150 Best Theodore Roosevelt Quotes: Wisdom from America's Most Dynamic President

Patrick WrightJuly 5, 2025

An oil painting of Theodore Roosevelt on a book cover

150 Best Theodore Roosevelt Quotes: Wisdom from America's Most Dynamic President

Introduction

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, remains one of history's most quotable leaders. Born in 1858, Roosevelt overcame childhood illness to become a force of nature—a cowboy, soldier, naturalist, author, and reformer who embodied the American spirit of determination and progress. His words continue to inspire generations with their blend of practical wisdom, moral courage, and boundless enthusiasm for life.

Known for his "speak softly and carry a big stick" philosophy, Roosevelt was a man of action who believed in the power of individual character and collective responsibility. From his days as a Rough Rider to his tenure in the White House, he championed progressive reforms, conservation efforts, and American strength on the world stage. His quotes reflect not just political wisdom, but deep insights into human nature, personal growth, and the pursuit of excellence.

This collection of 150 quotes captures the essence of Roosevelt's philosophy—his belief in hard work, his love of nature, his commitment to justice, and his unshakeable optimism about human potential. Whether addressing matters of state or offering personal advice, Roosevelt's words ring with authenticity and power, making them as relevant today as they were over a century ago.

Table of Contents

  1. Courage and Perseverance
  2. Character and Integrity
  3. Work and Achievement
  4. Leadership and Politics
  5. Education and Wisdom
  6. Life Philosophy
  7. American Values and Patriotism
  8. Nature and Conservation

Courage and Perseverance

Theodore Roosevelt understood that life's greatest achievements come from facing challenges head-on. His quotes on courage reflect his own journey from a sickly child to a robust leader who never backed down from a fight.

"When you're at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on." - Theodore Roosevelt

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Believe you can and you're halfway there." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We must dare to be great; and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die; and none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life and the duty of life. Both life and death are parts of the same Great Adventure." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The only man who never makes mistakes is the man who never does anything." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have the strength." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood." - Theodore Roosevelt

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A soft, easy life is not worth living, if it impairs the fibre of brain and heart and muscle." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The boy who is going to make a great man must not make up his mind merely to overcome a thousand obstacles, but to win in spite of a thousand repulses and defeats." - Theodore Roosevelt

"There were all kinds of things I was afraid of at first, ranging from grizzly bears to 'mean' horses and gun-fighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid." - Theodore Roosevelt

"With self-discipline most anything is possible." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The worst of all fears is the fear of living." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Courage isn't the absence of fear, it's the judgment that something else is more important than fear." - Theodore Roosevelt

Character and Integrity

Roosevelt believed that character was the foundation of both individual success and national greatness. His quotes on integrity reflect his unwavering commitment to moral principles.

"Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike." - Theodore Roosevelt

"To educate a person in the mind but not in morals is to educate a menace to society." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I would rather go out of politics having the feeling that I had done what was right than stay in with the approval of all men, knowing in my heart that I have acted as I ought not to." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground." - Theodore Roosevelt

"No one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt

"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt

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

"Courtesy is as much a mark of a gentleman as courage." - 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

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official." - 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

"The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency." - 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

"Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything." - Theodore Roosevelt

Work and Achievement

Roosevelt's philosophy of work emphasized both the dignity of labor and the importance of striving for excellence in all endeavors.

"No man needs sympathy because he has to work, because he has a burden to carry. Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." - Theodore Roosevelt

"When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." - 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

"No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I am a part of everything that I have read." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Every book of tactics in the regiment was in use from morning until night, and the officers and non-commissioned officers were always studying the problems presented at the schools." - Theodore Roosevelt

"There are many kinds of success in life worth having. It is exceedingly interesting and attractive to be a successful businessman, or railway man, or farmer, or a successful lawyer or doctor; or a writer, or a President, or a ranchman, or the colonel of a fighting regiment, or to kill grizzly bears and lions. But for unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly makes all other forms of success and achievement lose their importance by comparison." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The joy in life is his who has the heart to demand it." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well." - Theodore Roosevelt

"It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty." - Theodore Roosevelt

"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

"Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Great thoughts speak only to the thoughtful mind, but great actions speak to all mankind." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education." - Theodore Roosevelt

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

"Freedom from effort in the present merely means that there has been effort stored up in the past." - Theodore Roosevelt

Leadership and Politics

As a political reformer and progressive leader, Roosevelt had much to say about the nature of leadership and the responsibilities of public service.

