“My course was to insist on absolute fitness, including honesty, as a prerequisite to every appointment.”

An Autobiography
1913

“No people on earth have more cause to be thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boastfulness in our own strength, but with gratitude to the Giver of Good.”

Inaugural Address,
1905

“He among us who wishes to win honor in our life, and to play his part honestly and manfully, must be indeed an American in spirit and purpose, in heart and thought and deed.”

New York
1906

“I think that on the whole the future holds more for us than even the great past has held. But, assuredly, the dreams of golden glory in the future will not come true unless, high of heart and strong of hand, by our own mighty deeds we make them come true.”

History as Literature
1913

“Civic greatness is at an end when civic righteousness is no longer its foundation.”

The Strenuous Life
1900

“Reformers, if they are to do well, must look both backward and forward; must be bold and yet must exercise prudence and caution in all they do.”

Introduction to The Wisconsin Idea
1912

“The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.”

Remarks at Sagamore Hill
June 1901

“Without honesty, the brave and able man is merely a civic wild beast.”

Outlook Magazine, May 12, 1900

“Alike for the nation and the individual, the one indispensable requisite is character.”

The Outlook, March 31, 1900

“Be honest, and remember that honesty counts for nothing unless back of it lie courage and efficiency.”

Speech in Groton, Massachusetts
May 24, 1904

“As a people we must be united. If we are not united we shall slip into the gulf of measureless disaster. We must be strong in purpose for our own defense and bent on securing justice within our borders.”

Before Knights of Columbus, New York City
October 12, 1915

“Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above both is character.”

Outlook Magazine, March 31, 1900