“Thanks to the teaching and the practice of the men whom we most revere as leaders, of the men like Washington and Lincoln, we have hitherto escaped the twin gulfs of despotism and mob rule, and we have never been in any danger from the worst forms of religious bitterness.”

History as Literature,
1913

“The reform that counts is that which comes through steady, continuous growth. Violent emotionalism leads to exhaustion.”

Remarks in Washington, DC
April 14, 1906

“In a republic, to be successful we must learn to combine intensity of conviction with a broad tolerance of difference of conviction.”

History as Literature
1913

“In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is — Hit the line hard; don’t foul and don’t shirk, but hit the line hard!”

The Strenuous Life,
1900

“Our country offers the most wonderful example of democratic government on a giant scale that the world has ever seen; and the peoples of the world are watching to see whether we succeed or fail.”

Saratoga, New York
September 27, 1910

“Much has been given us, and much will rightfully be expected from us.”

Inaugural Address
March 4, 1905

“If a man has a very decided character, has a strongly accentuated career, it is normally the case of course that he makes ardent friends and bitter enemies.”

Letter to George Trevelyan,
May 28, 1904

“More and more it seems to me that about the best thing in life is to have a piece of work worth doing and then to do it well.”

Letter to William Howard Taft,
March 12, 1901

“Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready.”

Speech in San Francisco, California
May 13, 1903

“One of our cardinal doctrines is freedom of speech, which means freedom of speech about foreigners as well as about ourselves.”

An Autobiography,
1913

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

An Autobiography
1913