John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
1963, Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty speech
"Are Shelters the Answer?", in The New York Times Magazine (26 November 1961), p. 125
1960s
John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America
1963, Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty speech
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States
1910s, Nobel lecture (1910)
Context: Moreover, and above all, let us remember that words count only when they give expression to deeds, or are to be translated into them. The leaders of the Red Terror prattled of peace while they steeped their hands in the blood of the innocent; and many a tyrant has called it peace when he has scourged honest protest into silence. Our words must be judged by our deeds; and in striving for a lofty ideal we must use practical methods; and if we cannot attain all at one leap, we must advance towards it step by step, reasonably content so long as we do actually make some progress in the right direction.
Margaret Sanger (1879–1966) American birth control activist, educator and nurse
"Morality and Birth Control", February-March, 1918, pp. 11,14.
Birth Control Review, 1918-32
Norman Angell (1872–1967) British politician
Peace and the Public Mind (1935)
Context: Before war can be fought, a long series of necessary steps, which quite obviously are not and cannot be enforced steps, must be taken by the mass of men. Naval and military budgets must be voted in parliaments and congresses, not just once or twice in a generation but year after year; not secretly, but accompanied by long and public discussion, the budgets being supported by members of parliament, or deputies or congressmen who are still in many states continuously reelected in free and secret franchises, often by great majorities.
Harold Wilson (1916–1995) Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Speech in the White House (29 July 1966), quoted in The Times (30 July 1966), p. 1.
Prime Minister
Annie Besant (1847–1933) British socialist, theosophist, women's rights activist, writer and orator
Source: Initiation, The Perfecting of Man (1923)
“Every step is a first step if it's a step in the right direction.”
Terry Pratchett book I Shall Wear Midnight
Source: I Shall Wear Midnight
William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) United States Secretary of State
Illinois College Valedictory (1881)