“Mister Speaker, we did more than merely to break off the chains of the slaves. The abolition of slavery added four million citizens to the Republic. By the decision of the Supreme Court, by the decision of the Attorney-General, by the decision of all the departments of our Government, those men made free are, by the act of freedom, made citizens. As another has said, they must be "four million disfranchised, disarmed, untaught, landless, thriftless, non-producing, non-consuming, degraded men, or four million land-holding, industrious, arms-bearing, and voting population. Choose between the two!"”

1950s, Give Us the Ballot (1957)
Context: Three years ago the Supreme Court of this nation rendered in simple, eloquent, and unequivocal language a decision which will long be stenciled on the mental sheets of succeeding generations. For all men of goodwill, this May seventeenth decision came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of human captivity. It came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of disinherited people throughout the world who had dared only to dream of freedom. Unfortunately, this noble and sublime decision has not gone without opposition. This opposition has often risen to ominous proportions. Many states have risen up in open defiance. The legislative halls of the South ring loud with such words as "interposition" and "nullification." But even more, all types of conniving methods are still being used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters. The denial of this sacred right is a tragic betrayal of the highest mandates of our democratic tradition. And so our most urgent request to the president of the United States and every member of Congress is to give us the right to vote.

Democratic Presidential Debate May 13, 2003 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A16686-2003May5&notFound=true

Source: Public Finance - International Edition - Sixth Edition, Chapter 6, Political Economy, p. 117

&quot;Special Message to the Congress on Federal Pay Reform (55)&quot; (20 February 1962) http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx&lt;!-- Public Papers of the President: John F. Kennedy, 1962 --&gt; <br class="br">1962 <br class="br">Context: The success of this Government, and thus the success of our Nation, depends in the last analysis upon the quality of our career services. The legislation enacted by the Congress, as well as the decisions made by me and by the department and agency heads, must all be implemented by the career men and women in the Federal service. In foreign affairs, national defense, science and technology, and a host of other fields, they face problems of unprecedented importance and perplexity. We are all dependent on their sense of loyalty and responsibility as well as their competence and energy.

1860s, Oration at Ravenna, Ohio (1865)

As quoted in &quot;Gore Sees No Reason to Run&quot; by Patrick Healy in The New York Times (25 May 2007) http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/25/gore-sees-no-reason-to-run/.

Source: 2000s, Vindicating the Founders (2001), p. 28

Quoted in: Charles A. Stevenson (2006), SECDEF: The Nearly Impossible Job of Secretary of Defense http://books.google.com/books?id=2NXbS5AG_8QC&amp;pg=PA28, p. 28

Attributed to Morgenstern in: John H. McArthur, ‎Bruce R. Scott (1969), Industrial planning in France. p. 21.