America

Explore 87 quotes about America

America, if eligible at all to downfall and ruin, is eligible within herself, not without.

Walt Whitman

Democratic Vistas

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Topic

American decline Societal collapse America

Author

Walt Whitman

Source

Democratic Vistas

Medium

Essay

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1871 1870s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Whitman, Walt. Democratic Vistas. Washington D.C.: J. S. Redfield, 1871.

Current Citation

Whitman, Walt. Democratic Vistas, edited by Ed Folsom. University Of Iowa Press, 2009.

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Emma Lazarus

The New Colossus

Inscription on the Statue of Liberty in New York City.

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Topic

Immigration America

Author

Emma Lazarus

Source

The New Colossus

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1883 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Lazarus, Emma. "The New Colossus." Statue of Liberty published catalog. c. 1883, I. 10.

Current Citation

Lazarus, Emma. "The New Colossus." Emma Lazarus: Selected Poems, edited by John Hollander. Library of America, 2005, I. 10.

I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I'll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody'll dare
Say to me,
"Eat in the kitchen"
Then.
Besides,
They'll see how
beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too, am America.

Langston Hughes

I, Too

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Topic

Black experience Race relations America

Author

Langston Hughes

Source

I, Too

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Prophecies and predictions

Language

English

Time

1926 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Hughes, Langston. "I, Too." The Weary Blues. Alfred A. Knopf, 1926, I. 1.

Current Citation

Hughes, Langston. The Weary Blues. Alfred A. Knopf, 2015, epilogue.

I believe in America.

The Godfather

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Topic

American Dream America

Speaker

Amerigo Bonasera

Actor

Salvatore Corsitto

Source

The Godfather

Medium

Film

Genre

Crime (film) Crime

Language

English

Time

1972 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

The Godfather. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Paramount Pictures/Alfran Productions, 1972.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

Abraham Lincoln

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Topic

American decline Societal collapse America

Speaker

Abraham Lincoln

Source

Address before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1838 1830s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "The Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions." 27 Jan. 1838, Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, IL, USA.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "Address to the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, January 27, 1838." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1832-1858, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 1989.

This land is your land, this land is my land
From California to the New York Island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters;
This land was made for you and me.

Woody Guthrie

This Land is Your Land

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Topic

America Equality

Speaker

Woody Guthrie

Source

This Land is Your Land

Medium

Song

Genre

Folk music

Language

English

Time

1945 1940s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Guthrie, Woodie. This Land Is Your Land. c. 1945.

We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are on us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword through the world.

John Winthrop

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Topic

America as example America

Author

John Winthrop

Source

A Model of Christian Charity

Medium

Sermon

Language

English

Time

1630 1630s 17th century

Era

Colonial America

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Winthrop, John. "A Model of Christian Charity." 8 Apr. 1630, on board Arbella. Sermon.

The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.

Thomas Paine

Common Sense

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Topic

America

Author

Thomas Paine

Source

Common Sense

Medium

Pamphlet

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1776 1770s 18th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Paine, Thomas [published anonymously]. Common Sense. Philadelphia: R. Bell, 1776.

Current Citation

Paine, Thomas. "Common Sense." Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings, edited by Mark Philp. Oxford University Press, 2009, introduction.

Religious insanity is very common in the United States.

Alexis de Tocqueville

Democracy in America

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Topic

Religion in America America

Author

Alexis de Tocqueville

Source

Democracy in America

Genre

Political literature

Language

French

Time

1840 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. De La Democratie en Amerique [Democracy in America]. Vol. 2, London: Saunders and Otley, 1840, sect. 2, ch. 12.

Current Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. Democracy in America: The Complete and Unabridged Volumes I and II, translated by Henry Reeve. Bantam Classics, 2000, vol. 2, sect. 2, ch. 12.

The destiny of the colored American…is the destiny of America.

Frederick Douglass

More information about this quote

Topic

Black Americans Race in America America

Speaker

Frederick Douglass

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1862 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Citation

Douglass, Frederick. "The Future of the Negro People of the Slave States." Emancipation League meeting. 12 Feb. 1862, Tremont Temple, Boston, MA, USA.

