Truman Harry Quotes & Sayings

The only thing that's really new is the history you don't know. — Harry Truman

One of the presidents we could have done without ... There are some things I admire about Tyler, but there were also plenty of things that weren't so admirable ... The reason I have a certain amount of grudging respect for John Tyler is that he knew his own mind and stuck to his decisions. — Harry S. Truman

When we understand the other fellow's viewpoint - understand what he is trying to do - nine times out of ten he is trying to do right. — Harry S. Truman

Despite its flaws, the American electoral system has produced Lincoln, the two Roosevelts, and Harry Truman. — Robert Dallek

I always remember an epitaph which is in the cemetery at Tombstone, Arizona. It says: 'Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damnedest.' I think that is the greatest epitaph a man can have - When he gives everything that is in him to do the job he has before him. That is all you can ask of him and that is what I have tried to do. — Harry S. Truman

A man who is influenced by the polls or is afraid to make decisions which make him unpopular is not a man to represent the welfare of the country. — Harry S. Truman

The President is always abused. If he isn't, he isn't doing anything. — Harry S. Truman

I said that an expert was a fella who was afraid to learn anything new because then he wouldn't be an expert anymore. — Harry S. Truman

Some of the presidents were great and some of them weren't. I can say that, because I wasn't one of the great presidents, but I had a good time trying to be one, I can tell you that. — Harry S. Truman

The only thing new in this world is the history that you don't know. — Harry S. Truman

Of course I believe in free enterprise but in my system of free enterprise, the democratic principle is that there never was, never has been, never will be, room for the ruthless exploitation of the many for the benefit of the few. — Harry S. Truman

It doesn't matter how big a ranch you own or how many cows you brand, the size of your funeral is still gonna depend on the weather. — Harry S. Truman

It's plain hokum. If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em. It's an old political trick. But this time it won't work. — Harry S. Truman

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. — Harry S. Truman

My favorite animal is the mule. He has more horse sense than a horse. He knows when to stop eating - and he knows when to stop working. — Harry S. Truman

Truman charged that Republicans were "Wall Street reactionaries," "gluttons of privilege," "bloodsuckers," and "plunderers." GOP legislators in the 80th Congress, he said, were "tools of the most reactionary elements" who would "skim the cream from our natural resources to satisfy their own greed." Dismissing Dewey, "whose name rhymes with hooey," Truman said, "If you send another Republican Congress to Washington, you're a bigger bunch of suckers than I think you are." "Give 'em hell, Harry!" the people shouted back. "Pour it on!"59 — James T. Patterson

Well, I wouldn't say that I was in the great class, but I had a great time while I was trying to be great. — Harry S. Truman

Some of my best friends never agree with me politically. — Harry S. Truman

I'm a true reactionary. Like all patricians, I'd like to restore the original republic, which we lost 40 years ago when Harry Truman imposed the national security state on us, which has kept us at war, hot or cold, for almost half a century, and it's got us $4 trillion into debt. — Gore Vidal

It isn't important who is ahead at one time or another, in either an election or a horse race.
It's the horse that comes in first at the finish that counts — Harry S. Truman

Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices. — Harry S. Truman

Three things ruin a man: power, money, and women. I never wanted power. I never had any money, and the only woman in my life is up at the house right now. — Harry S. Truman

In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. — Harry S. Truman

I tend to pair up Benjamin Harrison and Dwight Eisenhower because they're the two presidents I can think of who most preferred laziness to labor ... There's not much else you can say about Harrison except that he was president of the United States. — Harry S. Truman

We must remember that the test of our religious principles lies not just in what we say, not only in our prayers, not even in living blameless lives - but in what we do for others — Harry Truman

I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their own destinies in their own way. I believe that our help should be primarily through economic and financial aid which is essential to economic stability and orderly political processes. — Harry S. Truman

How many times do you have to get hit over the head until you figure out who's hitting you. — Harry Truman

Partisanship must end at the waters edge. — Harry S. Truman

I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell. — Harry Truman

A leader in the Democratic Party is a boss, in the Republican Party he is a leader. — Harry S. Truman

We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of God. — Harry Truman

When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril. — Harry S. Truman

The dictators of the world say that if you tell a lie often enough, why, people will believe it. Well, if you tell the truth often enough, they'll believe it and go along with you. — Harry Truman

Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes. — Harry Truman

The true foundation of the brotherhood of humankind is belief in the knowledge that God is the Father of humankind. For us, therefore, brotherhood is not only a generous impulse but also a divine command. — Harry S. Truman

