Inspiring American Quotes: A Collection of Wisdom and Patriotism

"Go with your first thoughts; they’re usually your best thoughts. Pay attention, stick to your goals and follow those guidelines. It’s all right there if you reach for it, unless you want to punch timeclocks and work for somebody. That’s what we liked about America, the land of opportunity. All your dreams can come true."

- Richard Danko

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

- Ronald Reagan

"“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”"

- John F. Kennedy

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

- Thomas Jefferson

"If you’re worried about getting a job-or keeping one-start a company of your own. By doing so, you’ll reap the rewards of your hard work and you’ll only get fired if you fail. This is the land of opportunity. Live in it."

- Bruce Campbell

"The fact is: It’s true what they say about the United States. It is a land of opportunity. It is too various to get bored with it."

- Christopher Hitchens

"Tennis is just a game, family is forever."

- Serena Williams

"always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Family is not an important thing. It’s everything."

- Michael J. Fox

"“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”"

- Ronald Reagan

"“The essence of America—that which really unites us—is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion—it is an idea—and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.”"

- Condoleezza Rice

"“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”"

- Nathan Hale

"“This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”"

- Abraham Lincoln

"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."

- Henry Ford

"“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”"

- Harry S. Truman

"“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”"

- Patrick Henry

"I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work."

- Thomas Edison

"I come before you to declare that my sex are entitled to the inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

- Victoria Woodhull

"When I was growing up, I don’t remember being told that America was created so that everyone could get rich. I remember being told it was about opportunity and the pursuit of happiness. Not happiness itself, but the pursuit."

- Martin Scorsese

"“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”"

- John F. Kennedy

"“I say to you that our goal is freedom, and I believe we are going to get there because however much she strays away from it, the goal of America is freedom.”"

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary."

- Malcolm X

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

- Abraham Lincoln

"I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free… so other people would be also free."

- Rosa Parks

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

- President Thomas Jefferson

"“Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”"

- John McCain

"“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”"

- John F. Kennedy

"“In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.”"

- Barack Obama

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

- George Washington

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty."

- President John F. Kennedy

"The freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for comes with responsibilities as well as rights. And among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism."

- Barack Obama

"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."

- Benjamin Franklin

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

- Elmer Davis

"Where liberty is, there is my country."

- Benjamin Franklin

"I see that the old flagpole still stands. Have your troops hoist the colors to its peak, and let no enemy ever haul them down."

- Douglas MacArthur

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

- Thomas Jefferson

"These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

- Thomas Paine

"America is another name for opportunity."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor."

- Paul Tsongas

"America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand."

- Harry Truman

"Democracy is never a final achievement. It is a call to an untiring effort."

- John F. Kennedy

"In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."

- Barack Obama

"The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."

- John F. Kennedy

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

- Nathan Hale

"I believe in America because we have great dreams, and because we have the opportunity to make those dreams come true."

- Wendell Willkie

"I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American!"

- Daniel Webster

"“I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit.”"

- Theodore Roosevelt

"My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth."

- Abraham Lincoln

"“It’s important that we establish that we are a country that has open arms and not closed borders for people. It’s important because we let people know why America is what it is. It’s about an ideal, and that ideal is freedom for everybody.”"

- Oprah Winfrey

"This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on."

- Thurgood Marshall

"No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body, to risk his well-being, to risk his life, in a great cause."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Let me ask you, sir, when is the time for brave men to exert themselves in the cause of liberty and their country, if this is not?"

- George Washington

"Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history."

- John McCain

"America – it is a fabulous country, the only fabulous country; it is the only place where miracles not only happen, but where they happen all the time."

- Thomas Wolfe

"The essence of patriotism lies in a willingness to sacrifice for one’s country, just as true greatness finds expression, not in blessings enjoyed, but in good bestowed."

- William Jennings Bryan

"True patriotism, it seems to me, is based on tolerance and a large measure of humility."

- Adlai Stevenson

"We are America, second to none, and we own the finish line. Don't forget it."

- Joe Biden

"The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude."

- Jeff Miller

"As America celebrates Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have given their lives in our nation's wars."

- John M. McHugh

"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."

- James Baldwin

"America is never wholly herself unless she is engaged in high moral principle. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world."

- George H. W. Bush

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government."

- Edward Abbey

"It's never paid to bet against America. We come through things, but its not always a smooth ride."

- Warren Buffett

"The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults."

- Alexis de Tocqueville

"Our flag honors those who have fought to protect it, and is a reminder of the sacrifice of our nation's founders and heroes. As the ultimate icon of America's storied history, the Stars and Stripes represents the very best of this nation."

- Joe Barton

"America's future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live."

- Jane Addams

"There is one thing that the American people always rise to and extend their hand to, and that is the truth of justice and of liberty and of peace."

- Woodrow Wilson

"We are a nation of many nationalities, many races, many religions-bound together by a single unity, the unity of freedom and equality."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America."

- Bill Clinton

"Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

- James Bryce

"The Constitution of the United States was made not merely for the generation that then existed, but for posterity – unlimited, undefined, endless, perpetual posterity."

