William E. Borah Quotes

The ballot box is a license to govern, not a mandate to rule.

Let the people decide whom to vote for, who has more authority. And only people, only our citizens, are able to place the final emphasis, voting for this or that person or political force, or rejecting it. That's democracy.

Democracy shows not only its power in reforming governments, but in regenerating a race of men and this is the greatest blessing of free governments.

This Bible is for the government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Democracy is not a mathematical deduction proved once and for all time. Democracy is a just faith fervently held, commitment to be tested again and again in the fiery furnace of history.

What we are seeing here is democracy in action.

Democracy is the least static form of society. Its basis is reason not authority.

The most profound argument for democracy is its faith in man.

A sense of nationhood does not prepare a people for instant democracy.

By the people for the people.

The government and people are inseparable under our system. We could not separate the government from the people if we would, and we would not if we could. This unity is the strength of our political structure.

In Europe, charters of liberty have been granted by power. America has set the example ... of charters of power granted by liberty.

The only leader America should ever have is someone who understands that the people are the government.

Government should fear the people, not the other way around.

I have always believed that genuine democracy is fairness.

The British are a people who are generally happy, under normal circumstances, to trust politicians to tell us the truth and to leave them to run the country as we get on with our lives. But we reserve the right, always, to make it clear that they are our servants, not our masters, and, when necessary, we can and will take charge.

Trust in the ability of people to make decisions about their own future is a fundamental tenet of democracy.

He who would save liberty must put his trust in democracy.

Trust the people -- that is the crucial lesson of history.

Democracy is perhaps the most promiscuous word in the world of public affairs.

Here sir, the people govern.

Democracy is timelessly human, and timelessness always implies a certain amount of potential youthfulness.

We should never take democracy for granted. Democracy can emerge and develop, but it can also decay.

It is with your aid, as the people, that I think we shall be able to preserve - not the country, for the country will preserve itself, but the institutions of the country - those institutions which have made us free, intelligent and happy - the most free, the most intelligent, and the happiest people on the globe.

No man is good enough to govern another man without the other's consent.