The Public Record
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. A member of the Republican Party, he was born on October 27, 1858, in New York. Roosevelt was a prominent leader of the Progressive Movement, advocating for domestic policies that included trust-busting, regulation of corporations, and conservation of natural resources. His administration is noted for significant reforms and the establishment of national parks and forests.
Now, Therefore, I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the power in me vested by said act, do hereby make known and proclaim that all lands embraced in my said proclamation of August 3, 1905, saving…
I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the power in me vested by the act of Congress, do hereby declare and make known that the lands above described are hereby reserved as townsites.
One of the main features of our national governmental policy should be the effort to secure adequate and effective supervisory and regulatory control over all great corporations doing an interstate business.
I earnestly hope it never will be called again, and I will make every effort to see that peace obtains, but one first-class way to keep peace is to make it evident that you are not afraid to fight.
We must not try to go too fast, under penalty of finding that we may be going in the wrong direction; and, in any event, we ought always to proceed by evolution and not by revolution.
Under no circumstances will the United States use the Monroe Doctrine as a cloak for territorial aggression.
It is out of the question to claim a right and yet shirk the responsibility for exercising that right.
Fossilization, of course, means death, whether to an individual, a government, or a doctrine.
No stable and growing American republic wishes to see some great non-American military power acquire territory in its neighborhood.
Every consideration of wise policy, and, above all, every consideration of large generosity, bids us meet the request of Santo Domingo as we are now trying to meet it.
Therefore it is a fine thing to see men who have taken up a profession which calls for the exercise of very ounce of courage and coolness and prowess a man can have.
I do not want to see any foreign power take possession permanently or temporarily of the customs houses of an American republic in order to enforce its obligations.
I have a great contempt for the brawler, and not merely contempt but the most active dislike for the man who bullies whomsoever is weaker, who wrongs the less fortunate.
It is our duty, as far as we are able, to try to help upward our weaker brothers.
Something can be done by wise legislation and by wise and honest administration of the laws; that is, something can be done by our action taken in our collective capacity through the State and the nation.
He must stand up manfully for his own rights; he must respect the rights of others; he must obey the law, and he must try to live up to those rules of righteousness which are above and behind all laws.
Whether this country goes up or goes down will depend in the last analysis upon the character of the average American, and I believe that this country will go up because I believe that in the future the average character of our average…
If they should be needed, we want the very best, and we want the best men behind them.
It is a proud and responsible privilege to be citizens of this great self-governing nation; and each of us needs to keep steadily before his eyes the fact that he is wholly unfit to take part in the work of governing others unless he can…
We need in the interest of peace and so that we can do our duty in promoting peace of the world to have it understood that we desire peace not from fear, not from weakness, but because we regard peace as just and right.
In the last analysis the factor most influential in determining any man's success must ever be the sum of that man's own qualities, of his knowledge, foresight, thrift, and courage.
Politicians like Teddy Roosevelt
