’m far from wild about my daughters having to deal with teenage boys who have soaked it in. I even agonised about whether I ought to do this interview. Although if the most googled man on the planet can't be written about in a newspaper, then I’m honestly not sure what any of us are here for. ** [[w:Hugo Rifkind|Hugo Rifkind]] [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/at-home-with-andrew-tate-the-face-of-toxic-masculinity-37ndjdm5k "At home with Andrew Tate, the face of toxic masculinity"] ''The Times'' (September 24, 2022) == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{Commons category}} * [https://hopenothate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Andrew-Tate-Briefing-Final.pdf "The Violent Misogynist Reaching Millions: A Briefing on Andrew Tate"] Hope not Hate (August 2022) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Andrew}} [[Category:1986 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Kickboxers]] [[Category:Internet personalities]] [[Category:Businesspeople from the United States]] [[Category:Muslims from the United States]] [[Category:African Americans]] [[Category:People from Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:People charged with crimes]] 1gibp3g3xydr0md170is2k8d06inpbt 3515396 3515391 2024-05-14T19:40:21Z 67.43.23.34 wikitext text/x-wiki flqjwerxmrhpi3ucg8lmpqe5eurxto9 3515397 3515396 2024-05-14T19:40:37Z Philip Cross 7192 Reverted edit by [[User:67.43.23.34|67.43.23.34]] ([[User talk:67.43.23.34|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/67.43.23.34|contributions]]) to last version by Philip Cross wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Andrew Tate on 'Anything Goes With James English' in 2021.jpg|thumb|Andrew Tate (2021)]] '''[[w:Andrew Tate|Emory Andrew Tate III]]''' (born December 1, 1986) is an American and British social media personality, businessman and a former professional [[w:kickboxer|kickboxer]]. Following his kickboxing career, he began offering paid courses and memberships through his website and later rose to fame as an [[w:Internet celebrity|Internet celebrity]]. His [[w:misogynistic|misogynistic]] commentary has resulted in his suspension from several social media platforms. On December 29, 2022, Tate and his brother, Tristan, were arrested in [[Romania]] along with two other suspects, and charged with [[w:Human trafficking|human trafficking]] and forming an [[w:Organized crime|organized crime]] group. Romanian police allege that victims were coerced into creating paid pornography for social media through false displays of affection, called the "loverboy" method. On December 30, 2022, a judge ordered him remanded in custody for 30 days. On June 20, 2023, they were charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women. Both men reject all charges. ==Quotes== * [On how he would respond to a woman if she accused him of adultery.] It's bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch. * [On his move to Romania, avoiding rape charges being "probably 40% of the reason"] I'm not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free. * [Tate's comment from one of his videos.] I inflict, I expect, absolute loyalty from my woman [...] I ain't having my chicks talking to other dudes, liking other dudes. My chicks don't go to the club without me, they are at home. ** From a profile by Shanti Das [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/06/andrew-tate-violent-misogynistic-world-of-tiktok-new-star "Inside the violent, misogynistic world of TikTok’s new star, Andrew Tate"], ''The Observer'' (August 6, 2022) *absolutely a misogynist ([[w:YouTube|YouTube]] video) *I'm a realist and when you're a realist you're sexist. There's no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist. (same YouTube video) *playing a comedic character (statement to ''The Guardian'') *Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that im [sic] anti women when nothing could be further from the truth. (statement to ''The Guardian'') ** As cited in [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/19/andrew-tate-instagram-facebook-removed "'Dangerous misogynist' Andrew Tate removed from Instagram and Facebook"], ''The Guardian'' (August 19, 2022) * Romania is a beautiful place. There's no feminists, there's no open homosexuality. [...] No homosexual agenda. No feminists. It's corrupt, which suits me because I'm fucking rich. [...] No immigrants or refugees which is great because it means no one gets stabbed. * I love [[Donald Trump|Trump]], he’s the best we could ever have hoped for. ** As quoted in [https://hopenothate.org.uk/2022/08/19/act-andrew-tate/ "Act Now: Tech platforms must act against dangerous misogynist Andrew Tate"], ''Hope not Hate'' (August 19, 2022) * [On a need for authority over the women he dates.] You can't be responsible for a dog if it doesn’t obey you. * [In response to the [[w:Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases|claims of sexual assault made against Harvey Weinstein]].] If you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must [bear] some responsibility. I'm not saying it's OK you got raped. ** Cited in [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/21/andrew-tate-tiktok-instagram/ "TikTok and Meta ban self-described misogynist Andrew Tate"], ''The Washington Post'' (August 21, 2022) * [On his assertion women are men's property.] I'm not saying they're property [...] I am saying they are given to the man and belong to the man. ** From an interview with the Barstool Sports ''BFF'' (July 2022) podcast, cited in [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/technology/andrew-tate-banned-tiktok-instagram.html "Why Social Media Sites Are Removing Andrew Tate’s Accounts"], ''The New York Times'' (August 24, 2022) * [In a video for Hustler's University, considered a scam by the media, on how to gain further recruits via online comments.] What you ideally want is a mix of 60-70 per cent fans and 30-40 per cent haters [...] You want arguments, you want war. ** Cited in [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/at-home-with-andrew-tate-the-face-of-toxic-masculinity-37ndjdm5k "At home with Andrew Tate, the face of toxic masculinity"], ''The Times'' (London, September 24, 2022) *Hello @GretaThunberg I have 33 cars. My Bugatti has a w16 8.0L quad turbo. My TWO Ferrari 812 competizione have 6.5L v12s. This is just the start. Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions. ** December 27, 2022 [https://twitter.com/Cobratate/status/1607677190254235648 tweet] to [[Greta Thunberg]], two days prior to his arrest in Romania. Thunberg responded: "Yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com". Exchange as cited in [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-luton-to-porn-millionaire-how-andrew-tate-became-master-of-misogyny-ttgmqbxjk "From Luton to porn millionaire: how Andrew Tate became master of misogyny"], ''The Sunday Times'' (December 31, 2022) * It appears the insanity of the ruling elite is exposed worldwide now. They have one command, do not speak out, behave as sheep. ** Tweet after arrest, cited in [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/12/31/andrew-tate-blames-rape-arrest-insanity-ruling-elite-prepares/ "Andrew Tate blames arrest on 'insanity of ruling elite' as he prepares appeal"], ''The Telegraph'' (London, December 31, 2022) * The more you didn't like it, the more I enjoyed it. I f**king loved how much you hated it. ** Alleged voice mail cited in [https://www.salon.com/2023/07/13/tucker-carlsons-twitter-interview-with-andrew-tate-proves-elon-musk-is-desperate/ "Tucker Carlson's Twitter interview with Andrew Tate: Elon Musk is really getting desperate"], ''Salon'' (July 13, 2023) ==About Tate== :<small>'''In alphabetical order by author or source.'''</small> * [W]hat he is doing today online fits every international definition of radicalisation. It takes a situation where there is a power imbalance and suggests that the one with the power is actually the minority. It is how all radicalisation works. These young people have been groomed.<br />It starts with a viral YouTube video of a takedown of a feminist argument. It starts with a picture of a woman with a black eye. It is a drip, drip, drip, which eventually leads to real-world consequences. ** [[Laura Bates]] cited in [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-luton-to-porn-millionaire-how-andrew-tate-became-master-of-misogyny-ttgmqbxjk "From Luton to porn millionaire: how Andrew Tate became master of misogyny"]''The Sunday Times'' (December 31, 2022) * Andrew Tate is probably the most famous internet celebrity in the world right now.<br />In recent weeks he has been Googled more often than the President of America, more often than Donald Trump and more often than most major pop stars. As of this week, the #AndrewTate hashtag has over 12.7 billion views on TikTok. * It is no secret that the internet is awash with ugly and harmful content. However, it is rare when someone like Andrew Tate rises to become one of the most famous people on social media ''because'' of their harmful content.<br />While many are already speaking out against Tate, there is a legion of (primarily male) supporters who consume, venerate and share his dangerous content.<br />Here in the UK, it is not an exaggeration to say that many young students returning to school at the end of the summer holidays will have seen something produced by Andrew Tate. The effect that Tate’s brand of vitriolic misogyny can have on the young male audience is deeply concerning. His content is widely celebrated by his fans for having brought back "traditional masculinity".<br />However, we also know that misogyny can be a gateway to other extreme and discriminatory views, and there is a serious danger that some people, sucked in by his sexist content, will align with his wider far-right politics. ** [https://hopenothate.org.uk/2022/08/19/act-andrew-tate/ "Act Now: Tech platforms must act against dangerous misogynist Andrew Tate"] ''Hope not Hate'' (August 19, 2022) * And then there is Andrew Tate. How does a man like this become a "trillionaire" guru to teenage boys? You may think he is ludicrous: a globular kickboxing star and former ''Big Brother'' contestant. But his reach is staggering: over 11 billion views on [[w:TikTok|TikTok]]. And what is he pouring into young minds? Streams of grim misogyny: tales of hitting women, choking them, smashing their faces in if they cheat, while maintaining that any cheating on his part is just "exercise".<br />It is as if someone has taken every type of woman-hater you can think of — a footballer, an [[w:Incel|incel]], an Arab sheikh, the [[w:Simon Leviev|Tinder Swindler]] — and rolled them into one menacing, manscaped action doll, given them loads of guns, money and cars and made them say worse things than [[Donald Trump]]. He is a God to many boys. ** [[Camilla Long]] [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-ascent-of-a-lowlife-like-andrew-tate-proves-that-misogyny-is-baked-into-our-everyday-lives-9q96597gk "The ascent of a lowlife like Andrew Tate proves that misogyny is baked into our everyday lives"] ''The Sunday Times'' (January 1, 2023) * We had a good chat, Tate and I, but the guy gives me the horrors. Not all the time, but enough of the time, I simply hate what he thinks. If I had a son, I'd hate the thought of him being exposed to it, and I’m far from wild about my daughters having to deal with teenage boys who have soaked it in. I even agonised about whether I ought to do this interview. Although if the most googled man on the planet can't be written about in a newspaper, then I’m honestly not sure what any of us are here for. ** [[w:Hugo Rifkind|Hugo Rifkind]] [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/at-home-with-andrew-tate-the-face-of-toxic-masculinity-37ndjdm5k "At home with Andrew Tate, the face of toxic masculinity"] ''The Times'' (September 24, 2022) == External links == {{wikipedia}} {{Commons category}} * [https://hopenothate.