--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: America was established not to create…" description: "\"America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men.\" — Woodrow Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/woodrow-wilson-534_america_america-was-established-not-to-create-we_1420545.png" --- # America was established not to create wealth but to… ![“America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men.” quote by Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/woodrow-wilson-534_america_america-was-established-not-to-create-we_1420545.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/woodrow-wilson-534_america_america-was-established-not-to-create-we_1420545.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/woodrow-wilson-534_america_america-was-established-not-to-create-we_1420545.png) > “America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men.” [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America’s purpose is to uphold liberty, not just generate wealth, reflecting a higher ideal. **In simple terms:** America aims for liberty over wealth. Key Takeaway Prioritize freedom and ideals. Themes liberty ideal nationbuilding Mood reflective inspirational Type political historical When to use this quote - policy formulation - civic education - public discourse - international relations Key Concepts political philosophy national purpose Questions to Reflect On - How can a nation balance liberty with prosperity? - What sacrifices are needed to uphold ideals? A Different Perspective Idealism may clash with economic realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America Established](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-established-5030330/) [Create Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create-wealth/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Liberty Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty-men-2144278/) [Maintain Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintain-liberty-2531315/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Realize Ideal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-ideal-822955/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [“...And there really are men who believe in this, who spend their time in promoting Leagues of Peace, in delivering addresses, and in writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/and-there-really-are-men-who-believe-in-this-who-spend-their-time-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [If you cannot commit several hours per week to maintain the liberty that others afforded you, then you, by your inaction and silent voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-loesch/if-you-cannot-commit-several-hours-per-week-to-maintain-the-liberty/) [Dana Loesch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-loesch/) > [“To subdue matter is the first step; to realize the ideal is the second.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/to-subdue-matter-is-the-first-step-to-realize-the-ideal-is-the-second/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“It is sometimes said that the tragedy of an artist's life is that he cannot realize his ideal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/it-is-sometimes-said-that-the-tragedy-of-an-artist-s-life-is-that-he/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Now to what higher object, to what greater character, can any mortal aspire than to be possessed of all this knowledge, well digested and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/now-to-what-higher-object-to-what-greater-character-can-any-mortal/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [I digested this value system that told me there was no one for me unless I reached a certain type of perfection. And as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marti-noxon/i-digested-this-value-system-that-told-me-there-was-no-one-for-me/) [Marti Noxon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marti-noxon/) > [No people ever yet groaned under the heavy yoke of slavery, but when they deserv'd it. ...The truth is, all might be free if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-adams/no-people-ever-yet-groaned-under-the-heavy-yoke-of-slavery-but-when/) [Samuel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-adams/) > [What we need most, is not so much to realize the ideal as to idealize the real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-herbert-hedge/what-we-need-most-is-not-so-much-to-realize-the-ideal-as-to-idealize/) [Francis Herbert Hedge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-herbert-hedge/) > [Few men desire liberty; most men wish only for a just master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sallust/few-men-desire-liberty-most-men-wish-only-for-a-just-master/) [Sallust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sallust/) > [I believe in Liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls; the right to breathe and the right to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/i-believe-in-liberty-for-all-men-the-space-to-stretch-their-arms-and/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [There is no liberty to men who know not how to govern themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/there-is-no-liberty-to-men-who-know-not-how-to-govern-themselves/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [It is not truth, justice, liberty, that men seek; they seek only themselves. - And oh, that they knew how to seek themselves aright!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-heinrich-jacobi/it-is-not-truth-justice-liberty-that-men-seek-they-seek-only/) [Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-heinrich-jacobi/) > [There is no liberty to men whose passions are stronger than their religious feelings; there is no liberty to men in whom ignorance predominates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/there-is-no-liberty-to-men-whose-passions-are-stronger-than-their/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I believe in Liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/i-believe-in-liberty-for-all-men-the-space-to-stretch-their-arms-and-2/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [To build a twenty-first-century economy, America must revive a nineteenth-century habit--investing in the common, national economic resources that enable every person and every firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/to-build-a-twenty-first-century-economy-america-must-revive-a/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) ## More by Woodrow Wilson > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-fifteen/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [There is here a great melting pot in which we must compound a precious metal. That metal is the metal of nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-here-a-great-melting-pot-in-which-we-must-compound-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [One cannot pay the price of self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/one-cannot-pay-the-price-of-self-respect/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-would-rather-lose-in-a-cause-that-will-some-day-win-than-win-in-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I have received delegations of working men who, apparently speaking with the utmost sincerity, have declared that they would regard it as a genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-have-received-delegations-of-working-men-who-apparently-speaking/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/absolute-identity-with-one-s-cause-is-the-first-and-great-condition/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [America cannot be an ostrich with its head in the sand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-cannot-be-an-ostrich-with-its-head-in-the-sand/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [...We are intensely proud of their noble record and are glad to have had the whole world see how irresistible they are in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/we-are-intensely-proud-of-their-noble-record-and-are-glad-to-have-had/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [ The facts of the case will always have the better of \[an\] argument. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-facts-of-the-case-will-always-have-the-better-of-an-argument/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The greatest embarrassment of my political career has been that active duties seem to deprive me of time for careful investigation. I seem almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-greatest-embarrassment-of-my-political-career-has-been-that/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Some Americans need hyphens in their names because only part of them has come over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/some-americans-need-hyphens-in-their-names-because-only-part-of-them/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-history-of-liberty-is-the-history-of-limitations-on-the-power-of/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [When I think of the flag… I see alternate strips of parchment upon which are written the rights of liberty and justice, and stripes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/when-i-think-of-the-flag-i-see-alternate-strips-of-parchment-upon/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Energy in a nation is like sap in a tree; it rises from bottom up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/energy-in-a-nation-is-like-sap-in-a-tree-it-rises-from-bottom-up/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) [Explore all 492 Woodrow Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## 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": "America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Woodrow Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-was-established-not-to-create-wealth-but-to-realize-a-vision/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "America" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-was-established-not-to-create-wealth-but-to-realize-a-vision/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/woodrow-wilson-534_america_america-was-established-not-to-create-we_1420545.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/woodrow-wilson-534_america_america-was-established-not-to-create-we_1420545.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/798/woodrow-wilson-534_america_america-was-established-not-to-create-we_1420545.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and…” — Woodrow Wilson", "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": "Woodrow Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "America was established not to create...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-was-established-not-to-create-wealth-but-to-realize-a-vision/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-was-established-not-to-create-wealth-but-to-realize-a-vision/#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 } } ] } ```