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Harry S. Truman

40 quotes

Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) was the 33rd President of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. He made some of the most consequential decisions of the 20th century, including the use of atomic weapons against Japan, the Marshall Plan for European recovery, and the creation of NATO. Truman was known for his plain-spoken honesty and the famous sign on his desk: "The Buck Stops Here."

“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

History

All Quotes by Harry S. Truman

“All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.”

— Harry S. Truman

Politics

“There is nothing new in the world except the history you do not know.”

— Harry S. Truman

History

“All my life, whenever it comes time to make a decision, I make it and forget about it.”

— Harry S. Truman

Time

“You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog.”

— Harry S. Truman

Politics

“I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it - not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.”

— Harry S. Truman

Faith

“I never gave anybody hell! I just told the truth and they thought it was hell.”

— Harry S. Truman

Truth

“Experience has shown how deeply the seeds of war are planted by economic rivalry and social injustice.”

— Harry S. Truman

Experience

“You know that being an American is more than a matter of where your parents came from. It is a belief that all men are created free and equal and that everyone deserves an even break.”

— Harry S. Truman

Men

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

— Harry S. Truman

Amazing

“Art is parasitic on life, just as criticism is parasitic on art.”

— Harry S. Truman

Art

“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

Fear

“A President needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it.”

— Harry S. Truman

Government

“The reward of suffering is experience.”

— Harry S. Truman

Experience

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”

— Harry S. Truman

Courage

“Those who want the Government to regulate matters of the mind and spirit are like men who are so afraid of being murdered that they commit suicide to avoid assassination.”

— Harry S. Truman

Government

“I do not believe there is a problem in this country or the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.”

— Harry S. Truman

Teacher

“Richard Nixon is a no good, lying bastard. He can lie out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, and if he ever caught himself telling the truth, he'd lie just to keep his hand in.”

— Harry S. Truman

Good

“You and I are stuck with the necessity of taking the worst of two evils or none at all. So-I'm taking the immature Democrat as the best of the two. Nixon is impossible.”

— Harry S. Truman

Best

“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

Time

“Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.”

— Harry S. Truman

Change