The quote database

The leading rule for a lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence.

Our cause, then, must be intrusted to, and conducted by, its own undoubted friends--those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work, who do care for the result.

Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government, nor of dungeons to ourselves.

If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively.

His duty is to administer the present Government as it came to his hands and to transmit it unimpaired by him to his successor.

that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in

Energy in the Executive is a leading character in the definition of good government.

In administering the laws of Congress I shall keep steadily in view the limitations as well as the extent of the Executive power trusting thereby to discharge the functions of my office without transcending its authority.

The powers of patronage and rule which would have been exercised, under the President, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy region are greater than, unless under extreme necessity, I should be willing to intrust to any one man.

A race cannot be purified from without.

Only the BLACK WOMAN can say “when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole Negro race enters with me.”

Nay, ’tis woman’s strongest vindication for speaking that the world needs to hear her voice.

The case before us illustrates better than most that the judicial power is often difficult in its exercise.

our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint

My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.

The oath taken in the presence of the people becomes a mutual covenant.

I learned the lesson that great men cultivate love, and that only little men cherish a spirit of hatred.

The progress of society rests upon the increasing collectivity of human labor.

For the fourth time the officer elected by the people and ordained by the Constitution to fill a vacancy so created is called to assume the Executive chair.

The Constitution defines the functions and powers of the executive as clearly as those of either of the other two departments of the Government, and he must answer for the just exercise of the discretion it permits and the performance of the duties it imposes.

as it must be the supreme purpose of all free men, so it must be the dedication of their leaders, to save humanity from preying upon itself

It decrees that we, the people, elect leaders not to rule but to serve.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex

Our answer is this: a denial of constitutionally protected rights demands judicial protection; our oath and our office require no less of us.