Template:Soughtgreatness
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there… in her fertile fields and boundless forests, and it was not there…in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there… in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution, and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good; and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."[1]
- ↑ This quote was attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville in the book The Kingdom of God and the American Dream by Sherwood Eddy which was published in 1941.
It appeared again on November 3, 1952 in a final campaign address in Boston by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
It similarly was quoted in A Third Treasury of the Familiar by Ralph L. Woods, published in 1970.
Presidents Reagan, and even Bill Clinton among many others have quoted the line not just because they thought Alexis wrote it but because they believed it was true.
Andrew Reed and James Matheson while traveling through America in 1834 did write an almost identical quote in meaning:
“America will be great if America is good. If not, her greatness will vanish away like a morning cloud.” "A Narrative of the Visit to the American Churches": By the Deputation from the Congregation Union of England and Wales, (Vol. II). by Andrew Reed and James Matheson, Harper & Brothers, 1835.