Success

In an address before the Cambridge Union at Cambridge University in England, Theodore Roosevelt talks about two kinds of success: the success that belongs to the very few who can be qualified as geniuses and the success that is open to everyone else if one tries very hard and very often to develop one’s talents. Roosevelt also touches on the historic ties between his alma mater, Harvard University, and Cambridge, and he talks about the need to reform American football and make it more like the game of rugby.

A photograph of Roosevelt speaking with the Mayor of Texline, Texas, supplements the text.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Five quotations from Theodore Roosevelt, dating from 1900 to 1911, on the topic of success. Roosevelt says that success comes from sacrifice; that material well-being should not be the only mark of success; and that the best success in life comes from having made the world a better place.

Collection

Theodore Roosevelt Association Journal

Creation Date

1900-1911

In this cancelled draft of a letter, Theodore Roosevelt congratulates someone on their success.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1915-08-07

President Roosevelt speaks at a banquet given by the Palace Hotel and the citizens of San Francisco. He is pleased by the unity of the country and his visit to California. He remarks on their prosperity and future, character, and the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-12

President Roosevelt speaks at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He speaks of the value of higher education, the need for material prosperity, the “productive scholarship of the nation,” and virtues.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-08

President Roosevelt addresses the citizens of Redlands. He congratulates them on forest preservation, irrigation, urban development, prosperity, and citizenship. Roosevelt also thanks the soldiers and veterans present.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-07

President Roosevelt addresses a crowd in Ellis, Kansas. He compares the modern Kansas with what he remembers from his prior travels. He congratulates the citizens on their prosperity and citizenship. Roosevelt also discusses character and its relation to the Civil War, as well as the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-02

President Roosevelt remarks on the fertility and prosperity of Kansas, especially as he has seen through his travels. He discusses seeing the Haskell Indian School, agricultural colleges, and the crops. Roosevelt also congratulates the cadet corps present and discusses the Civil War.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-05-02

President Roosevelt briefly greets citizens in Clarksville, Missouri, on his way to St. Louis. He remarks on the “conquest of the continent” in the century after American independence and the material prosperity and industrial progress of the nation.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-29

President Roosevelt greets a crowd in Quincy, Illinois, and thanks them for their greeting. He also congratulates Illinois on its “abounding prosperity” and the need for the national legislature to address “the matter of the currency.” Roosevelt also remarks on the deeds of those who served in the Civil War and the character of American citizens.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-29

President Roosevelt greets and thanks a crowd in Ottumwa, Iowa. He speaks of the prosperity of Iowa and how the law can help to preserve that prosperity. He also speaks about his cabinet members, over half of whom are from Iowa, and remarks on his travels through the state.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-28

President Roosevelt speaks to a crowd in Lincoln, thanking them for their greeting and thanking the veterans for their service. He then discusses “good government” and its relationship to individual character. He also congratulates the citizens on their prosperity and educational system.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-27

President Roosevelt greets a crowd in Crete, Nebraska. He congratulates them on their prosperity and character.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-27

President Roosevelt speaks to a crowd in Alliance about citizenship and prosperity. He also speaks about character, praising the citizens as the “representatives of the greatest classes that go to make up American life.” He also discusses the law.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-25

President Roosevelt speaks of his previous time in Montana. He discusses Montana’s agriculture, water power, and mining. Roosevelt also enumerates the factors in Montana’s prosperity.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-08

President Roosevelt greets citizens in Dickinson. He speaks of his previous time in Dickinson and their success since then.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-07

President Roosevelt greets a crowd at Mandan, North Dakota, and speaks of his previous time in the Dakotas. He congratulates them on the work done to the public schools and the “upbuilding of the social and intellectual life” in the state. He also attributes that success to character.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-07

President Roosevelt addresses a crowd from the portico at the state capitol in Bismarck. He reminisces about his time in the Dakota region and the people he has come to know. Roosevelt speaks about the nation’s prosperity and how it can be affected by legislation and the character of the people.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-04-07

William Jennings Bryan hangs onto a large wheel labeled “Prosperity” spinning very fast as part of an engine. James K. Jones is attempting to stop the wheel by sticking a piece of lumber into the spokes, but it is spinning so fast that the wood splinters in his hands.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1896-12-16

A farmer holds a large sheaf of wheat labeled “Enormous Wheat Crop of 1897,” representing the bounty of Nature, with other farmers harvesting grains in the background.

Collection

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs

Creation Date

1897-07-11