QuotedTale
Presidents' Day 2027 falls on Monday, February 15. Under federal law the holiday is still called Washington's Birthday, though most Americans now use it to honor Washington, Lincoln and the office of the president.
Every quote with a name below was checked against the president's own letters and speeches. Tap any line to copy it.
George Washington Quotes
His own words from letters, orders and the Farewell Address. Good for a history class or a flag photo.
- Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.George Washington
- It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.George Washington
- Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable; procures success to the weak, and esteem to all.George Washington
- Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all.George Washington
- Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence; true friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.George Washington
- When one side only of a story is heard and often repeated, the human mind becomes impressed with it insensibly.George Washington
- Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable.George Washington
- To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.George Washington
Where these come from: the liberty line is from a 1788 letter to James Madison, the excuse line from a 1791 letter to his niece Harriet, and the discipline line from his 1759 orders to Virginia captains. "Observe good faith" is from the Farewell Address of 1796. The friendship advice went to his nephew Bushrod in 1783.
Abraham Lincoln Quotes
From the Gettysburg Address, his inaugural speeches and his letters. Lincoln was born on February 12, which is why many states honor him this month too.
- Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.Abraham Lincoln
- The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.Abraham Lincoln
- 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.Abraham Lincoln
- We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.Abraham Lincoln
- The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.Abraham Lincoln
- Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.Abraham Lincoln
- Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing.Abraham Lincoln
- With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed.Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln has more fake quotes than almost anyone. Lines like "Whatever you are, be a good one" and "You can fool all the people some of the time" have no reliable source, so they are not on this list.
Quotes by Other Presidents
Lines from eight more presidents, from Thomas Jefferson to John F. Kennedy.
- Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle.Thomas Jefferson
- I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.Thomas Jefferson
- Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.John Adams
- I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.John Adams
- If men were angels, no government would be necessary.James Madison
- Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.James Madison
- Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.Theodore Roosevelt
- Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing; and this is a prize open to every man, for there can be no better worth doing than that done to keep in health and comfort and with reasonable advantages those immediately dependent upon the husband, the father, or the son.Theodore Roosevelt
- Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.Franklin D. Roosevelt
- There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.Franklin D. Roosevelt
- I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.Harry S. Truman
- Today, America has become one of the most powerful forces for good on earth. We must keep it so.Harry S. Truman
- Neither a wise man or a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.John F. Kennedy
Adams wrote his blessing on his second night in the White House in 1800; it is now carved in the State Dining Room. Madison's first line is from Federalist No. 51, and Kennedy's is from his 1961 inaugural address. Jefferson's "altar of god" line is from an 1800 letter to Benjamin Rush, where he wrote "god" in lowercase; the Jefferson Memorial carves it with a capital G.
Quotes by Modern Presidents
Lines from presidents since the 1960s, from Lyndon B. Johnson to Barack Obama. Good for a civics class or a post about service.
- There are no problems which we cannot solve together, and there are very few which any of us can settle by himself.Lyndon B. Johnson
- Poverty must not be a bar to learning, and learning must offer an escape from poverty.Lyndon B. Johnson
- Let us learn together and laugh together and work together and pray together, confident that in the end we will triumph together in the right.Jimmy Carter
- Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood.Jimmy Carter
- Above all, we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.Ronald Reagan
- America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the Nation and gentler the face of the world.George H. W. Bush
- There is nothing more fulfilling than to serve your country and your fellow citizens and to do it well.George H. W. Bush
- There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.Bill Clinton
- In the years ahead, I will never hold a position higher or a covenant more sacred than that of President of the United States. But there is no title I will wear more proudly than that of citizen.Bill Clinton
- Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.George W. Bush
- Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.Barack Obama
- There is no change without risk, and no progress without sacrifice, and no freedom without solidarity.Barack Obama
Sources: Johnson's lines are from a 1964 news conference and his Great Society speech, Carter's from his 1977 inaugural address and a 1978 human rights event, Reagan's from his 1981 inaugural address, the first Bush line from his 1989 inaugural, Clinton's from his 1993 inaugural and 2001 farewell address, and George W. Bush's from his address on the night of September 11, 2001.
