Most Quotable Presidents in History

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln turned a two-minute cemetery dedication into the Gettysburg Address, arguably the most quoted speech in American history, and closed the Civil War with the healing grace of 'malice toward none.' No president's words are more carved into marble, memorized by schoolchildren

Signature Quote: Four score and seven years ago...Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 10/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 3Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 10/10Years in Office: 1861–1865Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 10/10

added by IJRin 12 rankings

John F. Kennedy

Kennedy's inaugural address gave America 'ask not what your country can do for you,' and his Berlin speech turned four German words into a Cold War rallying cry. Even his moonshot line about choosing to go to the moon 'because it is hard' still gets quoted at graduations and laun

Signature Quote: Ask not what your country can do for you...Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 10/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 3Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 9/10Years in Office: 1961–1963Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 10/10

added by IJRin 7 rankings

Franklin D. Roosevelt

FDR calmed a panicked nation with 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself' and rallied it to war with 'a date which will live in infamy.' His fireside chats made the presidency sound personal, and his Four Freedoms speech is still cited in human rights debates today. Few p

Signature Quote: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 9/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 4Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 9/10Years in Office: 1933–1945Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 9/10

added by IJRin 16 rankingsFranklin D. Roosevelt

Ronald Reagan

Reagan's 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall' became shorthand for the end of the Cold War, delivered with the timing of the actor he once was. His 'government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem' reframed American political debate for a generation. Reag

Signature Quote: Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 9/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 3Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 9/10Years in Office: 1981–1989Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 9/10

added by IJRin 12 rankingsRonald Reagan

Theodore Roosevelt

Roosevelt gave the world 'speak softly and carry a big stick' and the enduring image of the 'man in the arena,' still quoted in sports, business, and self-help circles a century later. His sheer verbal energy—'bully!' and all—made him a walking soundbite before soundbites existed

Signature Quote: Speak softly and carry a big stick.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 8/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 2Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 8/10Years in Office: 1901–1909Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 8/10

added by IJRin 12 rankingsTheodore Roosevelt

Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson's pen gave America 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,' arguably the most famous phrase in any founding document worldwide. His warning that 'the tree of liberty must be refreshed' still gets debated in political science classrooms and protest signs alike. As

Signature Quote: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 8/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 2Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 7/10Years in Office: 1801–1809Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 8/10

added by IJRin 11 rankings

George Washington

Washington's Farewell Address, warning against foreign entanglements and political factions, is still quoted in foreign policy debates over two centuries later. He wasn't a flashy speaker, but 'first in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen' cemented his myth

Signature Quote: To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 7/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 2Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 7/10Years in Office: 1789–1797Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 7/10

added by IJRin 7 rankings

Harry S. Truman

Truman's blunt 'the buck stops here' became the defining phrase for presidential accountability, still sitting on desks and coffee mugs today. His plainspoken Missouri style—'if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen'—made him quotable precisely because he refused to so

Signature Quote: The buck stops here.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 7/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 1Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 6/10Years in Office: 1945–1953Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 7/10

added by IJRin 2 rankings

Barack Obama

Obama's 'yes we can' turned a campaign slogan into a cultural chant, and his 2004 breakout speech about 'the audacity of hope' gave a future president his title before he was one. His measured cadence made even policy speeches shareable, a rare skill in the social media era. Few

Signature Quote: Yes we can.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 8/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 2Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 9/10Years in Office: 2009–2017Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 8/10

added by IJRin 12 rankingsBarack Obama

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower's farewell warning about the 'military-industrial complex' is one of the most cited phrases in modern political science, oddly outlasting most of his own presidency in relevance. The war hero turned president wasn't known for soaring rhetoric, but that one line still s

Signature Quote: Beware the military-industrial complex.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 6/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 1Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 6/10Years in Office: 1953–1961Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 6/10

added by IJRin 12 rankingsDwight D. Eisenhower

Woodrow Wilson

Wilson's declaration that 'the world must be made safe for democracy' framed America's entry into World War I and still echoes in every debate over intervention abroad. His idealistic rhetoric around the League of Nations shaped a century of foreign policy language, even as the L

Signature Quote: The world must be made safe for democracy.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 5/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 1Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 6/10Years in Office: 1913–1921Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 5/10

added by IJRin 11 rankings

Richard Nixon

Nixon's defensive 'I am not a crook' became one of the most ironic and endlessly parodied lines in presidential history, immortalized by Watergate. His claim that 'when the president does it, that means it is not illegal' is still quoted as a cautionary tale about executive overr

Signature Quote: I am not a crook.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 6/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 0Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 5/10Years in Office: 1969–1974Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 6/10

added by IJRin 13 rankings

Bill Clinton

Clinton's lawyerly parsing—'it depends on what the meaning of the word is, is'—became instant political comedy shorthand for evasive testimony. His empathetic 'I feel your pain' captured his conversational political style long before it too became a punchline. Clinton proved that

Signature Quote: It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 6/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 0Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 7/10Years in Office: 1993–2001Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 6/10

added by IJRin 11 rankingsBill Clinton

Calvin Coolidge

Nicknamed 'Silent Cal' for his famous reluctance to speak, Coolidge's rare quote that 'the chief business of the American people is business' summed up the entire Roaring Twenies economic philosophy in one line. His quietness became its own kind of legend, making the few things h

Signature Quote: The chief business of the American people is business.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 4/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 0Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 4/10Years in Office: 1923–1929Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 3/10

added by IJRin 4 rankingsCalvin Coolidge

James Madison

As the chief architect of the Constitution, Madison's influence lives more in institutional design than in memorable soundbites, but his Federalist Papers arguments are still quoted in every constitutional law class. He warned that 'a well-instructed people alone can be permanent

Signature Quote: A well-instructed people alone can be permanently a free people.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 3/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 0Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 4/10Years in Office: 1809–1817Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 3/10

added by IJRin 5 rankings

Ulysses S. Grant

Grant's terse 'let us have peace' closed out his Civil War legacy with the same blunt efficiency he brought to the battlefield. He wasn't known for flowery rhetoric, but his memoirs are still praised as some of the best presidential prose ever written. His quotability comes more

Signature Quote: Let us have peace.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 4/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 0Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 4/10Years in Office: 1869–1877Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 3/10

added by IJRin 8 rankingsUlysses S. Grant

Andrew Jackson

Jackson's fiery, populist persona produced lines like 'one man with courage makes a majority,' though historians debate how many of his famous sayings he actually said versus what legend attached to him later. His combative reputation made him quotable by association even when th

Signature Quote: One man with courage makes a majority.Quote Recognition (0-10, higher=better): 4/10Classic Speeches Count (higher=better): 0Oratory Skill (0-10, higher=better): 5/10Years in Office: 1829–1837Still Quoted Today (0-10, higher=better): 4/10

added by IJRin 9 rankings