---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An American is a man who is greater in…"
description: "\"“An American is a man who is greater in his soul than in his class, creed, political party, or the section in which he lives. To be an American, a man ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/david-barton-18163_american_an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-h_2481012.jpg"
---

#  An American is a man who is greater in his soul than in…

![“An American is a man who is greater in his soul than in his class, creed, political party, or the section in which he lives. To be an American, a man must have an American soul and believe in the spiritual realities upon which America rests and out of which America was born. America was created to…” quote by David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/david-barton-18163_american_an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-h_2481012.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/david-barton-18163_american_an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-h_2481012.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/david-barton-18163_american_an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-h_2481012.jpg)

> ““An American is a man who is greater in his soul than in his class, creed, political party, or the section in which he lives. To be an American, a man must have an American soul and believe in the spiritual realities upon which America rests and out of which America was born. America was created to unite mankind by those passions which lift and not by the passions which separate and debase. We came to America … to get rid of the things that divide and make sure of the things that unite…. \[T\]he man who seeks to divide men from men, group from group, interest from interest in this great Union is striking at its very heart.””

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

American identity is defined by a shared spiritual core transcending class, creed, or politics, urging unity over division.

**In simple terms:** Being American means sharing a common spiritual foundation.

Key Takeaway

Focus on shared values to bridge divides.

Themes

national identity spiritual unity political division inclusion patriotism

Mood

hopeful inspirational reflective

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- Political discourse
- community building
- education
- policy making

Key Concepts

American soul spiritual reality unity vs. division civic responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- How can diverse beliefs coexist within a unified nation?
- What role does spirituality play in civic life?

A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on spirituality may exclude secular perspectives.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Political party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-party/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/)

## Related quotes

> [“What constitutes an American? Not color nor race nor religion. Not the pedigree of his family nor the place of his birth. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-ickes/what-constitutes-an-american-not-color-nor-race-nor-religion-not-the/)

Harold Ickes

> [What, then, is this new man, the American? They are a mixture of English, Scotch, Irish, French, Dutch, Germans, and Swedes. From this promiscuous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-hector-st-john-de-crevecoeur/what-then-is-this-new-man-the-american-they-are-a-mixture-of-english/)

J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur

> [America created a vacuum in Iraq and ISIS formed. But had we taken the oil something else would've very good happened. They would not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/america-created-a-vacuum-in-iraq-and-isis-formed-but-had-we-taken-the/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [Who am I? I'm a man; an American, a father, a teacher, but most of all, I am a person who knows how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-d-amboise/who-am-i-i-m-a-man-an-american-a-father-a-teacher-but-most-of-all-i/)

[Jacques d'Amboise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-d-amboise/)

> [Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/europe-was-created-by-history-america-was-created-by-philosophy/)

[Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/)

> [Visit the Navy-Yard, and behold a marine, such a man as an American government can make, or such as it can make a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/visit-the-navy-yard-and-behold-a-marine-such-a-man-as-an-american/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [One of the things I most admire about America is they have created a genuine melting pot society, a country of opportunity; you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cameron/one-of-the-things-i-most-admire-about-america-is-they-have-created-a/)

[David Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cameron/)

> [Forgiveness is hard for me, man. It is for most American-Western males. It's a sign of weakness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-alexakis/forgiveness-is-hard-for-me-man-it-is-for-most-american-western-males/)

[Art Alexakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-alexakis/)

> [I grew up in Canada and was a huge Spider-Man fan, and never thought of Spider-Man as an American hero.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-epstein/i-grew-up-in-canada-and-was-a-huge-spider-man-fan-and-never-thought/)

[Jake Epstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-epstein/)

> [I've heard it said that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. To that end, I think it's worth noting that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-stoute/i-ve-heard-it-said-that-those-who-don-t-know-history-are-doomed-to/)

[Steve Stoute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-stoute/)

> [“We give far more to charity per capita than Europeans do. Why? Are we born better? No. The bigger the government the worse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/we-give-far-more-to-charity-per-capita-than-europeans-do-why-are-we/)

[Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/)

> [Growing up in the States, there's this part of me that's like, man, I'm Indian. Like, this is where I belong. And as soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-minhaj/growing-up-in-the-states-there-s-this-part-of-me-that-s-like-man-i-m/)

[Hasan Minhaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-minhaj/)

> [The American dream is not that every man must be level with every other man. The American dream is that every man must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-american-dream-is-not-that-every-man-must-be-level-with-every/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [From chain gangs to folk songs to intelligent soul, America has created musicians dedicated to truth, justice, and a better American Way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/from-chain-gangs-to-folk-songs-to-intelligent-soul-america-has/)

[Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/)

> [We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/we-can-have-no-50-50-allegiance-in-this-country-either-a-man-is-an/)

[Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/)

## More by David Barton

> [The Founders believed that pluralism survived only within the concept of religious liberty espoused by American Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/the-founders-believed-that-pluralism-survived-only-within-the-concept/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [“Another aspect of behavior directly impacted by the removal of religious principles was morality. Recall that both George Washington and Fisher Ames had warned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/another-aspect-of-behavior-directly-impacted-by-the-removal-of/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [You don't have a right to vote, you've got a duty of vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/you-don-t-have-a-right-to-vote-you-ve-got-a-duty-of-vote/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [The Court explained the problem with his writings (People v. Ruggles. 1811.): an attack on Jesus Christ was an attack on Christianity; and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/the-court-explained-the-problem-with-his-writings-people-v-ruggles/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [The Founders intended only to prevent the establishment of a single national denomination, not to restrain public religious expressions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/the-founders-intended-only-to-prevent-the-establishment-of-a-single/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [ There’s a passage that I love in Romans 1. … \[I\]t talks about homosexuality and it says that they will receive in their bodies… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/there-s-a-passage-that-i-love-in-romans-1-i-t-talks-about/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [It is interesting to note that during the last ten years Washington's 'Farewell Address' has begun to reappear in college textbooks - minus the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/it-is-interesting-to-note-that-during-the-last-ten-years-washington-s/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [The Founders never intended to separate Christianity from government, only to keep a single denomination from running the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/the-founders-never-intended-to-separate-christianity-from-government/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [That's exactly what made America so different, we don't have that colonial aspect of let's go conquer somebody else and make our nation bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/that-s-exactly-what-made-america-so-different-we-don-t-have-that/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [ “It’s interesting that many of the best instructors in early America were Scottish Presbyterians. As historian George Marsden affirmed, “\[I\]t is not much of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/it-s-interesting-that-many-of-the-best-instructors-in-early-america/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [“I have never seen a contemporary history book that informs students that witch trials were also occurring across the world at that time with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/i-have-never-seen-a-contemporary-history-book-that-informs-students/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [Literacy is part of everyday social practice - it mediates all aspects of everyday life. Literacy is always part of something else - we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/literacy-is-part-of-everyday-social-practice-it-mediates-all-aspects/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [We do have a Godly heritage in America, but we have been robbed - robbed by the 3 percent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/we-do-have-a-godly-heritage-in-america-but-we-have-been-robbed-robbed/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [Recent decades clearly demonstrate that the more secular our Public Schools become the less successful they become academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/recent-decades-clearly-demonstrate-that-the-more-secular-our-public/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

> [It is evident from their writings that the Founding Fathers would never have tolerated the separation that we have embraced today. They knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/it-is-evident-from-their-writings-that-the-founding-fathers-would/)

[David Barton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

[Explore all 35 David Barton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/)

## More American quotes

> [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/)

[Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/)

> [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/)

[Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/)

> [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/)

[Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/)

> [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/)

[Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/)

> [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/)

[H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/)

> [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/)

[Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/)

> [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/)

[Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/)

> [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/)

[William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/)

> [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/)

[Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/)

> [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/)

[Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/)

> [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/)

[Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/)

> [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/)

[Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/)

> [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/)

[Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/)

> [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/)

[Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/)

> [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/)

[Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/)

Browse all 7,717 American quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“An American is a man who is greater in his soul than in his class, creed, political party, or the section in which he lives. To be an American, a man must have an American soul and believe in the spiritual realities upon which America rests and out of which America was born. America was created to unite mankind by those passions which lift and not by the passions which separate and debase. We came to America … to get rid of the things that divide and make sure of the things that unite…. [T]he man who seeks to divide men from men, group from group, interest from interest in this great Union is striking at its very heart.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Barton"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-his-soul-than-in-his-class/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "American"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-his-soul-than-in-his-class/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/david-barton-18163_american_an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-h_2481012.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/david-barton-18163_american_an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-h_2481012.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f7b/david-barton-18163_american_an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-h_2481012.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“An American is a man who is greater in his soul than in his class, creed, political party, or the section in…” — David Barton",
                "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": "David Barton",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-barton/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“An American is a man who...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-his-soul-than-in-his-class/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-barton/an-american-is-a-man-who-is-greater-in-his-soul-than-in-his-class/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