[T]he guilty as well as the innocent are entitled to due process of law. They are entitled to a fair trial. They are entitled to counsel. They are entitled to fair treatment from the police. The law enforcement officer has the same duty as the citizen-indeed, he has a higher duty-to abide by the letter and spirit of our Constitution and laws. You yourselves must be careful to obey the letter of the law. You yourselves must be intellectually honest in the enforcement of the law. — Harry S. Truman

The modern Presidents Club was founded by two men who by all rights should have loathed each other. There was Harry Truman, the humble haberdasher from Missouri, hurled into office in the spring of 1945, summoning to the White House Herbert Hoover, a failed Republican president who had left town thirteen years earlier as the most hated man in America, his motorcades pelted with rotten fruit. They were political enemies and temperamental opposites. Where Truman was authentic, amiable, if prone to eruptions of temper, Hoover could be cold, humorless, incapable of small talk but ferociously sure of the rightness of his cause. — Nancy Gibbs

He was a great president in his first term; in his second term, he wasn't the same Grover Cleveland he was to begin with ... Cleveland reestablished the presidency by being not only a chief executive but a leader. — Harry S. Truman

On the one hand, the Republicans are telling industrial workers that the high cost of food in the cities is due to this government's farm policy. On the other hand, the Republicans are telling the farmers that the high cost of manufactured goods on the farm is due to this government's labor policy.
That's plain hokum. It's an old political trick: "If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em." But this time it won't work. — Harry Truman

We are trying to prevent a third world war. — Harry S. Truman

Too many?pass judgement on wartime decisions in the luxury of a peacetime environment. — Harry S. Truman

Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and to enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. And the time has now arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and to help them get that protection. — Harry Truman

Most of the problems a President has to face have their roots in the past. — Harry S. Truman

It isn't polls or public opinion at the moment that counts. It is right and wrong and leadership
men with fortitude, honesty, and a belief in the right that makes epochs in the history of the world. — Harry S. Truman

everything I've read about his death indicates that he died peacefully, and perhaps he died because he'd accomplished his purpose. He — Harry Truman

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a Republican. But I repeat myself. — Harry Truman

We can all pray. We all should pray. We should ask the fulfillment of Gods will. We should ask for courage, wisdom, for the quietness of soul which comes alone to them who place their lives in His hands. — Harry S. Truman

Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. — Harry S. Truman

The attack upon Korea was an outright breach of the peace and a violation of the Charter of the United Nations. By their actions in Korea, Communist leaders have demonstrated their contempt for the basic moral principles on which the United Nations is founded. This is a direct challenge to the efforts of the free nations to build the kind of world in which men can live in freedom and peace. — Harry S. Truman

I think Democrats made a mistake running away from liberalism. Liberalism, uh, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John and Robert Kennedy - that's what the Democratic party ought to reach for. — Theodore C. Sorensen

We must have strong minds, ready to accept facts as they are. — Harry Truman

This is a Christian nation. — Harry S. Truman

Politics sure is the ruination of many a good man. — Harry Truman

Let me tell you the first president to recognize the state of Israel was Harry Truman, a Democrat and every president since, Democrat and Republican, has stood closely with Israel. — Dick Durbin

Nothing is more important in our national life than the welfare of our children. — Harry S. Truman

If we do not want to die together in war, we must learn to live together in peace. — Harry S. Truman

The Marshall Plan will go down in history as one of America's greatest contributions to the peace of the world. — Harry S. Truman

To be able to lead others, a man must be willing to go forward alone. — Harry S. Truman

The atom bomb was no 'great decision.' It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness. — Harry S. Truman

I'm the ultimately responsible person in this organization. Other people can pass the buck to me, but I can't pass the buck to anyone else. — Harry S. Truman

This administration is going to be cussed and discussed for years to come. — Harry S. Truman

Nixon is one of the few in the history of this country to run for high office talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time and lying out of both sides. — Harry S. Truman

Democracy alone can supply the vitalizing force to stir the peoples of the world into triumphant action, not only against their human oppressors, but also against their ancient enemies-hunger, misery, and despair. — Harry S. Truman

This Nation was established by men who believed in God ... You will see the evidence of this deep religious faith on every hand. — Harry S. Truman

I've had a few setbacks in my life, but I never gave up. — Harry S. Truman

People are very much wrought up about the Communist bugaboo. — Harry S. Truman

I'm not one to insist that a man can't possibly make it without a lot of formal education, since my own formal education pretty much stopped when I graduated from Independence High School in 1901. And then there was a twenty-two-year gap, while I worked on a farm and as a railroad timekeeper and served in the Army and did a lot of other things, before I started to attend night classes at Kansas City Law School - and I left there in 1925 and never got a degree. But I've tried to increase my knowledge all my life by reading and reading and reading, — Harry Truman