Presidents' Day Quotes on Leadership
For a team meeting, a leadership post on LinkedIn or a student council speech.
- It is infinitely better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones.George Washington
- Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way.Abraham Lincoln
- It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.Theodore Roosevelt
- We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage.Theodore Roosevelt
- Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.John F. Kennedy
- Change based on principle is progress. Constant change without principle becomes chaos.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.John F. Kennedy
- It is not enough to yearn for peace. We must work, and if necessary, fight for it.Harry S. Truman
- Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means.Ronald Reagan
Quotes on Democracy and Liberty
For a civics class, a Constitution lesson or a post about voting and freedom.
- We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.Thomas Jefferson
- Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.Abraham Lincoln
- Arbitrary power is most easily established on the ruins of liberty abused to licentiousness.George Washington
- Democratical States must always feel before they can see: it is this that makes their Governments slow, but the people will be right at last.George Washington
- Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened.George Washington
- Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.Ronald Reagan
- The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.Franklin D. Roosevelt
- A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.Theodore Roosevelt
- I believe the only way to protect my own rights is to protect the rights of others.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- The general limits of your freedom are merely these: that you do not trespass upon the equal rights of others.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.Theodore Roosevelt
Short Presidents' Day Quotes for Instagram
Real quotes short enough for a story, a caption or a classroom board.
- Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.George Washington
- Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.Abraham Lincoln
- I cannot live without books.Thomas Jefferson
- May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- The only way to win the next world war is to prevent it.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- It is only as we govern ourselves that we are well-governed.Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things.Ronald Reagan
- We must be the great arsenal of Democracy.Franklin D. Roosevelt
Presidents' Day Quotes for Kids
Short, real lines kids can read, copy onto a poster or explain in class.
- It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.Theodore Roosevelt
- Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.Thomas Jefferson
- Never put off till tomorrow what you can do to-day.Thomas Jefferson
- Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.Thomas Jefferson
- When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.Thomas Jefferson
- To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others.Jimmy Carter
- Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to each starts with education.George H. W. Bush
- Treat people with respect, whoever they are, and expect your governments to treat everybody with respect. And if you do that, then you're going to be okay.Barack Obama
- And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.John F. Kennedy
Three of Jefferson's lines come from a list of ten rules for life he wrote in 1825 for a baby named after him, Thomas Jefferson Smith. Kennedy's line is from his 1961 inaugural address.
Funny Quotes by Presidents
Real jokes presidents made about themselves and the job. Good for a lighter post or a class icebreaker.
- I am a Ford, not a Lincoln.Gerald Ford
- I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.John F. Kennedy
- Somebody once said that Washington was a city of Northern charm and Southern efficiency.John F. Kennedy
- I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience.Ronald Reagan
- Honey, I forgot to duck.Ronald Reagan
- It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours.Harry S. Truman
- I'm as strong as a bull moose and you can use me to the limit.Theodore Roosevelt
- I do not allow myself to suppose that either the convention or the League, have concluded to decide that I am either the greatest or the best man in America, but rather they have concluded it is not best to swap horses while crossing the river, and have further concluded that I am not so poor a horse that they might not make a botch of it in trying to swap.Abraham Lincoln
Ford said his line when he became vice president in 1973. Kennedy's Jefferson joke was at a 1962 dinner for Nobel Prize winners, and Reagan's age line was in his 1984 debate with Walter Mondale. Reagan said "Honey, I forgot to duck" to his wife after he was shot in 1981, borrowing a line from boxer Jack Dempsey. The Coolidge story where he tells a dinner guest "You lose" is not reliable, and Coolidge himself denied it.
Presidents' Day Messages
Original wishes to copy for a classroom, an office email or a social post. Add your name or your school's name.
For students and classrooms
- Happy Presidents' Day, class! Today we remember the leaders who shaped our country, and we remember that every one of them was once a student too.
- This Presidents' Day, read one speech by a president you know little about. You might find your new favorite quote.
