Check out the best Woodrow Wilson quotes that reflect his profound wisdom on leadership, democracy, education, and progress.
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He is best known for his steadfast leadership during World War I and his efforts to promote international peace through the League of Nations for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919.
Born on December 28, 1856, in Staunton, Virginia, Wilson had an accomplished academic career, earning a Ph.D. in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University and serving as the president of Princeton University.
Before becoming the President, he served as the Governor of New Jersey and gained popularity for progressive reforms and effective leadership.
His presidency was marked by significant domestic reforms, including establishing the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Clayton Antitrust Act.
During his second term, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution ensuring all women the right to vote was passed and ratified.
Thomas Wilson was the leading architect of the League of Nations, and his stance on foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism.
Despite facing criticism for some of his policies, his contributions to progressive governance and international diplomacy remain highly regarded.
His vision for a more just and peaceful world continues to spark discussions about leadership, governance, and global cooperation, making him one of the most influential figures in American history.
Here are some of the most famous Woodrow Wilson quotes that inspire you to strive for a just and equitable society.
Top 10 Woodrow Wilson Quotes
- “The history of liberty is a history of resistance.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “If you want to make enemies, try to change something.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The ear of the leader must ring with the voices of the people.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The man who is swimming against the stream knows the strength of it.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “We are not put into this world to sit still and know; we are put into it to act.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The highest and best form of efficiency is the spontaneous cooperation of a free people. ” —Woodrow Wilson
- “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty counsels. The thing to do is to supply light and not heat.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The difference between a strong man and a weak one is that the former does not give up after a defeat.” — Woodrow Wilson
Best Woodrow Wilson Quotes
- “Never attempt to murder a man who is committing suicide.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “We are citizens of the world. The tragedy of our times is that we do not know this.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “When the representatives of “Big Business” think of the people, they do not include themselves.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “We ought to regard ourselves and to act as socialists–believers in the wholesomeness and beneficence of the body politic.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The law that will work is merely the summing up in legislative form of the moral judgment that the community has already reached.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The shadows that now lie dark upon our path will soon be dispelled and we shall walk with the light all about us if we but be true to ourselves.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “Only a peace between equals can last. Only a peace the very principle of which is equality and a common participation in a common benefit.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “If you lose your wealth, you have lost nothing; if you lose your health, you have lost something; but if you lose your character, you have lost everything.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “Liberty has never come from Government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of governmental power, not the increase of it.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” — Woodrow Wilson
Famous Quotes By Woodrow Wilson
- “This is a war to end all wars.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The truth is we are all caught in a great economic system which is heartless.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “I kind of liked the idea of a universe that always was and always will be.” — Robert Woodrow Wilson
- “Golf is a game in which one endeavors to control a ball with implements ill adapted for the purpose.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “I would rather belong to a poor nation that was free than to a rich nation that had ceased to be in love with liberty.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power; not organized rivalries, but an organized peace.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “There is a price which is too great to pay for peace, and that price can be put in one word. One cannot pay the price of self-respect.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “Self-determination is not a mere phrase. It is an imperative principle of action, which statesmen will henceforth ignore at their peril.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “I can predict with absolute certainty that within another generation there will be another world war if the nations of the world do not concert the method by which to prevent it.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “In most parts of our country men work, not for themselves, not as partners in the old way in which they used to work, but generally as employees,-in a higher or lower grade,-of great corporations.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “There is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle, so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.” — Woodrow Wilson
- “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” — Woodrow Wilson
Conclusion
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