---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: U.S.A. is the speech of the people"
description: "\"U.S.A. is the speech of the people\" — John Dos Passos"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/john-dos-passos-3598_communication_u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people-285741_2857412.jpg"
---

#  U.S.A. is the speech of the people

![“U.S.A. is the speech of the people” quote by John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/john-dos-passos-3598_communication_u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people-285741_2857412.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/john-dos-passos-3598_communication_u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people-285741_2857412.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/john-dos-passos-3598_communication_u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people-285741_2857412.jpg)

> “U.S.A. is the speech of the people”

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

## About This Quote

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

It claims that the United States embodies the collective voice of its citizens.

**In simple terms:** America reflects its people's speech.

Key Takeaway

Listen to the people's voices.

Themes

democracy society voice

Mood

critical hopeful

Type

political social

When to use this quote

- voting
- public discourse
- media analysis
- community organizing

Key Concepts

political theory civic engagement

Questions to Reflect On

- Whose voices are amplified in current politics?
- How can marginalized voices be heard?

A Different Perspective

The "speech" may be dominated by elite interests.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Speech People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech-people-914132/)

## Related quotes

> [People have a right to give a speech. And people have a right to protest. But I'm not a great fan of disrupting people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/people-have-a-right-to-give-a-speech-and-people-have-a-right-to/)

[Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/)

> [The most important part of any speech is the people that are listening to it respond to it and appreciate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-bettis/the-most-important-part-of-any-speech-is-the-people-that-are/)

[Jerome Bettis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerome-bettis/)

> [One sign of an excellent speech? 'Can people repeat something they heard, word for word?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-horn/one-sign-of-an-excellent-speech-can-people-repeat-something-they/)

[Sam Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-horn/)

> [If you're offended, what the Supreme Court has said the answer to speech you do not like is not less speech, it's more speech.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megyn-kelly/if-you-re-offended-what-the-supreme-court-has-said-the-answer-to/)

[Megyn Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megyn-kelly/)

> [“I fill my life with speech, but not with people who are truly listening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-fill-my-life-with-speech-but-not-with-people-who-are-truly-listening/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [It just seems to be a human trait to want to protect the speech of people with whom we agree. For the First Amendment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-abrams/it-just-seems-to-be-a-human-trait-to-want-to-protect-the-speech-of/)

[Floyd Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-abrams/)

> [Dialect or the speech of the people is capable of expressing whatever the people are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sterling-k-brown/dialect-or-the-speech-of-the-people-is-capable-of-expressing-whatever/)

[Sterling K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sterling-k-brown/)

> [Michelle Obama gives a speech, and everyone loves it. It's fantastic. They think she's absolutely great. My wife, Melania, gives the exact same speech...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/michelle-obama-gives-a-speech-and-everyone-loves-it-it-s-fantastic/)

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

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/)

[Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/)

> [I wasn't a kid growing up thinking, 'One day I'll get an Oscar and make a speech.' That wasn't on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/i-wasn-t-a-kid-growing-up-thinking-one-day-i-ll-get-an-oscar-and-make/)

[Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/)

> [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/)

[Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/)

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

## More by John Dos Passos

> [In certain savage tribes in New Guinea, they put the old people up in the trees and shake them once a year in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-certain-savage-tribes-in-new-guinea-they-put-the-old-people-up-in/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [In a moment when criticism shows a singular dearth of direction every man has to be a law unto himself in matters of theatre,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-a-moment-when-criticism-shows-a-singular-dearth-of-direction-every/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [It's rather grisly, isnt it, how soon a living man becomes nothing more than a collection of stocks and bonds and debts and real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-s-rather-grisly-isnt-it-how-soon-a-living-man-becomes-nothing-more/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The people of this country are too tolerant. There's no other country in the world where they'd allow it... After all we built up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-people-of-this-country-are-too-tolerant-there-s-no-other-country/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [I never see the dawn that I don't say to myself perhaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/i-never-see-the-dawn-that-i-don-t-say-to-myself-perhaps/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [When the typewriter stops in a New York office everybody's embarrassed; men start to quarrel or to make love to the stenographer or drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/when-the-typewriter-stops-in-a-new-york-office-everybody-s/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [What's the use, there never was a woman living who could understand political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/what-s-the-use-there-never-was-a-woman-living-who-could-understand/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [There is a part of me in every character, naturally. That's why novelists rarely write good autobiographies. You start one and it becomes another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character-naturally-that-s-why/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The fascinating thing to a dispassionate observer about the structure of life in the Soviet Union is that in their efforts to produce an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-fascinating-thing-to-a-dispassionate-observer-about-the-structure/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [To fight oppression, and to work as best we can for a sane organization of society, we do not have to abandon the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/to-fight-oppression-and-to-work-as-best-we-can-for-a-sane/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [A satirist is a man whose flesh creeps so at the ugly and the savage and the incongruous aspects of society that he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/a-satirist-is-a-man-whose-flesh-creeps-so-at-the-ugly-and-the-savage/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [Letters are largely written to get things out of your system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/letters-are-largely-written-to-get-things-out-of-your-system/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The Enormous Room seems to me to be the book that has nearest approached the mood of reckless adventure in which men will reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-enormous-room-seems-to-me-to-be-the-book-that-has-nearest/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [“ Luther Burbank was born in a brick farmhouse in Lancaster Mass, he walked through the woods one winter crunching through the shinycrusted snow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/luther-burbank-was-born-in-a-brick-farmhouse-in-lancaster-mass-he/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [It is a most curious experience for a man of seventy-two to be confronted with the greenhorn enthusiasms of his youth. Young people think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-is-a-most-curious-experience-for-a-man-of-seventy-two-to-be/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

[Explore all 125 John Dos Passos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

## More Communication quotes

> [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/)

[Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/)

> [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/)

[John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/)

> [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/)

[Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/)

> [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/)

[Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/)

> [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/)

[Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/)

> [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/)

[Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/)

> [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/)

[Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/)

> [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/)

[Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/)

> [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/)

[Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/)

> [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/)

[Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/)

> [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/)

[Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/)

[Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

[Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/)

> [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/)

[Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/)

[Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "U.S.A. is the speech of the people",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Dos Passos"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Communication"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/john-dos-passos-3598_communication_u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people-285741_2857412.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/john-dos-passos-3598_communication_u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people-285741_2857412.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/john-dos-passos-3598_communication_u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people-285741_2857412.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“U.S.A. is the speech of the people” — John Dos Passos",
                "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": "John Dos Passos",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "U.S.A. is the speech of the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/u-s-a-is-the-speech-of-the-people/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