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Andrew-Tate-Briefing-Final.pdf "The Violent Misogynist Reaching Millions: A Briefing on Andrew Tate"] Hope not Hate (August 2022) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Andrew}} [[Category:1986 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Kickboxers]] [[Category:Internet personalities]] [[Category:Businesspeople from the United States]] [[Category:Muslims from the United States]] [[Category:African Americans]] [[Category:People from Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:People charged with crimes]] 1gibp3g3xydr0md170is2k8d06inpbt 4 255255 3515623 3510252 2024-05-15T06:50:57Z MABot 3002050 Bot: Archiving 8 threads from [[Wikiquote:Vandalism in progress]] wikitext text/x-wiki jym33gjpuunlxclcuhhnmizo5eymt0t 0 256349 3515277 3483969 2024-05-14T12:57:24Z Philip Cross 7192 chronology wikitext text/x-wiki skhbotj3vqsn5cahw9lz19e4f39asbq 3515281 3515277 2024-05-14T13:11:09Z Philip Cross 7192 /* Interview with Jackson Free Press (2008) */ links wikitext text/x-wiki cuecsp2g2f8yuz8yllm3z3lgcrsceoz 3515282 3515281 2024-05-14T13:14:51Z Philip Cross 7192 /* Interview with Esquire (2012) */ links wikitext text/x-wiki fyo93bmaw9qzi95t2xntdpe3xhahey2 0 259609 3515667 3513537 2024-05-15T09:42:54Z Philip Cross 7192 update wikitext text/x-wiki bsmu5n59qca1lfspeqojwyevlaudf36 3515670 3515667 2024-05-15T09:57:24Z Philip Cross 7192 rearrangement, rm some minor details & added reference to 2019 book wikitext text/x-wiki 2ts6rt64tdjk8vg321r0ku11fl9e1pb 2 261271 3515366 3514866 2024-05-14T18:38:33Z Sandi74645 3160827 wikitext text/x-wiki ru56rc3fo73ss5ry4pot0f0tiouq6ut 3515367 3515366 2024-05-14T18:39:28Z Sandi74645 3160827 /* H */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4w1tngc38vprda92pxau9fh5m55hya8 3515370 3515367 2024-05-14T18:41:41Z Sandi74645 3160827 wikitext text/x-wiki md7b4osyj7kt6wcikjamnbznnsqps2r 3515372 3515370 2024-05-14T18:46:31Z Sandi74645 3160827 /* W */ wikitext text/x-wiki hfl4b7xppj80at15bouqver8bv9aqv5 0 261909 3515469 3510600 2024-05-14T20:57:27Z 2600:2B00:6A6A:BB00:F07E:979:3582:EC9A /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki f1mi87jyw73o986qk6o0u4t2q0r39ji 0 265715 3515455 3416830 2024-05-14T20:31:25Z Koavf 6765 /* Related entries: */ wikitext text/x-wiki hazv7gk29dr6kzspu42wj1gy37civtf 0 266072 3515388 3420052 2024-05-14T19:29:51Z মোহাম্মদ জনি হোসেন 3109454 wikitext text/x-wiki 0ftdwmzxppr12hascta8c5h08zp8594 0 266131 3515351 3515097 2024-05-14T17:37:35Z Jinnahpk 3153049 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki ejw8xusjkakanznyunlhh86lzx5jtoq 0 268458 3515269 3515249 2024-05-14T12:36:02Z 70.26.38.47 /* Dialogue */ wikitext text/x-wiki 93sgap6q37sic2e824w37u5i2oyk74y 0 268992 3515583 3510583 2024-05-15T03:47:27Z 109.242.138.57 wikitext text/x-wiki 4ix5m6k9owx841hanzgpzf3tlagtjoe 0 269045 3515650 3501822 2024-05-15T08:21:43Z 2603:6011:D400:5E46:B953:1EE1:A6A5:FC73 /* Season 1 */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4hgnimb3s8nsd8nenbz1scdhh84jrg0 4 270770 3515621 3509256 2024-05-15T06:50:37Z MABot 3002050 Bot: Archiving 1 thread from [[Wikiquote:Village pump]] wikitext text/x-wiki iopret2cvlsysoc9gr7yqz79cj9vi1w 0 270776 3515346 3513603 2024-05-14T17:31:09Z 2600:387:15:2D1A:0:0:0:2 /* Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen */ wikitext text/x-wiki ppajrmhrd81hbrugdib3uffdqtgjttn 0 272193 3515315 3494923 2024-05-14T15:14:40Z AOMAF2024 3178715 wikitext text/x-wiki jbjha99yuyu6532pigqsdmlwe2c6wlk 11 272325 3515322 3514937 2024-05-14T16:19:19Z Biohistorian15 3175875 /* Add!? 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(uncertain) */ wikitext text/x-wiki 5nuqmmt4q0uwhhn9jcxj6epjd9y5103 0 273036 3515377 3515208 2024-05-14T19:09:20Z KVK2005 38887 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki ceae3nxiwf3gwsp4tqhr2uey4pl88jn 3515382 3515377 2024-05-14T19:22:06Z KVK2005 38887 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 8o8rfdy0dan836e2k5wbg8sw148cz9r 3515630 3515382 2024-05-15T07:25:54Z KVK2005 38887 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki h1npu0qul4budn658vjkjpbyczs0a5s 3515633 3515630 2024-05-15T07:50:56Z KVK2005 38887 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 9yqawnvb6sxeqggjbtb0skj6gj2k2vu 3515647 3515633 2024-05-15T08:00:48Z KVK2005 38887 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki j9g1982r6vmv1dx84fhekwu4b3xg0o1 3515648 3515647 2024-05-15T08:01:39Z KVK2005 38887 /* External links */ wikitext text/x-wiki qdmv0l50u8caocne8apt78q1dxbog5v 0 273419 3515493 3511222 2024-05-14T22:01:41Z Apisite 3043558 added [[Category:1904 births]] using [[Help:Gadget-HotCat|HotCat]] wikitext text/x-wiki cl0mcp2v6y0g0rt4ti2qxz37pexiz8x 3515495 3515493 2024-05-14T22:01:50Z Apisite 3043558 added [[Category:1950 deaths]] using [[Help:Gadget-HotCat|HotCat]] wikitext text/x-wiki h5mbtbbsft4mzuf8d7vbb35sdgb2vit 0 273423 3515256 3515029 2024-05-14T12:04:30Z 93.106.12.118 wikitext text/x-wiki 0a49ybbqisqcl7qlm8k3jdzlqsuax2h 3515273 3515256 2024-05-14T12:38:35Z AramilFeraxa 3142278 Reverted edit by [[User:93.106.12.118|93.106.12.118]] ([[User talk:93.106.12.118|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/93.106.12.118|contributions]]) to last version by AramilFeraxa wikitext text/x-wiki [[File:Tsedenbal_BundesArchiv.jpg|thumb|Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal]] '''[[w:Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal|Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal]]''' ('''Mongolian''': Юмжаагийн Цэдэнбал) ([[17 September]] [[1916]] – [[20 April]] [[1991]]) was a Mongolian politician who served as the leader of the [[w:Mongolian People's Republic|Mongolian People's Republic]] from 1952 to 1984. He served as [[w:General Secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party|general