Words made famous on the Fourth

Independence Day and all it stands for have always made great speech material, especially by some of America’s most famous voices. Following are excerpts from some famous July 4 speeches: “(America) well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force…. She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit….” - John Quincy Adams, July 4, 1821 “Among the first colonists from Europe to this part of America, there were some, doubtless, who contemplated the distant consequences of their undertaking, and who saw a great futurity; but, in general, their hopes were limited to the enjoyment of a safe asylum from tyranny, religious and civil, and to respectable subsistence, by industry and toil. A thick veil hid our times from their view. But the progress of America, however slow, could not but at length awaken genius, and attract the attention of mankind.” - Daniel Webster, July 4, 1851 “I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth [of] July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn.” Frederick Douglass, July 5, 1852

“I remember well to have read of Columbus on his voyage of discovery, and I have always felt for him as he stood by that foremast looking into the future, into the unknown distance of time, and never doubting but what he would discover at last the land which we have inherited. I would rather have him standing there by that foremast as our national emblem than almost anything else — standing there full of confidence and hope, looking into the future, never doubting and regardless of the tumult and turmoil around him.” William Tecumseh Sherman, July 4, 1866

“A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterward. More than that no man is entitled to; and less than that no man shall have.” Theodore Roosevelt, July 4, 1903

“The Declaration of Independence was written by a British subject, every name signed to it was the name of a British subject. There was not the name of a single American attached to the Declaration of Independence – in fact, there was not an American in the country in that day except the Indians out on the plains.” Mark Twain, July 4, 1907

“It is simple – I could almost say simple-minded – for us Americans to wave the flag, to reassert our belief in the cause of freedom and to let it go at that. Yet, all of us who lie awake at night, all of us who study and study again know full well that in these days we cannot save freedom with pitchforks and muskets alone after a dictator combination has gained control of the rest of the world. We know that we cannot save freedom in our own midst, in our own land, if all around us our neighbor nations have lost their freedom.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, July 4, 1941

“This year, the men and women of our armed forces, and many civilians as well, are celebrating the anniversary of American Independence in other countries throughout the world. Citizens of these other lands will understand what we celebrate and why, for freedom is dear to the hearts of all men everywhere. In other lands, others will join us in honoring our declaration that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain inalienable rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Harry S Truman, July 4, 1945

“Acting on our own, by ourselves, we cannot establish justice throughout the world; we cannot insure its domestic tranquility, or provide for its common defense, or promote its general welfare, or secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. But joined with other free nations, we can do all this and more. We can assist the developing nations to throw off the yoke of poverty. We can balance our worldwide trade and payments at the highest possible level of growth. We can mount a deterrent powerful enough to deter any aggression. And ultimately we can help to achieve a world of law and free choice, banishing the world of war and coercion.” John F. Kennedy, July 4, 1962.

“We owe a great debt to these founders and to the foot soldiers who followed General Washington into battle after battle, retreat after retreat. But it is important to remember that final success in that struggle for independence, as in the many struggles that have followed, was due to the strength and support of ordinary men and women who were motivated by three powerful impulses — personal freedom, self-government, and national unity.” Gerald R. Ford, July 4, 1976

“Other countries see our entrepreneurial spirit and seek to emulate it. They see how a vigorous, free society allows man to move on and grow. They see how we’re trying to make life better for man through scientific inquiry. They see us pushing into space. Other systems are locked on to the land, prisoners of a gravity of their own devising. America is a rocket, pushing upward and outward into space, into human history.” Ronald Reagan, July 4, 1984

“America is a work in progress, and we have strived through decades of challenge and change to become what our founders envisioned on our first Independence Day. As we continue that endeavor, let us work together to create an America that remains the world’s strongest force for peace, justice, and freedom. Let us work for an America that is not driven apart by differences but instead is united around shared values and respect for our diversity. Let us work for an America in which every one of us, without regard to race or religious belief or gender or station in life, can achieve our dreams. In this way we will best pay tribute to those who, 220 years ago, pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to guarantee our freedom.” Bill Clinton, July 4, 1996

“Our Constitution is not – and could never be – defended only by a group of judges. One of our greatest judges, Learned Hand, understood this very well. He explained: ‘Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it… .’ But our understanding today must go beyond the recognition that ‘liberty lies in (our) hearts’ to the further recognition that only citizens with knowledge about the content and meaning of our constitutional guarantees of liberty are likely to cherish those concepts.” Sandra Day O’Connor, July 4, 2003 Compiled by Dan Webster