Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was an American statesman, politician, conservationist, naturalist, and writer who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. These Theodore Roosevelt Quotes are about politics, leadership, and American culture.
Best Theodore Roosevelt Quotes
- “Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “There is but one answer to terrorism and it is best delivered with a Winchester rifle.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Americans learn only from catastrophe and not from experience.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer ‘Present’ or ‘Not guilty.'” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “He who makes no mistakes makes no progress.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Most of us tiptoe through life in order to make it safely to death.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.” – Theodore Roosevelt
-
“Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Do Something Now. If not you, who? If not here, where? If not now, when?” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “A man who is good enough to shed his blood for the country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his well-being, to risk his body, to risk his life, in a great cause.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” – Theodore Roosevelt
-
“A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Courage, hard work, self-mastery, and intelligent effort are all essential to successful life.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “All contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” – Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt Quotes differentiates between a leader and a boss.
- “No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “A vote is like a rifle; its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “The worst lesson that can be taught to a man is to rely upon others and to whine over his sufferings” – Theodore Roosevelt
-
“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Honesty first; then courage; then brains – and all are indispensable.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “With a great moral issue involved, neutrality does not serve righteousness; for to be neutral between right and wrong is to serve wrong.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “There should be at least ten times the number of rifles in the country as there are now.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Comparison is the thief of joy.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Don’t hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting, but never hit soft.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” – Theodore Roosevelt
-
“The one thing I want to leave my children is an honorable name.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Nothing worth having was ever achieved without effort.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Life brings sorrows and joys alike. It is what a man does with them – not what they do to him – that is the true test of his mettle.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “In the long run, the most unpleasant truth is a safer companion than a pleasant falsehood.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Make preparations in advance … you never have trouble if you are prepared for it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “No educated man can afford to be ignorant of the Bible.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “The leader works in the open and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “It is no use to preach to [children] if you do not act decently yourself.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “The truth is that any good modern rifle is good enough. The determining factor is the man behind the gun.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Malefactors of great wealth have arrogantly ignored the public welfare.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.” – Theodore Roosevelt
-
“Let us rather run the risk of wearing out than rusting out.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Believe you can do it and you are halfway there” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “You can’t choose your potential, but you can choose to fulfill it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “It is always better to be an original than an imitation.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Show me a man who makes no mistakes, and I will show you a man who doesn’t do things.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “When I hear of the destruction of a species, I feel just as if all the works of some great writer have perished.” – Theodore Roosevelt
-
“Of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “To announce that there must be no criticism of the president… is morally treasonable to the American public.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Unrestrained greed means the ruin of the great woods and the drying up of the sources of the rivers.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above is character.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “The joy of living is his who has the heart to demand it. Life is a great adventure, and I want to say to you, accept it in such a spirit.” – Theodore Roosevelt
- “No man who is corrupt, no man who condones corruption in others, can possibly do his duty by the community.” – Theodore Roosevelt