secretary of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party]] (the ruling party) from 1940 to 1954 and again from 1958 to 1984, [[w:Prime Minister of Mongolia|chairman of the Council of Ministers]] (head of government) from 1952 to 1974, and [[w:List of heads of state of Mongolia#Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural|chairman of the Presidium of the People's Great Khural]] (head of state) from 1974 to 1984. ==Quotes== ===Address at the Third Plenum of the Central Commitee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (1981) (excerpts)=== <small>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/tsedenbal/1981/december/03.htm Source]</small> *Our homeland is confidently developing along the path of building the material and technological foundation of socialism. Our economy is steadily growing, year by year. The aggregate social product, generated national income and social labor productivity growth figures for 1981 exceed the average annual growth figures for the preceding five years. The working people of our country, engaging in socialist competition in honor of the historic anniversaries of the party and people's revolution, have achieved concrete results in meeting the plan targets of the first year of the 7th Five-Year Plan. Our rural working people produced 9.1 million head of young livestock, which is 7 percent more than the figure for 1980. *All our organizations should devote special attention to ensuring uninterrupted growth and development of agricultural production, normal growth in livestock herds and productivity, and increased farm crop yields. To achieve this we must work with a will to improve style, forms and methods of guiding the development of agricultural production on the part of party, government and agricultural agencies. One should intelligently utilize in this area party and government measures aimed at encouraging agricultural production. We know that since 1971 procurement prices on principal livestock products have been increased five times, in amounts from 5 to 230 percent. *Our principal shortcoming is poor organization of party and government Verification. We must seek to ensure that each and every worker develops a reflex of an implacable attitude toward all negative elements which impede our forward movement. We must ensure that well organized verification becomes a continuously operating positive stimulus and companion in the work of party, government and public organizations at all levels. Monitoring and verification of execution is an indissoluble, unique component part and the heart of organizational work, the right hand of party, government and public organizations in performance of their principal functions. Well-organized monitoring and verification of execution should be utilized as a powerful means of day-by-day correction of discovered shortcomings and assurance of unity of word and deed. In order to achieve the stated goals the directives, decrees and tasks of our organizations should always be specific in indicating the person responsible for executing the goals and the timetable for their completion. *Continuously improving the oversight mechanism, the party sets for itself the goal of ensuring a high degree of efficiency, organization and follow-through by cadres. Proceeding from this, it is Our obligation to develop in a systematic manner follow-through discipline in each and every official of party, government and public organizations, by steadily increasing demandingness and by better organization of political indoctrination work among labor forces. *Every individual should constantly bear in mind that the absence of or poorly organized oversight as well as a low degree of demandingness on oneself and others lead to the appearance and growth of weeds in our ranks. Weeds are the worst enemy of a good harvest. It is our sacred task promptly to pull out by the roots weeds of all types and varieties. Each and every member of the socialist society is obligated strictly to evaluate his activities and conformity between the level of his knowledge and abilities with today's demands, and constantly to expand his horizons of knowledgeability, bearing in mind that history is not standing still, that every day there is an increase in the pace of scientific and technological advance, work forms and methods are enriched, and the know-how and abilities of leading labor performers become improved. Working systematically to increase demandingness on ourselves and others, we should always ensure an implacable attitude toward violations of party, state and labor discipline and eliminate cases of failure to carry out party and government decisions and to observe the laws of the state. *The primary task of party, governmental, public, economic, and cultural organizations is to ensure the most painstaking and attentive approach to worker letters and complaints, bearing in mind the fact that there are major shortcomings in this work both at the central level and in the localities. *As we know, through the fault of the most aggressive imperialist circles, particularly U.S. imperialism and hegemonist forces working together with them, the world situation remains tense. The [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] Administration and [[NATO]] ruling circles are launching furious attacks against the process of détente, against present world international political realities, especially in the 1970's. They are vainly attempting to turn to their advantage the advance of world events, to weaken and drive back the forces of peace and socialism, and to crush the struggle of peoples for national and social liberation. The present U.S. administration is implementing a new global strategy, aimed at gaining U.S. domination in world affairs. Attempting to achieve military superiority over the Soviet Union, U.S. imperialist circles are escalating the arms race