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Citizenship Paper

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Citizenship Paper
Theodore Roosevelt’s The Duties of American Citizenship Speech

Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States of America. He is noted for his enthusiastic personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement. Before becoming President, he held offices at the city, state, and federal levels. Roosevelt's achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician. On January 26, 1883 in Buffalo, New York Roosevelt delivered a speech that reveals his ideas of what an ideal citizen is and what his role in the community should be. President Roosevelt’s ideas of citizenship in 1883 are different from the ideas of citizenship today and this essay will explore those differences and show how they are different. This essay will also discuss some of the themes that are shown in the speech and will break down exactly what President Roosevelt is asking of U.S. citizens. President Roosevelt’s speech on the duties of citizenship is a speech that asks United States citizens to be more involved in the political aspect of the country. The speech also shows the common traits that all citizens should share and it shows the difference between good citizens and bad citizens. In the second sentence of the speech President Roosevelt says, “No man can be a good citizen who is not a good husband and a good father, who is not honest in his dealings with other men and women, faithful to his friends, and fearless in the presence of his foes, who has not got a sound heart, a sound mind, and a sound body.” President Roosevelt quickly separates the role of citizenship and gives it completely to men and while doing this he sets out a basic list of things that makes a man a good citizen. A man of good morals and strong character is considered a good citizen, he must be the head of his household and he has to be a good friend to others. To Roosevelt, a man

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