Your TR Source
President Roosevelt pops a large ball of “Democratic campaign fallacies” with a “sound America common sense” feather. It drips into a “many inventions” bowl.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-08
William Jennings Bryan sits atop a small “Denver platform made by W. J. Bryan” amidst the sea of “common sense.”
This is a relatively early political cartoon by Frederick Morgan; previously he drew illustrations, editorial and political cartoons, and children’s works, mostly for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Born in 1865 (or 1862, or some other year; accounts abound), he was the son of the English immigrant Matt Morgan whose woodcut cartoons in Leslie’s Weekly were intended to be that journal’s “answer” to the popular Thomas Nast of Harper’s Weekly. It was reported that Fred’s first work in cartooning was assisting his father.
President Roosevelt addresses citizens in Pasadena before going on a tour of the community. He remarks on the development of the area, the unity of Americans, problems resulting from industrialization, training, and common sense.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-08
Theodore Roosevelt has thoroughly enjoyed his time in California. He emphasizes the importance of having men to take advantage of the constitutional laws. Roosevelt closes his speech by emphasizing the importance of common sense.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-20
Theodore Roosevelt praises the way the people of California have carried out the government’s laws. Decency, courage, and common sense are essential to citizenship.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-05-20
President Roosevelt emphasizes points made by Harry Pratt Judson (earlier that day) on the foundation for greatness and the importance of universities. He also speaks about “the aim of the production of citizenship” and morality. Roosevelt also remarks on the win of 1876, the Civil War, Lincoln, and ordinary men.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1903-04-02
President Roosevelt speaks to a crowd in Wheeling, West Virginia. After thanking and praising native Senator Nathan B. Scott for the introduction, Roosevelt discusses how America is living in a period of unparalleled prosperity and advancement in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. However, that prosperity comes with its own problems, namely those related to the rise of large, interstate corporations. He encourages the crowd to reject patent solutions or revolutionary reactions to the problems introduced by trusts. Rather, he asserts that the country must evolve, with the federal government regulating corporations, gaining facts and encouraging publicity but not opposing corporations as such. He compares the need to adapt the law to address trusts with the evolution of military arms and tactics; the means may change, but the need for citizen courage, honesty, and character remain.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-06
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
At the opening session of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen convention, President Roosevelt praises railroad workers as possessing the necessary qualities of soldiers, including obedience, initiative, and the rugged, manly virtues that Roosevelt feels are threatened by modern luxuries. He argues that organized labor is wonderful, but only if it encourages individual improvement while working for the group, and he feels that the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen have historically exemplified this virtue. Roosevelt warns that the prosperity of modern progress also gives rise to new challenges. He insists that, just as certain soldierly qualities remain constant despite changes in arms or military tactics, laws and constitutions may change but the need for good citizens of honesty, courage, and common sense will always be necessary. Having just visited the Chickamauga and Chattanooga battlefields, Roosevelt also praises the unified American spirit shared by men and women across the country, including immigrants.
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 tells the crowd that he has enjoyed his visit to North Carolina and Tennessee, especially in seeing its industrial growth. Referencing the depression of 1893, he says that the sections of the country share in times of prosperity and suffering, that good and bad times “do not stop for state lines.” Roosevelt states that the government cannot make every individual prosper but that it can give the chance to prosper to everyone who possesses honesty, bravery, and common sense. He notes North Carolina’s natural advantages, but says that character is even more important. To conclude, Roosevelt predicts that the region will be one of the world’s most prosperous within the next fifty years and that the people will work hard to achieve this reality.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-09
President Roosevelt expresses his pleasure at visiting the industrial center in Kokoma, Indiana, and highlights Indiana’s great natural resources. However, he emphasizes that “material prosperity isn’t everything”—that the real resource is the character of the American people. He advocates the creed of optimism and hope, believing that the United States can develop the continent through hard work and ingenuity despite the difficulties and dangers it faces. Above all, he praises the traits of courage, honesty, and common sense. He also expresses his gratitude towards veterans and current members of the United States Army.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1902-09-23
President Roosevelt thanks the local chairman, presumably a Democrat, for introducing him, saying that political party is of little importance when Americans are unified in the spirit of fairness. He notes the presence of school children in the crowd as well as veterans of the Union Army in the American Civil War, saying that the veterans’ victorious spirit lived on in the American soldiers who fought in the Philippines. He notes how evolving weapons and tactics have not changed the necessary qualities of the soldier. Benedict Arnold was a gallant and talented soldier who helped win major battles but was missing the important “root of righteousness” that eventually led to his reputation as a traitor. Similarly, laws may change, but the need for patriotic citizens with honesty, courage, and common sense remains the same.