57 inspiring 4th of July quotes to share on America's birthday
Light the candles and get ready to sing, because it's America's birthday!
Though it's hard to believe, Lady Liberty is celebrating 248 years of freedom this Fourth of July. But, of course, we must say, she doesn't look a day over 200.
However you plan to celebrate July 4, whether it's by attending a local fireworks display or hosting a red, white and blue party in the backyard, these Fourth of July quotes are the perfect accompaniment to all your Independence Day activities.
From short, patriotic quotes including Oliver Wendell Holmes' memorable saying, “One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation, evermore!” to funny Fourth of July quotes like Stephen Colbert's classic comment, “It’s Fourth of July weekend, or as I call it, exploding Christmas," we've got the best of the best sayings to help you celebrate in style.
Use one of these Fourth of July quotes as an Instagram caption, for greeting cards or to send to loved ones to show off your patriotic spirit.
Whatever you decide to use these Fourth of July quotes for, you're sure to find one or two that express exactly what you'd like to say in honor of Independence Day and, better yet, all of them pay tribute to the good ole' U.S. of Yay.
Patriotic 4th of July quotes
“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.” — The Declaration of Independence, 1776
“It’s a party in the U.S.A.” — Miley Cyrus, “Party in the U.S.A.”
“He who is brave is free.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“America is a tune. It must be sung together.” — Gerald Stanley Lee
“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
“In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.” — Barack Obama
“You never completely have your rights, one person, until you all have your rights.” — Marsha P. Johnson
“Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” — John F. Kennedy
“Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.” — Albert Camus
“Liberty is the breath of life to nations.” — George Bernard Shaw
“That’s the promise of tomorrow — that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it.” — Barack Obama
“Only in America / Where we dream in red, white and blue / Only in America / Where we dream as big as we want to.” — Brooks & Dunn, “Only in America”
“The fact is, with every friendship you make and every bond of trust you establish, you are shaping the image of America projected to the rest of the world.” — Michelle Obama
“The happiness of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind; she is destined to become the safe and venerable asylum of virtue, of honesty, of tolerance, and quality and of peaceful liberty.” — Marquis de Lafayette
“Happy 4th of July! This country of immigrants, religious refugees, outcasts and dreamers has come a long way. Let’s keep going.” — Ellen DeGeneres
“Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry, and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy people.” — George Washington
“Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance.” — Woodrow Wilson
“Liberty has been planted here; and the more it is attacked, the more it grows and flourishes.” — Samuel Sherwood
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” — Arthur Ashe
“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.” — Barack Obama
Funny 4th of July quotes
“It’s Fourth of July weekend, or as I call it, exploding Christmas.” — Stephen Colbert
“Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” — George Orwell
“Americans will put up with anything, provided it doesn’t block traffic.” — Dan Rather
“America’s a family. We all yell at each other. It all works out.” — Louis C. K.
“Today is the 4th of July, when we honor the day that Uncle Sam chopped down Benedict Arnold at the Alamo. Happy hot dogs!” — Stephen Colbert
“Let’s kick the tires and light the fires, big daddy!” — Captain Jimmy Wilder, “Independence Day”
“Just found out that every Fourth of July, the British celebrate, ‘We Dodged a Bullet Day.’” — Conan O’Brien
“Oh my god, you look like the Fourth of July! Makes me want a hot dog real bad.” — Paulette Parcelle, “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde”
Short Fourth of July quotes
“We shall go wild with fireworks ... And they will plunge into the sky and shatter the darkness.” — Natsuki Takaya
“One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation, evermore!” — Oliver Wendell Holmes
“May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” — Peter Marshall
“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” — Nathan Hale
“Freedom (n.): To ask nothing. To expect nothing. To depend on nothing.” — Ayn Rand, “The Fountainhead”
“Liberty has been planted here; and the more it is attacked, the more it grows and flourishes.” — Samuel Sherwood
“America is another name for opportunity.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” — Ronald Reagan
“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” — Elmer Davis
“Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go.” — Hazel Scott
“It is impossible to conquer a nation determined to be free!” — Thomas Paine
Inspirational 4th of July quotes
“Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and show the whole world that a Freeman, contending for liberty on his own ground, is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.” — George Washington
“We’re blessed with the opportunity to stand for something — for liberty and freedom and fairness. And these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to. And we have good reason to be hopeful and optimistic.” — Ronald Reagan
“Find a moment, just a simple moment, to close your eyes and think of the men and women who protect the freedoms you enjoy. It’s a privilege, not a right.” — Matthew Lillard
“History is entirely created by the person who tells the story.” — Lin Manuel Miranda
“July 4th fireworks exhale over the Hudson sadly. It is beautiful that they have to disappear. It’s like the time you said I love you madly. That was an hour ago. It’s been a fervent year.” — Frederick Seidel
“Independence Day: freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed — else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
“In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you.” — Amy Tan, “The Joy Luck Club”
“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” — Harry Truman
“Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.’” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“When Freedom from her mountain height / Unfurled her standard to the air / She tore the azure robe of night / And set the star of glory there.” — Joseph Rodman Drake, “The American Flag”
“The happiness of America is intimately connected with the happiness of all mankind; she is destined to become the safe and venerable asylum of virtue, of honesty, of tolerance, and quality and of peaceful liberty.” — Marquis de Lafayette
“No matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off, or how and who you love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny.” — Barack Obama
“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.” — John Milton, “Areopagitica”
“Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
“Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America’s heart, her benedictions and her prayers be.” — John Quincy Adams
“Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country.” — Marquis de Lafayette
“Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.” — James Bryce
“Happy 4th of July! As you take this day to honor America, ask yourself, “Why am I not honoring America on the other 364 days? Shame on me.” — Stephen Colbert
This article was originally published on TODAY.com