The first requisite of a good citizen in this republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight.
Theodore Roosevelt

The government is us; we are the government, you and I.
Theodore Roosevelt

The human body has two ends on it: one to create with and one to sit on. Sometimes people get their ends reversed. When this happens they need a kick in the seat of the pants.
Theodore Roosevelt

The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife.
Theodore Roosevelt

The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.
Theodore Roosevelt

The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency.
Theodore Roosevelt

The most successful politician is he who says what the people are thinking most often in the loudest voice.
Theodore Roosevelt

The one thing I want to leave my children is an honorable name.
Theodore Roosevelt

The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything.
Theodore Roosevelt

The only time you really live fully is from thirty to sixty. The young are slaves to dreams; the old servants of regrets. Only the middle-aged have all their five senses in the keeping of their wits.
Theodore Roosevelt

The pacifist is as surely a traitor to his country and to humanity as is the most brutal wrongdoer.
Theodore Roosevelt

The reactionary is always willing to take a progressive attitude on any issue that is dead.
Theodore Roosevelt

The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life.
Theodore Roosevelt

The unforgivable crime is soft hitting. Do not hit at all if it can be avoided; but never hit softly.
Theodore Roosevelt

There can be no fifty-fifty Americanism in this country. There is room here for only 100% Americanism, only for those who are Americans and nothing else.
Theodore Roosevelt

There has never yet been a man in our history who led a life of ease whose name is worth remembering.
Theodore Roosevelt

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president... is morally treasonable to the American public.
Theodore Roosevelt

To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.
Theodore Roosevelt

Wars are, of course, as a rule to be avoided; but they are far better than certain kinds of peace.
Theodore Roosevelt

We can have no "50-50" allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all.
Theodore Roosevelt