What Is Democracy?
Subject
- Civics & Citizenship
- History
- Social Studies
Language
English — USAvailable in
Updated
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The following are some quotations about democracy:
“E pluribus unum.” (Out of many, one.)
—MOTTO OF THE UNITED STATES
“Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.”
—HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK
“Democracy is a process, not a static condition. It is becoming, rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle.”
—FEDERAL JUDGE WILLIAM H. HASTIE
“Chief among our gains must be reckoned this possibility of choice, the recognition of many possible ways of life, where other civilizations have recognized only one.”
—MARGARET MEAD
“Democracy means not ‘I am as good as you are,’ but ‘You are as good as I am.’”
—REV. THEODORE PARKER
“The government is us; we are the government, you and I.”
—THEODORE ROOSEVELT
“In a democracy, the highest office is the office of citizen.”
—SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FELIX FRANKFURTER
How to Cite This Reading
Facing History & Ourselves, “What Is Democracy?”, last updated July 6, 2023.
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