--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For more than 150 years free men in our…" description: "\"For more than 150 years free men in our countries have had the opportunities to educate themselves, choose their own religions, select their own occupa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/charles-e-wilson-23915_accumulate_for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our_3187940.jpg" --- # For more than 150 years free men in our countries have had… ![“For more than 150 years free men in our countries have had the opportunities to educate themselves, choose their own religions, select their own occupations, accumulate capital and invent better ways of doing things.” quote by Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/charles-e-wilson-23915_accumulate_for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our_3187940.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/charles-e-wilson-23915_accumulate_for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our_3187940.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/charles-e-wilson-23915_accumulate_for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our_3187940.jpg) > “For more than 150 years free men in our countries have had the opportunities to educate themselves, choose their own religions, select their own occupations, accumulate capital and invent better ways of doing things.” [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free men have long enjoyed education, religious choice, occupational freedom, capital accumulation, and innovation opportunities **In simple terms:** People have historically had broad personal and economic freedoms Key Takeaway Recognize and protect these freedoms today Themes freedom education choice innovation economics Mood reflective optimistic Type historical political When to use this quote - policy making - civil rights education - entrepreneurship - education reform Key Concepts liberal democracy capitalism social mobility Questions to Reflect On - How can societies safeguard these freedoms? - What responsibilities accompany such freedoms? A Different Perspective These freedoms are not universal and can be threatened by authoritarian policies ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [150 Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/150-years-273081/) [Accumulate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulate/) [Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better/) [Better way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-way/) [Capital](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital/) [Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose/) [Countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countries/) [Countries Opportunities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/countries-opportunities-5867936/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Doing things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-things/) [Educate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educate/) [Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free/) [Free men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-men/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Invent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Occupations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupations/) [Opportunities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunities/) [Opportunities Educate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunities-educate-2450032/) [Our](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our/) [Own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/own/) [Religions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religions/) [Select](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/select/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Themselves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/themselves/) [Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things/) [Ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-free-310066/) ## Related quotes > [My own philanthropic efforts have always included an educational element, whether it's expanding opportunities to educate a promising mind or extending the brain's ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/my-own-philanthropic-efforts-have-always-included-an-educational/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [If you free yourself from the conventional reaction to a quantity like a million years, you free yourself a bit from the boundaries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcphee/if-you-free-yourself-from-the-conventional-reaction-to-a-quantity/) [John McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcphee/) > [I am above eighty years old; it is about time for me to be going. I have been forty years a slave and forty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sojourner-truth/i-am-above-eighty-years-old-it-is-about-time-for-me-to-be-going-i/) [Sojourner Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sojourner-truth/) > [There have been only 268 of the past 3,421 years free of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/there-have-been-only-268-of-the-past-3-421-years-free-of-war/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [I was married for 36 years but now I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quincy-jones/i-was-married-for-36-years-but-now-i-m-free/) [Quincy Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quincy-jones/) > [Furthermore, there is no good ethical or economic reason for asking workmen and current producers to forego all economic gain in order to increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/furthermore-there-is-no-good-ethical-or-economic-reason-for-asking/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [The bearing, rearing, feeding and educating of children; the running of a house with its thousand details; human relationships with their myriad pulls -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/the-bearing-rearing-feeding-and-educating-of-children-the-running-of/) [Anne Morrow Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [Of 472 civilian occupations defined by the Department of Commerce, only six are majority immigrant (legal and illegal). These six occupations account for 1…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-krikorian/of-472-civilian-occupations-defined-by-the-department-of-commerce/) [Mark Krikorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-krikorian/) > [Most of our occupations are low comedy… We must play our part duly, but as the part of a borrowed character. Of the mask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-of-our-occupations-are-low-comedy-we-must-play-our-part-duly-but/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [When occupations come to us we must accept them; when things come to us we must understand them from the ground up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lu-yen-hsun/when-occupations-come-to-us-we-must-accept-them-when-things-come-to/) [Lu Yen-hsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lu-yen-hsun/) > [“Diane sometimes hears that Troy is an actuary. Sometimes she hears Troy is a florist. Sometimes she hears Troy is a cop, a toll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fink/diane-sometimes-hears-that-troy-is-an-actuary-sometimes-she-hears/) [Joseph Fink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fink/) > [Woman, no less than man, can qualify herself for the more onerous occupations of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-woodhull/woman-no-less-than-man-can-qualify-herself-for-the-more-onerous/) [Victoria Woodhull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-woodhull/) > [When I grew up I always wanted to act. Also, I wanted to be either a lawyer or a doctor. However, when I got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tia-mowry/when-i-grew-up-i-always-wanted-to-act-also-i-wanted-to-be-either-a/) [Tia Mowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tia-mowry/) > [Usually, the leaders appear in the moment of the highest stress, when it is time, speaking symbolically, to go to the barricades. Then people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-bukovsky/usually-the-leaders-appear-in-the-moment-of-the-highest-stress-when/) [Vladimir Bukovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-bukovsky/) > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) ## More by Charles E. Wilson > [Many people do not realize that where unions have bargaining rights employers cannot raise wages or improve benefit plans any more than they can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/many-people-do-not-realize-that-where-unions-have-bargaining-rights/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [Costs of manufactured articles importantly depend on the cost of raw materials as well as labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/costs-of-manufactured-articles-importantly-depend-on-the-cost-of-raw/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [Our thinking behind these agreements is that we want all jobs in General Motors to be good jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/our-thinking-behind-these-agreements-is-that-we-want-all-jobs-in/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [That the way to achieve higher standards of living for all is through science and technology, taking advantage of better tools, methods and organization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/that-the-way-to-achieve-higher-standards-of-living-for-all-is-through/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [Our expanding Canadian operations are concrete evidence of General Motors confidence in Canada.