“A compromise which results in a half-step toward evil is all wrong, just as the opportunist who saves himself for the moment by
adopting a policy which is fraught with future disaster is all wrong.”

– The Strenuous Life, 1901

“Let us remember that, as much has been given 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.”

– Proclamation 466, Thanksgiving Day – November 2, 1901

“Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground.”

– The Groton School, Groton, MA, May 24, 1904

“When we have the power, I most earnestly hope, and should
most earnestly advocate, that it be used with the
greatest wisdom and self-restraint.”

– Address in Wheeling, WV, September 6, 1902

“A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends
upon the character of the user.”

– An Autobiography, 1913

“If a labor union does wrong, we oppose it as firmly as we oppose a corporation which does wrong; and we stand equally stoutly for the rights of the man of wealth and for the rights of the wage worker.”

– Special Message to Congress, January 31, 1908

“Under the American system, it is impossible for a man to accomplish anything by himself; he must associate himself with others,
and they must throw their weight together.”

– American Ideals, and Other Essays, Social and Political, 1897

“We, the people, rule ourselves, and what we really want from our
representatives is that they shall manage the government
for us along the lines we lay down, and shall do
this with efficiency and good faith.”

– St. Louis, MO, March 28, 1912

“Women should have free access to every field of labor which they care to enter, and when their work is as valuable as that of
a man it should be paid as highly.”

– An Autobiography 1913

“Athletics are good; study is even better; and best of all is the development of the type of character for the lack of which, in an individual as in a nation, no amount of brilliance of mind or of strength of body will atone.”

– Address at Harvard University, February 23, 1907

“At this moment, we are passing through a period of great unrest – social, political and industrial unrest. It is of the utmost importance for our future that this should prove to be not the unrest of mere rebelliousness against life, of mere dissatisfaction with the inevitable inequality of conditions, but the unrest of a resolute and eager ambition to secure the betterment of the individual and the nation.”

– Address at the Laying of the Cornerstone of the
Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC, April 14, 1906

“Order without liberty and liberty without order are
equally destructive.”

– The Great Adventure, 1918