170 American Revolution Quotes to Help You Understand Freedom's Value

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Famous Revolutions Quotes

Revolt is the right of the people — John Locke

Revolutionary war is an antitoxin which not only eliminates the enemy's poison but also purges us of our own filth. — Mao Zedong

The revolution is the war of liberty against its enemies. The constitution is the rule of liberty against its enemies. The constitution is the rule of liberty when victorious and peaceable. — Maximilien Robespierre

Revolution is based on land. Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality. — Malcolm X

If the American Revolution had produced nothing but the Declaration of Independence, it would have been worthwhile. — Samuel Eliot Morison

The American war is over, but this is far from being the case with the American Revolution. — Benjamin Rush

All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable. — Henry David Thoreau

The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity. — John Quincy Adams

The revolutionary war is a war of the masses; it can be waged only by mobilizing the masses and relying on them. — Mao Zedong

Whatever deficiencies the leaders of the American Revolution may have had, reticence, fortunately, was not one of them. — Bernard Bailyn

My sentiments for the American cause, from the Stamp Act downward, have never changed... I am still of opinion that it is the cause of liberty and of human nature. — Christopher Gadsden

Let us remember that revolutions do not always establish freedom. Our own free institutions were not the offspring of our revolution. They existed before. — Millard Fillmore

The first revolution is when you change your mind — Gil Scott-Heron

No nation deserves freedom or can long retain it which does not win it for itself. Revolutions must be made by the people and for the people. — Giuseppe Mazzini

Revolution is an inalienable right of mankind. Freedom is an imperishable birth right of all. Labor is the real sustainer of society, the sovereignty of the ultimate destiny of the workers. — Bhagat Singh

Short Revolutions Quotes

  • The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall. — Che Guevara
  • Revolutions are brought about by men, by men who think as men of action and act as men of thought. — Kwame Nkrumah
  • Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime. — Aristotle
  • It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action. — Fidel Castro
  • We are not politicians. We made our revolution to get the politicians out. — Fidel Castro
  • One of the greatest benefits of the revolution is that even our prostitutes are college graduates. — Fidel Castro
  • The revolution has always been in the hands of the young. The young always inherit the revolution. — Huey Newton
  • You can kill a revolutionary, but you cannot kill a revolution. — Fred Hampton
  • A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past. — Fidel Castro
  • Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life. — Bob Marley

Revolutions Image Quotes

You can jail a Revolutionary, but you can't jail the Revolution. - Huey Newton quote

You can jail a Revolutionary, but you can't jail the Revolution. — Huey Newton

Revolutions quote Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.
Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.
When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right. - Victor Hugo quote

When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right. — Victor Hugo

It cannot be good to tax the Americans... You will lose more than you gain. - Thomas Hutchinson quote

It cannot be good to tax the Americans... You will lose more than you gain. — Thomas Hutchinson

We are sorry for the inconvenience, but this is a revolution. - Subcomandante Marcos quote

We are sorry for the inconvenience, but this is a revolution. — Subcomandante Marcos

Revolutions quote Every revolution begins with a spark.
Every revolution begins with a spark.
Jazz is the big brother of Revolution. Revolution follows it around. - Miles Davis quote

Jazz is the big brother of Revolution. Revolution follows it around. — Miles Davis

There is no revolution that can change the nature of man - Benito Mussolini quote

There is no revolution that can change the nature of man — Benito Mussolini

My revolution is born out of love for my people, not out of hatred for others. - Immortal Technique quote

My revolution is born out of love for my people, not out of hatred for others. — Immortal Technique

We are determined to listen to nothing from the illegal congress. - George III quote

We are determined to listen to nothing from the illegal congress. — George III

The revolution is carried out by means of one's thought. - Kim Jong-un quote

The revolution is carried out by means of one's thought. — Kim Jong-un

The backseat produced the sexual revolution. - Jerry Rubin quote

The backseat produced the sexual revolution. — Jerry Rubin

Without Virtue there can be no liberty - Benjamin Rush quote

Without Virtue there can be no liberty — Benjamin Rush

Evolution is a snail, but Revolution is a kangaroo; one crawls, other jumps! - Mehmet Murat Ildan quote

Evolution is a snail, but Revolution is a kangaroo; one crawls, other jumps! — Mehmet Murat Ildan

I would start a revolution, but I just bought a hammock. - Zach Galifianakis quote

I would start a revolution, but I just bought a hammock. — Zach Galifianakis

American Revolutionary Quotes

Revolution is a serious thing, the most serious thing about a revolutionarys life. When one commits oneself to the struggle, it must be for a lifetime. — Angela Davis

