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In every civilized society property rights must be carefully safeguarded; ordinarily, and in the great majority of cases, human rights and property rights are fundamentally and in the long run identical; but when it clearly appears that there is a real conflict between them, human rights must have the upper hand, for property belongs to man and not man to property.

— Theodore Roosevelt Citizenship in a Republic (1910)

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It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest doer must also be a great dreamer.

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

All really civilized communities should have effective arbitration treaties among themselves.

Nobel lecture (1910)

We propose to make the process of constitutional amendment far easier, speedier, and simpler than at present.

The performance of duty, and not an indulgence in vapid ease and vapid pleasure, is all that makes life worth while.

Theodore Roosevelt — An Autobiography (1913)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Theodore Roosevelt (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.