"To befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business & corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We stand at Armageddon, and we battle for the Lord!" - Theodore Roosevelt

"Our fight is a fundamental fight against both of the old corrupt party machines, for both are under the dominion of the plunder league of the professional politicians who are controlled and sustained by the great beneficiaries of privilege and reaction." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The death-knell of the republic had rung as soon as the active power became lodged in the hands of those who sought, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The citizen must have high ideals, and yet he must be able to achieve them in practical fashion." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We are bound in honor to strive to bring ever nearer the day when, as far is humanly possible, we shall be able to realize the ideal that each man shall have an equal opportunity to show the stuff that is in him by the way in which he renders service." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We should not take part in acting a lie any more than in telling a lie. We should not say that men are equal where they are not equal, nor proceed upon the assumption that there is an equality where it does not exist; but we should strive to bring about a measurable equality, at least to the extent of preventing the inequality which is due to force or fraud." - Theodore Roosevelt

"That is why I decline to recognize the mere multimillionaire, the man of mere wealth, as an asset of value to any country; and especially as not an asset to my own country. If he has earned or uses his wealth in a way that makes him a real benefit, of real use- and such is often the case- why, then he does become an asset of real worth." - Theodore Roosevelt

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

"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues." - Theodore Roosevelt

"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'Present' or 'Not Guilty.'" - Theodore Roosevelt

"The best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing; the worst thing you can do is nothing." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The leader must understand that he leads us, that he guides us, by convincing us so that we will follow him or follow his direction." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Conservation means development as much as it does protection." - Theodore Roosevelt

Education and Wisdom

Roosevelt was a voracious reader and lifelong learner who believed deeply in the power of education to transform individuals and society.

"A man who has never gone to school may steal a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad." - Theodore Roosevelt

"That was a good mark in Latin, and I am pleased with your steady improvement in it." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I was glad to hear that you were to be confirmed." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The lack of power to take joy in outdoor nature is as real a misfortune as the lack of power to take joy in books." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We believe in conservatism; but it is a conservatism not of timidity, not of mere stolidity, it is the conservatism of good sense. We do not intend to be spurred into rash action or to be frightened out of action that is needed by the circumstances of the case." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The problems differ from generation to generation, but the qualities needed to solve them remain unchanged from world's end to world's end." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A stream cannot rise higher than its source." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Bodily vigor is good, and vigor of intellect is even better, but far above both is character." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We need the iron qualities that go with true manhood. We need the positive virtues of resolution, of courage, of indomitable will, of power to do without shrinking the rough work that must always be done." - Theodore Roosevelt

"It is essential that there should be organization of labor. This is an era of organization. Capital organizes and therefore labor must organize." - Theodore Roosevelt

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

"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

"The fool who has not sense to discriminate between what is good and what is bad is well-nigh as dangerous as the man who does discriminate and yet chooses the bad." - Theodore Roosevelt

"It is difficult to make our material condition better by the best law, but it is easy enough to ruin it by bad laws." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I think there is only one quality worse than hardness of heart and that is softness of head." - 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

Life Philosophy

Roosevelt's approach to life was characterized by enthusiasm, balance, and a deep appreciation for both adventure and responsibility.

"Although not a very old man, I have yet lived a great deal in my life, and I have known sorrow too bitter and joy too keen to allow me to become either cast down or elated for more than a very brief period over any success or defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Most of the men had simple souls. They could relate facts, but they said very little about what they dimly felt." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We did everything possible to keep up the spirits of the men, but it was exceedingly difficult because there was nothing for them to do." - Theodore Roosevelt

"You would be much amused with the animals round the ranch." - Theodore Roosevelt

"There is nothing more practical in the end than the preservation of beauty." - Theodore Roosevelt

"In life, as in a football game, the principle to follow is: hit the line hard." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!" - Theodore Roosevelt

"To sit home, read one's favorite paper, and scoff at the misdeeds of the men who do things is easy, but it is markedly ineffective." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The light has gone out of my life." - Theodore Roosevelt Written after his wife's death

"No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency." - Theodore Roosevelt

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." - Theodore Roosevelt

"If there is not the war, you don't get the great general; if there is not a great occasion, you don't get a great statesman; if Lincoln had lived in a time of peace, no one would have known his name." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Absence and death are the same - only that in death there is no suffering." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic." - 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

"The joy of living is his who has the heart to demand it." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Death is always and under all circumstances a tragedy, for if it is not, then it means that life itself has become one." - Theodore Roosevelt

American Values and Patriotism

Roosevelt's vision of America was rooted in unity, opportunity, and shared values that transcended individual differences.