I am determined to defend my rights and maintain my freedom or sell my life in the attempt. — Nathanael Greene

With regard to military discipline, I may safely say that no such thing existed in the Continental Army. — Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben

I feel that I am a citizen of the American dream and that the revolutionary struggle of which I am a part is a struggle against the American nightmare. — Eldridge Cleaver

The shot heard round the world. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

In all their wars against the French they [the Americans] never showed such conduct, attention and perseverance as they do now. — Thomas Gage

To survive there, you need the ambition of a Latin-American revolutionary, the ego of a grand opera tenor, and the physical stamina of a cow pony. — Billie Burke

We must see the great distinction between a reform movement and a revolutionary movement. We are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society . . . . What America must be told today is that she must be born again. The whole structure of American life must be changed. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes! — William H. Prescott

Defining oneself is a revolutionary act, and, as described in her memoir, Janet Mock fiercely fought to free herself with exquisite bravery and sensitivity. Redefining Realness is full of hope, dreams, and determination. It is a true American girl story. — Michaela Angela Davis

American Independence Quotes

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. — William Faulkner

Of the people, by the people, for the people. — Sun Yat-sen

Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism, are all too frequently those who . . . ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism-the right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the right to protest, the right of independent thought. — Margaret Chase Smith

American style is about confidence, independence, diversity and free expression. — Tommy Hilfiger

America... goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. — John Quincy Adams

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. — Ronald Reagan

The Europeans and Americans residing in the town of Zanzibar are either Government officials, independent merchants, or agents for a few great mercantile houses in Europe and America. — Henry Morton Stanley

The important consequences to the American States from this Declaration of Independence, considered as the ground and foundation of a future government, naturally suggest the propriety of proclaiming it in such a manner as that the people may be universally informed of it. — John Hancock

The right to criticize: the right to hold unpopular beliefs; the right to protest; the right of independent thought. The exercise of these rights should not cost one single American citizen his reputation or his right to a livelihood... Otherwise none of us could call our souls our own. — Margaret Chase Smith

First, I think more Americans need to declare their independence from partisan politics on both sides. The more that Americans declare their independence, the more the parties will have to compete for their votes using reason rather than the hateful appeals. — John Avlon

American History Quotes

Donald Trump is obviously the most pro-gay candidate in American electoral history. — Milo Yiannopoulos

Mr. Blair, I look upon secession as anarchy. If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South, I would sacrifice them all to the Union; but how can I draw my sword upon Virginia, my native State? — Robert E. Lee

Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. - Mae Jemison

Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations. — Mae Jemison

We have a wonderful history behind us. ... If you are unable to demonstrate to the world that you have this record, the world will say to you, 'You are not worthy to enjoy the blessings of democracy or anything else'. — Carter G. Woodson

There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution — Frederick Douglass

The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite. — Thomas Jefferson

My father was a slave and my people died to build this country and I am going to stay here and have a part of it just like you. — Paul Robeson

Unconditional love will have the final word in reality. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Before the war it was always the United States *are*, after the war it was the United States is... it made us an is. — Shelby Foote

Infantry, Artillery, Aviation - all that we have - are yours to dispose of as you will. . . . I have come to say to you that the American people would be proud to be engaged in the greatest battle in history. — John J. Pershing

American Founding Fathers Quotes

Without God there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Thus, the founding fathers of America saw it, and thus with God's help, it will continue to be. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom. — John Adams

The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. — Thomas Jefferson

The Constitution be never construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press, or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms. — Samuel Adams

I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man. — Thomas Jefferson

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president - not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans. — Caroline Kennedy

The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the Supreme Being as his father, in the womb of a virgin, will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. — Thomas Jefferson

My heart trembles when I reflect that God is just — Thomas Jefferson

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. — James Madison

[Our Constitution] is an instrument for the people to restrain the government. — Patrick Henry

American Constitution Quotes

But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever. — John Adams

The American Constitution was not written to protect criminals; it was written to protect the government from becoming criminals. — Lenny Bruce

The people are turbulent and changing; they seldom judge right or make good decision. — Alexander Hamilton

When I die, I desire no better winding sheet than the Stars and Stripes, and no softer pillow than the Constitution of my country. — Andrew Johnson

The pro-gun advocates point to the 2nd amendment of America's Constitution, citing Americans' right to bear arms as a protection against tyrants. Pro-Bitcoin advocates want protection against tyrants, too. The difference is how these two groups define tyranny. — Max Keiser

