--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans, more than most people, believe…" description: "\"Americans, more than most people, believe that history is the result of individual decisions to implement conscious intentions. For Americans, more tha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/george-will-1177_assets_americans-more-than-most-people-believe_3000466.jpg" --- # Americans, more than most people, believe that history is… ![“Americans, more than most people, believe that history is the result of individual decisions to implement conscious intentions. For Americans, more than most people, history has been that… This sense of openness, of possibility and autonomy, has been a national asset as precious as the topsoil of…” quote by George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/george-will-1177_assets_americans-more-than-most-people-believe_3000466.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/george-will-1177_assets_americans-more-than-most-people-believe_3000466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c7/george-will-1177_assets_americans-more-than-most-people-believe_3000466.jpg) > “Americans, more than most people, believe that history is the result of individual decisions to implement conscious intentions. For Americans, more than most people, history has been that… This sense of openness, of possibility and autonomy, has been a national asset as precious as the topsoil of the Middle West. But like topsoil, it is subject to erosion; it requires tending. And it is not bad for Americans to come to terms with the fact that for them too, history is a story of inertia and the unforeseen.” [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Americans view history as driven by individual choices, seeing openness and autonomy as national strengths, yet this view erodes without care. **In simple terms:** Americans see history as shaped by choices, valuing freedom but risking neglect. Key Takeaway Balance belief in agency with awareness of systemic forces. Themes history individualism national identity openness Mood pragmatic reflective Type historical political When to use this quote - civic education - community building - policy analysis Key Concepts political theory sociology collective memory Questions to Reflect On - How does personal choice interact with larger forces? - What can be done to preserve societal openness? A Different Perspective The quote may ignore structural constraints on individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autonomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autonomy/) [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Erosion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/erosion/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Inertia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inertia/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Openness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/openness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Topsoil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/topsoil/) ## Related quotes > [There is a palpable sense of history in the homes that I choose to occupy. I think that's one of the reasons I gravitate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lowery/there-is-a-palpable-sense-of-history-in-the-homes-that-i-choose-to/) [David Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lowery/) > [I like places that have history in the sense of - you feel responsible to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-stapleton/i-like-places-that-have-history-in-the-sense-of-you-feel-responsible/) [Chris Stapleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-stapleton/) > [“I wish to make it clear that ‘history’ in the sense in which most people speak of it simply does not exist; and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-r-popper/i-wish-to-make-it-clear-that-history-in-the-sense-in-which-most/) [Karl R. Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-r-popper/) > [“All history is present history in the sense that the concerns of the present are bound somehow to affect the way history is studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cartledge/all-history-is-present-history-in-the-sense-that-the-concerns-of-the/) Paul Cartledge > [It may seem unfashionable to say so, but historians should seize the imagination as well as the intellect. History is, in a sense, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/it-may-seem-unfashionable-to-say-so-but-historians-should-seize-the/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [You have to read history. You have to have a sense of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-busch/you-have-to-read-history-you-have-to-have-a-sense-of-history/) [Frederick Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-busch/) > [“I am skeptical about the idea that we can learn much from history, at least in the sense that knowledge of past follies will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-buruma/i-am-skeptical-about-the-idea-that-we-can-learn-much-from-history-at/) [Ian Buruma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-buruma/) > [We have learned the lines of good taste through history and our sense of guilt, be it post-colonial or post-Holocaust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-chappatte/we-have-learned-the-lines-of-good-taste-through-history-and-our-sense/) [Patrick Chappatte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-chappatte/) > [It is essential that we enable young people to see themselves as participants in one of the most exciting eras in history, and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-rockefeller/it-is-essential-that-we-enable-young-people-to-see-themselves-as/) [Nelson Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-rockefeller/) > [Jews were the first to believe that history itself has meaning and that progress, not repetition, is the law of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/jews-were-the-first-to-believe-that-history-itself-has-meaning-and/) [Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ward-baroness-jackson-of-lodsworth/) > [We believe that the history of the world is but the history of His influence and that the center of the whole universe is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/we-believe-that-the-history-of-the-world-is-but-the-history-of-his/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [My whole written history is one big lie! I mean, I can't even believe my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-hopper/my-whole-written-history-is-one-big-lie-i-mean-i-can-t-even-believe/) [Dennis Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-hopper/) > [I believe that history is not made by cynics; it is made by realists who are not afraid to dream. Let us be these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tzipi-livni/i-believe-that-history-is-not-made-by-cynics-it-is-made-by-realists/) [Tzipi Livni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tzipi-livni/) > [“I don’t believe that history holds easy answers or simple lessons, because those answers and lessons are stretched out over thousands—millions—of untold stories. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-latham/i-don-t-believe-that-history-holds-easy-answers-or-simple-lessons/) [Jennifer Latham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-latham/) > [“You can believe history books when they tell you when wars were fought. You just can’t trust them as to why.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/you-can-believe-history-books-when-they-tell-you-when-wars-were/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) ## More by George Will > [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Pettiness is the tendency of people without large purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/pettiness-is-the-tendency-of-people-without-large-purposes/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [A politician's words reveal less about what he thinks about his subject than what he thinks about his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/a-politician-s-words-reveal-less-about-what-he-thinks-about-his/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [As has been said, standards are always out of date - that is why we call them standards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/as-has-been-said-standards-are-always-out-of-date-that-is-why-we-call/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Hart is still like that little tub of vaguely milklike gunk that comes with airline coffee. 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Sport, they said, is morally serious because mankind's noblest aim is the loving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/greek-philosophers-considered-sport-a-religious-and-civic-in-a-word/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The cultivation - even celebration - of victimhood by intellectuals, tort lawyers, politicians and the media is both cause and effect of today's culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-cultivation-even-celebration-of-victimhood-by-intellectuals-tort/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [When I'm in my car, I'm listening to books, audio books, always.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/when-i-m-in-my-car-i-m-listening-to-books-audio-books-always/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [Just as the common law derives from ancient precedents - judges' decisions - rather than statutes, baseball's codes are the game's distilled mores. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/just-as-the-common-law-derives-from-ancient-precedents-judges/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [“Football combines two of the worst things in American life. It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/football-combines-two-of-the-worst-things-in-american-life-it-is/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [I've lived in Washington now for 44 years, and that's a lot of folly to witness up close. Whatever confidence and optimism I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/i-ve-lived-in-washington-now-for-44-years-and-that-s-a-lot-of-folly/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [The business of America is not business. Neither is it war. 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I buy a goose that lays golden eggs over and over again. That's what an asset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/most-people-put-money-in-their-piggy-bank-i-buy-a-goose-that-lays/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Groupon has some interesting assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cohler/groupon-has-some-interesting-assets/) [Matt Cohler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cohler/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Well I think they broke the mould when they made me and being humble is one of my great assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-hagman/well-i-think-they-broke-the-mould-when-they-made-me-and-being-humble/) [Larry Hagman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-hagman/) > [3 people get stranded on a remote Island A Banker, a Daily Mail reader & an Asylum seeker All they have to eat is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-brookmyre/3-people-get-stranded-on-a-remote-island-a-banker-a-daily-mail-reader/) [Christopher Brookmyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-brookmyre/) > [Why doesn't the United States take over the monarchy and unite with England? England does have important assets. Naturally the longer you wait, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/why-doesn-t-the-united-states-take-over-the-monarchy-and-unite-with/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [You have great assets if you're a dual-threat, but you still have to throw from the pocket and do all those types of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-mariota/you-have-great-assets-if-you-re-a-dual-threat-but-you-still-have-to/) [Marcus Mariota](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-mariota/) > [Regulations for international accounting and funding will have to be examined to identify policies that inadvertently discourage institutional investors from putting their resources into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-angel-gurria/regulations-for-international-accounting-and-funding-will-have-to-be/) [Jose Angel Gurria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-angel-gurria/) > [I think Kwame will be an asset to the Lakers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/i-think-kwame-will-be-an-asset-to-the-lakers/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) > [ \[When I die\], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. 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