--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is no American history. There is no…" description: "\"There is no American history. There is no French history. There is no John Wideman. There are all these dreams that are floating around. People constru..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/john-edgar-wideman-7347_american-history_there-is-no-american-history-there-is-no_872821.jpg" --- # There is no American history. There is no French history… ![“There is no American history. There is no French history. There is no John Wideman. There are all these dreams that are floating around. People construct them and fight with them and criticize them, and the world goes on. I don't think the stars pay much attention.” quote by John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/john-edgar-wideman-7347_american-history_there-is-no-american-history-there-is-no_872821.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/john-edgar-wideman-7347_american-history_there-is-no-american-history-there-is-no_872821.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/john-edgar-wideman-7347_american-history_there-is-no-american-history-there-is-no_872821.jpg) > “There is no American history. There is no French history. There is no John Wideman. There are all these dreams that are floating around. People construct them and fight with them and criticize them, and the world goes on. I don't think the stars pay much attention.” [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that history is a construct of narratives and dreams, not fixed facts, and that people constantly shape and critique these stories while life continues indifferent. **In simple terms:** History is shaped by stories and dreams, not absolute truth. Key Takeaway Recognize the fluidity of narratives. Themes history identity storytelling subjectivity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - academic discourse - personal reflection - cultural critique - media analysis Key Concepts narrative construction collective memory mythmaking Questions to Reflect On - How do personal narratives shape collective history? - What responsibilities do we have when constructing stories? A Different Perspective Stories can be biased and exclude marginalized voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [If it is something that is right for human beings, then I don't care if other people criticize. You cannot please everyone in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-ka-shing/if-it-is-something-that-is-right-for-human-beings-then-i-don-t-care/) [Li Ka-shing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-ka-shing/) > [“Mythic dreams floating on a desert wind simultaneously beautiful yet pathetically inconsequential.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-jason-graff/mythic-dreams-floating-on-a-desert-wind-simultaneously-beautiful-yet/) J. Jason Graff > [To me, photographs are like words and I generally will place many photographs together or print them one inside the other in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wojnarowicz/to-me-photographs-are-like-words-and-i-generally-will-place-many/) [David Wojnarowicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wojnarowicz/) > [There is no greater joy for me than looking at the sky on a clear night with an attention so concentrated that all my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/there-is-no-greater-joy-for-me-than-looking-at-the-sky-on-a-clear/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [My good friend once said, "You guys think you're the stars in your own movie."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mackenzie-davis/my-good-friend-once-said-you-guys-think-you-re-the-stars-in-your-own/) [Mackenzie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mackenzie-davis/) > [“There were moments, Hasan, when I like to think that the stars are bullet-holes. For every bullet shot by an oppressor there springs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamila-shamsie/there-were-moments-hasan-when-i-like-to-think-that-the-stars-are/) [Kamila Shamsie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamila-shamsie/) > ['Die a Happy Man' was one of those that, when I wrote it and sent it to my label, their response was, 'This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-rhett/die-a-happy-man-was-one-of-those-that-when-i-wrote-it-and-sent-it-to/) [Thomas Rhett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-rhett/) > [Honestly, I don't think we see ourselves as stars. That's what the media tags us as. I personally don't think too much about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dulquer-salmaan/honestly-i-don-t-think-we-see-ourselves-as-stars-that-s-what-the/) [Dulquer Salmaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dulquer-salmaan/) > [“When I was a child, I used to think that stars were souls. As I grew up, I understood that souls are stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-keenoo/when-i-was-a-child-i-used-to-think-that-stars-were-souls-as-i-grew-up/) [Kevin Keenoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-keenoo/) > [“Some people think the stars must look closer from up here. They don't. When you're up here, you realize how distant they really are—how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/some-people-think-the-stars-must-look-closer-from-up-here-they-don-t/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“Someone asked me what home was, and all I could think of were the stars on the tip of your tongue, the flowers sprouting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/someone-asked-me-what-home-was-and-all-i-could-think-of-were-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To think of these stars that you see overhead at night, these vast worlds which we can never reach. I would annex the planets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-rhodes/to-think-of-these-stars-that-you-see-overhead-at-night-these-vast/) [Cecil Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-rhodes/) > [“I can think of nothing but the stars. It is like a piece of my soul had been lost, empty, and it is now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-revis/i-can-think-of-nothing-but-the-stars-it-is-like-a-piece-of-my-soul/) [Beth Revis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-revis/) > [Now when we think that each of these stars is probably the centre of a solar system grander than our own, we cannot seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-lowell/now-when-we-think-that-each-of-these-stars-is-probably-the-centre-of/) [Percival Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-lowell/) > [“I was six years old, watching my pregnant mother wash the dishes. Cutlery clinked, filling the air with sparkling bursts of colour. 'Do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-anderson/i-was-six-years-old-watching-my-pregnant-mother-wash-the-dishes/) [R.J. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-anderson/) ## More by John Edgar Wideman > [My mother loved my father. From my view, she let him get away with too much. It broke my heart to see him in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/my-mother-loved-my-father-from-my-view-she-let-him-get-away-with-too/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Too much is made for us; too much is given to us - even those of us who are underprivileged. The poverty is given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/too-much-is-made-for-us-too-much-is-given-to-us-even-those-of-us-who/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [A great artist transforms our world, removes scales from our eyes, plugs from our ears, gloves from our fingertips, teaches us to perceive reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/a-great-artist-transforms-our-world-removes-scales-from-our-eyes/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [That's what writing is: it's imagining that you can make a world. That's what basketball is, too: it's imagining the game as a world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-what-writing-is-it-s-imagining-that-you-can-make-a-world-that/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [I'm very hard-nosed and cold-blooded and I can walk past a drowning man. If I have someplace else to go, well, tough s\*\*t. