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Quotes about government

575 quotes from 235 people

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The chief duty of government is to keep the peace and stand out of the sunshine of the people.
James A. Garfield1831–1881Letter to H. N. Eldridge (12 December 1869) as quoted in Garfield (1978) by Allen Peskin, Ch. 13
You have to be prepared for the consequences. I honestly do not know if civil disobedience has any effect on the government. I can promise you it has a great effect on the person who chooses to do it.
Martin Sheenborn 1940Progressive magazine interview (2003)
- Laws
Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg1933–2020Dissenting, Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
- Laws
- Voting
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.
George Washington1732–1799Letter to the Marquis de Lafayette (25 July 1785)
- Democracy
When you go to prison they forget it’s your Constitution, too.
Jimmy Hoffa1913–1975Hoffa The Real Story (1975), Chapter 12, Convict, p. 187
- Justice
- Laws
How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order is imagined.
Yuval Noah Harariborn 1976Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011), Chapter 6: “Building Pyramids”
- Democracy
- Religion
I grew up here in Washington, D.C., back during the quaint, old-fashioned “Rule of Law” period.
Julia Louis-Dreyfusborn 1961Mark Twain Prize Acceptance Speech (2018)
- Clever Jabs
- Laws
We have, as all will agree, a free Government, where every man has a right to be equal with every other man.
Abraham Lincoln1809–1865Speech to the 164th Ohio Regiment, Washington, D.C. (18 August 1864)
- Freedom
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln1809–1865The Gettysburg Address (1863)
- Democracy
- Freedom
My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total. I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.
Barbara Jordan1936–1996Statement to the House Judiciary Committee on the impeachment of Richard Nixon (25 July 1974)
- Laws
We’ve learned again that democracy is precious; democracy is fragile. At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.
Joe Bidenborn 1942Joe Biden’s Inaugural Address (2021)
- Democracy
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.
George Washington1732–1799Letter to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island (18 August 1790)
- Freedom
- Religion
Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos.
George C. Marshall1880–1959The Marshall Plan Speech (1947)
- War & Peace
Compassion is the work of a nation, not just a government.
George W. Bushborn 1946George W. Bush’s First Inaugural Address (2001)
- Charity
If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try to talk with one in real life. If something needs fixing, lace up your shoes and do some organizing. If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clipboard, get some signatures, and run for office yourself.
Barack Obamaborn 1961Barack Obama’s Farewell Address (2017)