P H Polk Quotes & Sayings

Adults must aim to diminish their egocentric and authoritarian attitude toward the child and adopt a passive attitude in order to aid in his devleopment. — Paula Polk Lillard

In the nineteenth century, cholera struck the most modern, prosperous cities in the world, killing rich and poor alike, from Paris and London to New York City and New Orleans. In 1836, it felled King Charles X in Italy; in 1849, President James Polk in New Orleans; in 1893, the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in St. Petersburg. — Sonia Shah

I heard the opening bar of 'Help' as I headed down Polk Street. Every single time I've heard that tune I've taken it as some message from God, a warning of things to come, a perfect description of my mashed-potato character — Oscar Zeta Acosta

With me it is exceptionally true that the Presidency is no bed of roses. — James K. Polk

If AC voltage drops below 105-volts or goes above 130-volts you should turn electronic equipment and appliances off until the power is restored. — Mark Polk

I cannot, whilst President of the United States, descend to enter into a newspaper controversy. — James K. Polk

A novel in which the reader will ask many questions concerning Mayan antiquity. — Peter J. Wetzelaer

All distinctions of birth or of rank have been abolished. All citizens, whether native or adopted, are placed upon terms of precise equality. All are entitled to equal rights and equal protection. — James K. Polk

The world has nothing to fear from military ambition in our Government. — James K. Polk

When I observed a strong man approaching I generally took advantage of him by being a little quicker than he was and seizing him by the tip of the fingers, giving him a hearty shake, and thus preventing him from getting a full grip upon me. — James K. Polk

In city planning, there is no limit to be fixed. — Willis Polk

The Constitution itself, plainly written as it is, the safeguard of our federative compact, the offspring of concession and compromise, binding together in the bonds of peace and union this great and increasing family of free and independent States, will be the chart by which I shall be directed. — James K. Polk

Parents in the early half of the twentieth century were primarily concerned with the development of character in their children. They wanted to be certain that their children were ready to cope with adversity, for it was surely coming to them one day whether in personal or national life. The development of character involves self-discipline and often sacrifice of one's own desires for the good of self and others. Montessori education, developed in this historical period, reflects this emphasis on the formation of the child's character. However, parents today are more likely to say their primary wish for their children is that they be happy. In pursuit of this goal they indulge their children, often unconsciously, to a degree that is startling to previous generations. All parents need to remember that true happiness comes through having character and discipline, and living a life of meaningful contribution -- not by having and doing whatever you wish. — Paula Polk Lillard

To form our taste, we must neither depreciate nor imitate, but we should understand and originate. — Willis Polk

Mr. Tyler acquired Texas by voluntary compact, and Mr. Polk California and New Mexico by successful war. — Robert Toombs

General Polk, who was dignified and corpulent, walked back slowly, not wishing to appear too hurried or cautious in the presence of the men, and was struck across the breast by an unexploded shell, which killed him instantly. — William T. Sherman

The only President who clearly died of overwork was Polk, and that was a long time ago. Hoover, who worked intensely and humorlessly as President, lived for more than thirty years after the White House; Truman, who worked intensely and gaily, lived for twenty — Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

One great object of the Constitution was to restrain majorities from oppressing minorities or encroaching upon their just rights. — James K. Polk

Montessori called the child under six years old "a sensorial explorer" and based her educational approach for the child's early years upon the child's learning through the senses. — Paula Polk Lillard

General Taylor is, I have no doubt, a well-meaning old man. He is, however, uneducated, exceedingly ignorant of public affairs, and I should judge, of very ordinary capacity. — James K. Polk

It is confidently believed that our system may be safely extended to the utmost bounds of our territorial limits ... — James K. Polk

adult's role is to "teach children limits with love or the world will teach them without it. — Paula Polk Lillard

In the incongruous role of the insurgent party-builder, he made crystal clear the whole host of inferences we have drawn from the experiences of Monroe and Polk: that innovation, however orthodox, is inherently destabilizing; that the purely constructive leadership project is an illusion; that the affiliated leader cannot assume independent ground without ultimately embracing the role of the heretic; that the only way ever to be president in your own right is to become yourself a great repudiator and set yourself directly against the bulwark of received power; that political disruption parallels presidential significance. Roosevelt's insight was not simply that new achievements do not rest securely on old foundations, but that to save the handiwork of his presidency he would have to reconstruct its political base. — Stephen Skowronek

It becomes us in humility to make our devout acknowledgments to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for the inestimable civil and religious blessings with which we are favored. — James K. Polk

I am heartily rejoiced that my term is so near its close. I will soon cease to be a servant and will become a sovereign. — James K. Polk

The Presidency is not a bed of roses. — James K. Polk

No president who performs his duties faithfully and conscientiously can have any leisure. — James K. Polk

Military commanders choose to overlook the Kenyan proverb that proclaims the power of the flea--"A flea can trouble a lion more than the lion can harm a flea." Most generals would rather be lions than fleas. — William R. Polk

In the White House now was James Polk, a Democrat, an expansionist, who, on the night of his inauguration, confided to his Secretary of the Navy that one of his main objectives was the acquisition of California. His order to General Taylor to move troops to the Rio Grande was a challenge to the Mexicans. It was not at all clear that the Rio Grande was the southern boundary of Texas, although Texas had forced the defeated Mexican general Santa Anna to say so when he was a prisoner. The traditional border between Texas and Mexico had been the Nueces River, about 150 miles to the north, and both Mexico and the United States had recognized that as the border. However, Polk, encouraging the Texans to accept annexation, had assured them he would uphold their claims to the Rio Grande. Ordering troops to the Rio Grande, into territory inhabited by Mexicans, was clearly a provocation. — Howard Zinn

Although most Americans believed in Manifest Destiny, few could agree on exactly which lands the United States was supposed to govern. — Charles W. Carey Jr.