Inspiring Quotes That Capture the Spirit of America

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

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

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

- John McCain

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

- Nathan Hale

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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

- Bill Clinton

"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

"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

"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

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

- Benjamin Franklin

"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

"America is another name for opportunity."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

- Barack Obama

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

- Bono

"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

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

- John F. Kennedy

"Where liberty is, there is my country."

- Benjamin Franklin

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

- Elmer Davis

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

- Thurgood Marshall

"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

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

- Paul Tsongas

"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

"Freedom is nothing 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

"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

"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

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

- Wendell Willkie

"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

"America is known as a country that welcomes people to its shores. All kinds of people."

- Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"Dreams are the foundation of America."

- Lupita Nyong'o

"Freedom lies in being bold."

- Robert Frost

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

- Bob Dylan

"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

"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

"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

"Freedom does not come without a price. We may sometimes take for granted the many liberties we enjoy in America, but they have all been earned through the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many of the members of our armed forces."

- Charlie Dent

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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

- Thomas Jefferson

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

- Sgt. Major Bill Paxton

"A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election."

- Bill Vaughan

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

- Marilyn vos Savant

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

- Frederick Douglass

"Heroism doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history. Sometimes a chicken can save a man’s life."

- Mary Roach

"In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you."

- Amy Tan

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

- Henry James

"The legacy of heroes—the memory of a great name, and the inheritance of a great example."

- Benjamin Disraeli

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

- Mark Twain

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

- Edward Abbey

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

- Jesse Ventura

"America, to me, is freedom."

- Willie Nelson

"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

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

- George Orwell

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

- Gerald Stanley Lee

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

- Calvin Coolidge

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

- Charles F. Browne

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