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First Quotes

On beginnings, and what a 'first' really changes.

The quotes gathered here treat 'first' loosely: a rookie athlete crediting the teammates who set the tone early, a filmmaker's take on what should scare an audience right away, and a physicist weighing what can and can't be known first. If early relationships resonate, see our First Love.

In the first State of the Union of his second term, President Bush made clear to Americans tonight that he is not going to play the role of a lame duck President.

Quotes by Jim Sensenbrenner

Congress first took action against steroids by passing The Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990.

Quotes by Jim Sensenbrenner

CNN was one of the first news organizations in the world to train and equip its journalists before deploying them to dangerous areas.

Quotes by Jim Walton

I was counsel on the full veterans committee, the first Vietnam veteran to serve as a full-committee counsel in Congress. It stunned me that there was a 600,000-case backlog of claims. During my time in the Senate, it became 900,000.

Quotes by Jim Webb

When I first did 'Best in Show,' I had never done any improvisation.

Quotes by Jim Piddock

First, the security and privacy of sensitive taxpayer information is absolutely essential.

Quotes by Jim Ramstad

The heroes of Flight 93 won the first battle in the War on Terror, and they should never be forgotten.

Quotes by Jim Ramstad

'West To A Land Of Plenty' shows a family heading west, first on board a train, and then going into areas as yet untamed by rail by way of an ox-drawn wagon.

Quotes by Jim Murphy

As a writer, I'm driven by settings. Others are driven by characters or predicaments, but with me, settings come first.

Quotes by Jim Lynch

When I launched my first campaign in 1999, I knew that the arc of my public service would have many chapters.

Quotes by Jim Matheson

In 2005, I was the first member of Congress to introduce legislation calling for an immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

Quotes by Jim McGovern

I move very slowly. It's usually material first. I sit with the material for a long time.

Quotes by Jim Hodges

My philosophy on quarterbacks is, first and foremost, you've got to keep them healthy and on the field.

Quotes by Jim Irsay

I got $30 from Nation magazine for a poem and $500 for my first book of poems.

Quotes by Jim Harrison

By the time 'Dumbo's Circus' wrapped production of its 120 episodes, I had an agent, and I had scored my first feature film gig.

Quotes by Jim Cummings

First of all, no candidate is going to win by catering to the alleged Occupy Wall Street vote.

Quotes by Jim DeMint

Heritage will remain, first and foremost, a research institute dedicated to impeccable research and data-driven policy analysis.

Quotes by Jim DeMint

My report card always said, 'Jim finishes first and then disrupts the other students'.

Quotes by Jim Carrey

Then I took 8 years of French Horn, first jazz, and then classical.

Quotes by Jim Coleman

Take the veto. Bush is the first president since James Garfield in 1881 not to veto a single bill. Garfield only had six months in office; Bush has had over four years.

Quotes by Jim Cooper

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this page include a quote about starting an NFL career?
Yes. One quote looks back on the very beginning of an NFL career, crediting teammates named Tim Dwight and Eric Parker with showing what work ethic it takes to be an NFL receiver. It's a good example of first marking an early, formative stage of a career. For more on early milestones, see First Step quotes.
Is there a quote about horror movies or scaring an audience?
Yes - one quote states it plainly: "The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself." It's a compact idea about confronting your own fear before you can frighten anyone else. For more on how first moments set the tone, browse First Impression quotes.
Does this collection touch on science, like physics?
It does. One quote discusses the uncertainty relation, explaining that it does not refer to the past, and using the example of an electron's velocity being at first known and its position then exactly measured. It's a more technical, scientific sense of first.
What does the quote about the constitution say?
One quote makes a direct statement: "The constitution does not provide for first and second class citizens." It's a clear, principled statement about equal citizenship. It naturally pairs with First Class quotes on this page.
Do all the quotes here use "first" the same way?
Not at all - that's part of the appeal. Across this page, first describes a rookie's early days in the league, a monster's first scare, an electron's first known velocity, and even first-class citizenship. If you like exploring different kinds of firsts, First Love quotes make a nice companion stop.

One quote pushes past personal firsts into a civic claim about equal standing under the constitution, which broadens the theme beyond simple nostalgia. Related pages include First Impression and First Step.