---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think there are only three things that…"
description: "\"I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/gerald-early-60495_america_i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that_1084375.jpg"
---

#  I think there are only three things that America will be…

![“I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music and baseball. They're the three most beautifully designed things this culture has ever produced.” quote by Gerald Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/gerald-early-60495_america_i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that_1084375.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/gerald-early-60495_america_i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that_1084375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/gerald-early-60495_america_i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that_1084375.jpg)

> “I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music and baseball. They're the three most beautifully designed things this culture has ever produced.”

[Gerald Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/)

## About This Quote

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

America will be remembered for its foundational law, its music, and its sport, each representing design excellence.

**In simple terms:** America will be known for Constitution, jazz, baseball.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and preserve cultural pillars.

Themes

culture law music sport design

Mood

pride nostalgic

Type

historical observational

When to use this quote

- education curricula
- heritage tourism
- policy making
- community events
- sports programs

Key Concepts

civic identity artistic expression national symbolism

Questions to Reflect On

- How do these three reflect American values?
- What might future generations add?

A Different Perspective

Other contributions like technology and literature may also define future views.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-known-529624/) [Baseball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baseball/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-constitution-2770605/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-music/) [Known](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/known/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Study Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study-civilization-2770606/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Three things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-things/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/)

## Related quotes

> [“There are only three things that America will be remembered for 2000 years from now when they study this civilization: The Constitution, Jazz music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/there-are-only-three-things-that-america-will-be-remembered-for-2000/)

[Gerald Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/)

> [America, when it became known to Europeans, was, as it had long been, a scene of wide-spread revolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-parkman/america-when-it-became-known-to-europeans-was-as-it-had-long-been-a/)

[Francis Parkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-parkman/)

> [When America was first made known to Europe, the part assumed by France on the borders of that new world was peculiar, and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-parkman/when-america-was-first-made-known-to-europe-the-part-assumed-by/)

[Francis Parkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-parkman/)

> [America is known as a country that welcomes people to its shores. All kinds of people. The image of the Statue of Liberty with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/america-is-known-as-a-country-that-welcomes-people-to-its-shores-all/)

[Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/)

> [It's odd that I'm a big name in America and not known in Britain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-buckingham/it-s-odd-that-i-m-a-big-name-in-america-and-not-known-in-britain/)

[Marcus Buckingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-buckingham/)

> [“And always America is the place of the deathless and enraptured moments, the eye that looked, the mouth that smiled and vanished, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/and-always-america-is-the-place-of-the-deathless-and-enraptured/)

[Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/)

> [Jazz is freedom. You think about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelonious-monk/jazz-is-freedom-you-think-about-that/)

[Thelonious Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelonious-monk/)

> [I grew up in a home filled with music and had an early appreciation of jazz since my dad was a jazz musician. Beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ringwald/i-grew-up-in-a-home-filled-with-music-and-had-an-early-appreciation/)

[Molly Ringwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ringwald/)

> [The reward for playing jazz is playing jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lewis/the-reward-for-playing-jazz-is-playing-jazz/)

[John Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lewis/)

> [ I'm a jazz musician by education and vocation, but I don't think jazz should \[ dictate\] what I want to do. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-douglas/i-m-a-jazz-musician-by-education-and-vocation-but-i-don-t-think-jazz/)

[Dave Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-douglas/)

> [Jazz music just resonates with the frequency of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/jazz-music-just-resonates-with-the-frequency-of-me/)

[Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/)

> [Truth of the matter is, jazz is American music. And that doesn't mean bebop. Jazz is really about improvising. All the music that's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaimoe/truth-of-the-matter-is-jazz-is-american-music-and-that-doesn-t-mean/)

[Jaimoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaimoe/)

> [I just love all the music. My grandma was a church organist for 40 years, and she got me into jazz music and great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-anner/i-just-love-all-the-music-my-grandma-was-a-church-organist-for-40/)

[Zach Anner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-anner/)

> [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/)

[Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/)

## More by Gerald Early

> [It was common practice for me to take my children with me whenever I went shopping, out for a walk in a white neighborhood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/it-was-common-practice-for-me-to-take-my-children-with-me-whenever-i/)

[Gerald Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/)

> [The Miss America contest isthe most perfectly rendered theater in our culture, for it so perfectly captures what we yearn for: a low-class ritual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/the-miss-america-contest-isthe-most-perfectly-rendered-theater-in-our/)

[Gerald Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/)

> [Everyone in our culture wants to win a prize. Perhaps that is the grand lesson we have taken with us from kindergarten in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/everyone-in-our-culture-wants-to-win-a-prize-perhaps-that-is-the/)

[Gerald Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/)

> [“There are only three things that America will be remembered for 2000 years from now when they study this civilization: The Constitution, Jazz music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/there-are-only-three-things-that-america-will-be-remembered-for-2000/)

[Gerald Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/)

[Explore all 5 Gerald Early quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/)

## More America quotes

> [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/)

[Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/)

> [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/)

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

> [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/)

[Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/)

> [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/)

[Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/)

> [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/)

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

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. Remember, under a Trump administration it's called America first. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/we-need-a-system-that-serves-our-needs-not-the-needs-of-others/)

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

> [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/)

[Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/)

> [You live overseas, you see these exotic places and you want to know about them. But, weirdly, it also made me homesick for all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-jennings/you-live-overseas-you-see-these-exotic-places-and-you-want-to-know/)

[Ken Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-jennings/)

> [Freedom in every sense but primarily political sense, a rise in repression that stems from a repression of sexuality. It's AIDS, it's herpes, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/freedom-in-every-sense-but-primarily-political-sense-a-rise-in/)

[Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/)

> [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/)

[Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/)

[Browse all 20,382 America quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music and baseball. They're the three most beautifully designed things this culture has ever produced.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Gerald Early"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that-america-will-be-known-for-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "America"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that-america-will-be-known-for-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/gerald-early-60495_america_i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that_1084375.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/gerald-early-60495_america_i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that_1084375.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/gerald-early-60495_america_i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that_1084375.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this…” — Gerald Early",
                "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": "Gerald Early",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-early/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think there are only three...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that-america-will-be-known-for-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-early/i-think-there-are-only-three-things-that-america-will-be-known-for-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
