Thomas Mann an Miss Laurie V. Pratt

Teilt seine Eindrücke für Miss P.’s Serie ›What America Means to Me‹ mit: »[...] If we ask ourselves what is the binding and most characteristic element of America’s political philosophy, the answer is: it is the principle that ›men‹ are endorsed by their creator with certain inalienable rights‹ and that among these inalienable rights is the ›pursuit of happiness‹. Happiness as a natural right of men – that is a strangely daring and unencumbered thought which could never have found its way into any official document in the old Europe; it belongs to the optimistic pioneer spirit of America, and it is this spirit which means most to me in this country.«