We can't forget what happened on May 4th, 1970, when four students gave up their lives because they had the American constitutional right of peaceful protest. They gave up their lives. And to sing that song in that spot on that anniversary was very emotional for us. — Graham Nash

The Founders never intended for Americans to trust their government. Our entire Constitution was predicated on the notion that government was a necessary evil, to be restrained and minimized as much as possible. — Rand Paul

The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that marriage is one of the most fundamental rights that we have as Americans under our Constitution. — Ted Olson

In keeping Americans ill-educated, ill-informed and constitutionally ignorant, the education establishment has been the politician's major and most faithful partner. It is in this sense that American education can be deemed a success. — Walter E. Williams

For an American to be patriotic is to be loyal to the principles of our Constitution, and the First Amendment. The truth is that the policies of the government is sometimes in conflict with that. In our country, patriotism should not be defined as obedience to an authority. — Daniel Ellsberg

American Independence Day Quotes

It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism. — J. Horace McFarland

The American dream is not that every man must be level with every other man. The American dream is that every man must be free to become whatever God intends he should become. — Ronald Reagan

A thoughtful mind, when it sees a nation's flag, sees not the flag, but the nation itself. — Henry Ward Beecher

Every year thousands of Americans mistakenly refer to Cinco de Mayo as Mexico's Independence Day. — Joe Baca

Happy white peoples independence day the slaves weren't free but I'm sure they enjoyed fireworks. — Chris Rock

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

I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. — Lee Greenwood

Only in America can someone start with nothing and achieve the American Dream. That's the greatness of this country. — Rafael Cruz

The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic - have always blown on free men. — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Men love their country, not because it is great, but because it is their own. — Seneca

Founding Fathers Of America Quotes

The government of the United States of America has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. — John Adams

Cursed be all that learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ. — James Madison

The rights essential to happiness. . . . We claim them from a higher source - from the King of kings and Lord of all the earth. — John Dickinson

America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of the Holy Scripture. — Woodrow Wilson

Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. — Thomas Jefferson

For my part, I sincerely esteem the Constitution, a system which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interests. — Alexander Hamilton

I can't tell Black people to fight a war that is Israel's war. What kind of leader will you be, or should I be, to allow these babies Black, white and brown, to fight Israel's war, because Zionists dominate the government of the United States of America and her banking system. — Louis Farrakhan

The God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? — Thomas Jefferson

The Founding Fathers of America never intended to stop people expressing their faith in the public square. But unfortunately that is the way it is happened. — John Lennox

The soul of man is immortal and imperishable. — Plato

July 4th 1776 Quotes

O, beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties, Above the fruited plain. — Katharine Lee Bates

The American, by nature, is optimistic. He is experimental, an inventor and a builder who builds best when called upon to build greatly. — John F. Kennedy

America! America! God shed His grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shinning sea! — Katharine Lee Bates

Let freedom never perish in your hands. — Joseph Addison

So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. — Martin Luther King, Jr.

America! America! God shed His grace on thee. — Katharine Lee Bates

We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour. — Thomas Jefferson

Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrims' pride, From every mountainside Let freedom ring! — Samuel Francis Smith

We need an America with the wisdom of experience. But we must not let America grow old in spirit. — Hubert H. Humphrey

Would the honest patriot, in the full tide of successful experiment, abandon a government which has so far kept us free and firm on the theoretic and visionary fear that this Government, the world's best hope, may by possibility want energy to preserve itself? I trust not. — Thomas Jefferson

American Freedom Quotes

Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself — and I will obey every law or submit to the penalty. — Chief Joseph

Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature. — Benjamin Franklin

For no People will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can they easily be subdued, where Knowledge is diffusd and Virtue preservd . On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant and debauched in their Manners, they will sink under their own Weight, without the Aid of foreign Invaders. — Samuel Adams

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, universal brotherhood and good will, and a constant and earnest striving toward the principles and ideals on which this country was founded. — Eleanor Roosevelt

I'll tell you how I'd like to be remembered: As a black man who won the heavyweight title - Who has humorous and who never looked down on those who looked up to him - A man who stood for freedom, justice and equality - And I wouldn't even mind if folks forgot how pretty I was. — Muhammad Ali

I believe all Americans who believe in freedom, tolerance and human rights have a responsibility to oppose bigotry and prejudice based on sexual orientation. — Coretta Scott King

