--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our citizens must act as Americans; not…" description: "\"“Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with a prefix and qualifications; not as Irish-Americans, German-Americans, native Americans—but ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/mary-beth-smith-57565_quote_our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-a_1452611.jpg" --- # Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with… ![“Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with a prefix and qualifications; not as Irish-Americans, German-Americans, native Americans—but as Americans pure and simple.28” quote by Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/mary-beth-smith-57565_quote_our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-a_1452611.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/mary-beth-smith-57565_quote_our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-a_1452611.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/mary-beth-smith-57565_quote_our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-a_1452611.jpg) > ““Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with a prefix and qualifications; not as Irish-Americans, German-Americans, native Americans—but as Americans pure and simple.28”” [Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Citizens should identify first with the nation, not sub‑group identities or qualifiers. **In simple terms:** Identify as Americans first, not by heritage. Key Takeaway Prioritize national unity over ethnic labels. Themes identity nationalism inclusion Mood reflective serious Type political social When to use this quote - political discourse - community building - education curricula - media representation Key Concepts civic identity social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - How does emphasizing a single national identity affect minority groups? - What balance can be struck between unity and cultural expression? A Different Perspective May overlook the value of cultural diversity and heritage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with a prefix and qualifications; not as Irish-Americans, German-Americans, native Americans—but as Americans pure and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-as-americans-with-a-prefix-and-2/) [Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) > [I was proud to vote for and be an original co-sponsor for the CARS Act because Americans deserve choice in the vehicle they drive,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-james/i-was-proud-to-vote-for-and-be-an-original-co-sponsor-for-the-cars/) [John E. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-james/) > [“Peter Friedrich, wer bin ich? Peter Frederick, who am I? German or American? The answer was neither and both. I had German blood but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dodds/peter-friedrich-wer-bin-ich-peter-frederick-who-am-i-german-or/) Peter Dodds > [Thirty percent of Americans have German blood in their family. I don't see any major difference in the engineering abilities of Americans and Germans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasso-plattner/thirty-percent-of-americans-have-german-blood-in-their-family-i-don-t/) [Hasso Plattner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasso-plattner/) > [America is - and will always be - a success story. We have African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and members of other ethnic groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markwayne-mullin/america-is-and-will-always-be-a-success-story-we-have-african/) [Markwayne Mullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markwayne-mullin/) > [Happy 4th of July to all Americans!!!...Well, except for Native Americans. For them, my deepest condolences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-4th-of-july-to-all-americans-well-except-for-native-americans/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Phil Cousineau has created a fine companion book to accompany the important film he and Gary Rhine have made in defense of the religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-coyote/phil-cousineau-has-created-a-fine-companion-book-to-accompany-the/) [Peter Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-coyote/) > [Unless you're one of the first Americans, a Native American, you came from someplace else. Somebody brought you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/unless-you-re-one-of-the-first-americans-a-native-american-you-came/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The only people that deserve to be called Americans are Native Americans, otherwise, I'm a Latino American, you know… Anybody else... well where did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-machado/the-only-people-that-deserve-to-be-called-americans-are-native/) [Cristian Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-machado/) ## More by Mary Beth Smith > [“As yet no nation can hold its place in the world, or can do any work really worth doing, unless it stands ready to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/as-yet-no-nation-can-hold-its-place-in-the-world-or-can-do-any-work/) [Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) > [“You were an American now and don’t let him hear you call yourself an Irish-American or a German-American.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/you-were-an-american-now-and-don-t-let-him-hear-you-call-yourself-an/) [Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) > [“He was the one who gave Maxwell House Coffee their slogan: “Good to the last drop!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/he-was-the-one-who-gave-maxwell-house-coffee-their-slogan-good-to-the/) [Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) > [“But justice and generosity in a nation, as in an individual, count most when shown not by the weak but by the strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/but-justice-and-generosity-in-a-nation-as-in-an-individual-count-most/) [Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) > [“Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with a prefix and qualifications; not as Irish-Americans, German-Americans, native Americans—but as Americans pure and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-as-americans-with-a-prefix-and-2/) [Mary Beth Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) [Explore all 6 Mary Beth Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/) ## More Americans Native quotes > [America is - and will always be - a success story. We have African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and members of other ethnic groups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markwayne-mullin/america-is-and-will-always-be-a-success-story-we-have-african/) [Markwayne Mullin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markwayne-mullin/) > [Happy 4th of July to all Americans!!!...Well, except for Native Americans. For them, my deepest condolences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-4th-of-july-to-all-americans-well-except-for-native-americans/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Phil Cousineau has created a fine companion book to accompany the important film he and Gary Rhine have made in defense of the religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-coyote/phil-cousineau-has-created-a-fine-companion-book-to-accompany-the/) [Peter Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-coyote/) > [Unless you're one of the first Americans, a Native American, you came from someplace else. Somebody brought you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/unless-you-re-one-of-the-first-americans-a-native-american-you-came/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The only people that deserve to be called Americans are Native Americans, otherwise, I'm a Latino American, you know… Anybody else... well where did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-machado/the-only-people-that-deserve-to-be-called-americans-are-native/) [Cristian Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-machado/) Browse all 6 Americans Native quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with a prefix and qualifications; not as Irish-Americans, German-Americans, native Americans—but as Americans pure and simple.28”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Beth Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-as-americans-with-a-prefix-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Americans Native" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-as-americans-with-a-prefix-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/mary-beth-smith-57565_quote_our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-a_1452611.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/mary-beth-smith-57565_quote_our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-a_1452611.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/694/mary-beth-smith-57565_quote_our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-a_1452611.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our citizens must act as Americans; not as Americans with a prefix and qualifications; not as…” — Mary Beth Smith", "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": "Mary Beth Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beth-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Our citizens must act as Americans;...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-as-americans-with-a-prefix-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beth-smith/our-citizens-must-act-as-americans-not-as-americans-with-a-prefix-and/#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 } } ] } ```