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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."

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

— Harry S. Truman

Politics

All Quotes by Harry S. Truman

“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

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

— Harry S. Truman

Government

“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

“Intense feeling too often obscures the truth.”

— Harry S. Truman

Truth

“The reward of suffering is experience.”

— Harry S. Truman

Experience

“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

“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.”

— Harry S. Truman

Great

“I would rather have peace in the world than be President.”

— Harry S. Truman

Peace

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

— Harry S. Truman

Truth

“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

“Study men, not historians.”

— Harry S. Truman

Men

“It is understanding that gives us an ability to have peace. When we understand the other fellow's viewpoint, and he understands ours, then we can sit down and work out our differences.”

— Harry S. Truman

Peace

“We shall never be able to remove suspicion and fear as potential causes of war until communication is permitted to flow, free and open, across international boundaries.”

— Harry S. Truman

Communication

“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

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

— Harry S. Truman

Amazing

“My father was not a failure. After all, he was the father of a president of the United States.”

— Harry S. Truman

Dad

“A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years.”

— Harry S. Truman

Government

“Upon books the collective education of the race depends they are the sole instruments of registering, perpetuating and transmitting thought.”

— Harry S. Truman

Education

“The United Nations is designed to make possible lasting freedom and independence for all its members.”

— Harry S. Truman

Freedom

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

— Harry S. Truman

Politics