I usually quickly delete email chain letters. However, being a former history buff, when I recently received an email entitled: Teddy Roosevelt “An American,” I had to open it.
Since my early school years, I’ve always been a fan of Theodore Roosevelt. My first book report as a schoolboy was on Teddy Roosevelt and the “Rough Riders,” the 1st U.S. Volunteer Calvary Regiment he helped organize and command during the Spanish-American War.
Roosevelt became the youngest American President in 1901, when he succeeded William McKinley after an assassination. He served as president from 1901 to 1909. Unbeknown to many, historians constantly rank him as one of the great American presidents. He sits on Mount Rushmore with Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. He is also the first American to win the Nobel Prize in 1906.
So now that I’ve briefly refreshed your memory on T.R., let’s get to “Being An American.” Better yet, let me provide you with the Roosevelt quote featured in the email I received. It’s quite apropos considering the current immigration controversy.
Theodore Roosevelt on Immigrants and being an American in 1907:
“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But, this is predicated upon the man’s becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American. There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag … and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language. And we have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to the American people.” – Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Need I say more?
Absolutely one of the great presidents ever. Where are all the real men these days? Whomever becomes the next president will win by default!
Comment by Bert — June 3, 2007 @ 3:08 pm
Yes, but TR himself paid tribute to his Dutch Knickerbocker ancestry by maintaining a membership in the Holland America Society; and he honored his Anglo-Irish background by being a founding member of the American Irish Historical Society. For the sake of clarification, I must point at that the TR quote you reference was NOT meant as a generalization, but was instead directed explicitly at a group of German-Americans who were showing signs of forming a fifth-column during hostilities between the United States and the Kaiser (1917-1918). By the way, the quote is NOT from 1907, but rather from a speech delivered in 1917.
Comment by Edward J. Renehan Jr. — June 3, 2007 @ 4:52 pm
The problems of our great nation have grown increasingly worse since the 1960’s. Somehow our own feeling of entitlement has grown with each generation and infected the very fabric of our nation. No one wants to work for a living, or take responsibility for the issues around us, why should our politicians be any different? We are government of the people, for the people; so why should we expect our presidential candidates to be any less fat, lazy, or stupid than we have become.
“We have met the enemy and he is us.” - Wait Kelly
Comment by jackmack — June 4, 2007 @ 7:00 am
Edward … you may be correct that the quote was not made in 1907. There are also reports that the basis of this T.R. quote may have come from a letter he wrote in 1919, just prior to his death. Good catch.
Comment by Gil — June 4, 2007 @ 8:53 am
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free….
just make sure you only speak english…..NICE……There have been plenty of immigrant parents of The Greatest Generation who never really learned to speak English, falling back on their native Italian, Russian or Portugese to communicate even in their own households.
Learn the language sure…..become a citizen, of course….pay your taxes, certainly (make sure you learn how to bend the rules like us ‘Mericans”……but no where in the constitution is freedom of speech limited to English. Heck, we don’t even speak proper “English” ourself.
We speak american, which is a blend of all the cultures that have made this country great.
Let me guess, you are probably a Red Sox fan too.
Comment by Effie Pee — June 5, 2007 @ 9:13 am
Effie … what the hell are you talking about? Your comments have no bearing on Teddy’s quote. He says English is the language of the land — and you say “learn the language.” I don’t see anywhere in this quote that says you can’t speak other languages, so I don’t get your analogy regarding freedom of speach. Let me guess, you must be a left wing fanatic from CA.
Comment by Manny — June 5, 2007 @ 10:06 am
TR had the right idea, if you lived in New Brunswick Canada, you would see what a nightmare it is. We spend 40 billion dollars annually on bilingulism with New Brunswick being the only official bilingual Province. The thanks the English get is to work in the public sector, only if we are bilingual, French are given priorty for all job positions, RCMP, Politicians, etc.And it is an expensive nightmare.
Comment by alex Fields — August 18, 2007 @ 9:34 am