“I do not mean to exclude altogether the idea of patriotism. I know it exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But I will venture to assert, that a great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest or some reward.”
—GEORGE WASHINGTON
“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”
—GEORGE WASHINGTON
“The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife.”
—THEODORE ROOSEVELT
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.”
—THEODORE ROOSEVELT
“I don’t know much about Americanism, but it’s a damn good word with which to carry an election.”
—WARREN G. HARDING
“I will never apologize for the United States of America. I don’t care what the facts are.”
—GEORGE H. W. BUSH