Woodrow Wilson: Quote Book

1. Woodrow Wilson: Quote Book By: Ms McDowell

2. Leader Comes To Power • #1: “A great industrial Nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the Nation and all ouractivities are in the hands of a few men. ...” • Wilson explains that he plans on helping our economy during his election speech.

3. #2: "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country.” • This quote is given after Wilson signs the Federal Reserve into existence.

4. #3:“I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.” • Address to New York press Club prior to his election Wilson explains that he stresses the importance of liberty.

5. #4: Government should not be made an end in itself; it is a means only -- a means to be freely adapted to advance the best interests of the social organism. The state exists for the sake of society, not society for the sake of the state. • Wilson explains that it is important for Government to be adaptable to the populations needs and interests.

6. Leader’s Views Prior to WWI • #5: “A conservative is a man who just sits and thinks, mostly sits.” • Wilson encourages the American people to support WWI

7. #6: One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty counsels. The thing to be supplied is light, not heat. • Wilson explains that even if the United States has not joined WWI, they should still be prepared should war come knocking on our doors.

8. #7: It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war...but the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts, -- for democracy, for the right of those who submit to authority to have a voice in their own governments...for a universal dominion of right by such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free. • Wilson asks Congress for a declaration of War.

9. #8: The world must be made safe for democracy. • Roosevelt urges the American people to support Britain during WWI.

10. Leader’s Views About Battles/War • #9: "A powerful Navy we have always regarded as our proper and natural means of defense; and it has always been of defense that we have thought, never of aggression or of conquest. But who shall tell us now what sort of Navy to build? We shall take leave to be strong upon the seas, in the future as in the past; and there will be no thought of offense or provocation in that. Our ships are our natural bulwarks." • Wilson urges the importance of the Navy after the Battle of Dogger Bank

11. #10: “To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of national life...” • Wilson describes that war is ruthless.

12. #11: "Better a thousand times to go down fighting than to dip your colors to dishonorable compromise."--Wilson to his wife, 1919 • He is saying that he would rather fight than sit ideally by.

13. #12: ...it is as hard to do your duty when men are sneering at you as when they are shooting at you. • Wilson explains that it is just as hard to fight political battles as it is to fight in war.

14. Leader’s Views on an Outside Group/Country • #13: If monopoly persists, monopoly will always sit at the helm of government. I do not expect monopoly to restrain itself. If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it. • Monopolies in the economy can effect government policy in a negative way.

15. #14: "The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it." • Those who fight for their beliefs understand the cause more than those who just hope for change.

16. #15: "If you want to make enemies, try to change something.“ • Wilson explains that he has made political enemies by going against social norms.

17. #16: “A man who thinks of himself as belonging to a particular national group in America has not yet become an American. And the man who goes among you to trade upon your nationality is no worthy son to live under the Stars and Stripes.”You may only count yourself as an American if you are accepting of others.

18. Leader’s View towards the end of the War “#17: There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized peace.” • This quote is given in support of the Treaty of Versailles. He explains that we need to maintain peace begin to repair the damage war has done.

19. #18: “Liberty has never come from Government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it... The history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it.” • Wilson is pushing for Self Determination in his 14 points.

20. #19: “We are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this.” • Wilson is supporting his 14 points and emphasizing the League of Nations

21. #20: The program of the world's peace, therefore, is our program; and that program, the only possible program, as we see it, is this: 1. Open covenants of peace, openly arrived at, after which there shall be no private international understandings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view. • Wilson addresses Congress pushing for the 14 points. He explains that it is important for the United States to be involved and promote peace in Europe.