The historian reports to us, not events themselves, but the impressions they have made on him. – Heinrich von Sybel

Although… the Chief Magistrate must almost of necessity be chosen by a party and stand pledged to its principles and measures, yet in his official action he should not be the President of a party only, but of the whole people of the United States. – James K. Polk

The game of history is usually played by the best and the worst over the heads of the majority in the middle. – Eric Hoffer, The True Believer

[History is] a tyranny over the souls of the dead – and so the imagination of the living. – William Carlos Williams