There is nothing that I shudder at more than the idea of a separation of the Union. Should such an event ever happen, which I fervently pray God to avert, from that date I view our liberty gone.

It is to be regretted that the rich and powerful too often bend the acts of government to their own selfish purposes.

After eight years as President I have only two regrets: that I have not shot Henry Clay or hanged John C. Calhoun.

Any man worth his salt will stick up for what he believes right, but it takes a slightly better man to acknowledge instantly and without reservation that he is in error.

John Calhoun, if you secede from my nation I will secede your head from the rest of your body.

I was born for a storm and a calm does not suit me.

There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses.

Peace, above all things, is to be desired, but blood must sometimes be spilled to obtain it on equable and lasting terms.

When you get in debt you become a slave.

But you must remember, my fellow-citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty, and that you must pay the price if you wish to secure the blessing.

All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous Judiciary.

I think you must be some kind of a freak. Either that or you’re trying toconvert me to your secret horse religion.”“Darn, you got me, ” she says theatrically. “You thwarted my evil plan.

The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.

Oh, I have a habit of letting myself be lectured on the things I know best. I like to see if they are understood in the same way I understand; for there are many ways of knowing the same thing

We need to support our police officers and make sure that community policing becomes something that becomes the standard across the country.

My grandmother taught me to knit, and as I knit, my mind returns to my childhood.

Get your priorities straight. No one ever said on his death bed, 'Gee, if I'd only spent more time at the office.'

Conscience is better served by a myth.

The giant wave of the science has no mercy; when this colossal wave comes, it will sweep away anything untrue!

It takes two to create a heaven, but hell can be accomplished by one.

No good book, or good thing of any sort, shows its best face at first.