Great Movie Patriots

Patriots come in all shapes and sizes, and of course each country has its own. But we're here to celebrate some of Hollywood's greatest on-screen Americans, all proud nephews and nieces of their Uncle Sam.

There's nothing Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) wants to do more than fight for his country. Even when he's too tiny to enlist. Even when he becomes a war bonds pitchman. And even decades later, when he's thawed out to join the Avengers.

Though she talks like a Yankee, this Avenger (Scarlett Johansson) is actually a Russian immigrant harboring spy-related secrets. That she's willing to risk exposure in order to protect her adopted country is American self-sacrifice at its finest.

While compiling this patriotic photo gallery, we figured it was a no-brainer to include the hero of 'The Patriot.' Mel Gibson stars as a fictional Revolutionary War fighter whose guerrilla tactics earn him the nickname "the Ghost."

Patriotism took on a more complicated meaning during the Civil War. Private Trip (Denzel Washington), a former slave reluctant to serve, represents the brave black soldiers who fought to end slavery and preserve the Union.

Modern warfare is rife with moral ambiguities, yet the brotherhood of soldiers endures. Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) is part of a team of Navy SEALs facing Taliban forces in Afghanistan – and discovering heroism in unlikely places.

Wars are not only fought on the battlefield. Case in point: the covert intelligence campaign to catch Osama Bin Laden, led by an obsessive CIA agent (Jessica Chastain) whose real name remains undisclosed.

Bill Pullman's scrappy president in 1996's 'Independence Day' finally passes the torch to a new hero of the American alien resistance: Tom Cruise is the confused major who loops through time (and death) to stop the dreaded Mimics.

We round out our mini-tribute to the American soldier with Tom Hanks's schoolteacher turned squadron leader. Miller, like so many who fought in World War II, is prepared to sacrifice everything to preserve democracy and freedom.

Doing her part on the WWII homefront, Goldie Hawn goes to work at an airplane factory, joining all the other "Rosie the Riveters." Like many housewives called to duty, Mrs. Walsh discovers a newfound sense of independence.

Yes, there is still patriotism on Capitol Hill – at least if you're Jimmy Stewart, here in one of his most iconic roles as a naive freshman senator who finds himself the target of a corrupt fellow senator and a political boss.

Jefferson Smith wasn't the first guy to go up against a hardheaded Congress. Honest Abe (Daniel Day-Lewis) uses every trick up his sleeve to pass the 13th Amendment and abolish slavery in Steven Spielberg's instant classic.

It's a TV movie, but we're including it because the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, is so important to U.S. history. Hilary Swank stars as one of the suffragist leaders who made it happen.

In 1972, Richard Nixon's reelection team tried to wiretap Democratic headquarters in the Watergate Complex. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman play the journalists who expose the scandal and prove that no president is above the law.

We couldn't forget this enjoyable if corny biopic about song-and-dance man George M. Cohan (James Cagney), who penned several major American anthems, including "Over There" and "You're a Grand Old Flag."

Compared to the incredible feats accomplished by real-life American heroes, Rocky's fictional bout with Soviet bruiser Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) seems rather silly. But it symbolizes Reagan-era patriotism like few other movies can.