“Men often forget that constructive change offers the best method of avoiding destructive change; that reform is the antidote to revolution.”

Speech in Cairo, IL,
October 3, 1907

“Let us remember that, as much has been given to us, much will be expected from us; and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips and shows itself in deeds.”

 Thanksgiving Proclamation
November 2, 1901

“To be neutral between right and wrong is to serve wrong.”

Letter to J. Strachey
February 22, 1915

“We cannot possibly do our best work as a nation unless all of us know how to act in combination as well as how to act each individually for himself.”

Speech in Minneapolis, MN
September 2, 1901

“Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”

An Autobiography
1913

“Absolute equality, absolute justice in matters of taxation will probably never be realized; but we can approximate it much more closely than at present.”

Annual Message as Governor
January 3, 1900

“An honest, courageous, and far-sighted politician is a good thing in any country.”

Speech at National University, Cairo, Egypt
March 28, 1910

“Our history has been one of expansion, the expansion being of different kinds at different times. This expansion is not a matter of regret, but of pride.”

Speech at Minnesota State Fair
September 2, 1901

“We must soberly set to work to find out all we can about the existence and extent of every evil, must acknowledge it to be such, and must then attack it with unyielding resolution.”

The Forum Magazine
April 1894

“It is a bad thing to permit sensationalism and hysteria to shape the development of our sports.”

Speech at Harvard University
June 28, 1905

“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Speech at Minnesota State Fair
September 2, 1901

“In a time of sudden and wide-spread disaster, caused by a flood, a blizzard, an earthquake, or an epidemic, there may be ample reason for the extension of charity on the largest scale to everyone who needs it.”

Essay on Civic Helpfulness, Century Magazine
October 1900