Calvin Coolidge served as the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Coolidge, a Republican lawyer from New England who was born in Vermont, rose through the ranks of Massachusetts state politics to become the state’s 48th governor. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, becoming the state’s 48th governor.
44 Calvin Coolidge Quotes
1. “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On!’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race
2. “It takes a great man to be a good listener.”
3. “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”
4. “We cannot do everything at once, but we can do something at once.”
5. “Nothing is easier than spending public money. It does not appear to belong to anybody. The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody.”
6. “The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.”
7. “Your ability to face setbacks and disappointments without giving up will be the measure of your ability to succeed.”
8. “It is much more important to kill bad bills than to pass good ones.”
9. “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”
10. “The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”
Calvin Coolidge Quotes On Persistence
11. “Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”
12. “The world is full of educated derelicts”
13. “If we judge ourselves only by our aspirations and everyone else only their conduct we shall soon reach a very false conclusion.”
14. “If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called on to repeat it.”
15. “I have noticed that nothing I have never said ever did me any harm.”
16. “Civilization and profits go hand in hand”
17. “Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.”
18. “Don’t you know that four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?”
19. “Don’t you know that four fifths of all our troubles in this life would disappear if we would just sit down and keep still?”
20. “You don’t have to explain something you haven’t said.”
Famous Calvin Coolidge Quotes
21. “Don’t expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.”
22. “No person was ever honored for what he received.” Honor has been the reward for what he gave.”
23. “It seems impossible that any man could adequately describe his mother. I cannot describe mine.”
24. “Economy is idealism in its most practical form.”
25. “Democracy is not a tearing down; it is a building up. It does not denial of the divine right of kings; it asserts the divine right of all men.”
26. “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort and effort means work.”
27. “Wherever despotism abounds, the sources of public information are the first to be brought under its control.”
28. “Those who trust to chance must abide by the results of chance.”
29. “When a man begins to feel that he is the only one who can lead in this republic, he is guilty of treason to the spirit of our institutions.”
28. “I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people.”
29. “The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good.”
Calvin Coolidge Quotes on Government
30. “Economy is idealism in its most practical form.”
31. “It seems impossible that any man could adequately describe his mother. I cannot describe mine.”
32. “There is no dignity quite so impressive, and no independence quite so important, as living within your means.”
32. “We do not need more intellectual power, we need more spiritual power. We do not need more of the things that are seen, we need more of the things that are unseen.”
33. “Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.”
34. “It has been my observation in life that, if one will only exercise the patience to wait, his wants are likely to be filled.”
35. “Wealth comes from industry and from the hard experience of human toil. To dissipate it in waste and extravagance is disloyalty to humanity.”
36. “Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil. Our great hope lies in developing what is good.”
37. “There is only one form of political strategy in which I have any confidence, and that is to try to do the right thing and sometimes be able to succeed.”
38. “One of the first lessons a president has to learn is that every word he says weighs a ton.”
39. “All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work.”
Calvin Coolidge Persistence Quotes
40. “It has been my observation in life that, if one will only exercise the patience to wait, his wants are likely to be filled.”
41. “Heroism is not only in the man, but in the occasion.”
42. “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.”
43. “Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped.”
44. “Wealth comes from industry and from the hard experience of human toil. To dissipate it in waste and extravagance is disloyalty to humanity.”
Calvin Coolidge gained national attention as a man of decisive action as a result of his response to the 1919 Boston Police Strike. After Warren G. Harding’s unexpected death in office in 1923, Coolidge was elected as the nation’s 29th vice president the following year.
When Coolidge was elected independently in 1924, he developed a reputation as a small-government conservative distinguished by a reserved demeanor and a dry sense of humor, earning him the moniker “Silent Cal.” Despite being able to run for a third term due to his high popularity, he decided not to in 1928, saying that ten years in office was (at the time) “longer than any other man has had it – too long!”
Additional Read: A Biographical Sketch of Calvin Coolidge