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The colonists were struggling not only against the armies of a great nation, but against the settled opinions of mankind; for the world did not then believe that the supreme authority of government could be safely intrusted to the guardianship of the people themselves.

— James A. Garfield Inaugural address (1881)

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More quotes by James A. Garfield

The world's history is a divine poem, of which the history of every nation is a canto, and every man a word.

The Province of History (1856)

All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.

Things don't turn up in this world until somebody turns them up.

Nobody but radicals have ever accomplished anything in a great crisis. Conservatives have their place in the piping times of peace; but in emergencies only rugged issue men amount to much.

I am oppressed with a sense of the impropriety of uttering words on this occasion.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: James A. Garfield (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.