--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Had it not been for the Atlantic Ocean…" description: "\"Had it not been for the Atlantic Ocean and the virgin wilderness, the United States would never have been the Land of Promise.\" — Herbert Croly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e71/herbert-croly-17992_atlantic-ocean_had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-a_1313300.jpg" --- # Had it not been for the Atlantic Ocean and the virgin… ![“Had it not been for the Atlantic Ocean and the virgin wilderness, the United States would never have been the Land of Promise.” quote by Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e71/herbert-croly-17992_atlantic-ocean_had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-a_1313300.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e71/herbert-croly-17992_atlantic-ocean_had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-a_1313300.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e71/herbert-croly-17992_atlantic-ocean_had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-a_1313300.jpg) > “Had it not been for the Atlantic Ocean and the virgin wilderness, the United States would never have been the Land of Promise.” [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The Atlantic Ocean and wilderness shaped America’s identity as a land of opportunity and promise. **In simple terms:** Geography forged America’s promise. Key Takeaway Recognize how environment shapes national identity. Themes national identity geography historical destiny Mood thoughtful analytical Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - education curricula - heritage tourism - policy framing - community storytelling Key Concepts American expansion frontier myth environmental influence Questions to Reflect On - How does geography influence cultural identity? - What myths persist about national destiny? A Different Perspective Romanticizing history may overlook hardships faced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atlantic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic/) [Atlantic ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic-ocean/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Land Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land-promise-466324/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Ocean Virgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean-virgin-2687509/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Virgin Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgin-wilderness-4352456/) [Virgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virgins/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) ## Related quotes > [“Ha! No! You are still and ocean virgin, and today you lose you virginity!' 'I have the weirdest girlfriend alive,' Scott muses, staring up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/ha-no-you-are-still-and-ocean-virgin-and-today-you-lose-you-virginity/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [“The things my brother and I don't say could pave over the Atlantic Ocean.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndsay-faye/the-things-my-brother-and-i-don-t-say-could-pave-over-the-atlantic/) [Lyndsay Faye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndsay-faye/) > [“I had written to friends for money, of course, but the Atlantic Ocean is deep and wide and money doesn't hurry from the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/i-had-written-to-friends-for-money-of-course-but-the-atlantic-ocean/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I thought that when they said Atlantic Charter, that meant me and everybody in Africa and Asia and everywhere. But it seems like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/i-thought-that-when-they-said-atlantic-charter-that-meant-me-and/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I'm a homebody, as many writers are, and need to be by myself, and I like to be by the Atlantic Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-m-a-homebody-as-many-writers-are-and-need-to-be-by-myself-and-i/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [Millions upon millions of people came here full of hope and aspiration to this extraordinary land of liberty and opportunity, and helped build the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-winchester/millions-upon-millions-of-people-came-here-full-of-hope-and/) [Simon Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-winchester/) > [I come from a little island with the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. I come from, really,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-come-from-a-little-island-with-the-caribbean-sea-on-one-side-and/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“but the Atlantic Ocean is deep and wide and money doesn't hurry from the other side.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/but-the-atlantic-ocean-is-deep-and-wide-and-money-doesn-t-hurry-from/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [I was very much disappointed in the Atlantic Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-was-very-much-disappointed-in-the-atlantic-ocean/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“The gap between most people’s capacity to conjure beauty from scratch and to merely recognize it when they see it is the width of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-gap-between-most-people-s-capacity-to-conjure-beauty-from-scratch/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The Atlantic Ocean was something then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-atlantic-ocean-was-something-then/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [“The more time you invest into your land of promise, the more productive the land becomes for you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-more-time-you-invest-into-your-land-of-promise-the-more/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You only get fulfillment when you work in your land of promise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/you-only-get-fulfillment-when-you-work-in-your-land-of-promise/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [ \[Let\] the poor the needy and oppressed of the Earth, and those who want Land, resort to the fertile lands of our western country,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/let-the-poor-the-needy-and-oppressed-of-the-earth-and-those-who-want/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“If you will invest the maximum amount of time in hard work, polishing and building your own land of promise, you will become great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/if-you-will-invest-the-maximum-amount-of-time-in-hard-work-polishing/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) ## More by Herbert Croly > [The average American is nothing if not patriotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-average-american-is-nothing-if-not-patriotic/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [The national school is not a lecture hall or a library. Its schooling consists chiefly in experimental collective action aimed at the realization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-national-school-is-not-a-lecture-hall-or-a-library-its-schooling/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [The adoption by Jefferson and the Republicans of the political structure of their opponents is of an importance hardly inferior to that of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-adoption-by-jefferson-and-the-republicans-of-the-political/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [If it be true that democracy is based upon the assumption that every man shall serve his fellow man, the organization of democracy should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/if-it-be-true-that-democracy-is-based-upon-the-assumption-that-every/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [When the Promise of American life is conceived as a national ideal, whose fulfillment is a matter of artful and laborious work, the effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/when-the-promise-of-american-life-is-conceived-as-a-national-ideal/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [The combination of Federalism and Republicanism which formed the substance of the system, did not constitute a progressive and formative political principle, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-combination-of-federalism-and-republicanism-which-formed-the/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [Democracy may mean something more than a theoretically absolute popular government, but it assuredly cannot mean anything