James A. Garfield quotes

James A. Garfield was the 20th president of the United States and a distinguished Union Army general during the Civil War. His leadership and reform efforts were notable, though his presidency was tragically cut short by assassination. He is remembered for his commitment to civil rights and education. Here are 148 of his quotes:

A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck. (James A. Garfield)
Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained. View quote
James A. Garfield
I mean to make myself a man, and if I succeed in that, I shall succeed in everything else. View quote
James A. Garfield
The chief duty of government is to keep the peace and stand out of the sunshine of the people. View quote
James A. Garfield
I have had many troubles, but the worst of them never came. View quote
James A. Garfield
All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people. View quote
James A. Garfield
A brave man is a man who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is a Devil. View quote
James A. Garfield
Things don't turn up in this world until somebody turns them up. View quote
James A. Garfield
Ideas control the world. View quote
James A. Garfield
Right reason is stronger than force. View quote
James A. Garfield
If the power to do hard work is not a skill, it's the best possible substitute for it. (James A. Garfield)
The civil service can never be placed on a satisfactory basis until it is regulated by law. View quote
James A. Garfield
The truth will set you free - but first it will make you miserable. View quote
James A. Garfield
The President is the last person in the world to know what the people really want and think. View quote
James A. Garfield
I am inclined to believe that the sin of slavery is one of which it may be said that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. View quote
James A. Garfield
Poverty is uncomfortable; but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim. View quote
James A. Garfield
Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce.... And when you realize the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate. View quote
James A. Garfield
I believe in God, and I trust myself in His hands. View quote
James A. Garfield
Ideas are the great warriors of the world, and a war that has no idea behind it, is simply a brutality. View quote
James A. Garfield
Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce. View quote
James A. Garfield
History is philosophy teaching by example, and also warning; its two eyes are geography and chronology. (James A. Garfield)
Nobody but radicals have ever accomplished anything in a great crisis. View quote
James A. Garfield
The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other. View quote
James A. Garfield
Few men in our history have ever obtained the Presidency by planning to obtain it. View quote
James A. Garfield
The lesson of History is rarely learned by the actors themselves. View quote
James A. Garfield