- Henry Clay

"America, to me, is freedom."

- Willie Nelson

"Dreams are the foundation of America."

- Lupita Nyong'o

"Freedom lies in being bold."

- Robert Frost

"The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous."

- Frederick Douglass

"I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom."

- Bob Dylan

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better."

- Albert Camus

"I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical."

- Thomas Jefferson

"The way to be patriotic in America is not only to love America, but to love the duty that lies nearest to our hand, and to know that in performing it we are serving our country."

- Woodrow Wilson

"A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle, and patriotism is loyalty to that principle."

- George William Curtis

"Unless our conception of patriotism is progressive, it cannot hope to embody the real affection and the real interest of the nation."

- Jane Addams

"True patriots measure themselves not by personal wealth or power but by the degree to which they contribute to the community."

- Eric Liu

"It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"The great end of all human industry, is the attainment of happiness. For this were arts invented, sciences cultivated, laws ordained, and societies modelled, by the most profound wisdom of patriots and legislators."

- David Hume

"The fact is, with every friendship you make, and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world."

- Michelle Obama

"It is the flag just as much of the man who was naturalized yesterday as of the man whose people have been here many generations."

- Henry Cabot Lodge

"There is one thing that the American people always rise to and extend their hand to and that is the truth of justice, and of liberty, and of peace."

- Woodrow Wilson

"“A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers and woods, but it is a principle, and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.”"

- George William Curtis

"“The life of the nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful and virtuous.”"

- Frederick Douglass

"“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.”"

- Bill Clinton

"“The fate of America cannot depend on any one man. The greatness of America is grounded in principles and not on any single personality.”"

- Franklin Roosevelt

"“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.”"

- James Baldwin

"“The fact is, with every friendship you make and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world.”"

- Michelle Obama

"“Change often seems impossible until it is inevitable. Just as we must own our lives, we must own our country. For we, the people, are ultimately in control of America’s story.”"

- Valerie Jarrett

"“This [nation] will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”"

- Elmer Davis

"“You can’t separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom.”"

- Malcolm X

"“We’re blessed with the opportunity to stand for something—for liberty and freedom and fairness. And these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to.”"

- Ronald Reagan

"“This is your democracy—make it—protect it—pass it on. You are ready. Go to it.”"

- Thurgood Marshall

"“Our American flag is more than cloth and ink. It is a universally recognized symbol that stands for liberty and freedom. It is the history of our nation, marked by the blood of those who died defending it.”"

- John Thune

"“Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”"

- Adlai Stevenson

"“In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country can change it.”"

- Barack Obama

"“Duty, honor, country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.”"

- Douglas MacArthur

"“True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth.”"

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"“We are called the nation of inventors. And we are. We could still claim that title and wear its loftiest honors if we had stopped with the first thing we ever invented, which was human liberty.”"

- Mark Twain

"“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.”"

- Elmer Davis

"“America is another name for opportunity. Our whole history appears like a last effort of divine providence on behalf of the human race.”"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”"

- Bill Clinton

"“Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.”"

- George S. Patton

"“The way to secure liberty is to place it in the people’s hands, that is, to give them the power at all times to defend it in the legislature and in the courts of justice.”"

- John Adams

"“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”"

- Benjamin Franklin

"“We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.”"

- Barack Obama

"The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources–because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples."

- Lyndon B. Johnson

"I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong."

- President George Washington

"Basically, there are two kinds of stereotypes out there in the world about America. There’s America the Goliath – the big, powerful, bullying country that pushes its way around the world and gets its ways, pursues its own interests nakedly, irrespective of what others want. And the other stereotype is America, the land of opportunity, where everyone can go and do anything, be anything, make any dreams come true."

- Shashi Tharoor

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both."

- President Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it."

- General Norman Schwarzkopf

"The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Leadership requires the courage to make decisions that will benefit the next generation."

- Alan Autry

"A person who is worthy of being a leader wants power not for himself, but in order to be of service."

- Senator Sam J. Ervin, Jr.

"It takes great wit and interest and energy to be happy. The pursuit of happiness is a great activity. One must be open and alive. It is the greatest feat man has to accomplish."

- Robert Herrick

"The Constitution only guarantees you the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

- Benjamin Franklin

"We ‘ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient."

- Jeff Bezos

"We stand today on the edge of a new frontier – the frontier of the 1960’s – a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils – a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats."

- John F. Kennedy

"You don’t have to give birth to someone to have a family."

- Sandra Bullock

"The more decisions that you are forced to make alone, the more you are aware of your freedom to choose."

- Thornton Wilder

"Freedom is something that dies unless it’s used."

- Hunter S. Thompson

"“What I can do for my country, I am willing to do.”"

- Christopher Gadsen

"“Heroism doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history.”"

- Mary Roach

"“Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.”"

- Aung San Suu Kyi

"“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.”"

- Peter Marshall

"Winning isn’t everything–but wanting to win is."

- Vince Lombardi

"“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.”"