"I am an American; free born and free bred, where I acknowledge no man as my superior, except for his own worth, or as my inferior, except for his own demerit." - Theodore Roosevelt

"In this country we have no place for hyphenated Americans." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We Americans have many grave problems to solve, many threatening evils to fight, and many deeds to do, if, as we hope and believe, we have the wisdom, the strength, and the courage and the virtue to do them. But we must face facts as they are. We must neither surrender ourselves to a foolish optimism, nor succumb to a timid and ignoble pessimism." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or leave the country." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Is it only in the army in the Philippines that Americans sometimes commit deeds that cause all other Americans to regret?" - Theodore Roosevelt 1901 relating reports of water torture in the Philippines to lynching in the south

"Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The American people abhor a vacuum." - 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

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We must treat each man on his worth and merits as a man." - Theodore Roosevelt

"There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism." - 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

"I don't pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him. I pity the creature who does not work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A great democracy has got to be progressive or it will soon cease to be great or a democracy." - Theodore Roosevelt

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

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

"I have always been fond of the West African proverb: 'Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.'" - Theodore Roosevelt

"Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong." - Theodore Roosevelt

Nature and Conservation

Roosevelt's love of nature and commitment to conservation left an indelible mark on America's environmental legacy.

"Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task of leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children." - Theodore Roosevelt

"There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm." - Theodore Roosevelt

"In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others." - Theodore Roosevelt

"To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed." - Theodore Roosevelt

"We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Wild beasts and birds are by right not the property merely of the people today, but the property of the unborn generations, whose belongings we have no right to squander." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Optimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to an excess, it becomes foolishness." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it." - Theodore Roosevelt About the Grand Canyon

"Birds should be saved for utilitarian reasons; and, moreover, they should be saved because of reasons unconnected with dollars and cents." - Theodore Roosevelt

"The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself." - Theodore Roosevelt

"Of all the questions which can come before this nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with the great central task." - Theodore Roosevelt

"A grove of giant redwood or sequoias should be kept just as we keep a great or beautiful cathedral." - Theodore Roosevelt

"I do not intend that our natural resources shall be exploited by the few against the interests of the many." - Theodore Roosevelt

Conclusion

An oil painting of Theodore Roosevelt in front of an American flag

Theodore Roosevelt's words continue to resonate more than a century after they were spoken because they address timeless truths about human nature, leadership, and the pursuit of excellence. His quotes reveal a man who lived fully, embraced challenges fearlessly, and believed deeply in the potential of both individuals and nations to achieve greatness through effort and character.

From his famous declaration that "it is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed" to his profound observation that "comparison is the thief of joy," Roosevelt's wisdom speaks to every generation facing its own challenges. His emphasis on action over words, character over convenience, and courage over comfort provides a roadmap for living a meaningful life.

Perhaps most importantly, Roosevelt's quotes remind us that true success lies not in avoiding difficulty but in meeting it head-on with determination and integrity. His legacy challenges us to be active participants in our own lives and in the life of our nation, to conserve what is precious while boldly pursuing progress, and to measure our worth not by what we accumulate but by what we contribute.

In an age often marked by cynicism and division, Theodore Roosevelt's words call us back to fundamental values: hard work, fair play, love of country, respect for nature, and above all, the courage to stand for what is right. His voice remains a powerful reminder that each of us has the capacity to make a difference, and that the greatest adventure of all is a life lived with purpose, passion, and principle.

As we face our own challenges in the 21st century, we would do well to remember Roosevelt's enduring message: "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." For in these simple words lies the secret to both personal fulfillment and collective progress—the very essence of the American spirit that Theodore Roosevelt embodied so completely.

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