“I would rather go out of politics feeling that I had done what was right than stay in with the approval of all men, knowing
in my heart that I had acted as I ought not to.”

– New York Assembly, 1884

“The long path leading upward toward the light cannot be traversed at once, or in a day, or in a year. But there are certain steps that can be taken… Having taken these first steps, we shall see more
clearly how to walk still further with a bolder stride.”

– New York, October 30, 1912

“I think very little of mere oratory. I feel an impatient contempt
for the man of words if he is merely a man of words.”

– Letter to Henry Cabot Lodge, July 19, 1908

“From the days when civilized man first began to strive for self-government and democracy, success in this effort has depended primarily upon the ability to steer clear of extremes.”

– The Metropolitan Magazine, December 1918

“We welcome leadership, but we wish our leaders to understand that they derive their strength from us, and that, although we look to them for guidance, we expect this guidance to be in accordance with our interests and our ideals.”

– The Outlook, July 9, 1910

“Americanism is a question of spirit, conviction, and purpose, not of creed or birthplace.”

– Forum, April 1894

“To bear the name of American is to bear the most honorable of titles.”

– Forum, April 1894

“My hat’s in the ring. The fight is on and I’m stripped to the buff.”

– Press Conference, 1912

“Honesty and common sense are the two prime requisites for a legislator.”

– Albany, New York, 1883

“The sons of all of us will pay in the future if we of the present do not do justice in the present.”

– Louisville, Kentucky, April 3, 1912

“No nation ever amounted to anything if it did not have
within its soul the power of fealty to a lofty ideal.”

– Berkeley, California, 1913