Ronald Reagan Quotes About Liberty

• Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.

  Ronald Reagan

  Patriotic, Political, Enemy

  "War and Conflict Quotations" eds. Michael & Jean Thomsett, McFarland, (p. 105), 1997.

• Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.

  Ronald Reagan

  Veterans Day, Freedom, Our Veterans

  Labor Day Address at Liberty State Park, delivered 1 September 1980, Jersey City, New Jersey

• I hope we once again have reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts.

  Ronald Reagan

  Independent, Men, Law

  Ronald Reagan, Michael Reagan (2016). “The Last Best Hope: The Greatest Speeches of Ronald Reagan”, p.226, Humanix Books

• Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way.

  Ronald Reagan

  Dream, Opportunity, Doubt

  Ronald Reagan, Michael Reagan (2016). “The Last Best Hope: The Greatest Speeches of Ronald Reagan”, p.250, Humanix Books

• To those who cite the first amendment as reason for excluding God from more and more of our institutions and everyday life, may I just say: The first amendment of the Constitution was not written to protect the people of this country from religious values; it was written to protect religious values from government tyranny.

  Ronald Reagan

  Country, Religious, Government

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

• Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.

  Ronald Reagan

  Freedom, People, Presidential

  Ronald Reagan, Michael Reagan (2016). “The Last Best Hope: The Greatest Speeches of Ronald Reagan”, p.7, Humanix Books

• I'm convinced that today the majority of Americans want what those first Americans wanted: A better life for themselves and their children; a minimum of government authority.

  Ronald Reagan

  Children, Good Life, Happy Life

  Ronald Reagan (1983). “A Time for Choosing: The Speeches of Ronald Reagan, 1961-1982”, Gateway Books

• Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

  Ronald Reagan

  Strength, Peace, Children

  Ronald Reagan (1983). “A Time for Choosing: The Speeches of Ronald Reagan, 1961-1982”, Gateway Books

• Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

  Ronald Reagan

  Freedom, Military, Moving

  Remarks to state chairs of National White House Conference on Small Business, 15 Aug. 1986

• Simple morality dictates that unless and until someone can prove the unborn human is not alive, we must give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it is (alive). And, thus, it should be entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

  Ronald Reagan

  Pursuit Of Happiness, Simple, Giving

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan)., Ronald Reagan, United States. Office of the Federal Register (1983). “Ronald Reagan”

• The federal government has taken too much tax money from the people, too much authority from the states, and too much liberty with the Constitution.

  Ronald Reagan

  Taken, Government, People

  Ronald Reagan (2004). “Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches”, p.424, Simon and Schuster

• When our Founding Fathers passed the First Amendment, they sought to protect churches from government interference. They never intended to construct a wall of hostility between government and the concept of religious belief itself.

  Ronald Reagan

  Religious, Wall, Father

  Remarks at the Annual Convention of the the National Association of Evangelicals, delivered 8 March 1983, Orlando, Florida

• Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

  Ronald Reagan

  Motivational, God, Freedom

  Remarks at the Annual Convention of the the National Association of Evangelicals, delivered 8 March 1983, Orlando, Florida

• Man is not free unless government is limited.

  Ronald Reagan

  Men, Liberty, Libertarian

  Farewell Address to the Nation, delivered 11 January 1989, Washington D.C.

• Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuing revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions. It is the right to put forth an idea, scoffed at by the experts, and watch it catch fire among the people. It is the right to follow your dream, or stick to your conscience even if you're the only one in a sea of doubters.

  Ronald Reagan

  Dream, Freedom, Ideas

  Moscow State University Address, delivered 31 May 1988, Moscow, Russia

• We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much.

  Ronald Reagan

  Political, Liberty, Dollars

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

• We've been blessed with the opportunity to stand for something - for liberty and freedom and fairness. And these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to.

  Ronald Reagan

  Freedom, Blessed, Fighting

  Ronald Reagan (2004). “Speaking My Mind: Selected Speeches”, p.279, Simon and Schuster

• As government expands, liberty contracts.

  Ronald Reagan

  Government, Political, Liberty

  Farewell Address to the Nation, delivered 11 January 1989, Washington D.C.

• . . . I hope that when you're my age, you'll be able to say as I have been able to say: We lived in freedom, we lived lives that were a statement, not an apology.

  Ronald Reagan

  Freedom, Apology, Age

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

• More than a decade ago, a Supreme Court decision literally wiped off the books of fifty states statutes protecting the rights of unborn children. Abortion on demand now takes the lives of up to 1.5 million unborn children a year. Human life legislation ending this tragedy will some day pass the Congress, and you and I must never rest until it does. Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is not a living entity, then its right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protected.

  Ronald Reagan

  Children, Book, Pursuit Of Happiness

  Remarks at the Annual Convention of the the National Association of Evangelicals, delivered 8 March 1983, Orlando, Florida

• History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.

  Ronald Reagan

  Veterans Day, Money, Peace

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1984). “Ronald Reagan”

• I have seen the rise of fascism and communism. Both philosophies glorify the arbitrary power of the state... But both theories fail. Both deny those God-given liberties that are the inalienable right of each person on this planet, indeed, they deny the existence of God.

  Ronald Reagan

  Philosophy, Liberty, Arbitrary

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

• We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied peoples joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

  Ronald Reagan

  War, Years, Europe

  Remarks on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day, delivered 6 June 1984 in Pointe Du Hoc, Normandy, France

• Peace is more than just an absence of war. True peace is justice, true peace is freedom, and true peace dictates the recognition of human rights.

  Ronald Reagan

  Freedom, War, Rights

  United States. President (1981-1989 : Reagan), Ronald Reagan (1982). “Ronald Reagan”

• The freedom of thought and action we Americans enjoy today seems as natural as the air we breathe. But there is a danger we may take this freedom for granted. We must never forget it was bought for us at a great price. The brave and resourceful Americans whose sacrifices gained our Independence and preserved it for more than 200 years against formidable foes have set an example of unflinching loyalty to the ideal of liberty and justice for all.

  Ronald Reagan

  Loyalty, Sacrifice, Justice For All

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