and increasing the production of new weapons of mass destruction. Washington strategists are persistently seeking to expand the realm of activities of the aggressive NATO bloc, are hastily putting together military-political alliances in various parts of the world, and are establishing so-called "rapid deployment forces" with the aim of direct interference in the affairs of other sovereign nations and crushing the national liberation movement of peoples. *Our party has always attached and continues to attach primary importance to strengthening the unity and solidarity of the socialist countries, their close interaction and coordination of foreign policy efforts. The necessity of strengthening the unity of the brother parties, countries and peoples is more urgent than ever before, because international imperialism is today waging a frontal attack against world socialism, making every effort to undermine it from within. This is evidenced in particular by intrigues on the part of the imperialists and hegemonists in regard to [[w:Polish People's Republic|People's Poland]] and socialist Cuba, as well as the brother countries of Indochina. They do not hide their plans to weaken Poland, to detach it from the harmonious family of the socialist community, thus undermining its unified might. Everybody knows what serious consequences would result ^rom disruption of the correlation of military-political forces established on the European continent and throughout the world. *We should note that imperialist circles, together with the Chinese hegemonists, are stepping up their hostile actions and intrigues against the cause of peace, freedom, independence and social progress of the peoples of Asia. There is being formed what is virtually an aggressive military-political tripartite alliance between the United States, China, and Japan, the cutting edge of which is directed primarily against the Soviet Union and the other Asian socialist countries. The Reagan Administration's decision to sell modern offensive weapons to China, as well as the intensifying remilitarization of Japan are fraught with a serious threat not only to their neighbors but also to world security. *Southeast Asia remains a region of intensive struggle by peoples for the right to determine their destiny independently. Shots continue to be fired from the Chinese side of the border between Vietnam and China. Through their accomplices in this region, Beijing and Washington are stubbornly attempting to restore the old order in Laos and [[Cambodia|Kampuchea]] and to push their peoples off the path they have chosen. In spite of various obstacles put up by hostile forces, however, the peoples of Indochina are striding confidently along the road of progress and strengthening of national independence. *The forces of peace and progress are capable of pushing back and eliminating the threat of another world war. Today the struggle of peoples and all progressive forces throughout the world to avert the threat of war is assuming an unprecedented scale and depth. Millions of people of the most diverse orientation, belonging to various political, public, religious and other organizations, are taking part in this campaign. The peoples of Europe and people of good will throughout the world are becoming increasingly more deeply aware of their direct responsibility for resolving the most critical problem of the present day — holding nuclear war in check and defending the peace. *Comrades! The current upsurge in aggressiveness on the part of the most reactionary imperialist circles is due primarily to a radical change in the correlation of sociopolitical forces in the world arena and the progressive loss by monopoly capital of its international position. It is connected with further weakening of the foundations of world imperialism as a consequence of the deepening crisis phenomena in its citadel and reflects its attempts to overcome them by means of external political adventures and to dump all the consequences on the shoulders of peoples. ===Speech at Reception Given by the Soviet Ambassador in Celebration of the 65th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution (1982) (excerpts)=== <small>[https://www.marxists.org/archive/tsedenbal/1982/november/06.htm Source]</small> *The formation of the USSR was an event second in importance only to the [[w:October Revolution|October Revolution]], ...It was of importance to world history, and it was the direct offspring of that revolution. As is well known, the Great October sounded the summons for all nations that were under the oppression of the tsarist autocracy to take part in the active struggle. After winning a historic victory over the exploiters, the peoples of the former Russian empire united, in accordance with voluntary principles, into a single multinational socialist state, that was created on principles of genuine equality and brotherhood. *The entire post-October history of the development of mankind is the history of the unbelievably difficult, but victorious procession of socialism. In the struggle against imperialism and every other form of reaction, the peoples of the earth constantly derived, and continue to derive, inspiration from the example of the Great October and its homeland, the Soviet Union, which marched, and continues to march, in the vanguard of that struggle. The active peace-loving policy of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, a policy based on principles of the friendship and mutual understanding of nations, of equal cooperation and the peaceful coexistence of states with different social systems, is a decisive factor that guarantees lasting peace and the security of nations. Continuing the traditions that were laid down by the great Lenin, the Soviet state is fighting actively to bridle the arms race and to take effective steps in the area of disarmament so as to preclude once and for all from the life of mankind the