The love of wealth is therefore to be traced, as either a principal or accessory motive, at the bottom of all that the Americans do; this gives to all their passions a sort of family likeness.

Alexis de Tocqueville

Democracy in America

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Topic

Love of money American character America

Author

Alexis de Tocqueville

Source

Democracy in America

Genre

Political literature

Language

French

Time

1840 1840s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. De La Democratie en Amerique [Democracy in America]. Vol. 2, London: Saunders and Otley, 1840, bk. 3. ch. 17.

Current Citation

Tocqueville, Alexis De. Democracy in America: The Complete and Unabridged Volumes I and II, translated by Henry Reeve. Bantam Classics, 2000, vol. 2, bk. 3. ch. 17.

Our flag is red, white and blue, but our nation is a rainbow-red, yellow, brown, black and white-and all are precious in God's sight. America is not like a blanket, one piece of unbroken cloth-the same color, the same texture, the same size. It is more like a quilt-many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread.

Jesse Jackson

Address to Democratic National Convention, 1988

More information about this quote

Topic

American diversity America

Speaker

Jesse Jackson

Source

Address to Democratic National Convention, 1988

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1984 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Jackson, Jesse. Address in San Francisco. Democratic National Convention. 17 July 1984, San Francisco, CA, USA.

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Through the night with a light from above.

From the mountains to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home sweet home.

Irving Berlin

God Bless America

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Topic

America

Author

Irving Berlin

Source

God Bless America

Medium

Song

Genre

Great American songbook

Language

English

Time

1938 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Berlin, Irving. God Bless America. Irving Berlin Inc., 1939.

The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem.

Walt Whitman

Leaves of Grass

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Topic

America

Author

Walt Whitman

Source

Leaves of Grass

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1855 1850s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Original Citation

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Brooklyn, New York: Self-published, 1855, preface.

Current Citation

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass: The Complete 1855 and 1891-2 Editions. Library of America, 2011, preface to 1855 edition.

O, let America be America again—
The land that never has been yet—
And yet must be—the land where every man is free.

Langston Hughes

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Topic

American ideals America

Author

Langston Hughes

Source

Let America Be America Again

Medium

Poem

Language

English

Time

1936 1930s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hughes, Langston. "Let America Be America Again." Esquire Magazine, July 1936.

This is a free country.

James Flint

More information about this quote

Topic

America

Author

James Flint

Medium

Letter

Language

English

Time

1819 1810s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Flint, James. Letter home. 28 June 1819.

This country was a lot better off when the Indians were running it.

Vine Deloria, Jr.

Read this article at the New York Times website

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Topic

US and Native American relations America

Speaker

Vine Deloria, Jr.

Source

The New York Times Magazine

Medium

Magazine

Language

English

Time

1970 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Deloria, Vine, Jr. "This Country Was a Lot Better Off When the Indians Were Running It." The New York Times, 8 Mar. 1970.

I like to be in America!
Ok by me in America!
Everything free in America
For a small fee in America!

Stephen Sondheim

More information about this quote

Topic

America

Speaker

Anita

Author

Stephen Sondheim

Source

America West Side Story

Medium

Song Musical

Genre

Great American songbook

Language

English

Time

1957 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Sondheim, Stephen. "America." West Side Story. Composed by Leonard Bernstein. 26 Sept. 1957, Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, New York, USA.

America is God's crucible, the great melting pot where all the races of Europe are melting and reforming!

Israel Zangwill

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Topic

Immigration America

Speaker

David Quixano

Author

Israel Zangwill

Source

The Melting Pot

Medium

Play

Genre

Drama (play) Drama

Language

English

Time

1908 1900s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Zangwill, Israel. The Melting Pot. 5 Oct. 1908, Columbia Theatre, Washington, DC, USA, act 1.

Take away time is money, and what is left of England? Take away cotton is king, and what is left of America?

Victor Hugo

Les Miserables

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Topic

England America

Author

Victor Hugo

Source

Les Miserables

Medium

Novel

Language

French

Time

1862 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Hugo, Victor. Les Misérables. Vol. 3, Bruxelles: A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Cie, 1862, bk. 4, ch. 4.

Current Citation

Hugo, Victor. Les Misérables. Wordsworth Editions, 1994, pt. 3, bk. 4, ch. 4.