Inspiring Fourth of July Quotes to Celebrate Freedom

"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."

- The Declaration of Independence, 1776

"That’s the promise of tomorrow — that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."

- Barack Obama

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

- Barack Obama

"Independence Day: freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed — else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

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

- Barack Obama

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

- John F. Kennedy

"No matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off, or how and who you love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny."

- Barack Obama

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

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The happiness of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind; she is destined to become the safe and venerable asylum of virtue, of honesty, of tolerance, and quality and of peaceful liberty."

- Marquis de Lafayette

"One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation, evermore!"

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance."

- Woodrow Wilson

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

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn't free."

- Sgt. Major Bill Paxton

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

- Nelson Mandela

"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties."

- John Milton, “Areopagitica”

"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

"Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country."

- Marquis de Lafayette

"Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth."

- George Washington

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go."

- Hazel Scott

"You never completely have your rights, one person, until you all have your rights."

- Marsha P. Johnson

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

- Elmer Davis

"Liberty is the breath of life to nations."

- George Bernard Shaw

"The Declaration of Independence! The interest which in that paper has survived the occasion upon which it was issued; the interest which is of every age and every clime; the interest which quickens with the lapse of years, spreads as it grows old, and brightens as it recedes, is in the principles which it proclaims."

- President John Quincy Adams

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

- Herbert Hoover

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

- Frederick Douglass

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

- Gerald Stanley Lee

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

- Albert Camus

"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

"Happy 4th of July! This country of immigrants, religious refugees, outcasts and dreamers has come a long way. Let’s keep going."

- Ellen DeGeneres

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."

- Arthur Ashe

"America is another name for opportunity."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Freedom (n.): To ask nothing. To expect nothing. To depend on nothing."

- Ayn Rand, “The Fountainhead”

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

- James Bryce

"Find a moment, just a simple moment, to close your eyes and think of the men and women who protect the freedoms you enjoy. It’s a privilege, not a right."

- Matthew Lillard

"Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America’s heart, her benedictions and her prayers be."

- John Quincy Adams

"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

"Life without liberty is like a body without spirit."

- Kahlil Gibran

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like me, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."

- Thomas Paine

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

- Gen. Douglas MacArthur

"For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail?"

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth."

- George Washington

"Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have."

- Harry Emerson Fosdick

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it."

- Mark Twain

"He who is brave is free."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Only in America / Where we dream in red, white and blue / Only in America / Where we dream as big as we want to."

- Brooks & Dunn

"Freedom lies in being bold."

- Robert Frost

"Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry, and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy people."

- George Washington

"The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty."

- James Madison

"History is entirely created by the person who tells the story."

- Lin Manuel Miranda

"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."

- Gloria Steinem

"Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."

- George Orwell

"Happy 4th of July! As you take this day to honor America, ask yourself, “Why am I not honoring America on the other 364 days? Shame on me."

- Stephen Colbert

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

- Erma Bombeck

"It’s Fourth of July weekend, or as I call it, exploding Christmas."

- Stephen Colbert

"We shall go wild with fireworks ... And they will plunge into the sky and shatter the darkness."

- Natsuki Takaya

"America’s a family. We all yell at each other. It all works out."

- Louis C. K.

"It’s a party in the U.S.A."

- Miley Cyrus

"Americans will put up with anything, provided it doesn’t block traffic."

- Dan Rather

"The United States is the only country with a known birthday."

- James G. Blaine

"Today is the 4th of July, when we honor the day that Uncle Sam chopped down Benedict Arnold at the Alamo. Happy hot dogs!"

- Stephen Colbert

"Oh my god, you look like the Fourth of July! Makes me want a hot dog real bad."

- Paulette Parcelle, “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde”

"Let’s kick the tires and light the fires, big daddy!"

- Captain Jimmy Wilder, “Independence Day”

"Just found out that every Fourth of July, the British celebrate, ‘We Dodged a Bullet Day.’"

- Conan O'Brien