threat of a nuclear catastrophe. *Confronted by the increase in the aggressive strivings on the part of American imperialism, directed against the socialist community and the peaceful life of the peoples of various continents, the Soviet Union and the other countries of socialism were forced to take steps to reinforce their defensive might, as the chief means of bridling the imperialistic forces of aggression. This finds the understanding and support of all the peace-loving forces. The Soviet Union and its Armed Forces have repeatedly proven their adherence to the cause of peace and their faithfulness to their pledges to serve as allies of their friends. We view the concern shown by the Soviet leadership for the Soviet Armed Forces to be noble efforts for preserving the peace and guaranteeing the peaceful life of the peoples of all the continents. Everyone who treasures peace and calm on the earth looks hopefully and trustingly toward the Soviet Union, justly seeing in the first state of workers and peasants a might defender and an invincible bulwark of peace on our planet. And so today, on the eve of the glorious anniversary of the Great October, it is especially gratifying for us to note that the Soviet Union, undeviatingly following the behests of the great Lenin, holds high the banner of peace and progress, under which newer and newer nations from various continents on the earth are consolidating themselves. *For more than 60 years the Mongolian nation has traveled along the path of freedom and happiness that was laid by the Great October. During all these years we sensed, and continue to sense, the steadily/increasing, noble support of the Soviet citizens, their selfless, varied, fraternal assistance in our laborious forward movement from the backward feudal past to modern economic and social achievements. The entire experience of the construction of socialism in Mongolia, bypassing capitalism, is the most brilliant confirmation of the viability and rightness of Leninist theory, the real embodiment of which began with the victory of the Great October. == External links == *{{wikipedia-inline}} *{{commonscat-inline}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Tsedenbal, Yumjaagiin}} [[Category:1916 births]] [[Category:1991 deaths]] [[Category:Communists]] [[Category:Atheists]] [[Category:Heads of state]] [[Category:Prime Ministers of Mongolia]] [[Category:Military leaders]] p2kbmo51knfjhdujqa3vqfwzkau3fa8 3515658 3515273 2024-05-15T09:10:25Z 176.72.71.172 wikitext text/x-wiki dwewmpcz0zehicv2n8q0bxlxg86x4p1 0 273690 3515350 3514887 2024-05-14T17:35:46Z Jinnahpk 3153049 wikitext text/x-wiki qi9po0oo6unbjm8z60pmtj0n5o1ayp0 3515617 3515350 2024-05-15T06:34:37Z Jinnahpk 3153049 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 4i72pixfhfjldixmeeyb34v1z3ybpnv 3515625 3515617 2024-05-15T06:58:34Z Jinnahpk 3153049 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 0gvdjf0ke1o0r1alvs1fei5hm84dqv1 0 273729 3515337 2024-05-14T17:09:17Z 170.185.201.227 cot with fish cat with chips wikitext text/x-wiki tv1vef5gd41gdvmksrlzjz59rrqhwnm 2 273730 3515383 2024-05-14T19:25:13Z Icantchooseausernamepleasehelp 3183971 Created page with "[[File:Freed0m.png|thumb|alt=follow @freed0m on scratch!|follow @freed0m on scratch!]]" wikitext text/x-wiki s87ylsf1oljdlz7y1ne3t5ydzpmie6x 0 273731 3515385 2024-05-14T19:26:06Z A23423413 3125316 new #shesaid wikitext text/x-wiki 691ehv951l5mbjlmyigwav2kaokh49j 0 273732 3515427 2024-05-14T19:50:43Z Gilldragon 2514030 Created page with "'''[[w:Elia Dalla Costa|]]''' (14 May 1872 – 22 December 1961) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of the [[w:Roman Catholic Diocese of Padua|Diocese of Padua]] and as the archbishop of the [[w:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Florence|Archdiocese of Florence]]. == Quotes == * I am not scared by the powerful since the Lord is with me. ** [https://giorgiolapira.org/en/cardinal-elia-dalla-costa/ Cardinal Elia Dalla Costa ''Giorgio La Pir..." wikitext text/x-wiki 1fz0hmrze9qjye3r3je3r7vmecbyavs 0 273733 3515433 2024-05-14T19:53:19Z 79.30.43.244 Created page with "[[File:Five Pointed Star Lined.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Pentagram]] A '''pentagram''' (sometimes known as a pentalpha, pentangle, or star pentagon) is a regular five-pointed [[star polygon]], formed from the diagonal [[line segment]]s of a convex (or simple, or non-self-intersecting) [[regular pentagon]]. Drawing a circle around the five points creates a similar symbol referred to as the [[pentacle]],<ref>{{Cite web|author=Gene Brown|title=Difference Between Pentagram and P..." wikitext text/x-wiki 2s5l9umo8sbgtestgegb7gsblaoolr7 3515434 3515433 2024-05-14T19:54:55Z 79.30.43.244 wikitext text/x-wiki p4rlidwb5o2xtdq23qotisf1ea5kj0g 3515435 3515434 2024-05-14T19:55:26Z 79.30.43.244 wikitext text/x-wiki a2tv8e7xm9klk6lx3b8gk21illp9jfm 3515436 3515435 2024-05-14T19:55:52Z 79.30.43.244 wikitext text/x-wiki s4685esu75si9mqpds4fjrq7rwt0451 3515437 3515436 2024-05-14T19:56:05Z 79.30.43.244 wikitext text/x-wiki 3ttc3i6dl1xl3r7x6g9m1x9gi2c29of 3515439 3515437 2024-05-14T19:59:35Z 79.30.43.244 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki maxctejw1j5s3jo4a0v9sstqluqxr9n 3515440 3515439 2024-05-14T20:00:11Z 79.30.43.244 /* See also */ wikitext text/x-wiki bpo2gp2krk33l0te8l6crpps1cwhrhy 0 273734 3515458 2024-05-14T20:36:31Z 2600:1007:B0A7:3A84:0:23:DC2C:E201 2012 wikitext text/x-wiki g2603i5tb1bqavdztpkxsunqqeoourt 3515541 3515458 2024-05-15T00:57:19Z MathXplore 3050778 Requesting speedy deletion with rationale "No quotes at Wikiquote". (TwinkleGlobal) wikitext text/x-wiki jmzbs5s2n3h0cqpktc8do406key64xl 0 273735 3515468 2024-05-14T20:57:06Z 79.19.254.34 Created page with "[[File:Mustafa Suleyman photo.jpg|thumb|right|Mustafa Suleyman]] '''Mustafa Suleyman''' (born August 1984<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=4UjF4LtWXobTbshzXaqtJw&scan=1|title=Index