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Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Quotes

26th U.S. President

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Famous Theodore Roosevelt Quotes

“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”

MeanDoeCountryTruthPresidentSupportFailingEventsDutyDegreesOfficialsTelling The TruthPatriotismPatrioticDissentInefficiencyPublic OfficialsUnpatriotic
Book:Theodore Roosevelt on Bravery: Lessons from the Most Courageous Leader of the Twentieth Century
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“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of today.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”

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Book:Theodore Roosevelt on Bravery: Lessons from the Most Courageous Leader of the Twentieth Century
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“Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us.”

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Book:Theodore Roosevelt Cyclopedia
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“The death-knell of the republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.”

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Book:Addresses and Presidential Messages of Theodore Roosevelt, 1902-1904
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“Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man. We must see that each is given a square deal, because he is entitled to no more and should receive no less.""The welfare of each of us is dependent fundamentally upon the welfare of all of us.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.”

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Book:The Bully Pulpit: A Teddy Roosevelt Book of Quotations
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“For us is the life of action, of strenuous performance of duty; let us live in the harness, striving mightily; let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.”

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Book:Theodore Roosevelt on Bravery: Lessons from the Most Courageous Leader of the Twentieth Century
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“Any man who tries to excite class hatred, sectional hate, hate of creeds, any kind of hatred in our community, though he may affect to do it in the interest of the class he is addressing, is in the long run with absolute certainly that class's own worst enemy.”

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Book:The Real Roosevelt: His Forceful and Fearless Utterances on Various Subjects
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“The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly; who know the great enthusiasums, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at best know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“Our government, National and State, must be freed from the sinister influence or control of special interests. Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit. We must drive the special interests out of politics.”

MenWarStatesGovernmentPoliticalInterestInfluenceSpecialIntegrityMethodSlaveryProfitCivil WarThreatenedCottonSpecial InterestsSinister
Book:The Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt: Condensed from the Original Ed., Supplemented by Letters, Speeches, and Other Writings, and Edited with an Introd. by Wayne Andrews
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“Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us to restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wildlife and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method.”

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Book:The Green Roosevelt: Theodore Roosevelt in Appreciation of Wilderness, Wildlife, and Wild Places
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“This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.”

CountryInspiringHuman NatureAdversityUsaPatriotismPatrioticPatriot4th Of JulyJulyGreat AmericanGood PlaceCommunity ServiceAmerican PatrioticGreat PatrioticAmerican PatriotismAmerican PatriotPatriotism In AmericaUsa PatrioticGood PatrioticInspirational PatrioticGood ServiceJuly 4Usa PatriotismGood CitizenshipAmerican Citizenship
Book:The Bully Pulpit: A Teddy Roosevelt Book of Quotations
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“In order to succeed we need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the fire from their own burning souls. The leader for the time being, whoever he may be, is but an instrument, to be used until broken and then to be cast aside; and if he is worth his salt he will care no more when he is broken than a soldier cares when he is sent where his life is forfeit in order that the victory may be won.”

PeopleIfsNeedsMaySoulDreamCareLife IsUsedOrderLeaderVisionFireBrokenVictorySucceedInstrumentsStriveInspiredSoldierCastsGrantedBurningSaltIdealismDreams Come TrueKindlesForfeitGreat VisionOrder To Succeed
Book:Progressive Principles: Selections from Addresses Made During the Presidential Campaign of 1912
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“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

IfsKnowsMenEndsDoneMotivationalFacesStrongCourageFailingBloodWorstFailureAchievementAmbitionCriticismCriticsStriveDeedsCreditEnthusiasmDustTriumphVulnerabilitySweatDaringStrifeArenaBadassHave CourageManlyDoersStrong ManTeddyTimiditySuccess Or FailureInspirational MilitaryGreat EffortAmerican MilitaryRisk And FailureEnthusiasm For LifeDaring GreatlyVictory And DefeatMilitary ManSuccess Is Not MeasuredMilitary SoldierDeeds DoneI Have ChangedVictory DefeatDreaming And DoingGreat AmbitionGreatest MilitaryHistorical MilitaryCriticism Of OthersWorthy CausesUltra MarathonDare To Be GreatCriticism And PraiseRunning ShoesServing In The MilitaryDaring To Be GreatBlood And SweatToughness In SportsMost BadassHigh Ambition
Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy and its charm.”

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Book:African Game Trails: An Account of the African Wanderings of an American Hunter-naturalist
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