In this article, the author uses several primary sources to demonstrate that George Washington, Samuel Cabble, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy stated their awareness of contemporary challenges, but looked to the future with hope and optimism. When they envisioned the future, their words indicated that they did not just imagine it, but rather, they embraced it. Primary sources reviewed include: (1) a single-page letter written by General George Washington on March 21, 1781 to the president of the Confederation Congress (presented in this article); (2) a two-page letter written in the midst of the Civil War by Private Samuel Cabble of the Massachusetts 55th (Colored) Volunteer Infantry, a formerly enslaved young African American man, to his wife informing her that he had enlisted in the Union Army (presented in the article); (3) President Franklin D. Roosevelt's January 6, 1941 (11 months before the United States entered World War II) annual message to Congress; (4) a U.S. Office of Education poster (inspired by Roosevelt's January 6th speech) to promote American Education Week (presented in this article); and (5) President John F. Kennedy's September 12, 1962 speech delivered at Rice University in Houston, Texas discussing the nature and purpose of the nation's space program. Teaching suggestions are provided.