entry|accessdate=9 May 2024|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref>) is a British [[artificial intelligence]] (AI) entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Microsoft AI, and the co-founder and former head of applied AI at [[DeepMind]], an AI company acquired by [[Google]..." wikitext text/x-wiki p3evs2i6pprhw4b547qhje1zdfc32wi 3515470 3515468 2024-05-14T20:58:01Z 79.19.254.34 wikitext text/x-wiki qawpik8t3qgpc36of4er98x2p17jo78 3515518 3515470 2024-05-14T23:57:46Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 link wikitext text/x-wiki ljxsx1r9240vv9m4jw6uu5aea7jhct2 3515520 3515518 2024-05-14T23:59:32Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 cleanup wikitext text/x-wiki hq7u5fojrod8ql3wqr8j2fujnt80m1t 3515521 3515520 2024-05-14T23:59:51Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 cleanup wikitext text/x-wiki 9b55w2hpnegg2wyuifpo49pq0cx79ge 0 273736 3515490 2024-05-14T21:58:20Z Apisite 3043558 Created page with "'''{{w|Culture of Russia|Russian culture}}''' (Russian: Культура России, romanized: Kul'tura Rossii, IPA: [kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ]) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern and Western influence. Russian writers and philosophers have played an important role in the development of European thought. The Russians have also greatly influenced classical music, ba..." wikitext text/x-wiki dh3hrmmgoerp4b0aybk656ehlpw7ekd 3515491 3515490 2024-05-14T21:59:37Z Apisite 3043558 wikitext text/x-wiki 3qs3m1t3v27cf2rsywwgs5tb2m81yus 0 273737 3515519 2024-05-14T23:58:08Z Gilldragon 2514030 Created page with "'''[[w:Chris Tonietto|Christine Nogueira do Reis Tonietto]]''' (14 May 1991 –) is a Brazilian politician. == Quotes == * As we live at a hectic pace and often our prayer time takes a back seat, I took the initiative to call on the Brazilian people to unite in prayer. ** [https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254846/brazil-congresswoman-launches-rosary-campaign-amid-serious-threat-of-legalized-abortion Brazil congresswoman launches rosary campaign (19 July 2023) ''C..." wikitext text/x-wiki pvt2e0ij2oatp8l7e3kar21rauynpfw 3515522 3515519 2024-05-15T00:04:48Z Gilldragon 2514030 /* External links */ wikitext text/x-wiki jw2ou3pfu21dkbno7r7h50yqmry6zzx 3515523 3515522 2024-05-15T00:12:03Z Gilldragon 2514030 Gilldragon moved page [[Christine Nogueira do Reis Tonietto]] to [[Christine Nogueira dos Reis Tonietto]] wikitext text/x-wiki jw2ou3pfu21dkbno7r7h50yqmry6zzx 0 273738 3515524 2024-05-15T00:12:03Z Gilldragon 2514030 Gilldragon moved page [[Christine Nogueira do Reis Tonietto]] to [[Christine Nogueira dos Reis Tonietto]] wikitext text/x-wiki 9l8xu9fp1rq6csmp7v8punxewqjdqak 0 273739 3515533 2024-05-15T00:31:23Z Apisite 3043558 Created page with "'''{{w|New Caledonia}}''' (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a sui generis collectivity of overseas [[France]] in the southwest [[Pacific Ocean]], south of {{w|Vanuatu}}, about 1,210 km (750 mi) east of [[Australia]], and 17,000 km (11,000 mi) from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of {{w|Grande Terre (New Caledonia)|Grande Terre}}, the {{w|Loyalty Islands}}, the {{w|Chesterfield Islands}}, the {{w|Belep}} archi..." wikitext text/x-wiki 9f42jg9slsycedlebup62aa070bavti 3515534 3515533 2024-05-15T00:33:15Z Apisite 3043558 added [[Category:France]] using [[Help:Gadget-HotCat|HotCat]] wikitext text/x-wiki 98ylrp5kobczqg15whzl09o9lnplkwk 3 273740 3515542 2024-05-15T00:57:41Z MathXplore 3050778 Warning: Please use [[WQ:Sandbox|the sandbox]] for testing. ([[User:Lemonaka/WD.js|WD]]) wikitext text/x-wiki 56mrhjmsxnlrjaic0y9y745e353cgv0 2 273741 3515574 2024-05-15T03:30:21Z TararSajid 3183998 Created blank page wikitext text/x-wiki phoiac9h4m842xq45sp7s6u21eteeq1 3 273742 3515575 2024-05-15T03:30:40Z TararSajid 3183998 Created blank page wikitext text/x-wiki phoiac9h4m842xq45sp7s6u21eteeq1 14 273743 3515584 2024-05-15T03:49:15Z 109.242.138.57 Created page with "[[Category:Alumni by university or college|Vakalo]] [[Category:Vakalo College]] {{commonscat}}" wikitext text/x-wiki 9wypcz6p57g821qg2b7i71bwu0k36sa 14 273744 3515586 2024-05-15T03:51:16Z Seraphina Frost 3184000 Created page with "[[Category:Universities and colleges in Greece|Vakalo]] {{commonscat}}" wikitext text/x-wiki f822fpalkpzse3i11pyob73hroeo58w 14 273745 3515587 2024-05-15T03:52:24Z Seraphina Frost 3184000 Created page with "[[Category:Colleges and universities by country|Greece]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in the Greece]]" wikitext text/x-wiki ardutpumy9docfzm7vgqky2pvuunzf2 3515588 3515587 2024-05-15T03:58:28Z Seraphina Frost 3184000 wikitext text/x-wiki ky7jng8vezo9zfp8p4iztd8pfq7q5i2 14 273746 3515589 2024-05-15T03:58:37Z Seraphina Frost 3184000 Created page with " [[Category:Buildings and structures in Europe|Greece]] [[Category:Buildings and structures by country|Greece]] [[Category:Greece]]" wikitext text/x-wiki pxi6awctfd97niaqleir6i59suv8hq9 0 273747 3515600 2024-05-15T04:58:51Z Ficaia 3085955 Created page with "'''{{w|Alcman}}''' (Greek: Ἀλκμάν, ''Alkmán''; fl.  7th century BC) was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. He is the earliest representative of the Alexandrian canon of the Nine Lyric Poets. He wrote six books of choral poetry, most of which is now lost; his poetry survives in quotation from other ancient authors and on fragmentary papyri discovered in Egypt. His poetry was composed in the local Doric dialect with Homeric influences. Based on his s..." wikitext text/x-wiki raslh44uzdgosxst9366h9y6gi5ylrv 3515604 3515600 2024-05-15T05:51:06Z Ficaia 3085955 wikitext text/x-wiki r3ara0wq7yyxh2dq3rxcpldnc76ct17 0 273748 3515608 2024-05-15T06:03:34Z The Midnite Wolf 3120462 Created page with "'''[[w:Steve Albini|Steven Frank Albini]]''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|l|ˈ|b|iː|n|i}}; July 22, 1962&nbsp;– May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer