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The Strenuous Life, Theodore Roosevelt (1899)

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"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort." 

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"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort." 

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To be an American is to work hard. This quote emphasizes a key value of American society, achieving everything through hard work, and making your own way. The working class contributes heavily to the foundation for America. Many people who come to america come to work. This also includes American youth, who, as Americans, are expected to put in this hard work from the very beggining.

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Why I am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto, Jessa Crispin (2017)

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"Not every woman, or man, is ambitious, Not every woman is determined to make her mark on the world. Not every woman gets satisfaction out of working eighty hours a week just to watch some young Harvard asshole get promoted above her to a job she didn't really want but would pay her a little better." 

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"Not every woman, or man, is ambitious, Not every woman is determined to make her mark on the world. Not every woman gets satisfaction out of working eighty hours a week just to watch some young Harvard asshole get promoted above her to a job she didn't really want but would pay her a little better." 

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To be an American is to struggle for your place in society. Many Americans face challenges bases on things out of their control (Sex, race, ethnicity, etc.). America's improvements are made when people fight for them, and work hard for them. Even if they shouldn't have to in the first place, it is the effort and struggle faced by almost every American that moves the community forward.

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Let America be America Again, Langston Hughes (1936)

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O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas in search of what I meant to be my home- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's short , and Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, and torn from Black Africa's strand I came to build a 'homeland of the free.'"

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O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas in search of what I meant to be my home- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's short , and Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, and torn from Black Africa's strand I came to build a 'homeland of the free.'"

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America is made up almost entirely of immigrants. Over the years many people have come to America in search of a better life, or have been taken from their countries against their will. These are the people who built, and continue to build, our country. To be an American is to come from many places. It is to leave one situation with the hope and drive to make something better happen in the next.

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We Are Not Free: from the testimony of Clyde Warrior before the President's National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty (1967)

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"America has given a great social and moral message to the world and demonstrated (perhaps not forcefully enough) that freedom and responsibility as an ethic is inseparable from and, in fact, the "cause" of the fabulous American standard of living."

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"America has given a great social and moral message to the world and demonstrated (perhaps not forcefully enough) that freedom and responsibility as an ethic is inseparable from and, in fact, the "cause" of the fabulous American standard of living."

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Freedom is a highly upheld value for Americans, and is the basis for being an American altogether. The "American standard of living" is because of the freedom, rights and responsibilities held and maintained by the American people. To be an American is to be free and to be responsible for that freedom. To fight for your rights and your American standard of life.

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Letters from an American Farmer, Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur (1782)

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"Whence the government? It is derived from the original genius and strong desire of the people ratified and confirmed by the crown..."

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"Whence the government? It is derived from the original genius and strong desire of the people ratified and confirmed by the crown..."

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The act of self-governance is very representative of the values upheld by Americans. A strong emphasis on individualism and freedom from societal restrictions are the foundations of the American government. To be an American is to have a voice, and to use that voice to ensure that your individual rights and freedoms are protected.

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Page 180 of The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

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"He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in the vast obscurity beyond the city, when the dark field of the republic rolled on under the night."

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"He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in the vast obscurity beyond the city, when the dark field of the republic rolled on under the night."

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Jay Gatsby spent his whole life chasing the "American Dream", in hopes to one day achieve it, not knowing that it was never possible. He would use any means possible to get the money, the house, the girl, without ever being satisfied. Many Americans also uphold this dream as an ideal standard of living which, while serving as a motivator for constant improvement, is a false promise for all but a few. It is the unattainable standard that Americans subconsciously live for.

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Self Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson (1841)

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"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."

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"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind."

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Individualism is a very prominent characteristic of the American citizen, as well as a mindset that is captured very well by this quote. Being a "man" (in this case, an American) means that one must value themselves and their mind above anyone else. Avoiding conformation with society is what drives Americans, and oftentimes the achievement of the alleged "American Dream" is thought be only possible on one's own.

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Pray for Me, Kendrick Lamar and The Weeknd (2018)

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"Who need a hero? You need a hero, look in the mirror, there go your hero. Who on the front lines at ground zero?"

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"Who need a hero? You need a hero, look in the mirror, there go your hero. Who on the front lines at ground zero?"

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Self-reliance is one of the most important American ideals. The person who will always be there for you is yourself, and being able to rely on yourself is key to being a successful individual. Americans display an incredible ability to not only depend on each other, but to depend on themselves, and work towards the betterment of their own lives.

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"Skinning the children for a war drum. Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns. It's quicker and easier to eat your young."

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"Skinning the children for a war drum. Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns. It's quicker and easier to eat your young."

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America has been founded in large part by its youth, and the hard work and struggle they've put in. Fighting for improvement of your future (as well as the future of America itself) is a quality of all Americans, and specifically American youth. This quote connects to America's history of struggle and combat for the betterment of the "American quality of life", and how the responsibility of that task often falls on youth.

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The Star-Spangled Banner, Francis Scott Key (1814)

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"O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

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"O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."

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Freedom is a core value of being an American, and the last line of our National Anthem emphasizes its importance. To be a part of American society means being independent, and to be brave enough to advocate and fight for your freedom. Freedom is a huge part of your identity, and is essential to what makes someone an American.