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David McCullough

David McCullough Quotes

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Famous David McCullough Quotes

“The year 1776, celebrated as the birth year of the nation and for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for those who carried the fight for independence forward a year of all-too-few victories, of sustained suffering, disease, hunger, desertion, cowardice, disillusionment, defeat, terrible discouragement, and fear, as they would never forget, but also of phenomenal courage and bedrock devotion to country, and that, too they would never forget.”

YearsCountrySufferingFightingNationsForgetBirthVictoryTerribleDiseaseIndependenceDefeatHungerDevotionNever ForgetCowardiceDeclarationPhenomenalDiscouragementDeclaration Of IndependenceSigningDisillusionmentBedrockDesertion
Book:David McCullough American History E-book Box Set: John Adams, 1776, Truman, The Course of Human Events
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“Any nation that expects to be ignorant and free," Jefferson said, "expects what never was and never will be." And if the gap between the educated and the uneducated in America continues to grow as it is in our time, as fast as or faster than the gap between the rich and the poor, the gap between the educated and the uneducated is going to be of greater consequence and the more serious threat to our way of life. We must not, by any means, misunderstand that.”

IfsWayMeanSaidAmericaNationsGrowsPoorRichGreaterSeriousConsequenceThreatIgnorantEducatedFasterOur TimeGapsUneducated
Author:David McCullough
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“I think it is one of the most extraordinary elections, a turning point for our country and for the world. That remarkable young man [Barack Obama] has kept his demeanor, kept his temperament and has shown a power to inspire. I see what energy that he has inspired among the young. Well, it inspires us old goats too.”

ThinkingMenWorldWellsCountryYoungEnergyInspireElectionExtraordinaryInspiredOur CountryBarackYoung ManRemarkableTemperamentGoatsTurning PointsDemeanor
Author:David McCullough
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“According to Adams, Jefferson proposed that he, Adams, do the writing [pf the Declaration of Independence], but that he declined, telling Jefferson he must do it. Why?" Jefferson asked, as Adams would recount. Reasons enough," Adams said. What can be your reasons?" Reason first: you are a Virginian and a Virginian ought to appear at the head of this business. Reason second: I am obnoxious, suspected and unpopular. You are very much otherwise. Reason third: You can write ten times better than I can.”

WritingFirstsSaidI CanReasonEnoughOughtTenThirdsIndependenceDeclarationDeclaration Of IndependenceObnoxiousVirginians
Author:David McCullough
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“Let the children have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us, resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world." Winston Churchill Christmas Eve Message, 1941 as printed in "In the Dark Streets Shineth.”

WorldYearsChildrenPlayLyingNightTurnsFatherFunDarkPleasureSacrificeShareStreetsMessagesLaughterTasksDelightChristmasDecentDeniedDaringInheritancePrintedFormidableChristmas EveFather Christmas
Author:David McCullough
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“Washington had performed his role to perfection. It was no enough that a leader look the part; by Washington's rules, he must know how to act it with self-command and precision.”

KnowsLooksSelfEnoughPerfectLeaderRolesKnow HowPerfectionCommandPrecision
Book:David McCullough American History E-book Box Set: John Adams, 1776, Truman, The Course of Human Events
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“The preparations were elaborate and mammoth in scale, and Washington threw himself into the effort, demanding that not an hour be lost.”

LostHoursEffortScalesPreparation
Book:David McCullough Great Moments in History E-book Box Set: 1776, The Johnstown Flood, Path Between the Seas, The Great Bridge, The Course of Human Events
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“Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer...”

ThinkingHardCharacterDreamBigsMightMoralHard WorkSelf LovePleaseProtectClockFewerSensibilityUrgencyTickOne You LoveLove EveryoneThink For YourselfSense Of UrgencyHigh School Graduation SpeechHigh School Commencement
Author:David McCullough
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“The evil of technology was not technology itself, Lindbergh came to see after the war, not in airplanes or the myriad contrivances of modern technical igenuity, but in the extent to which they can distance us from our better moral nature, or sense of personal accountability.”

WarEvilMoralTechnologyModernDistanceAccountabilityAirplanePersonal Accountability
Book:David McCullough Library E-book Box Set: 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, John Adams, The Johnstown Flood, Mornings on Horseback, Path Between the Seas, Truman, The Course of Human Events
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