If there is one thing we are sure of it is that history need not be relived; that nothing is impossible, and that man is capable of improving his circumstances beyond what we are told is fact.

The Great Communicator January 9, 2008

And in all of that time I won a nickname, “The Great Communicator.” But I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: It was the content. I wasn’t a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn’t spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation–from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in principles that have guided us for two centuries.

Farewell Address to the Nation, Oval Office, January 11, 1989

History Need Not Be Relived November 12, 2007

If there is one thing we are sure of it is that history need not be relived; that nothing is impossible, and that man is capable of improving his circumstances beyond what we are told is fact.

Official Announcement, Intent to Run for President
New York Hilton, New York, NY, November 13, 1979

Knowledge of Our Past November 7, 2007

Knowledge of our past is one of our most treasured possessions, for only with an accurate picture of where we have been can we see where we must go.

Message on the Observance of National Afro-American (Black)
History Month, February 1981, February 2, 1981