less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/democracy-may-mean-something-more-than-a-theoretically-absolute/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [When Jefferson and the Republicans rallied to the Union and to the existing Federalist organization, the fabric of traditional American democracy was almost completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/when-jefferson-and-the-republicans-rallied-to-the-union-and-to-the/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [The years between 1800 and 1825 were distinguished, so far as our domestic development was concerned, by the growth of the Western pioneer Democracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-years-between-1800-and-1825-were-distinguished-so-far-as-our/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [The Constitution was the expression not only of a political faith, but also of political fears. It was wrought both as the organ of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-constitution-was-the-expression-not-only-of-a-political-faith-but/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [The only fruitful promise of which the life of any individual or any nation can be possessed, is a promise determined by an ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-only-fruitful-promise-of-which-the-life-of-any-individual-or-any/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [Unless the great majority of Americans not only have, but believe they have, a fair chance, the better American future will be dangerously compromised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/unless-the-great-majority-of-americans-not-only-have-but-believe-they/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [Of course, Americans have no monopoly of patriotic enthusiasm and good faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/of-course-americans-have-no-monopoly-of-patriotic-enthusiasm-and-good/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [The majority of men cannot be made disinterested for life by exhortation, by religious services, by any expenditure of subsidized works, or even by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/the-majority-of-men-cannot-be-made-disinterested-for-life-by/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) > [Democracy must stand or fall on a platform of possible human perfectibility. If human nature cannot be improved by institutions, democracy is at best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/democracy-must-stand-or-fall-on-a-platform-of-possible-human/) [Herbert Croly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) [Explore all 36 Herbert Croly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/) ## More Atlantic quotes > [Biarritz is one of the most popular holiday destinations in France and it tops the list for coastal resorts along the French Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-drinkwater/biarritz-is-one-of-the-most-popular-holiday-destinations-in-france/) [Carol Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-drinkwater/) > [As late as the summer of 1941, the Atlantic Monthly, then a still respected magazine for literates and edited by White men, published a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/revilo-p-oliver/as-late-as-the-summer-of-1941-the-atlantic-monthly-then-a-still/) [Revilo P. Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/revilo-p-oliver/) > [The Atlantic Ocean was something then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-atlantic-ocean-was-something-then/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [There are people who could watch a hurricane like Sandy blow out of the Atlantic every other day and blame it on anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/there-are-people-who-could-watch-a-hurricane-like-sandy-blow-out-of/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [I loved going to the Knicks because we won the Atlantic Division championship. We went from winning 21 games or 19 games to winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-pitino/i-loved-going-to-the-knicks-because-we-won-the-atlantic-division/) [Rick Pitino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-pitino/) > [Grounding airplanes to cover your butt would never have let Orville or Wilbur change the world. We would still be spending weeks to cross…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-bethune/grounding-airplanes-to-cover-your-butt-would-never-have-let-orville/) [Gordon Bethune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-bethune/) > [The Atlantic conference in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland is a dramatic moment in World War II history because for the first time, Roosevelt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/the-atlantic-conference-in-the-north-atlantic-off-newfoundland-is-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [I like work, I like song writing, and I like the history of Atlantic Records. They've sat in the studio with so many artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gourley/i-like-work-i-like-song-writing-and-i-like-the-history-of-atlantic/) [John Gourley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gourley/) > [Even as global warming increases the frequency of El Nino and the Atlantic event, their effects are being amplified by the annual loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-shoumatoff/even-as-global-warming-increases-the-frequency-of-el-nino-and-the/) [Alex Shoumatoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-shoumatoff/) > [Show Holmes a drop of water and he would deduce the existence of the Atlantic. Show it to me and I would look for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/show-holmes-a-drop-of-water-and-he-would-deduce-the-existence-of-the/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > ['Atlantic City' is very good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-capaldi/atlantic-city-is-very-good/) [Peter Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-capaldi/) > [That's the best way to cross the Atlantic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-whitten-brown/that-s-the-best-way-to-cross-the-atlantic/) [Arthur Whitten Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-whitten-brown/) > [I didn't graduate from college, so I might as well be on Atlantic Records, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sturgill-simpson/i-didn-t-graduate-from-college-so-i-might-as-well-be-on-atlantic/) [Sturgill Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sturgill-simpson/) > [“The gap between most people’s capacity to conjure beauty from scratch and to merely recognize it when they see it is the width of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-gap-between-most-people-s-capacity-to-conjure-beauty-from-scratch/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [I was very much disappointed in the Atlantic Ocean.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-was-very-much-disappointed-in-the-atlantic-ocean/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Browse all 94 Atlantic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atlantic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Had it not been for the Atlantic Ocean and the virgin wilderness, the United States would never have been the Land of Promise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Herbert Croly" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-and-the-virgin-wilderness-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atlantic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-and-the-virgin-wilderness-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e71/herbert-croly-17992_atlantic-ocean_had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-a_1313300.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e71/herbert-croly-17992_atlantic-ocean_had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-a_1313300.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e71/herbert-croly-17992_atlantic-ocean_had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-a_1313300.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Had it not been for the Atlantic Ocean and the virgin wilderness, the United States would never have been…” — Herbert Croly", "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": "Herbert Croly", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-croly/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Had it not been for the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-and-the-virgin-wilderness-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-croly/had-it-not-been-for-the-atlantic-ocean-and-the-virgin-wilderness-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 } } ] } ```