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Home  »  Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen  »  Page 418

Jacob A. Riis (1849–1914). Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen. 1904.

Page 418


a mere passenger, but shall do his share in the work that each generation of us finds ready to hand; and, furthermore, that in doing his work he shall show, not only the capacity for sturdy self-help, but also self-respecting regard for the rights of others.”
  Here are some observations of the President on national duties and expansion:
  “Nations that expand and nations that do not expand may both ultimately go down, but the one leaves heirs and a glorious memory, and the other leaves neither.”
  “We are strong men and we intend to do our duty.”
  “We cannot sit huddled within our own borders and avow ourselves merely an assemblage of well-to-do hucksters who care nothing for what happens beyond. Such a policy would defeat even its own ends; for as the nations grow to have ever wider and wider interests and are brought into closer and closer contact, if we are to hold our own in the struggle for naval and commercial supremacy, we must build up our power within our own borders.”
  “We have but little room among our people