O, Columbia, the gem of the ocean,
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine read more

O, Columbia, the gem of the ocean,
The home of the brave and the free,
The shrine of each patriot's devotion,
A world offers homage to them.

Bring me men to match my mountains,
Bring me men to match my plains,
Men with empires read more

Bring me men to match my mountains,
Bring me men to match my plains,
Men with empires in their purpose,
And new eras in their brains.

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which read more

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one
people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them
with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the
separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel
them to the separation.
We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights, Governments
are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the
the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive to these Ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such Principles and
and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. . . .

I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people
who knocked these buildings down read more

I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people
who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.

A people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not
yet hardened into the bone read more

A people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not
yet hardened into the bone of manhood.

Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise,
The queen of the world and the child of the skies!
Thy read more

Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise,
The queen of the world and the child of the skies!
Thy genius commands thee; with rapture behold,
While ages on ages thy splendors unfold.

America! half brother of the world!
With something good and bad of every land.

America! half brother of the world!
With something good and bad of every land.

Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished read more

Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people in order to betray them.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we read more

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter, and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.