J.C. (James Cash) Penney (September 16, 1875-February 12, 1971) was an American businessman, entrepreneur, and founder of the J.C. Penney chain of stores. In his autobiography, titled Fifty Years With the Golden Rule,
J.C. Penney stated:
<As to our country, my faith in our America, in its people and in the "American way of life" is unwavering. Its founding I believe to have been divinely ordained, and God has a mighty mission for it among the nations of the world. It was founded in prayer, in faith, and in the heroic spirit of sacrifice.
Lives of comparative ease might have been the lot of our forefathers in their own country had they been willing to surrender their convictions. They chose the "hard right," rather than the "easy wrong"....
As a nation, and as individuals, our fate will always be determined by our choice of the "hard right" or the "easy wrong"....
Every aspect of world condition today opens a way provocatively for applying Christian principles to living. Let us not be afraid: loving God, and our neighbors as ourselves, let us only believe. Being not afraid, and believing, let us choose for ourselves the "hard right." If individuals in sufficient number will pledge their part as men willing to follow the hard right, our America will be made safe for her own people and will stand as a beacon light of hope to this war-torn, war-weary world.> 1875JP001
J.C. Penny, in an article titled "Something to Lean On," published in The Rotarian, August 1956, stated:
<There is something distinctive that I always look for in men of serious purpose. Those who so live and work are, I find, believing men. Many are praying men.> 1875JP002
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1875JP001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). J.C. (James Cash) Penney, Fifty Years With the Golden Rule (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1950), pp. 239-245. Charles Crismier, Preserve Us a Nation- Returning to Our Historical & Biblical Roots (Gresham, Oregon: Vision House Publishing, Inc., 1994), pp. 113-114.
1875JP002. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). J.C. (James Cash) Penney, August 1956, The Rotarian, "Something to Lean On." James Beasely Simpson, Best Quotes of '54, '55, '56 (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1957), p. 353.