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Theodore Roosevelt

26th President of the United States; hero of the Spanish-American War; Panama Canal was built during his administration; "Theodore Roosevelt said `Speak softly but carry a big stick'" (1858-1919)

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There can be no fifty-fifty Americanism in this country. There is room here for only 100 % Americanism, only for those who are Americans and nothing else.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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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.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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A man must first care for his own household before he can be of use to the state. But no matter how well he cares for his household, he is not a good citizen unless he also takes thought of the state. In the same way, a great nation must think of its own internal affairs; and yet it cannot substantiate its claim to be a great nation unless it also thinks of its position in the world at large.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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To educate a man in mind, and not in morals, is to educate a menace to society.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer "Present" or "Not Guilty."

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can' Then get busy and find out how to do it.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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when I say I believe in a square deal I do not mean ... to give every man the best hand. if the cards do not come to any man, or if they do come, and he has not got the power to play them, that is his affair. all I mean is that there shall be no crookedness in the dealing.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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When you play, play hard when you work, don't play at all.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting but never hit soft

– Theodore Roosevelt

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No man is above the law and no man below it.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not guilty.'

– Theodore Roosevelt

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A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country, is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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All the resources we need are in the mind.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Every man among us is more fit to meet the duties and responsibilities of citizenship because of the perils over which, in the past, the nation has triumphed; because of the blood and sweat and tears, the labor and the anguish, through which, in the days that have gone, our forefathers moved on to triumph.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The government is us; we are the government, you and I.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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It is not the critic that counts not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or the doer of deeds could have 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 errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming but he who does actually strive to do the deed who knows the great devotion who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who know neither victory nor defeat.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The great lawyer who employs his talent and his learning in the highly emunerative task of enabling a very wealthy client to override or circumvent the law is doing all that in him lies to encourage the growth in the country of a spirit of dumb anger against all laws and of disbelief in their efficacy.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Speak softly and carry a big stick, you will go far.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The one absolute certain way to bring this nation to ruin... would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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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.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Americanism means the virtues of courage, honor, justice, truth, sincerity, and hardihoodthe virtues that made America. The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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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 errs and comes up short again and again. Because there is no effort without error and shortcomings, he who knows the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the high achievement of triumph and who at worst, if he fails while daring greatly, knows his place shall never be with those timid and cold souls who know neither victory nor defeat".

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Conservation and rural-life policies are really two sides of the same policy; and down at bottom this policy rests upon the fundamental law that neither man nor nation can prosper unless, in dealing with the present, thought is steadily taken for the future.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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I am delighted to have you play football. I believe in rough, manly sports. But I do not believe in them if they degenerate into the sole end of any one's existence. I don't want you to sacrifice standing well in your studies to any over-athleticism and I need not tell you that character counts for a great deal more than either intellect or body in winning success in life. Athletic proficiency is a mighty good servant, and like so many other good servants, a mighty bad master.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk we must act big.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic, is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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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 the day.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Freedom from effort in the present merely means that there has been effort stored up in the past.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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I wish that all Americans would realize that American politics is world politics.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Liar' is just as ugly a word as 'thief,' because it implies the presence of just as ugly a sin in one case as in the other. If a man lies under oath or procures the lie of another under oath, if he perjures himself or suborns perjury, he is guilty under the statute law.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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My position as regards the monied interests can be put in a few words. In every civilized society property rights must be carefully safeguarded; ordinarily and in the great majority of cases, human rights and property rights are fundamentally and in the long run, identical; but when it clearly appears that there is a real conflict between them, human rights must have the upper hand; for property belongs to man and not man to property.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Nine-tenths of wisdom consists in being wise in time.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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No man who is corrupt, no man who condones corruption in others, can possibly do his duty by the community.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent, experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it, if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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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 errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause who at best, knows the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The great virtue of my radicalism lies in the fact that I am perfectly ready, if necessary, to be radical on the conservative side.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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There is a homely old adage which runs Speak softly and carry a big stick you will go far. If the American nation will speak softly, and yet build and keep at a pitch of the highest training a thoroughly efficient navy, the Monroe Doctrine will go far.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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To educate a man in mind, and not morals is to educate a menace to society.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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We cannot afford merely to sit down and deplore the evils of city life as inevitable, when cities are constantly growing, both absolutely and relatively. We must set ourselves vigorously about the task of improving them; and this task is now well begun.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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While my interest in natural history has added very little to my sum of achievement, it has added immeasurably to my sum of enjoyment in life.

– Theodore Roosevelt

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Quotes from the news wire:

The Grand Canyon fills me with awe, you cannot improve on it. But what you can do is keep it for your children, your children's children and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see.

– Theodore Roosevelt

Found on FOX News 9 years ago

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Dan Baker
His wisdom and depth are amazing.
LikeReply 29 years ago
- STANDS4
  Hi Dan, thank you for reaching us! We agree!!
  LikeReply9 years ago

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