top of page
Writer's pictureJace Shoemaker-Galloway

Presidents' Day: 50 Patriotic & Inspirational Presidential Quotes and Sayings


While millions of Americans across the nation are coping with frigid temperatures and snowy weather, a special occasion is finally here and Americans are more than ready to celebrate a long, three-day weekend. The third Monday in February is Presidents' Day, also known as Washington’s Birthday. The federal holiday not only honors George Washington’s birthday, but also honors all of America's past and present presidents.

As some businesses celebrate the occasion by offering fabulous steals-and-deals on all sorts of products, other businesses, banks, schools, government offices and services will be closed for business in honor of the annual holiday.

Let us remember the men who helped shape our great nation with inspirational, patriotic and humorous quotes, sayings and words of wisdom from United States presidents past and present.

Patriotic, Inspirational and Humorous Presidential Quotes and Sayings

  • Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder. ~ George Washington

  • The harder the conflict, the greater the triumph. ~ George Washington

  • It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. ~ George Washington

  • 99 percent of failures come from people who make excuses. ~ George Washington

  • It is far better to be alone than to be in bad company. ~ George Washington

  • Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble. ~ George Washington

  • One man with courage is a majority. ~ Thomas Jefferson

  • In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. ~ Abraham Lincoln

  • All that I am or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. ~ Abraham Lincoln

  • Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~ Abraham Lincoln

  • I walk slowly but I never walk backward. ~ Abraham Lincoln

  • You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time. ~ Abraham Lincoln

  • He serves his party best who serves the country best. ~ Rutherford B. Hayes

  • It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn’t. ~ Martin Van Buren

  • Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

  • The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • Speak softly and carry a big stick. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

  • Believe you can and you’re halfway there. ~ Theodore Roosevelt

  • When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on! ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

  • You can not stop the spread of an idea by passing a law against it. ~ Harry S. Truman

  • If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog. ~ Harry S. Truman

  • America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand. ~ Harry S. Truman

  • America is best described by one word – freedom. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

  • Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. ~ John F. Kennedy

  • Forgive your enemies but never forget their names. John F. Kennedy

  • My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. John F. Kennedy

  • You ain’t learnin’ nothin’ when you’re talkin’. ~ Lyndon B. Johnson

  • A president’s hardest task is not to do what is right, but to know what is right. ~ Lyndon B. Johnson

  • If you want to make beautiful music, you must play the black and white notes together. ~ Richard M. Nixon

  • No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. It was misreported then and it is misremembered now. ~ Richard M. Nixon

  • America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense, human rights invented America. ~ Jimmy Carter

  • The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire. ~ Richard M. Nixon

  • We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles. ~ Jimmy Carter

  • America is too great for small dreams. ~ Ronald Reagan

  • When you can’t make them see the light, make them feel the heat. ~ Ronald Reagan

  • We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. ~ Ronald Reagan

  • Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~ Ronald Reagan

  • I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don’t always agree with them. ~ George H.W. Bush

  • If anyone tells you that America’s best days are behind her, they’re looking the wrong way. ~ George H.W. Bush

  • Character is a journey, not a destination. ~ William J. Clinton

  • You can put wings on a pig but you don’t make it an eagle. ~ William J. Clinton

  • We must teach our children to resolve their conflicts with words, not weapons. ~ William J. Clinton

  • Being president is like running a cemetery: you’ve got a lot of people under you and nobody’s listening. ~ William J. Clinton

  • We don’t want an America that is closed to the world. What we want is a world that is open to America. ~ George H.W. Bush

  • I believe that God has planted in every heart the desire to live in freedom. ~ George W. Bush

  • We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it. ~ Barack Obama

  • There are few things in life harder to find and more important to keep than love. Well, love and a birth certificate. ~ Barack Obama

  • Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference. ~ Barack Obama

  • If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress. ~ Barack Obama

  • There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America – there’s the United States of America. ~ Barack Obama

Sources:

Info Please. Presidential Quotes

Brainy Quotes. Presidential Quotes

留言

bottom of page