Elihu Root Quotes

• War was forced upon mankind in his original civil and social condition.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Mankind, War

• To deal with the true causes of war one must begin by recognizing as of prime relevancy to the solution of the problem the familiar fact that civilization is a partial, incomplete, and, to a great extent, superficial modification of barbarism.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Problem, Solution, Civilization

• There is so much of good in human nature that men grow to like each other upon better acquaintance, and this points to another way in which we may strive to promote the peace of the world.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Human Nature, Acquaintance

• The wolf always charges the lamb with muddying the stream.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Wolf

• The theoretical postulate of all diplomatic discussion between nations is the assumed willingness of every nation to do justice.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Postulate, Theoretical, Diplomatic, Discussion

• The popular tendency is to listen approvingly to the most extreme statements and claims of politicians and orators who seek popularity by declaring their own country right in everything and other countries wrong in everything.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Politicians, Orators, Popularity, Countries

• The point of departure of the process to which we wish to contribute is the fact that war is the natural reaction of human nature in the savage state, while peace is the result of acquired characteristics.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Process, Departure, Natural, Reaction, Human

• The methods of peace propaganda which aim at establishing peace doctrine by argument and by creating a feeling favorable to peace in general seem to fall short of reaching the springs of human action and of dealing with the causes of the conduct which they seek to modify.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Peace, Propaganda, Human, Feeling

• The mere assemblage of peace loving people to interchange convincing reasons for their common faith, mere exhortation and argument to the public in favor of peace in general fall short of the mark.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in People, Loving, Peace

• The line of least resistance in the progress of civilization is to make that theoretical postulate real by the continually increasing force of the world’s public opinion.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Progress

  Tags in Civilization, Public Opinion

• The limitation upon this mode of promoting peace lies in the fact that it consists in an appeal to the civilized side of man, while war is the product of forces proceeding from man’s original savage nature.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Nature

  Tags in Promoting, Peace, Fact

• The law of the survival of the fittest led inevitably to the survival and predominance of the men who were effective in war and who loved it because they were effective.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Men, Predominance, Survival, Effective

• The growth of modern constitutional government compels for its successful practice the exercise of reason and considerate judgment by the individual citizens who constitute the electorate.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Constitutional, Government, Successful, Judgment

• The attractive idea that we can now have a parliament of man with authority to control the conduct of nations by legislation or an international police force with power to enforce national conformity to rules of right conduct is a counsel of perfection.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Parliament, Authority, Control, Nations

• Secretary of War Stanton used to get out of patience with Lincoln because he was all the time pardoning men who ought to be shot.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Person, Secretary

• Prejudice and passion and suspicion are more dangerous than the incitement of self-interest or the most stubborn adherence to real differences of opinion regarding rights.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Prejudice, Passion, Suspicion, Dangerous

• Nothing is more important in the preservation of peace than to secure among the great mass of the people living under constitutional government a just conception of the rights which their nation has against others and of the duties their nation owes to others.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Preservation, Peace, Constitutional, Government

• Nobody knows through how many thousands of years fighting men have made a place for themselves while the weak and peaceable have gone to the wall.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Peaceable, Themselves, Place

• No nation now sets forth to despoil another upon the avowed ground that it desires the spoils.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Nation

• It is to be observed that every case of war averted is a gain in general, for it helps to form a habit of peace, and community habits long continued become standards of conduct.

  Elihu Root

  Topics in Uncategorized

  Tags in Community, Peace, Habits

Elihu Root (29)

Birth:	15th February, 1845
Death:	7th February, 1937
Nationality:	American
Profession:	Lawyer, Politician

About

Elihu Root was born in Clinton, New York. He was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Secretary of War under two presidents, including President Theodore Roosevelt. He was elected by the state legislature as a US Senator from New York and served one term, 1909–1915. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912. He was a leading lawyer, whose clients included major corporations and such powerful players as Andrew Carnegie. He served as president or chairman of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He attend New York University School of Law, from which he graduated in 1867. He served U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 1905, President Roosevelt named Root as the United States Secretary of State after the death of John Hay.

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• 1930 - Robert Loggia
• 1943 - Richard Ben Veniste
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Deaths

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• 1965 - Milton Avery
• 1946 - William Joyce
• 2005 - Will Eisner
• 2010 - Mary Daly