“We tax our ingenuity to draw nice distinctions. We are told of political liberty — of religious liberty — of moral liberty. Yet, after all, is there more than one liberty; and these divisions, are they not the more and the less of the same thing? The provision we have referred to in our political institutions, as framed in accordance with the principle inherent in ourselves, insures to us all of free action that statues can insure.”

— Frances Wright

Independence Day speech (1828)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Frances Wright 36

American activist 1795–1852

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“The Statue of Liberty means everything. We take it for granted today. We take it for granted. Remember the Statue of Liberty stands for what America is. We as Democrats have to remind ourselves and remind the country the great principles we stand for. This is a place of protection. This is not a country of bullies. We are not an empire. We are the light. We are the Statue of Liberty.”

Jerry Springer (1944) American television presenter, former lawyer, politician, news presenter, actor, and musician

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This American Life http://www.thislife.org/pages/descriptions/04/258.html, Ep. 258, 01/30/04, Leaving the Fold; Act One.

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John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) British politician and historian

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“We are as great as our belief in human liberty — no greater. And our belief in human liberty is only ours when it is larger than ourselves.”

Archibald Macleish (1892–1982) American poet and Librarian of Congress

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“We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing.”

Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States

Address in Baltimore, Maryland http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=88871 (18 April 1864)
1860s
Context: The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others, the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men's labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name — liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names — liberty and tyranny.

“We believe that the Statue of Liberty is an important symbol of freedom for our country.”

Kenneth Chenault (1951) American business executive

A Principled Leader (2004)
Context: We believe that the Statue of Liberty is an important symbol of freedom for our country. And as [film director] Martin Scorcese, who is involved in the Statue’s latest fundraising campaign, said, what is most impressive is not just what the Statue of Liberty represents for Americans but really what it represents to the whole world.<!-- ** p. 10

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.”

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) 3rd President of the United States of America

“Now is the time for the true friend of his country to remind the masses that their present political elevation is owing to no principles less broad and noble than these—the love of liberty, of liberty for all without distinction of class, creed, or country, and the resolute preference of the interests of the whole to any interest, be it what it may, of a narrower scope.”

William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) British Liberal politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom

Letter to Sir John Cowan (17 March 1894), quoted in The Times (22 March 1894), p. 8
1890s

“All religions united with government are more or less inimical to liberty. All, separated from government, are compatible with liberty.”

Henry Clay (1777–1852) American politician from Kentucky

Speech on the Emancipation of South America], House of Representatives (24 March 1818); The Life and Speeches of the Hon. Henry Clay, vol. I (1857), ed. Daniel Mallory

“Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.”

Samuel Adams (1722–1803) American statesman, Massachusetts governor, and political philosopher

Speech in Philadelphia (1776)

“The advance of freedom is the calling of our time; it is the calling of our country. From the Fourteen Points to the Four Freedoms, to the Speech at Westminster, America has put our power at the service of principle. We believe that liberty is the design of nature; we believe that liberty is the direction of history. We believe that human fulfillment and excellence come in the responsible exercise of liberty. And we believe that freedom — the freedom we prize — is not for us alone, it is the right and the capacity of all mankind.”

George W. Bush (1946) 43rd President of the United States

2000s, 2003, Address to the National Endowment for Democracy (November 2003)

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