A free society cherishes nonconformity. It knows from the non-conformist, from the eccentric, have come many of the great ideas.

- Henry Steele Commager

History is organized memory, and the organization is all important!

- Henry Steele Commager

We should not be surprised that the Founding Fathers didn't foresee everything, when we see that the current Fathers hardly ever foresee anything.

- Henry Steele Commager

Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.

- Henry Steele Commager

It is sobering to recall that though the Japanese relocation program, carried through at such incalculable cost in misery and tragedy, was justified …

- Henry Steele Commager

Censorship always defeats it own purpose, for it creates in the end the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.

- Henry Steele Commager

The Bill of Rights was not written to protect governments from trouble. It was written precisely to give the people the constitutional means to cause…

- Henry Steele Commager

The justification and the purpose of freedom of speech is not to indulge those who want to speak their minds. It is to prevent error and discover tru…

- Henry Steele Commager

Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find cr…

- Henry Steele Commager