American founding

Explore 11 quotes about American founding

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Abraham Lincoln

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Topic

Declaration of Independence American founding Equality

Speaker

Abraham Lincoln

Source

Gettysburg Address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1863 1860s 19th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "Gettysburg Address." At the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery. 19 Nov. 1863, Gettysburg, PA, USA.

Current Citation

Lincoln, Abraham. "Address at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863." Abraham Lincoln: Speeches and Writings 1859-1865, edited by Don E. Fehrenbacher. Library of America, 1989.

When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir... America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I Have a Dream

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Topic

Declaration of Independence US Constitution The Founders American founding Civil rights American politics

Speaker

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Source

I Have a Dream

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1963 1960s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

King, Martin Luther, Jr. "I Have a Dream." March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 28 Aug. 1963, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, USA.

It seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force.

Alexander Hamilton

Federalist 1

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Topic

American founding Self-government Politics

Author

Alexander Hamilton

Source

Federalist 1 The Federalist Papers

Medium

Essay

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1787 1780s 18th century

Era

American Revolutionary Period

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Hamilton, Alexander [published as Publius]. "Federalist No. 1: General Introduction." Independent Journal, 27 Oct. 1787.

Current Citation

Hamilton, Alexander. "No. I: Deliberation on a new constitution--Hamilton." The Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States, edited by Robert Scigliano. The Modern Library, 2001.

If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.

Calvin Coolidge

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Topic

Equality Political progress Political theory American founding

Speaker

Calvin Coolidge

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1926 1920s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Coolidge, Calvin. Speech on the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. 5 July 1926, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed. And for more than two hundred years, we have.

Barack Obama

Second Inaugural Address of Barack Obama

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Topic

American founding American democracy American politics

Speaker

Barack Obama

Source

Second Inaugural Address of Barack Obama Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

2013 2010s 21st century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Obama, Barack. "Second Inaugural Address." 21 Jan. 2013, West Front, US Capitol Building, Washington, DC, USA.

Hey, guys, one more thing, hey, this summer, when you're being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth Of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating, and that’s the fact that a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.

Dazed and Confused

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Topic

American founding America

Speaker

Ms. Stroud

Actor

Kim Krizan

Source

Dazed and Confused

Medium

Film

Genre

Coming of age (film) Comedy (film) Coming of age Comedy

Language

English

Time

1993 1990s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Dazed and Confused. Directed by Richard Linklater, Detour Filmproduction/Alphaville Films, 1993.

No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States. Every step, by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency.

George Washington

First Inaugural Address of George Washington

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Topic

American founding God and America Early America

Speaker

George Washington

Source

First Inaugural Address of George Washington Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1789 1780s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Washington, George. "First Inaugural Address." 30 Apr. 1789, Front balcony, Federal Hall, New York City, NY, USA.

Current Citation

Washington, George. "First Inaugral Address, April 30, 1789." George Washington: Writings, edited by John Rhodehamel. Library of America, 1997.

I always consider the settlement of America with reverence and wonder, as the opening of a grand scene and design in providence, for the illumination of the ignorant and the emancipation of the slavish part of mankind all over the earth.

John Adams

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Topic

American founding America

Author

John Adams

Source

A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law Boston Gazette

Medium

Dissertation Newspaper

Language

English

Time

1765 1760s 18th century

Authentication Score 0

Original Citation

Adams, John. "A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law." Boston Gazette, 30 Sept. 1765.

Current Citation

Adams, John. "A Disseratation on the Canon and Feudal Law." The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States, edited by Charles Francis Adams. Vol. 3, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

We believe, and I think properly, that when the men who met in 1787 to make a Constitution made the best political document ever made, they did so very largely because they were great compromisers.

Learned Hand

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Topic

Political compromise Political theory American founding American politics Politics

Speaker

Learned Hand

Source

Morals in Public Life

Language

English

Time

1951 1950s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Hand, Learned. "Morals in Public Life." Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. 28 June 1951, Washington, DC, USA. Testimony.

In the important revolution just accomplished in the system of their United Government, the tranquil deliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct communities, from which the event has resulted, can not be compared with the means by which most governments have been established, without some return of pious gratitude along with an humble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem to presage.

George Washington

First Inaugural Address of George Washington

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Topic

American founding Early America

Speaker

George Washington

Source

First Inaugural Address of George Washington Presidential inaugural address

Medium

Speech

Genre

Political speech

Language

English

Time

1789 1780s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Washington, George. "First Inaugural Address." 30 Apr. 1789, Front balcony, Federal Hall, New York City, NY, USA.

Current Citation

Washington, George. "First Inaugral Address, April 30, 1789." George Washington: Writings, edited by John Rhodehamel. Library of America, 1997.

To secure the public good and private rights against the danger of...faction, and at the same time to preserve the spirit and the form of popular government, is then the great object to which our inquiries are directed.

James Madison

Federalist 10

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Topic

Partisan politics American founding

Author

James Madison

Source

Federalist 10 The Federalist Papers

Medium

Essay

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1787 1780s 18th century

Era

American Revolutionary Period

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Madison, James [published as Publius]. "Federalist No. 10: The Same Subject Continued: The Union as a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection." Daily Advertiser, 22 Nov. 1787.

Current Citation

Madison, James. "No. 10: An extensive republic a remedy for mischiefs of faction.--Madison." The Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States, edited by Robert Scigliano. The Modern Library, 2001.