John Adams Quotes

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak.

To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.

I must study politics and war, so that my sons have the freedom to study mathematics and philosophy.

Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.

There are two types of education… One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live.

The happiness of society is the end of government.

I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival.

A desire to be observed, considered, esteemed, praised, beloved, and admired by his fellows is one of the earliest as well as the keenest dispositions discovered in the heart of man.

Old minds are like old horses; you must exercise them if you wish to keep them in working order.

A single expression of public opinion, though it may be erroneous, ought to excuse the erroneousness of the opinion.

Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.

You will never be alone with a poet in your pocket.

Let justice be done though the heavens should fall.

Every problem is an opportunity in disguise.

We must always remember that our shared principles are more important than our individual differences.

John Adams Quotes part 2

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government.

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.

The happiness of the people consists in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself.

There is nothing I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader and converting measures into the hot-bed of personal animosity.

I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that are here.

I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.

I have come to a resolution myself as I hope every good citizen will, never again to purchase any article of foreign manufacture which can be had of American make, be the difference of price what it may.

The Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation.

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

A government of laws, and not of men.

There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting opposition to each other.

Posterity! You will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom!

Americanism is the common thread woven throughout our history, uniting people of different backgrounds into one nation.

The preservation of liberty depends on the intellectual and moral character of the people.

The happiness and prosperity of our citizens depend on the continued participation of the people in their own government.

There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

Our liberty depends on our education, our laws, and habits… it is founded on morals and religion.

I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

The black veil, though it covers in secret, shall arouse public attention.

To be good, and to do good, is all we have to do.

Because power corrupts, society’s demands for moral authority and character increase as the importance of the position increases.

I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD, And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak.

I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost to maintain this Declaration, and to support and defend these States.

Dangerous ambition more often lurks behind a mask of public service.

We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.

We have built our houses and our headquarters, but we can no longer be sure where the enemy offensive will be launched against our lines.

Vain, pompous, and insolent, they could not bear that others are thought to fill the seats of Justice.

We owe a debt of gratitude to neither generation.

You have done a thing that could not be retaliated.

There is nothing more sacred than the right to think independently and form your own opinion.