Who said “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A…”?

Verified

Franklin D. Roosevelt. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceSpeech in 1935, as quoted by Donna E. Shalala, as Secretary of Health and Human Services, in a speech to the American Public Welfare Association (27 February 1995)

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“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
VerifiedSpeech in 1935, as quoted by Donna E. Shalala, as Secretary of Health and Human Services, in a speech to the American Public Welfare Association (27 February 1995) · evidenceKindness

Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: Speech in 1935, as quoted by Donna E. Shalala, as Secretary of Health and Human Services, in a speech to the American Public Welfare Association (27 February 1995).

APA

Roosevelt, F. D. (n.d.). Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/24845-human-kindness-has-never-weakened-the-stamina-or/

MLA

Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/24845-human-kindness-has-never-weakened-the-stamina-or/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/24845-human-kindness-has-never-weakened-the-stamina-or/.

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“The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.”
VerifiedLetter to all State Governors on a Uniform Soil Conservation Law (26 February 1937)); this statement has sometimes been paraphrased and prefixed to an earlier FDR statement of 29 January 1935 to read: "A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. · evidenceDetails & citeEcology
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