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/i-m-very-hard-nosed-and-cold-blooded-and-i-can-walk-past-a-drowning/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [I get off on anticipating and waiting much more than I get off on the actual event.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/i-get-off-on-anticipating-and-waiting-much-more-than-i-get-off-on-the/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [You have to be a minor superhero just to get to be a dignified man, and that's kind of exacerbated for men of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/you-have-to-be-a-minor-superhero-just-to-get-to-be-a-dignified-man/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Stories are told over time, and so they naturally accrue meanings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/stories-are-told-over-time-and-so-they-naturally-accrue-meanings/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [That's been my routine for years and years... Up early before everybody else, before I get connected, before I get bugged, before I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-been-my-routine-for-years-and-years-up-early-before-everybody/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [My father was intelligent and closed-mouthed. He knew a lot more than what he was ever going to tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/my-father-was-intelligent-and-closed-mouthed-he-knew-a-lot-more-than/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [What I wanted to do in talking about basketball in 'Hoop Roots' was retrieve the game as something to participate in, not to watch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/what-i-wanted-to-do-in-talking-about-basketball-in-hoop-roots-was/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Books are an attempt to control something that's uncontrollable. That's one of the beauties of African American life. There was this thing called slavery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/books-are-an-attempt-to-control-something-that-s-uncontrollable-that/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [That's one of the beauties, I think, of African American life. There was this thing called slavery and adjustments were made. It literally destroyed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/that-s-one-of-the-beauties-i-think-of-african-american-life-there-was/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Things seem to fall apart inevitably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/things-seem-to-fall-apart-inevitably/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [My aunt Geraldine was the unofficial historian and storyteller. She had all the information about family members and the gossip that came out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/my-aunt-geraldine-was-the-unofficial-historian-and-storyteller-she/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) [Explore all 92 John Edgar Wideman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) ## More American history quotes > [Adam Clayton Powell's entire political career has to be looked at in the entire context of the American history and the history of, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/adam-clayton-powell-s-entire-political-career-has-to-be-looked-at-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/don-t-fire-until-you-see-the-whites-of-their-eyes/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [John Lane has long been recognized as one of the South's finest poets and memoirists. This debut establishes him as one of our finest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/john-lane-has-long-been-recognized-as-one-of-the-south-s-finest-poets/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The problem that we have is that most Americans don't even study American history, let alone Pinochet, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin and all these guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-problem-that-we-have-is-that-most-americans-don-t-even-study/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We must not falsely teach American history in our schools. We have a law requiring state textbook oversight to guard against frauds like Zinn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-daniels/we-must-not-falsely-teach-american-history-in-our-schools-we-have-a/) [Mitch Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-daniels/) > [The only thing we have to fear is fear itself-and possibly teh bogey man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/the-only-thing-we-have-to-fear-is-fear-itself-and-possibly-teh-bogey/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [“Thanks in part to the rapid mechanization of cotton production in the early 1940s, which ultimately threw millions of farm laborers out of work,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-patterson/thanks-in-part-to-the-rapid-mechanization-of-cotton-production-in-the/) [James T. Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-patterson/) > [“dark say: berthenia belle never forget the tongue hid name”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-margaret/dark-say-berthenia-belle-never-forget-the-tongue-hid-name/) [Cathleen Margaret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-margaret/) > [Throughout American history many of our social gains and much of our progress toward democracy were made possible by the active intervention of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-washington/throughout-american-history-many-of-our-social-gains-and-much-of-our/) [Harold Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-washington/) > [Modern Democrats aren't the first political party to abuse power - far from it. Obama isn'€™t the first president to abuse executive power -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harsanyi/modern-democrats-aren-t-the-first-political-party-to-abuse-power-far/) [David Harsanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harsanyi/) > [Medicare and Social Security have created the healthiest and most financially secure generation of senior citizens in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-walsh/medicare-and-social-security-have-created-the-healthiest-and-most/) [Jim Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-walsh/) > [The school curriculum today, particularly American history, is a shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-school-curriculum-today-particularly-american-history-is-a-shame/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“I used to walk out, at night, to the breakwater which divides the end of the harbor form the broad moor of the salt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-doty/i-used-to-walk-out-at-night-to-the-breakwater-which-divides-the-end/) [Mark Doty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-doty/) [Browse all 685 American history quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is no American history. 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