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Adams, Abigail
“May the foundation of our new constitution, be justice, Truth, and Righteousness. Like the wise Man’s house may it be founded upon the Rocks and then neither storms or tempests will overthrow it.” – Abigail Adams, Letter to John Adams, Jul 14, 1776
Adams, John
“Nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud, is the only maxim which can ever preserve the liberties of any people.” – John Adams
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.” – John Adams
“Be not intimidated…nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice.” – John Adams
“…The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.” – John Adams, Notes for an Oration at Braintree , Massachusetts
“A government of laws, and not of men” – John Adams, “Novanglus” papers, Boston Gazette, 1774, No. 7
The Lee-Adams Resolution of Independence Jul 2, 1776
“Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.” – John Adams, Defense of the Constitution, 1787
“Power must never be trusted without a check.” – John Adams, Letter to Thomas Jefferson, Feb 2, 1816
“Independence Jul 4, 1826
Adams, John Quincy
“Who but shall learn that freedom is the prize Man still is bound to rescue or maintain; That nature’s God commands the slave to rise, And on the oppressor’s head to break the chain. Roll, years of promise, rapidly roll round, Till not a slave shall on this earth be found.” – John Quincy Adams, poem
“Individual liberty is individual power, and as the power of a community is a mass compounded of individual powers, the nation which enjoys the most freedom must necessarily be in proportion to its numbers the most powerful nation.” – John Quincy Adams , Letter to James Lloyd, Oct 1, 1822
Adams, Samuel
“If men, through fear, fraud, or mistake, should in terms renounce or give up any natural right, the eternal law of reason and the grand end of society would absolutely vacate such renunciation. The right to freedom being the gift of Almighty God, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave.” – Samuel Adams, “The Rights of the Colonists,” 1772
Addams, Jane
“Civilization is a method of living, an attitude of equal respect for all men.” – Jane Addams, Speech, Honolulu , Hawaii
Allen, Ethan
“…in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress!” – Ethan Allen, Reply to the British commander, when asked whose authority he acted under in his demand for British surrender after the capture of Fort Ticonderoga May 10, 1775
Anthony, Susan B.
“Join the union, girls, and together say Equal Pay for Equal Work.” – Susan B. Anthony, The Revolution, Mar 18, 1869
Armstrong, Neil
“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” – Neil Armstrong, first words spoken on the moon, Jul 20, 1969
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Bangs, Edward
“Yankee Doodle came to town Riding on a pony, He stuck a feather in his hat And called it macaroni.” – Edward Bangs, ‘Yankee Doodle’
Bates, Katharine Lee
“O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America America America America America America America America America
Beamer, Todd
“Are you ready? Okay. Let’s roll.” – Todd Beamer, before he and other passengers on Flight 93 rushed the cockpit to save lives on the ground, Sep 11, 2001
Beecher, Henry Ward
“A thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation’s flag, sees not the flag only, but the nation itself; and whatever may be its symbols, its insignia, he reads chiefly in the flag the government, the principles, the truths, the history which belongs to the nation that sets it forth.” – Henry Ward Beecher, The National Flag, 1861
Bellamy, Francis (See The Pledge of Allegiance)
Benedict, Ruth
“The tough-minded…respect difference. Their goal is a world made safe for differences, where the United States may be American to the hilt without threatening the peace of the world, and France may be France , and Japan may be Japan
Bennett, Henry Holcomb
“Hats off! The flag is passing by!” – Henry Holcomb Bennett, The Flag Goes By
“God bless America America
Berra, Yogi
“It ain’t over till it’s over.” – Yogi Berra, adage
Bradford, William
“…as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation.” – William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
Brandeis. Louis D.
“…The makers of our Constitution sought to protect Americans. …They conferred, as against the government, the right to be let alone – the most comprehensive of rights and the most valued by civilized men.” – Louis D. Brandeis, dissent, Olmstead v. U.S., 1928
Brown, Lew
“The moon belongs to everyone, The best things in life are free. The stars belong to everyone, They gleam there for you and me. ...” – Buddy De Sylva and Lew Brown, Good News, 1927. The Best Things in Life are Free
Bryant, William Cullen
“Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again. …” – William Cullen Bryant, The Battlefield, 1839, st. 9
Bunner, Henry Cuyler
“Off with your hat as the flag goes by!” – Henry Cuyler Bunner, Airs from Arcady , 1888. The Old Flag, st. 1
Bush, Barbara
“I have a very simple aim–to wipe out illiteracy. …” – Barbara Bush, interview, The New York Times, Feb 22, 1981
Bush, George H. W.
“We know what works: Freedom works. We know what’s right: Freedom is right. We know how to secure a more just and prosperous life for man on Earth: through free markets, free speech, free elections, and the exercise of free will unhampered by the state.” – George H. W. Bush, Inaugural address, Jan 20, 1989
Bush, George W.
“I believe that freedom should be universal…” – George W. Bush, Jul 7, 2006
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Carawan, Guy (See Zilphia Horton)
Cardozo, Benjamin
“Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.” – Benjamin Cardozo, opinion, Palko v. Connecticut, 1937
Carter, Jimmy
“…Our American values are not luxuries but necessities – not the salt in our bread but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad – greater than the bounty of our material blessings.” – Jimmy Carter, Farewell Address, Jan 14, 1981
Clinton, Bill
“May those generations whose faces we cannot yet see, whose names we may never know, say of us here that we led our beloved land into a new century with the American Dream alive for all her children…with America's bright flame of freedom spreading throughout all the world.” – Bill Clinton, Second Inaugural Address, Jan 20, 1997
Clinton, Hillary
“Democracy is nurtured and sustained in the hearts of the people, in the principles they honor…” – Hillary Clinton, Oct 31, 1997
Cohan, George M.
“I’m a Yankee Doodle dandy, A Yankee Doodle do or die; A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam’s Born on the Fourth of July.” – George M. Cohan, Little Johnny Jones, 1904. Yankee Doodle Dandy
“…You’re a grand old flag You’re a high flying flag And forever in peace may you wave. You’re the emblem of The land I love. The home of the free and the brave. Ev’ry heart beats true ‘neath the Red, White and Blue, Where there’s never a boast or brag. But should auld acquaintance be forgot, Keep your eye on the grand old flag.” – George M. Cohan, ‘You’re a Grand Old Flag,’ 1906
George M. Cohan’s ‘Over There,’ 1917 song
Commager, Henry Steele
“Freedom is not a luxury that we can indulge in when at last we have security and prosperity and enlightenment; it is, rather, antecedent to all of these, for without it we can have neither security nor prosperity nor enlightenment.” – Henry Steele Commager, Freedom, Loyalty, Dissent, 1954
Coolidge, Calvin
“Under the eternal urge of freedom, we became an independent Nation.” – Calvin Coolidge, Inaugural Address, Mar 4, 1925
Cornish, Samuel
"We wish to plead our own cause…" – Samuel Cornish and John Russwurm, Freedom’s Journal, 1827
Cotton, John
“If you pinch the sea of its liberty, though it be walls of stone or brass, it will beat them down.” – John Cotton, ‘Limitations of Government’
