Your TR Source
Text of Theodore Roosevelt’s Independence Day oration in Dickinson, Dakota Territory, in 1886. The pamphlet was created for the 1958 Theodore Roosevelt Centennial Symposium.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
1958
Theodore Roosevelt defends his statements regarding the war and German conduct in Belgium. Roosevelt can feel goodwill towards Germany while also condemning their conduct. He has carefully read the German side of the case and was not convinced. Belgium was determined not to allow the violation of its neutrality by any other nation and only Germany decided to break faith, invade, and subjugate Belgium “against every rule of right and of humanity.” Roosevelt argues that no one can remain an American citizen while subordinating the “interests and duty of the United States to the interests of a foreign land.” He accuses George Sylvester Viereck of being wholeheartedly behind his birth country, Germany, and not his adopted country, the United States. Therefore, Viereck is being a poor citizen of both nations and should return to Germany, renounce his American citizenship, and join the German army.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-03-15
President Roosevelt thanks the Board of the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church through Joseph B. Hingeley, secretary to that body. The Board has sent Roosevelt a personalized copy of the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Roosevelt describes the church as promoting a “virile type of American citizenship.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1909-02-25
President Roosevelt agrees with Stephen V. R. Crosby’s statement about the football game, especially with what he says about the rules. He does not want the sport to be stopped at Harvard and believes that Louis Adams Frothingham is “just the type of man” who should be promoted in American public life.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-25
President Roosevelt writes to Floyd Bartholomew expressing his feelings toward “active duties of citizenship” for young men and the organizations that help to “fit themselves for these duties.” President Roosevelt discusses the qualities all young men should strive to achieve as active citizens. He concludes by sending good wishes to the Young Men’s Congress banquet.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-18
President Roosevelt gives a brief speech from the balcony of the Columbia Club near the Sailors and Soldiers Monument, which had been completed in May of that year. Roosevelt celebrates the material well-being he has seen in Indiana but praises more the spirit to do and honor great deeds. He honors the memory of Union veterans of the American Civil War, affirms the place of the United States as a world power, and encourages the crowd to embrace a gospel of hope. If Americans stand up to difficulty, do their duty at home and abroad, and dare to be great, the nation will be “the greatest upon which the sun has ever shone.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-23
President Roosevelt tells the crowd in Lexington, Kentucky, that the state has a special relationship to American history as a border state both between north and south, as well as east and west. Kentucky has also contributed more than one would expect to “the leadership of the country in peace and in war.” Roosevelt expounds on three necessary qualities of citizenship: honesty, courage, and common sense. He argues that, just as military tactics and arms change but the soldier’s spirit remains constant, so too must good citizenship continue even as laws or the Constitution must adapt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-06
President Roosevelt briefly addresses the crowd that gathered at Knoxville, Tennessee, despite the heavy rain. He praises Tennessee as the home of many American leaders, including officers in the Revolutionary War and American Civil War. He celebrates the increase of industry, railroads, and mining in East Tennessee but extols more the virtues of citizenship and value of worthy labor, referencing Civil War veterans and early settlers as examples.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-08
President Roosevelt addresses the crowd that has gathered at Morristown, Tennessee. He expresses gratitude that he has been able to visit East Tennessee as president, especially the Civil War battlegrounds of Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and Lookout Mountain. He says anyone who visits these sites and reflects on the post-war lives of the Civil War veterans should come away a better American citizen and reminds his audience that the greatest Union naval commander, Admiral David Farragut, came from Tennessee. Roosevelt concludes by noting that Americans’ great deeds reflect positively on other Americans just as a deed “of a shameful character makes all of us hang our heads a little.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-08
President Roosevelt reminds the crowd in Asheville, North Carolina, of the state’s connection to American history. He mentions his recent visits to the battlegrounds at Chickamauga and Chattanooga and says no citizen can visit them without becoming a better American. He discusses his multi-state journey, saying it is a good thing for a president to travel so he can see that sectional and class differences are trivial. He notes how military arms and tactics may change but the necessary spirit of the good soldier remains the same; so too may laws and constitutions change, but Americans must always possess the qualities of good citizens: honesty, courage, and common sense. He concludes by reminding the crowd that all Americans are part of the government.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-09
President Roosevelt briefly addresses the crowd gathered at Statesville, North Carolina, saying he is glad to see the region’s industrial development. He says that the men of North Carolina are real men and the women are real women, using an anecdote from the War of 1812 to make the point. He says that all men, especially the president, should travel so they will see that good citizens are the same all over while sectional differences are trivial.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-09
President Roosevelt tells the crowd at Salisbury, North Carolina, that it is good for Americans, especially the president, to travel, for it teaches one that sectional and class differences are trivial while good citizenship is the same everywhere. He praises the industrial growth of North Carolina and Tennessee, saying it will bring about prosperity for Americans in all sections. He adds that good laws can help this progress, but that no law can create prosperity without a hard-working citizenry possessing wisdom, honesty, perseverance, and courage. He concludes by saying he believes in the people of the region.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-09
President Roosevelt tells the crowd he is glad to see them but wishes he could have passed through in daylight to see their “grand and beautiful historic state.” He says he will visit Virginia again soon. Referring to his journey through North Carolina and Tennessee, Roosevelt says that all Americans, especially the president, should travel and see that sectional differences are trivial while American similarities are fundamental. He states that Americans will rise or fall together. Roosevelt concludes by recognizing the special relationship Virginia has with American history in peacetime and war.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-09
In Detroit, Michigan, President Roosevelt addresses a crowd of veterans of the Spanish-American War, telling them Mayor William C. Maybury’s invitation to speak to them was the first Roosevelt had accepted that fall. After joking that in the Spanish-American War “there was not enough war to go around,” Roosevelt notes with seriousness that veterans of that conflict hope they showed the same spirit and worthiness as the “men of Appomattox.” Using anecdotes from their military service, Roosevelt reminds them that as with soldiers, good citizens come from all walks of life and that the drudgery of hard work comes before heroism in battle. He urges the testing of oneself and one’s neighbors by “the essential instead of the non-essential qualities in each man.” He also highlights the need for modern military training and weapons but emphasizes that the character of the soldier is even more important. Finally, Roosevelt praises the United States’ actions and motives in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines and pledges the best results for the people of the Philippines in particular.
Frederick Muller is concerned about corruption in New Mexico Territory. He would like to discuss the appointment of the territorial governor with President Roosevelt.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1901-10-14