We cannot be satisfied with things as they are. We cannot be satisfied to drift, to rest on our oars, to glide over a sea whose depths are shaken by subterranean upheavals.

I want every American to be free to stand up for his rights, even if sometimes he has to sit down for them.

No one has been barred on account of his race from fighting or dying for America, there are no white or colored signs on the foxholes or graveyards of battle.

I was never accepted into certain parts of New England society because my grandfather was an Irish barkeep.

Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.

To exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of Independence, Washington from commanding the Continental Army, Madison from fathering the Constitution, Hamilton from serving as secretary of the treasury, Clay from being elected speaker of the House and Christopher Columbus from discovering America.

The poet and the politician have this in common: their greatness depends on the courage with which they face the challenges of life.