The birth of the United States as a nation is celebrated each year on July Fourth. It was not declared a national holiday, until 1941, but Independence Day has been unofficially observed as a day of outdoor celebration since July 8, 1776. As humor writer Erma Bombeck so lightly put it, "You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4th, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness."

In the United States, Independence Day is more than a chance for family and friends throughout the country to gather for barbecues and fireworks displays. For most, it is an annual celebration to commemorate the courage and faith of our founding fathers in their pursuit of liberty. And so, as watermelons are devoured and star spangled banners are waved, let us not forget the nation's history and spirit, that with liberty and power come great responsibility, that a government of, by and for the people requires the participation of every person.

There are plenty of quotes about the United States, independence, July 4th, and Patriotism, but the ones below are my top picks. Enjoy! --COE

"Any man that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and loose both." ~Benjamin Franklin

"Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves." ~Abraham Lincoln

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better." ~Albert Camus

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." ~Thomas Paine

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." ~Erma Bombeck

"The American Revolution was a beginning, not a consummation." ~Woodrow Wilson

"Liberty is always dangerous, but it is the safest thing we have." ~Harry Emerson Fosdick

"In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

“The most important political office is that of private citizen.” ~Justice Louis D. Brandeis

"America is much more than a geographical fact. It is a political and moral fact - the first community in which men set out in principle to institutionalize freedom, responsible government, and human equality." ~Adlai Stevenson

"Those who won our independence believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty." ~Louis D. Brandeis

"We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it."~William Faulkner

There, I guess King George will be able to read that. ~John Hancock (He is reported to have said this after signing the Declaration of Independence.)

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