A pair of quotes from America's first president, George Washington, on the topics of character and citizenship...
Character: Your love of liberty - your respect for the laws - your habits of industry - and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness. - letter to the residents of Boston, Mass., 1789
Citizenship: The citizens of the United States of America have the right to applaud themselves for having given to mankind examples of an enlarged and liberal policy worthy of imitation. All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of as if it were by the indulgence of one class of citizens that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights, for happily the Government of the United States, which gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens in giving it on all occasions their effectual support. - letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island — 1790
Two of the hallmarks of America are the ideas of character and citizenship - the American character (love of liberty/freedom, respect for the law, a strong work ethic) and citizenship (just as Romans took pride in being citizens of Rome, "Civis Romanus sum", Americans still take pride in being a citizen of the United States - "Civis Americanus sum."
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