There is no justification for public interference with purely private concerns. Calvin Coolidge More Quotes by Calvin Coolidge More Quotes From Calvin Coolidge Coincident with the right of individual property under the provisions of our Government is the right of individual property. . . . When once the right of the individual to liberty and equality is admitted, there is no escape from the conclusion that he alone is entitled to the rewards of his own industry. Any other conclusion would necessarily imply either privilege or servitude. Calvin Coolidge rewardslibertygovernment Surprisingly few men are lacking in capacity, but they fail because... they are too indolent to apply themselves with the seriousness and the attention that is necessary to solve important problems. Calvin Coolidge importantattentionmen If the people fail to vote, a government will be developed which is not their government... The whole system of American Government rests on the ballot box. Unless citizens perform their duties there, such a system of government is doomed to failure. Calvin Coolidge citizensgovernmentpeople Duty is not collective; it is personal. Calvin Coolidge collectivesduty When people are bewildered they tend to become credulous. Calvin Coolidge bewilderedgullibilitypeople If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. Calvin Coolidge progressrightsmen Those who want their rights respected under the Constitution and the law ought to set the example themselves of observing the Constitution and the law. While there may be those of high intelligence who violate the law at times, the barbarian and the defective always violate it. Those who disregard the rules of society are not exhibiting a superior intelligence, are not promoting freedom and independence, are not following the path of civilization, but are displaying the traits of ignorance, of servitude, of savagery, and treading the way that leads back to the jungle. Calvin Coolidge ignorancerightslaw 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. Calvin Coolidge visionintellectualspiritual The Constitution is the sole source and guaranty of national freedom. Calvin Coolidge constitutiondemocracyfreedom I have found it advisable not to give too much heed to what people say when I am trying to accomplish something of consequence. Invariably they proclaim it can't be done. I deem that the very best time to make the effort. Calvin Coolidge effortgivingpeople It is not in violence and crime that our greatest danger lies. These evils are so perfectly apparent that they very quickly arouse the moral power of the people for their suppression. A far more serious danger lurks in the shirking of those responsibilities of citizenship, where the evil may not be so noticeable but is more insidious and likely to be more devastating. Calvin Coolidge responsibilitylyingpeople The welfare of the weakest and the welfare of the most powerful are inseparably bound together. ... The general welfare cannot be provided for in any one act, but it is well to remember that the benefit of one is the benefit of all, and the neglect of one is the neglect of all. Calvin Coolidge benefitspowerfultogether Our domestic problems are for the most part economic. We have our enormous debt to pay, and we are paying it. We have the high cost of government to diminish, and we are diminishing it. We have a heavy burden of taxation to reduce, and we are reducing it. But while remarkable progress has been made in these directions, the work is yet far from accomplished. Calvin Coolidge taxationprogressgovernment This country would not be a land of opportunity, America could not be America, if the people were shackled with government monopolies. Calvin Coolidge governmentopportunitycountry We want wealth, but there are many other things we want very much more. Among them are peace, honor, charity, and idealism. Calvin Coolidge charityhonorwant What we need is not more Federal government, but better local government. Calvin Coolidge localsgovernmentneeds Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. It may not be difficult to store up in the mind a vast quantity of facts within a comparatively short time, but the ability to form judgments requires the severe discipline of hard work and the tempering heat of experience and maturity. Calvin Coolidge maturityhard-workwisdom Character is the only secure foundation of the state. Calvin Coolidge foundationstatescharacter Never go out to meet trouble. If you just sit still, nine cases out of ten, someone will intercept it before it reaches you. Calvin Coolidge politicspoliticalnine Men speak of natural rights, but I challenge any one to show where in nature any rights existed or were recognized until there was established for their declaration and protection a duly promulgated body of corresponding laws. Calvin Coolidge patrioticrightsmen