who was a member of the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (1992–2024). He was the founder, owner, and principal engineer of the Chicago recording studio Electrical Audio. He recorded thousands of records, collaborating with acts including Nir..." wikitext text/x-wiki 5wr6bsh9b16f7r8814sdcekeevvbdwn 3515609 3515608 2024-05-15T06:04:39Z The Midnite Wolf 3120462 wikitext text/x-wiki c7rmf7gmtclk1ybo0dwdum898z8bxza 3515653 3515609 2024-05-15T09:04:04Z The Midnite Wolf 3120462 wikitext text/x-wiki mi0plst1tu3jcmi4zg8w0kmt9e2ot4g 14 273749 3515611 2024-05-15T06:12:08Z MathXplore 3050778 Created page with "__HIDDENCAT__" wikitext text/x-wiki 2twjmejn56ditxo46hqinfh52nh6flb 3 273750 3515642 2024-05-15T07:55:36Z MathXplore 3050778 Only warning: Please use [[WQ:Sandbox|the sandbox]] for testing ([[User:Lemonaka/WD.js|WD]]) wikitext text/x-wiki igwb2w1jc7yaut9az2suh1rtwcqsmd9 3515643 3515642 2024-05-15T07:56:19Z 2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161 /* Only warning */ Reply wikitext text/x-wiki ohxdhyd26ftxyvw1cl3b3swkh44hm6k 3515646 3515643 2024-05-15T07:57:41Z MathXplore 3050778 Reverted 1 edit by [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161]] ([[User talk:2600:1700:BFA1:AEB0:C495:B123:425F:F161|talk]]) (TwinkleGlobal) wikitext text/x-wiki igwb2w1jc7yaut9az2suh1rtwcqsmd9 2 273751 3515652 2024-05-15T09:01:51Z The Midnite Wolf 3120462 Created page with "{{soft redirect|w:User:The Midnite Wolf}}" wikitext text/x-wiki 5i66hkis117s9k6f56xrisldeheibhc 1 273752 3515654 2024-05-15T09:05:49Z The Midnite Wolf 3120462 /* Credit */ new section wikitext text/x-wiki lz92mxmnjfk9jm0lzpnd88jy3vn5ziy 2 273753 3515656 2024-05-15T09:09:29Z Arya Shah II 3184025 Created page with "{{User en}}" wikitext text/x-wiki 7j2lsnqqcbmqunbwna0vi7p9kjljqmw 0 273755 3515673 2024-05-15T09:59:31Z Ficaia 3085955 Created page with "'''[[w:Lucius Afranius (poet)|Lucius Afranius]]''' was an ancient Roman comic poet who lived at the beginning of the 1st century BC. == Quotes == * ''Si possent homines delenimentis capi,<br>Omnes haberent nunc amatores anus.<br>Aetas et corpus tenerum et morigeratio,<br>Haec sunt uenena formosarum mulierum:<br>Mala aetas nulla delenimenta inuenit.'' ** If one might capture men with magic philtres,<br>Lovers would swarm round every toothless crone.<br>A dainty body, you..." wikitext text/x-wiki how54a4m1omuuhjuwm8puhqcre4rru5 3515681 3515673 2024-05-15T10:47:26Z Ficaia 3085955 wikitext text/x-wiki to4kmyuawsd3dr7bvhjgx4v93vakxqo 3515683 3515681 2024-05-15T11:00:28Z Ficaia 3085955 wikitext text/x-wiki sd06bu09dewkpfau7co1vqd88nrm7fh 3515687 3515683 2024-05-15T11:17:35Z Ficaia 3085955 wikitext text/x-wiki f4u437hkdlzotqr4rbhgre37hczktiy 0 273756 3515674 2024-05-15T09:59:32Z 85.249.165.194 создание статьи wikitext text/x-wiki 3z6yq8191aateqjps9pxi452vcb80p3 3515675 3515674 2024-05-15T10:16:29Z 85.249.165.194 wikitext text/x-wiki 12vd1igty0aqkstnji7rtbsqt8ady8a 3515678 3515675 2024-05-15T10:23:33Z 85.249.165.194 wikitext text/x-wiki qv3csqrw1p0g7x9gcsrbaqb4qmuu0tj 3515679 3515678 2024-05-15T10:24:46Z 85.249.165.194 wikitext text/x-wiki t846l0npr7vn2xbjlvix8r2b8t4n2jm 3515682 3515679 2024-05-15T10:57:29Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 {{Subst:PROD|No indication of notability. No corresponding Wikipedia article.}} wikitext text/x-wiki 03dcnguchjgeguaj9188tflsv115ig6 3515686 3515682 2024-05-15T11:10:44Z 85.249.165.194 wikitext text/x-wiki t846l0npr7vn2xbjlvix8r2b8t4n2jm 0 273758 3515694 2024-05-15T11:33:37Z 2.196.177.65 Following by some quotes, please wait wikitext text/x-wiki qomgwy4vh52rpbwfhvq9wt2zurqpvfj 3515697 3515694 2024-05-15T11:36:58Z 2.196.177.65 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki pner76ry5i8bjinyml4m46i776aku1y 3515698 3515697 2024-05-15T11:39:15Z 2.196.177.65 /* Quotes */ wikitext text/x-wiki 6w01wcjzbfk8vz2ty3tbgp1i4rj3c95 3515699 3515698 2024-05-15T11:39:32Z 2.196.177.65 /* External links */ wikitext text/x-wiki ifdbaremh3etnt55pagoeyrqcz9pqyr 3515700 3515699 2024-05-15T11:40:03Z 2.196.177.65 wikitext text/x-wiki jqzzkbc7cvto4d3bp9dysfq8xpvautl 3515705 3515700 2024-05-15T11:45:34Z 2.196.177.65 wikitext text/x-wiki 0kasahhfkv8yebz008tefv7jpjknzwp 3515706 3515705 2024-05-15T11:45:50Z 2.196.177.65 wikitext text/x-wiki 3ogbk8yrg5smn6altst25qryh3o6e1i 3515707 3515706 2024-05-15T11:45:54Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 /* References */ we don't use reference sections wikitext text/x-wiki e5tfrj6323qvmkn4ga71a8bh5wy1mcy 3515708 3515707 2024-05-15T11:47:39Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 link wikitext text/x-wiki 4kn3krfer9x795z4xydvb512r2fwj0n 3515709 3515708 2024-05-15T11:48:18Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 don't need this extra markup wikitext text/x-wiki nvy0v8fl3j53hk0rnch5ucq52gc4j22 3515710 3515709 2024-05-15T11:48:55Z GreenMeansGo 2108323 /* External links */ commons wikitext text/x-wiki hfhlys4b10x3mrl4do91b0rdk64gn0r 0 273759 3515711 2024-05-15T11:49:38Z 2402:800:6312:BCD:7830:9275:1831:2142 add news, link wikitext text/x-wiki csnll04v9ae133tlce70xzsuqyzotwn 3515712 3515711 2024-05-15T11:51:36Z 2402:800:6312:BCD:7830:9275:1831:2142 add news, link wikitext text/x-wiki n8x2wjwdwfpslxaj7abecpgb5iewp9w 0 273760 3515713 2024-05-15T11:53:55Z 70.26.38.47 Created page with "{{italic title}} '''''[[w:Interview with the Vampire (TV series)|Interview with the Vampire]]''''' (2022-present), created by [[w:Rolin Jones|Rolin Jones]], is a television series about [[w:Louis de Pointe du Lac|Louis de Pointe du Lac]] recounting his past life and tumultuous relationship with his maker and lover, [[Lestat de Lioncourt]] based on [[w:Interview with the Vampire|the 1976 novel]] and elements from [[w:The Vampire Chronicles|The Vampire Chronicles]] by An..." wikitext text/x-wiki sq0kvi3y82efy0rvxphkkh4u2pctxa8 3515714 3515713 2024-05-15T11:54:07Z 70.26.38.47 wikitext text/x-wiki 56sfsh4hien2czen16g4rtwy7u3mp3w