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Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt Quotes

26th U.S. President

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Famous Theodore Roosevelt Quotes

“The old parties are husks, with no real soul within either, divided on artificial lines, boss-ridden and privilege-controlled, each a jumble of incongruous elements, and neither daring to speak out wisely and fearlessly on what should be said on the vital issues of the day.”

ShouldSaidRealSoulPoliticalSpeakLinesPartyLibertyIssuesElementsPrivilegeLibertarianBossControlledDividedArtificialDaringLibertarianismSpeaks Out
Book:Theodore Roosevelt on Bravery: Lessons from the Most Courageous Leader of the Twentieth Century
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“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.”

ShouldImportantPresidentCriticismPleasantTelling The TruthPublic ServantsNothing But The TruthUnpatrioticSpeak Softly
Book:1914-1919
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“There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons; and our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children's children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.”

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Book:In the Words of Theodore Roosevelt: Quotations from the Man in the Arena
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“There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil practice, whether in politics, in business, or in social life. I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform, or in book, magazine or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“Nothing should be permitted to stand in the way of the preservation of the forests, and it is criminal to permit individuals to purchase a little gain for themselves through the destruction of forests when this destruction is fatal to the well-being of the whole country in the future.”

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Book:Presidential addresses and state papers
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“To the second end, we hold that minimum wage commissions should be established in the Nation and in each State to inquire into wages paid in various industries and to determine the standard which the public ought to sanction as a minimum; and we believe that, as a present installment of what we hope for in the future, there should be at once established in the Nation and its several States minimum standards for the wages of women, taking the present Massachusetts law as a basis from which to start and on which to improve.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“The need for collecting large campaign funds would vanish if Congress provided an appropriation for the proper and legitimate expenses of each of the great national parties, an appropriation ample enough to meet the necessity for thorough organization and machinery, which requires a large expenditure of money. Then the stipulation should be made that no party receiving campaign funds from the Treasury should accept more than a fixed amount from any individual subscriber or donor; and the necessary publicity for receipts and expenditures could without difficulty be provided.”

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Book:THEODORE ROOSEVELT - Ultimate Collection: Memoirs, History Books, Biographies, Essays, Speeches &Executive Orders: America and the World War, The Ancient Irish Sagas, The Naval War of 1812, Hero Tales From American History, Winning of the West, Through the Brazilian Wilderness, History as Literature...
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“Of all the officers of the Government, those of the Department of Justice should be kept most free from any suspicion of improper action on partisan or factional grounds, so that there shall be gradually a growth, even though a slow growth, in the knowledge that the Federal courts and the representatives of the Federal Department of Justice insist on meting out even-handed justice to all.”

ShouldGovernmentActionGrowthJusticeCourtDepartmentOfficersRepresentativesSuspicionPartisansSlow Growth
Book:1903-1905
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“At the risk of repetition let me say again that my plea is not for immunity to, but for the most unsparing exposure of, the politician who betrays his trust, of the big business man who makes or spends his fortune in illegitimate or corrupt ways. There should be a resolute effort to hunt every such man out of the position he has disgraced. Expose the crime, and hunt down the criminal; but remember that even in the case of crime, if it is attacked in sensational, lurid, and untruthful fashion, the attack may do more damage to the public mind than the crime itself.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“The most ultimately righteous of all wars is a war with savages, though it is apt to be also the most terrible and inhuman. The rude, fierce settler who drives the savage from the land lays all civilized mankind under a debt to him. ...[I]t is of incalculable importance that America, Australia, and Siberia should pass out of the hands of their red, black, and yellow aboriginal owners, and become the heritage of the dominant world races.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“Compromise" is so often used in a bad sense that it is difficult to remember that properly it merely describes the process of reaching an agreement. Naturally there are certain subjects on which no man can compromise. For instance, there must be no compromise under any circumstances with official corruption, and of course no man should hesitate to say as much.”

MenShouldRememberUsedCertainCoursesProcessDifficultSubjectsCircumstancesCorruptionInstanceCompromiseOfficialsReachingAgreementNo Compromise
Book:The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses
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“Unjust war is to be abhorred; but woe to the nation that does not make ready to hold its own in time of need against all who would harm it! And woe thrice over to the nation in which the average man loses the fighting edge, loses the power to serve as a soldier if the day of need should arise!”

IfsMenNeedsShouldDoeWarFightingNationsLosesReadySoldierAverageEdgesHarmAriseUnjustWoeAverage ManTime Of NeedThriceUnjust War
Book:History as Literature and Other Essays
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“Of one man in especial, beyond anyone else, the citizens of a republic should beware, and that is of the man who appeals to them to support him on the ground that he is hostile to other citizens of the republic, that he will secure for those who elect him, in one shape or another, profit at the expense of other citizens of the republic. It makes no difference whether he appeals to class hatred or class interest, to religious or anti-religious prejudice. The man who makes such an appeal should always be presumed to make it for the sake of furthering his own interest.”

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Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“It is not only highly desirable but necessary that there should be legislation which shall carefully shield the interests of wage-workers, and which shall discriminate in favor of the honest and humane employer by removing the disadvantage under which he stands when compared with unscrupulous competitors who have no conscience and will do right only under fear of punishment.”

ShouldInterestHonestConscienceWorkersFavorsPunishmentLegislationDesirableCompetitorsEmployersHumaneShieldsDisadvantages
Book:The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses
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“A party should not contain utterly incongruous elements, radically divided on the real issues, and acting together only on false and dead issues insincerely painted as real and vital. It should not in the several States as well as in the Nation be prostituted to the service of the baser type of political boss. It should be so composed that there should be a reasonable agreement in the actions taken by it both in the Nation and in the several States. Judged by these standards, both of the old parties break down.”

