James Truslow Adams Quotes

It was in 1931 that the historian James Truslow Adams coined the phrase "the American dream."
The American dream is not just a yearning for affluence, Adams said, but also for the chance to overcome barriers and social class, to become the best that we can be. Adams acknowledged that the United States didn't fully live up to that ideal, but he argued that America came closer than anywhere else. ~ Nicholas D. Kristof

It may be that without a vision men shall die. It is no less true that, without hard practical sense, they shall also die. Without Jefferson the new nation might have lost its soul. Without Hamilton it would assuredly have been killed in body. ~ James Truslow Adams

Lincoln was not great because he was born in a log cabin, but because he got out of it ~ James Truslow Adams

There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live. Surely these should never be confused in the mind of any man who has the slightest inkling of what culture is. For most of us it is essential that we should make a living ... In the complications of modern life and with our increased accumulation of knowledge, it doubtless helps greatly to compress some years of experience into far fewer years by studying for a particular trade or profession in an institution; but that fact should not blind us to another - namely, that in so doing we are learning a trade or a profession, but are not getting a liberal education as human beings. ~ James Truslow Adams

As we look over the list of the early leaders of the republic, Washington, John Adams, Hamilton, and others, we discern that they were all men who insisted upon being themselves and who refused to truckle to the people. With each succeeding generation, the growing demand of the people that its elective officials shall not lead but merely register the popular will has steadily undermined the independence of those who derive their power from popular election. The persistent refusal of the Adamses to sacrifice the integrity of their own intellectual and moral standards and values for the sake of winning public office or popular favor is another of the measuring rods by which we may measure the divergence of American life from its starting point. ~ James Truslow Adams

The American Dream that has lured tens of millions of all nations to our shores in the past century has not been a dream of material plenty, though that has doubtlessly counted heavily. It has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as a man and woman, unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected in the older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders which had developed for the benefit of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class. ~ James Truslow Adams

Age acquires no value save through thought and discipline. ~ James Truslow Adams

The great value of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it. ~ James Truslow Adams

The group of guys I have ... They are playing off straight motivation. ~ LeBron James

How do I get her back?"
"I don't know. You could charm your way out of this with any other girl, but Jane can see right through your BS."
"I know. I am so screwed."
"Sucks to be you. ~ Amelia James

The media are right now in the process of doing millions upon millions of dollars' worth of free PR work for whoever is doing this. Such over-the-top, wall-to-wall coverage just sets the bar higher and higher each time for the nut jobs and terrorists to get everybody's attention. "Which means bigger explosions, more bodies, and more atrocities. They should take their cue from the baseball media, which nipped fan stupidity in the bud when they wisely decided to stop showing people who run onto the field." "So don't tell people there's terrorism? That's your solution?" said Brooklyn. "How about at least not sensationalizing it so much?" Arturo said. "This is a bloodbath. Stop selling the frickin' popcorn. ~ James Patterson

I've got enormous breasts. ~ James Carville

I want my world to start and end with you. ~ E.L. James

Fools, when their roof-tree falls, think it doomsday. ~ James Russell Lowell

Members of Congress, outraged by the events at Selma, forty times interrupted his address with applause. Johnson closed by raising his thumbs, fists clenched, and proclaiming, "Their cause must be our cause, too. Because it is not just Negroes, but really all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And, we shall . . . overcome. ~ James T. Patterson

There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are impaled on the crook of conditioning. A fish that is in the water has no choice that he is. Genius would have it that we swim in sand. We are fish and we drown. ~ James Dean

Later, Fang said to Ella and Dr. Martinez in that gushy, hyperemotional, overdramatic way he has. ~ James Patterson

In a strict sense photography can never be abstract, for the camera is incapable of synthetic integration. ~ Ansel Adams

The elegance and functionality of the structure lay out before him, as beautiful and simple and effective as a leaf or a root cluster. To have something so much like the fruits of evolution, but designed by human minds, was ~ James S.A. Corey

I believe that conservative solutions can help families of every race, every economic background, and every town in Oklahoma. ~ James Lankford

The home stands in contrast to all other capitalist institutions as the last stronghold of pre-capitalist isolation. ~ C.L.R. James

Besides ... anticipation is the key to seduction, and right now, I'm really into delayed gratification. ~ E.L. James

The Rome he has been trained to serve, the Rome of Augustus and Germanicus, was gone. In its place stood Neronopolis, ruled by a megalomaniac brat. ~ James Romm

I really liked 'Starter For Ten' because I grew up watching 1980s teen films like 'St. Elmo's Fire' and 'The Breakfast Club' and I've always wanted to play the underdog lead hero in a 1980s-inspired film. ~ James McAvoy

And thanks be to God, Johnny, said Mr Dedalus, that we lived so long and did so little harm. ~ James Joyce

We all age. You shouldn't discount it as a subject for a film. Just because the characters are dealing with issues that you might not deal with for another 45 years doesn't mean you won't like it. ~ James Franco

