--- title: "1 American identity Quotes By Garry Wills" description: "1 American identity quotes by Garry Wills. Plus more from Garry Wills and more American identity sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/garry-wills-18365_american-identity_oliver-cromwell-1599-1658-moved-from-a-l_3146753.jpg" --- > [Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) moved from a legitimate to a charismatic role, reversing the course followed by Washington. Yet therewere surface similarities in their careers. Both led military rebellions against English monarchs--Cromwell against Charles I, Washington against George III. Each took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/oliver-cromwell-1599-1658-moved-from-a-legitimate-to-a-charismatic/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2b/garry-wills-18365_american-identity_oliver-cromwell-1599-1658-moved-from-a-l_3146753.jpg) ## More by Garry Wills > [There is a particular danger with a war that God commands. What if God should lose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-is-a-particular-danger-with-a-war-that-god-commands-what-if-god/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I have been an outsider in journalism and in the academy, because I never fully belonged to any of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-have-been-an-outsider-in-journalism-and-in-the-academy-because-i/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Do not touch anything unnecessarily. Beware of pretty girls in dance halls and parks who may be spies, as well as bicycles, revolvers, uniforms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/do-not-touch-anything-unnecessarily-beware-of-pretty-girls-in-dance/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [“You will hear everlastingly, in all discussions about newspapers, companies, aristocracies, or party politics, this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/you-will-hear-everlastingly-in-all-discussions-about-newspapers/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [There's an interesting contrast between born Catholics and converts. Converts are often much more rule-directed. Catholicism isn't something that they breathed in from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-s-an-interesting-contrast-between-born-catholics-and-converts/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leader and followers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/the-leader-is-one-who-mobilizes-others-toward-a-goal-shared-by-leader/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Religion embarrasses the commentators. It is offbounds. An editor of the old Life magazine once assigned me a book on religion with remark that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/religion-embarrasses-the-commentators-it-is-offbounds-an-editor-of/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I don't really write for an audience. I just write what the subject seems to me to require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-don-t-really-write-for-an-audience-i-just-write-what-the-subject/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Only the winners decide what were war crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/only-the-winners-decide-what-were-war-crimes/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Accountability is the essence of democracy. If people do not know what their government is doing, they cannot be truly self-governing. The national security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/accountability-is-the-essence-of-democracy-if-people-do-not-know-what/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I don't get far enough into a boring book to hate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-don-t-get-far-enough-into-a-boring-book-to-hate-it/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [To "bear arms" is, in itself, a military term. One does not bear arms against a rabbit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/to-bear-arms-is-in-itself-a-military-term-one-does-not-bear-arms/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Politicians make good company for a while just as children do - their self-enjoyment is contagious. But they soon exhaust their favourite subjects -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/politicians-make-good-company-for-a-while-just-as-children-do-their/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [The romantic artist, off alone in his storm-battered castle, fuming whole worlds from his brain, reflects his culture's most persistent myth, of God creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/the-romantic-artist-off-alone-in-his-storm-battered-castle-fuming/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I would rather listen to plays in the car than read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-would-rather-listen-to-plays-in-the-car-than-read-them/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-identity/garry-wills/#itemlist", "name": "1 American identity Quotes By Garry Wills", "numberOfItems": 1, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) moved from a legitimate to a charismatic role, reversing the course followed by Washington. 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