- Washington and Lincoln both learned mostly on their own. Keep reading, keep asking questions, and happy Presidents' Day.
- A president's job starts with caring about people. So does being a good classmate. Happy Presidents' Day!
- Happy Presidents' Day to our young citizens. One day, some of you will lead, and all of you will vote.
- No school today, but here is a little homework for the heart: thank someone who serves your town.
For coworkers and the workplace
- Wishing our team a restful Presidents' Day weekend. Enjoy the long break, and see you on Tuesday.
- Happy Presidents' Day! Today is a good reminder that great leadership is about service, honesty and showing up for people.
- Our office is closed on Monday, February 15, for Presidents' Day. We will be back to help you on Tuesday.
- To every leader on our team, with or without a title: thank you. Happy Presidents' Day.
- On Presidents' Day we honor the leaders who built this country, and we thank the people who build this company every day.
- Happy Presidents' Day to our customers and partners. Thank you for your trust, this week and every week.
For family, friends and social posts
- Happy Presidents' Day! Grateful for the leaders who guided this country through its hardest years.
- Happy Washington's Birthday, and happy Presidents' Day to everyone enjoying the long weekend.
- Today we honor the office, the history and the idea that ordinary people choose who leads them. Happy Presidents' Day.
- From Washington to Lincoln and beyond, thank you to every president who put the country first. Happy Presidents' Day.
- Wishing you a peaceful Presidents' Day with time to rest, read a little history and enjoy your family.
- Happy Presidents' Day! May we all lead our own homes and towns with a little of Lincoln's patience and Washington's honesty.
- Presidents come and go, but the Constitution they swear to protect stays with all of us. Happy Presidents' Day.
- A long weekend, a little history and a lot of gratitude. Happy Presidents' Day, friends.
Presidents' Day Captions for Instagram
One-liners for a monument photo, a history museum visit or a long-weekend post.
- Happy Presidents' Day 🇺🇸
- Honoring the ones who led the way
- Lincoln on my mind, liberty in my heart
- Happy birthday, George 🎂🇺🇸
- One nation, many leaders, one Constitution
- History looks good on a long weekend
- Stars, stripes and a little history 🇺🇸
- First in war, first in peace, first on my feed
- Honest Abe would approve of this post
- Four score and a long weekend ago
- A day for the history books 📜
- Leadership lessons from 1789 to now
- Red, white and ready for Monday off
- Saluting the office, not the party
- Standing in the shadow of the monument 🏛️
- Reading history, one president at a time
- Proud of where we came from 🇺🇸
- Freedom, founders and a free Monday
- Four faces, one mountain, a lot of history
- Liberty, learning and a long weekend
- Honoring leaders past and present
- A penny for Lincoln's thoughts 🪙
Funny Presidents' Day Captions
For a lazy long-weekend selfie, a sale haul or a friend group photo.
- I cannot tell a lie: I love a three-day weekend
- Executive order: no alarms on Monday
- Running for president of this couch 🛋️
- Pardoning myself from all chores today
- Top hat on, work mode off 🎩
- My cabinet meeting today: snacks, blanket, remote
- Vetoing every plan except sleeping in
- Mount Rushmore, but make it my friend group
- Here for the history and the Presidents' Day sales 🛍️
- Lincoln logs and a long weekend
History of Presidents' Day
Presidents' Day started as a holiday for George Washington's birthday. Washington was born on February 22, 1732. Americans celebrated the date for decades before it became official.
In 1879, Congress made Washington's Birthday a holiday for federal offices in Washington, D.C., and in 1885 it was extended to all federal offices.
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968 moved the holiday to the third Monday of February, starting in 1971, to give workers a three-day weekend. Because that Monday always falls between February 15 and 21, the holiday now never lands on Washington's actual birthday.
The federal name never changed: it is still Washington's Birthday. "Presidents' Day" became popular through calendars, schools and store sales, partly because Lincoln's birthday on February 12 falls in the same month. Some states use that name officially, and some honor other presidents too. For more US days through the year, see our special days calendar, and for last month's holiday, our MLK Day quotes.
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