When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril. — Harry S. Truman

A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. — Samuel Adams

We're Americans, and we have a rendezvous with destiny . . . No people who have ever lived on this earth have fought harder, paid a higher price for freedom, or done more to advance the dignity of man than Americans. — Ronald Reagan

The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission. — John F. Kennedy

French Revolution Quotes

My principles are only those that, before the French Revolution, every well-born person considered sane and normal. — Julius Evola

It is the height of stupidity to claim that men who for a thousand years have had the power to berate us, to fleece us and to oppress us with impunity, will now agree, with good grace, to be our equals. — Jean-Paul Marat

In a few days, I will have them all guillotined in Paris. - Jean-Paul Marat

In a few days, I will have them all guillotined in Paris. — Jean-Paul Marat

The rich are only defeated when running for their lives. - C. L. R. James

The rich are only defeated when running for their lives. — C. L. R. James

One must never compromise with tyrants. One can only strike at kings through the head. Nothing can be expected from European kings except by force of arms. I vote for the death of the tyrant. — Georges Danton

[We need] someone bold, to put himself at the head of the disaffected and rally them against the oppressor. Some great character who could captivate the people... someone wise who could direct the actions of an unbridled and floating multitude. — Jean-Paul Marat

I shall die in the belief that to make France free, republican and prosperous, a little ink would have sufficed - and only one guillotine. — Camille Desmoulins

How could liberty ever establish itself amongst us? Apart from a few tragic scenes, the revolution has been nothing but a web of farcical scenes. — Jean-Paul Marat

I trust we shall never be reduced to the painful extremity of seeking the aid of Mirabeau. — Marie Antoinette

What is this much repeated phrase 'active citizen' supposed to mean? The active citizens are the ones who took the Bastille. — Camille Desmoulins

People Writing About Revolutions

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More Revolutions Quotes

What my campaign is about is a political revolution - millions of people standing up and saying, enough is enough. Our government belongs to all of us, and not just the hand full of billionaires. — Bernie Sanders

The revolution and women's liberation go together. We do not talk of women's emancipation as an act of charity or out of a surge of human compassion. It is a basic necessity for the revolution to triumph. Women hold up the other half of the sky. — Thomas Sankara

The end of democracy and the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations. — Thomas Jefferson

The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us. When we begin to take the lowest places, to wash the feet of others, to love our brothers with that burning love, that passion which led to the cross, then we can truly say, 'Now I have begun'. — Dorothy Day

War is when the government tells you who the bad guy is. Revolution is when you decide that for yourself. — Benjamin Franklin

A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle to the death between the future and the past. — Fidel Castro

There must be a world revolution which puts an end to all materialistic conditions hindering woman from performing her natural role in life and driving her to carry out man's duties in order to be equal in rights. — Colonel Muhammar Qaddafi

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable. — John F. Kennedy

We need a revolution every 200 years, because all governments become stale and corrupt after 200 years. — Unknown Author

Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy sideThy every action let the goddess guide. — Phillis Wheatley

A revolution that is based on the people exercising their creativity in the midst of devastation is one of the great historical contributions of humankind. — Grace Lee Boggs

You can kill a revolutionary but you can't kill revolution...you can jail a liberator but you can't jail liberation. — Fred Hampton

The complete emancipation of women from the ties which held them back in the past, during the ages of despotism and ignorance, is a basic aim of the Party and the Revolution. Women make up one half of society. Our society will remain backward and in chains unless its women are liberated, enlightened and educated. — Saddam Hussein

The die is now cast; the colonies must either submit or triumph.... we must not retreat. — George III

One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible. It may or may not be possible to turn the US around through nonviolent revolution. But one thing favors such an attempt: the total inability of violence to change anything for the better — Daniel Berrigan

Give my people plenty of beer, good beer, and cheap beer, and you will have no revolution among them. — Queen Victoria

You can’t stop a revolution from breathin’, so to beat ‘em they offer people the illusion of freedom. — Immortal Technique

In Conclusion

Reading quotes from the American Revolution, like the Latin American Revolution or the loyalist American Revolution, can offer unique insights into our past, shaping our perspective towards the present and future. It's not merely about appreciating history, but understanding the context of our existence. Why should we limit ourselves to the narrative of 'I Survived the American Revolution' when we can delve deeper, gaining inspiration from the very source of our nation's inception? These quotes are indeed a beacon of hope and a testament to the enduring human spirit. So, why not let the American Revolution quotes guide us on our path to becoming better versions of ourselves?

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