When I worked with Bill Nighy on 'Wrath of the Titans,' he said to me, 'There's one thing you can promise me, and that's never, ever, ever read your reviews.' ~ Lily James

I always have directors who are somewhat frustrated because they'll reference a beautifully obscure film from the '50s or '60s or '70s, and I've not seen it. ~ Amy Adams

Sometimes the nature of a big movie, the nature of the material, the scene doesn't have the richness that you'd want it to. ~ Theo James

The apprehensive faculty must be scrutinised in action. ~ James Joyce

Ford even began to whistle, which was probably his mistake. Nobody likes a whistler, ~ Douglas Adams

Captain," Amos said with mock surprise. "Have you actually learned from your past? Is this a new thing you do now? ~ James S.A. Corey

The fact is, if a young man is naturally indolent, the spur of necessity will drive him but a very little way, while the having enough to live upon is often the means of preserving his self-respect. ~ James Payn

Dance like it hurts. Love like you need money. Work when people are watching.
Dogbert's Motto ~ Scott Adams

Don't look up at the mountain. Keep your head down, and take the next step. ~ Peter James West

Landing the airplane I think is the most difficult thing that I've every learned to do in my life. ~ James Lipton

I wanted to teach my daughter the same things I had to unlearn after years spent as a corporate lawyer: that soul is more important than money, that love means more than material things. (James Griffioen) ~ Heather B. Armstrong

I do 30 to 40 books a year, so it's a fair amount of reading. Back and forth between nonfiction and fiction. I usually have three or four things that are open on my desk, on my bed, on audiobook in the car. ~ James Patterson

We sat like store mannequins, not moving a muscle, following it with our eyes. I looked for something to kill it with, but there was nothing.
-Russell Ray Teague ~ James Aura

They are travelling cheaply, with that touch of indolence and occasional luxury that comes only from having real resources. They live in Levis and sunlight. Sometimes they brush their teeth in streams. ~ James Salter

Are you sure, Gray?'
He lifted his eyes. 'No ... I'm not. I'm not sure of a damn thing.' He slipped his hands free of the monsignor's and peeled the battery off the phone, cutting the last ring in half. 'But that doesn't mean I won't act. ~ James Rollins

I was a functional addict. ~ James Taylor

What is frustrating people, me included, is that democratic action affects elections but what we get then from political leaders is greenwash. ~ James Hansen

It is better to be famous than notorious, but better to be notorious than obscure. ~ James Kern Feibleman

True faith nor biddeth nor abideth form,
The bended knee, the eye uplift; is all
Which men need render; all which God can bear.
What to the faith are forms? A passing speck,
A crow upon the sky. ~ Philip James Bailey

My agent called me and said, "You have an audition for James Bond. They're looking for the girl." And I told him, "Listen, it's all in English. I'm not an actress. I'm not going to go." He thought I was kidding with him. ~ Gal Gadot

So many gay jokes tonight about (James) Franco. Apparently if you're clean, well dressed and mildly cultured, you're super gay now. Is that why the rest of you guys are so aggressively fat and dirty? You think if you read one book and take a shower, dicks are going to just fly into your face. ~ Aziz Ansari

If you'd had all the experiences I've had, you'd know that there are times in life when the most comfortable thing is to do nothing at all. Things happen to you and just let them happen. ~ James Hamilton

Stop trying to write sentences and start trying to write stories. ~ James Patterson

This book is about those other pieces, and getting them in place. It's about understanding the external myths that have broken down; the same ones that created the massive American middle class, which is now dying, and left us with the Choose Yourself era in the fallout. People are walking around blind. If you are the one who can see, you will be able to navigate through this new world. You will be the beacon that will enhance the lives of everyone around you and, in doing so, trigger the actual law of nature that says when you enhance everyone around you, you can't help but enhance yourself. ~ James Altucher

There was a proposal in California that would keep out Wal-Mart but allow Costco. You opposed it. Are you nuts? That's true: I always oppose these kinds of things. Competition makes us better. Some of our best stores have a Sam's Club next door. ~ James Sinegal

I win by taking risks. By standing out. Mom hates how I ride Tucker right past the judge as many times as possible in a class. She says it's showboating and it's tacky. Some judges don't like it. Long ago, though, I decided I'd rather win being me than lose by playing it safe. ~ Carolyn Lee Adams

The young John Quincy Adams begins it lifelong habit of keeping a journal with reluctance that he might one day have to read it. He hopes, though, that the flaws in his earlier entries will be balanced by the progress he is able to see. ~ Paul C. Nagel

by a Scotch-Irish preacher, a Presbyterian named James Finley, in the year 1801, or before John Roebling was born. Finley had been a versatile and ingenious man. His "chain bridge" had a seventy-foot span, cost about six hundred dollars, and in the next ten years he built some forty more of them, including one over the Potomac above Washington. ~ David McCullough