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/our-expanding-canadian-operations-are-concrete-evidence-of-general/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [Our recent 5-year labour agreements, in Canada as well as the United States, are based upon experience, logic and principle rather than on pressure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/our-recent-5-year-labour-agreements-in-canada-as-well-as-the-united/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [The prices of raw materials do not fluctuate directly with the labour cost of producing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/the-prices-of-raw-materials-do-not-fluctuate-directly-with-the-labour/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [That co-operation and peace rather than industrial strife and strikes will best promote the prosperity of the employees the company and all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/that-co-operation-and-peace-rather-than-industrial-strife-and-strikes/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [No one should be so naive as to think that wages among organized groups will not be increased, under pressure if necessary, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/no-one-should-be-so-naive-as-to-think-that-wages-among-organized/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [Canada has great natural resources, and its people have the spirit and ability to develop them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/canada-has-great-natural-resources-and-its-people-have-the-spirit-and/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [The only sound approach to collective bargaining is to work out an agreement that clarifies the rights and responsibilities of the parties, establishes principles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/the-only-sound-approach-to-collective-bargaining-is-to-work-out-an/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [If workmen are denied any increase in real wages and they can look forward only to a better standard of living through reduction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/if-workmen-are-denied-any-increase-in-real-wages-and-they-can-look/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [The thing that contributes to anyone's reaching the goal he wants is simple wanting that goal badly enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/the-thing-that-contributes-to-anyone-s-reaching-the-goal-he-wants-is/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [No one should suffer from the great delusion that any form of communism or socialism which promotes the dictatorship of the few instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/no-one-should-suffer-from-the-great-delusion-that-any-form-of/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [In my fifty years of experience and memory, I have seen the most amazing increase in the standard of living of a people ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/in-my-fifty-years-of-experience-and-memory-i-have-seen-the-most/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) [Explore all 25 Charles E. Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) ## More Accumulate quotes > [It's interesting how sleepwalking in a certain way becomes an accumulation of your outside stimuli that's actually there and what's happening in your brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/it-s-interesting-how-sleepwalking-in-a-certain-way-becomes-an/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [The more storage you have, the more stuff you accumulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-stewart/the-more-storage-you-have-the-more-stuff-you-accumulate/) [Alexis Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-stewart/) > [What is negotiation but the accumulation of small lies leading to advantage?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/what-is-negotiation-but-the-accumulation-of-small-lies-leading-to/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) > [“A little here and a little there will always accumulate, so why be surprised when steady, small steps take you to great places?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/a-little-here-and-a-little-there-will-always-accumulate-so-why-be/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [The question becomes not just how to accumulate more, but how to covet less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/the-question-becomes-not-just-how-to-accumulate-more-but-how-to-covet/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [We've accumulated a lot of things over the years and many things from our grandmother. Hopefully it'll be all right. I really don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-fields/we-ve-accumulated-a-lot-of-things-over-the-years-and-many-things-from/) [Dorothy Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-fields/) > [Each of my novels has come from a different place, and the processes are not always entirely conscious. I have lived off and on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/each-of-my-novels-has-come-from-a-different-place-and-the-processes/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [You can't accumulate anything, because anything you get you have to give away. We all know this. We watch our bodies go through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/you-can-t-accumulate-anything-because-anything-you-get-you-have-to/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [If large financial institutions can break the law and accumulate million in profits - and, if they get caught, settle by paying out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/if-large-financial-institutions-can-break-the-law-and-accumulate/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [“How long should one accumulate material things? As long as they do not become a burden.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/how-long-should-one-accumulate-material-things-as-long-as-they-do-not/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [One precedent creates another and they soon accumulate and constitute law. What yesterday was a fact, today is doctrine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius/one-precedent-creates-another-and-they-soon-accumulate-and-constitute/) [Junius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius/) > [Our culture is hung up on and overemphasises what can be derived from material objects. I think this is something quite new, over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tino-sehgal/our-culture-is-hung-up-on-and-overemphasises-what-can-be-derived-from/) [Tino Sehgal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tino-sehgal/) > [Over time, you accumulate a lot of life material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvin-van-peebles/over-time-you-accumulate-a-lot-of-life-material/) [Melvin Van Peebles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvin-van-peebles/) > [Basically, the body does have a vast amount of inbuilt anti-ageing machinery; it's just not 100% comprehensive, so it allows a small number of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/basically-the-body-does-have-a-vast-amount-of-inbuilt-anti-ageing/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) [Browse all 86 Accumulate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For more than 150 years free men in our countries have had the opportunities to educate themselves, choose their own religions, select their own occupations, accumulate capital and invent better ways of doing things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles E. Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our-countries-have-had-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Accumulate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our-countries-have-had-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/charles-e-wilson-23915_accumulate_for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our_3187940.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/charles-e-wilson-23915_accumulate_for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our_3187940.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79c/charles-e-wilson-23915_accumulate_for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our_3187940.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For more than 150 years free men in our countries have had the opportunities to educate themselves, choose…” — Charles E. Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles E. Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For more than 150 years free...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our-countries-have-had-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/for-more-than-150-years-free-men-in-our-countries-have-had-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```