The mean and cringing admiration which such a career commands among those who think crookedly or not at all makes this kind of success perhaps the most dangerous of all the influences that threaten our national life.
In an essay on national character, this passage warns that public admiration for unethical success poses a grave threat to the nation's integrity.
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More from Teddy Roosevelt
The American people by a great plurality have conferred upon you the highest honor in their gift.
The fate of the leader for the time being is of little consequence, but the cause itself must in the end triumph, for its triumph is essential to the well-being of the American people.
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