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American Values Quotes

Reflections on the ideals a nation strives for.

From founding documents to modern debate, these lines wrestle with what America is supposed to stand for. They span compassion, opportunity, and the harder question of living up to stated ideals.

We shall listen, not lecture; learn, not threaten. We will enhance our safety by earning the respect of others and showing respect for them. In short, our foreign policy will rest on the traditional American values of restraint and empathy,...

Quotes by Theodore C. Sorensen

Our government leaders... have made many mistakes in the past when they have lost sight of the sacred American values rooted in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We are at the brink of even graver mistakes and assaults...

Quotes by Samuel Dash

Watching President Obama apologize last week for America's arrogance - before a French audience that owes its freedom to the sacrifices of Americans - helped convince me that he has a deep-seated antipathy toward American values and traditions.

Quotes by Rick Santorum

How about we agree upon what our common American values are, which is let's make this a true land of opportunity.

Quotes by Laurene Powell Jobs

Able Quotes

We need to end permanently the tax that punishes American values of savings and investment and of building small businesses and family farms and ranches.

Quotes by Kit Bond

Compassion, hope, and opportunity are some of the most fundamentally American values that we should fight like hell to protect.

Quotes by Jay Inslee

Americans are very easygoing people. If the added attention and great visibility that I have been able to generate can help open doors and expose more Chinese to American values and the American way of life, that is great.

Quotes by Gary Locke

The United States depends on South Korea and Japan to help promote American values in East Asia.

Quotes by Evan Bayh

On the road to equality there is no better place for blacks to detour around American values than in forgoing its example in the treatment of its women and the organization of its family.

Quotes by Eleanor Holmes Norton

America Quotes

It is easy to respect secular Americans who hold fast to the Constitution and to American values generally. And any one of us who believes in God can understand why some people, given all the unjust suffering in the world,...

Quotes by Dennis Prager

There are those who would draw a sharp line between power politics and a principled foreign policy based on values. This polarized view - you are either a realist or devoted to norms and values - may be just fine...

Quotes by Condoleezza Rice

American values come by helping countries fight corruption to build stability. American values flow through tackling climate change and building energy independence. American values come through humanitarian assistance whereby we try to stop catastrophes from happening.

Quotes by Chris Murphy

Frequently Asked Questions

What are considered core American values in these quotes?
Compassion, opportunity, and respect for foreign policy grounded in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution come up repeatedly. The quotes frame these as ideals worth actively defending, not passive assumptions.
Do these quotes agree on what American values are?
Not entirely. Some emphasize government accountability and lost principles, while others focus on land-of-opportunity optimism, showing the term covers real political disagreement.
Why do politicians frequently invoke American values?
Because the phrase carries broad appeal while allowing very different policy conclusions. Several quotes here use it to argue for reform, foreign policy restraint, or economic opportunity.
How do these quotes connect values to the Declaration of Independence?
One quote explicitly roots sacred American values in that founding document and the Constitution, warning against leaders who lose sight of them.
Where can I read more on this theme?
Browse the America collection for related national identity quotes, or the American Way page for a broader cultural angle.

For a broader view, see quotes tagged American or explore the American Way collection for more on national identity and belief.