ShouldWellsRealStatesActionTogetherPoliticalNationsPartyActingBreakIssuesTakenTypeElementsStandardsReasonableAgreementBossDividedJudgedBreaking DownActing Together
Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“In every community there are little knots of fantastic extremists who loudly proclaim that they are striving for righteousness, and who, in reality, do their feeble best for unrighteousness. Just as the upright politician should hold in peculiar scorn the man who makes the name of politician a reproach and a shame, so the genuine reformer should realize that the cause he champions is especially jeopardized by the mock reformer who does what he can to make reform a laughingstock among decent men.”

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Book:The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses
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“There is no good reason why we should fear the future, but there is every reason why we should face it seriously, neither hiding from ourselves the gravity of the problems before us nor fearing to approach these problems with the unbending, unflinching purpose to solve them aright.”

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Book:The Roosevelt Policy: Speeches, Letters and State Papers, Relating to Corporate Wealth and Closely Allied Topics, of Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States
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“The good citizen will demand liberty for himself, and as a matter of pride he will see to it that others receive the liberty which he thus claims as his own. Probably the best test of true love of liberty in any country is the way in which minorities are treated in that country. Not only should there be complete liberty in matters of religion and opinion, but complete liberty for each man to lead his life as he desires, provided only that in so doing he does not wrong his neighbor.”

MenWayShouldDoeCountryMatterWisdomDesirePoliticsLibertyOpinionEconomyPrideCitizensDemandTestsClaimsNeighborTreatedLiberalismMinoritiesGood Citizen
Author:Theodore Roosevelt
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“I believe that this Republic will endure for many centuries. If so there will doubtless be among its Presidents Protestants and Catholics, and very probably at some time, Jews. I have consistently tried while President to act in relation to my fellow Americans of Catholic faith as I hope that any future President who happens to be Catholic will act towards his fellow Americans of Protestant faith. Had I followed any other course I should have felt that I was unfit to represent the American people.”

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Book:Letters of Theodore Roosevelt: The big stick, 1905-1909
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“I am a man who believes with all fervor and intensity in moderate progress. Too often men who believe in moderation believe in it only moderately and tepidly and leave fervor to the extremists of the two sides - the extremists of reaction and the extremists of progress. Washington, Lincoln . . . are men who, to my mind, stand as the types of what wide, progressive leadership should be.”

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Book:The days of Armageddon, 1900-1914
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“The fortunes amassed through corporate organization are now so large, and vest such power in those that wield them, as to make it a matter of necessity to give to the sovereign - that is, to the Government, which represents the people as a whole - some effective power of supervision over their corporate use. In order to insure a healthy social and industrial life, every big corporation should be held responsible by, and be accountable to, some sovereign strong enough to control its conduct.”

PeopleGivingShouldMatterEnoughWholeUseBigsGovernmentOrderStrongSocialHealthyOrganizationResponsibleFortuneCorporateCorporationsSovereignStrong EnoughSupervisionVestsBig Corporations
Book:THEODORE ROOSEVELT - Ultimate Collection: Memoirs, History Books, Biographies, Essays, Speeches &Executive Orders: America and the World War, The Ancient Irish Sagas, The Naval War of 1812, Hero Tales From American History, Winning of the West, Through the Brazilian Wilderness, History as Literature...
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“In other words, character is far more important than intellect to the race as to the individual. We need intellect, and there is no reason why we should not have it together with character; but if we must choose between the two we choose character without a moment's hesitation.”

IfsNeedsShouldTwoImportantReasonMomentsCharacterTogetherIndividualRaceIntellectReason WhyNo ReasonHesitation
Book:The Works of Theodore Roosevelt: American ideals, with a biographical sketch by F. V. Greene. Administration
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“The Constitution guarantees protection to property, and we must make that promise good. But it does not give the right of suffrage to any corporation. It is necessary that laws should be passed to prohibit the use of corporate funds directly or indirectly for political purposes; it is still more necessary that such laws should be thoroughly enforced.”

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Book:Letters and Speeches
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“I abhor unjust war. I abhor injustice and bullying by the strong at the expense of the weak, whether among nations or individuals. I abhor violence and bloodshed. I believe that war should never be resorted to when, or so long as, it is honorably possible to avoid it. I respect all men and women who from high motives and with sanity and self-respect do all they can to avert war. I advocate preparation for war in order to avert war; and I should never advocate war unless it were the only alternative to dishonor.”

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Book:The Rough Riders: An Autobiography
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“The public must retain control of the great waterways. It is essential that any permit to obstruct them for reasons and on conditions that seem good at the moment should be subject to revision when changed conditions demand.”

ShouldReasonMomentsSeemsConditionsSubjectsChangedDemandEssentialsPermitRevisionRafting
Book:Works: Presidential addresses and state papers, Dec. 3, 1901, June 1910, and European addresses. 8 v
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“In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American.”

IfsMenShouldFirstsFactsHe ManBecomingImmigrationTreatedImmigrantsIllegalCreedsPatriotUnited States Of AmericaOutrageMigrantsIllegal ImmigrantsIllegal ImmigrationGood FaithAmerican FlagAmerican PatriotismAmerican PatriotAmericanismIllegal AliensBirthplaceUsa PatrioticImmigration PolicyInspirational PatrioticLegal ImmigrationComing To America
Book:Letters of Theodore Roosevelt: The days of Armageddon, 1900-1914
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