- William Faulkner

"Happy or unhappy, families are all mysterious. We have only to imagine how differently we would be described – and will be, after our deaths – by each of the family members who believe they know us."

- Gloria Steinem

"“Freedom lies in being bold.”"

- Robert Frost

"“America is a tune. It must be sung together.”"

- Gerald Stanley Lee

"“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.”"

- George Orwell

"“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.”"

- Thomas Paine

"“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”"

- Douglas MacArthur

"“One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, One Nation evermore!”"

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"“If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”"

- Samuel Adams

"“Patriotism is like charity—it begins at home.”"

- Henry James

"There will always be a frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand."

- Charles Kettering

"“What is the essence of America? Finding and maintaining that perfect, delicate balance between freedom ‘to’ and freedom ‘from’.”"

- Marilyn vos Savant

"“Posterity: you will never know how much it has cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”"

- John Quincy Adams

"“National pride is to countries what self-respect is to individuals: a necessary condition for self-improvement.”"

- Richard Rorty

"“Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.”"

- Charles de Gaulle

"My folks came to U.S. as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens. I was born in Boston, a citizen, went to Hollywood and became an alien."

- Leonard Nimoy

"“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.”"

- Bob Dylan

"“Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity.”"

- Herbert Hoover

"“May the sun in his course visit no land more free, more happy, more lovely, than this our own Country!”"

- Daniel Webster

"If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow."

- Beyoncé

"“Freedom is never granted; it is won.”"

- A. Philip Randolph

"The truth is I love being alive. And I love feeling free. So if I can’t have those things then I feel like a caged animal and I’d rather not be in a cage. I’d rather be dead. And it’s real simple. And I think it’s not that uncommon."

- Angelina Jolie

"“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.”"

- Edward Abbey

"Freedom is from within."

- Frank Lloyd Wright

"“Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”"

- Mark Twain

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"America is a tune. It must be sung together."

- Gerald Stanley Lee

"I think patriotism is like charity – it begins at home."

- Henry James

"Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country."

- Calvin Coolidge

"Someday, I hope that we will all be patriots of our planet and not just of our respective nations."

- Zoe Weil

"We're not going to have the America that we want until we elect leaders who are going to tell the truth - not most days, but every day."

- Ann Richards

"If we have to use force, it is because we are America. We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall. We see further into the future."

- Madeleine Albright

"America's present need is not heroics but healing; not nostrums but normalcy; not revolution but restoration."

- Warren G. Harding

"America is not just a country, it's an idea, and real Americans are getting busy."

- Bono

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."

- Ronald Reagan

"America is the land of the second chance - and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life."

- George W. Bush

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it."

- Edward R. Murrow

"Laughter is America's most important export."

- Walt Disney

"I won't be happy until we have every boy in America between the ages of six and sixteen wearing a glove and swinging a bat."

- Babe Ruth

"Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work."

- Robert Orben

"“Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.”"

- Albert Camus

"“There is much more to being a patriot and a citizen than reciting the pledge or raising a flag.”"

- Jesse Ventura

"“We can’t all be Washingtons, but we can all be patriots.”"

- Charles F. Browne

"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out."

- Tony Blair

"You may live in an imperfect world but the frontiers are not closed and the doors are not all shut."

- Maxwell Maltz

"“Independence now and Independence forever!”"

- Daniel Webster

"Americans… are forever searching for love in forms it never takes, in places it can never be. It must have something to do with the vanished frontier."

- Kurt Vonnegut

"We asked for workers. We got people instead."

- Max Frisch

"Oh yes, there's lots of great food in America. But the fast food is about as destructive and evil as it gets. It celebrates a mentality of sloth, convenience, and a cheerful embrace of food we know is hurting us."

- Anthony Bourdain

"America's health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system."

- Walter Cronkite

"America's health care system is in crisis precisely because we systematically neglect wellness and prevention."

- Tom Harkin

"The fact is Canadians understand that immigration, that people fleeing for their lives, that people wanting to build a better life for themselves and their kids is what created Canada, it's what created North America."

- Justin Trudeau

"America is my country and Paris is my hometown."

- Gertrude Stein

"America is a large friendly dog in a small room. Every time it wags its tail it knocks over a chair."

- Arnold J. Toynbee

"Part of the problem with America is that letting go of emotions is viewed as a weakness, but it's my strength. That enabled me to write my songs."

- Melanie Martinez

"There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America."

- Otto von Bismarck

"I went to America to convert the Indians, but, oh, who shall convert me? Who, what, is he that will deliver me from this evil heart of unbelief?"

- John Wesley

"I read in the newspapers they are going to have 30 minutes of intellectual stuff on television every Monday from 7:30 to 8. to educate America. They couldn't educate America if they started at 6:30."

- Groucho Marx

"When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat."

- George Carlin

"America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between."

- Oscar Wilde

"God bless America. God save the Queen. God defend New Zealand and thank Christ for Australia."

- Russell Crowe

"If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America."

- Nelson Mandela

"Only lay down true principles, and adhere to them inflexibly."

"I always heard that immigrants had a really hard life when they came to America."