"In name we had the Declaration of Independence in 1776; but we gave the lie by our acts to the words of the Declaration of Independence until 1865; and words count for nothing except in so far as they represent acts. This is true everywhere; but, O my friends, it should be truest of all in political life. A broken promise is bad enough in private life. It is worse in the field of politics. No man is worth his salt in public life who makes on the stump a pledge which he does not keep after election; and, if he makes such a pledge and does not keep it, hunt him out of public life. I care for the great deeds of the past chiefly as spurs to drive us onward in the present. I speak of the men of the past partly that they may be honored by our praise of them, but more that they may serve as examples for the future."
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Activists from the United StatesMilitary leaders from the United StatesSocial activistsMedal of Honor recipientsNobel laureates from the United States
Original Language: English
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Theodore Roosevelt
1858 – 1919
26. Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika (1901-1909)
420 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Theodore Roosevelt →
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