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

There is more selfishness and less principle among members of Congress than I had any conception of, before I became President of the U.S. — 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

The child must be given activities that encourage independence, and he must not be served by others in acts he can learn to perform himself. — Paula Polk Lillard

If a man ... would shake and not be shaken, grip and not be gripped, taking care always to squeeze the hand of his adversary as hard as it squeezed him, then he suffered no inconvenience from it. — James K. 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

Before I was 20, I was the leading architect of the Southwest. — Willis Polk

The passion for office among members of Congress is very great, if not absolutely disreputable, and greatly embarrasses the operations of the Government. They create offices by their own votes and then seek to fill them themselves. — James K. Polk

We must ever mandate the principle that the people of this continent alone have the right to decide their own destiny. — James K. Polk

There are four great measures for my administration - a reduction of tariff, an independent treasury, settlement of the Oregon boundary and acquisition of California. — James K. Polk

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Grann is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the bestselling author of The Lost City of Z, which was chosen as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications and has been translated into more than twenty-five languages. He is also the author of The Devil and Sherlock Holmes. His work has garnered several honors for outstanding journalism, including a George Polk Award. — David Grann

Well may the boldest fear and the wisest tremble when incurring responsibilities on which may depend our country's peace and prosperity, and in some degree the hopes and happiness of the whole human family. — James K. Polk

Although ... the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be the President of a party only, but of the whole people of the United States. — James K. Polk

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

Remember that a noble logical diagram, once recorded, will never die; long after we are gone, it will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. — Willis Polk

God can take the ashes of your life and exchange them for beauty — Sharon Polk

No age is compelled to take its beauty from preceding epochs. — Willis Polk

Minorities have a right to appeal to the Constitution as a shield against such oppression. — James K. Polk

The gratitude ... should be commensurate with the boundless blessings which we enjoy. — James K. Polk

Under the benignant providence of Almighty God the representatives of the States and of the people are again brought together to deliberate for the public good. — James K. Polk

No union exists between church and state, and perfect freedom of opinion is guaranteed to all sects and creeds. — James K. Polk

The child doesn't just live in his environment, it becomes a part of him. — Paula Polk Lillard

After acquiring Texas, Polk deliberately started a war with Mexico because, as he later told the historian George Bancroft, we had to acquire California. Thanks to Polk, we did. — Gore Vidal

Peace, plenty, and contentment reign throughout our borders, and our beloved country presents a sublime moral spectacle to the world. — James K. Polk

I love you Sarah. For all eternity, I love you. — James K. Polk

Thank God, under our Constitution there was no connection between church and state. — James K. Polk

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

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

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.

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

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

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

The Presidency is not a bed of roses. — 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

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

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

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

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

Foreign powers do not seem to appreciate the true character of our government. — 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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Public opinion: May it always perform one of its appropriate offices, by teaching the public functionaries of the State and of the Federal Government, that neither shall assume the exercise of powers entrusted by the Constitution to the other. — James K. Polk

Our schools are no closer in connecting the education of children to their development as human beings: each child as an individual with a unique contribution to make to the world. Until this is done, our schools will fail to help children become active learners, connected to their society, and empowered to accomplish things within it. — Paula Polk Lillard