“This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country.”

Memphis, Tennessee, October 25, 1905

“Life is not easy, and least of all is it easy for either the man or the nation that aspires to do great deeds.”

 Speech in New York City, February 26, 1903

“I have been Vice President, and I know how hollow the honor is.”

Quoted by Lawrence F. Abbott in Impressions of Theodore Roosevelt, 1919

“The greatest benefit to the people, I am convinced, is the enforcement of the laws, without fear or favor.”

New York City, October 25, 1895

“I abhor injustice and bullying by the strong at the expense of the weak.”

An Autobiography, 1913

“Weakness invites contempt. Weakness combined with bluster invites both contempt and aggression. Self-respecting strength that respects the rights of others is the only quality
that secures respect from others.”

Kansas City, Missouri, May 30, 1916

“The performance of duty, and not the indulgence in vapid ease
and vapid pleasure, is all that makes life worth while.”

An Autobiography, 1913

“It is by no means necessary that a great nation should always stand at the heroic level. But no nation has the root of greatness in it unless in time of need it can rise to the heroic mood.”

Fear God and Take Your Own Part, 1916

“Self-reliance is the key to a vigorous life. A man must look inward to find his own answers.”

President Theodore Roosevelt, as played by the great Robin Williams in the 2006 movie, Night at the Museum