Every year, Americans celebrate their independence from Great Britain on the Fourth of July. Because of the courage and tenacity of those who fought for victory during the Revolutionary War; we celebrate that monumental moment in US history with barbecues, colorful parades, flag hoisting ceremonies,firework displays, or maybe a day trip to the beach — all a far cry from what our founding fathers would have done.

It was a historic moment in 1776, when the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. From that day forward the 13 colonies, which made up most of the East Coast from Massachusetts to Georgia, were on their way to becoming a sovereign nation and the first states in the United States of America. A movement that would later hail those who sacrificed and fought as true American heroes.

It’s easy to forget why we celebrate Independence Day, so here are some patriotic and inspirational quotes that will make you proud to be an American patriot.

1) “Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” —Benjamin Franklin

2) “He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself” —Thomas Paine

3) “But what do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations … This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.” —John Adams

4) “My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!” —Thomas Jefferson

5) “Courage, then, my countrymen, our contest is not only whether we ourselves shall be free, but whether there shall be left to mankind an asylum on earth for civil and religious liberty.” —Samuel Adams

6) “Happily for America, happily, we trust, for the whole human race, they pursued a new and more noble course. They accomplished a revolution which has no parallel in the annals of human society.” —James Madison

7) “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” —Thomas Paine

8) “The winds that blow through the wide sky in these mounts, the winds that sweep from Canada to Mexico, from the Pacific to the Atlantic — have always blown on free men.” —Franklin D. Roosevelt

9) Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. —Dwight D. Eisenhower

10) “This, then, is the state of the union: free and restless, growing and full of hope. So it was in the beginning. So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith.” —Lyndon B. Johnson

11) “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet through all the gloom I see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth all the means. This is our day of deliverance.” —John Adams

12) “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” —Benjamin Franklin

13) “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” —Ronald Reagan

14) “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” —John F. Kennedy

15) “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” —Harry Truman

16) “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable – a most sacred right – a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world.” —Abraham Lincoln

17) “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” —Theodore Roosevelt

18) “Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.” —John Quincy Adams

19) “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” —2 Corinthians 3:17

20) “Freedom is never free.” —Author Unknown

Enjoy your privileges, exercise your right to freedom responsibly and never forget the suffering our founding fathers endured to win this precious freedom.