The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members. — Harry S. Truman

At this time, we should renew our faith in God. We celebrate the hour in which God came to man. It is fitting that we should turn to Him ... But there are many others who are away from their homes and their loved ones on this day. Thousands of our boys are on the cold and dreary battlefield of Korea. But all of us, at home, at war, wherever we may be, are within reach of God's love and power. We can all pray. We should all pray. — Harry S. Truman

Andrew Johnson wasn't too bad, but he was overwhelmed by a hostile Congress. — Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman had his moods. His birthplace is the only tourist attraction in America where you don't see Japanese with cameras. — A. Whitney Brown

Whenever you have an efficient government you have a dictatorship. — Harry Truman

I remember when I first came to Washington. For the first six months you wonder how the hell you ever got here. For the next six months you wonder how the hell the rest of them ever got here. — Harry S. Truman

Whenever the press quits abusing me, I know I'm in the wrong pew. — Harry S. Truman

Whenever you put a man on the Supreme Court he ceases to be your friend. — Harry S. Truman

If we do not abolish war on this earth, then surely one day war will abolish us from the earth. — Harry S. Truman

I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. — Harry Truman

Canada's eminent position today is a tribute to the patience, tolerance, and strength of character of her people, of both French and British strains. For Canada is enriched by the heritage of France as well as of Britain, and Quebec has imparted the vitality and spirit of France itself to Canada. Canada's notable achievement of national unity and progress through accommodation, moderation and forbearance can be studied with profit by her sister nations. — Harry S. Truman

I can remember when a good politician had to be 75 percent ability and
25 percent actor, but I can well see the day when the reverse could be
true. — Harry S. Truman

Upon books the collective education of the race depends; they are the sole instruments of registering, perpetuating and transmitting thought. — Harry S. Truman

Since childhood at my mother's knee, I have believed in honor, ethics and right living as its own reward. I find a very small minority who agree with me on that premise. — Harry Truman

Once a decision was made, I didn't worry about it afterward ... — Harry Truman

Within the first few months I discovered that being President is like riding a tiger. A man has to keep on riding or be swallowed. — Harry Truman

All my life I have fought against prejudice and intolerance. — Harry S. Truman

There are examples of ex-presidents speaking out. Jimmy Carter has not held back on a variety of issues. Harry Truman didn't. — Robert Dallek

There is no gratitude for things past. Gratitude is always for what you're going to do for people in the future. — Harry S. Truman

How do you live a long life? "Take a two-mile walk every morning before breakfast." — Harry S. Truman

I am proud of my part in the creation of this new state. Our Government was the first to recognize the State of Israel. — Harry S. Truman

This generation, raised on "Eyewitness News," conditioned by the instant replay, and spared the illumination that comes from tedious historical study, tends to be even more ahistorical than most. — Harry S. Truman

On tight money: It reflects a reversion to the old idea that the tree can be fertilized at the top instead of at the bottom - the old trickle-down theory. — Harry S. Truman

I won't sell influence and I'm perfectly willing to be cussed if I'm right. — Harry Truman

I wonder how many times you have to be hit on the head before you find out who's hitting you? It's about time that the people of America realized what the Republicans have been doing to them. — Harry S. Truman

People who run for office and are defeated aren't rejected in the usual sense of the word. They're just defeated because they couldn't get enough votes that one time. It doesn't mean the public despises them. It's a preference for somebody else for that particular office at that particular moment, that's all. The examples I've given have shown that when those men were passed up, they were still highly thought of and were still great men. There were a good many like that. You take the Adams family. After John Quincy Adams passed on, there were Adams descendants in Lincoln's cabinet. They wrote important histories and things of that kind. Even in the states, some good men are governors who have been defeated previously in elections, even in previous tries for governor. If they don't become pessimists and decide to lay down and take it, if they get up and start over again, why, they don't have any trouble. — Harry Truman

Study men, not historians. — Harry S. Truman

I never sit on a fence. I am either on one side or another. — Harry S. Truman

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were political enemies, but they became fast friends. And when they passed away on the same day, the last words of one of them was, The country is safe. Jefferson still lives. And the last words of the other was, John Adams will see that things go forward. — Harry S. Truman

We can never tell what is in store for us. — Harry S. Truman

I have no desire to crow over anybody or to see anybody eating crow, figuratively or otherwise. We should all get together and make a country in which everybody can eat turkey whenever he pleases. — Harry S. Truman

The bulk of the uranium available to — Harry Truman

Some questions cannot be answered, but they can be decided. — Harry S. Truman