Thread: Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants

Originally Posted by Richard

As someone whose great grandfather and grandfather knew Teddy Roosevelt first hand I can say he was inconsistent on ethnic identification. He wrote the paragraph in response to the question of whether German Americans could be trusted to be loyal to our country and fight against the Kaiser if neccessary.

He was extreamly clear on who or what was to be an American... "Any person or man..." I don't see anything about a German.



Theodore Roosevelt on Immigration...

"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 person's becoming in every facet 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... 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

Cool little web page: http://www.cattlerange.com/TR-immigration.html

Originally Posted by hardlineconstitutionalist

I'll tell you why...Because TR was a true American Patriot and cared about the country. He understood the Constitution and the Founding Fathers ideology and vision for America.

Are you kidding? Please open up a history book and educate yourself. Or maybe you should just change your screen name to "hardlineprogressive".

Would a constitutionalist push for universal healthcare?

Would a constitutionalist enact the minimum wage?

Would a constitutionalist run as a third party candidate and split the republican vote so a fellow progressive like Woodrow Wilson could become president?

Would a constitutionalist form a "Progressive Party"?

Would a constitutionalist support a coup in Colombia so he could use American tax dollars to build a canal in central America?

Would a constitutionalist seek to vastly increase the power of the executive branch of government?

Would a constitutionalist say that there is a "general right of the community to regulate" the earning of income and use of private property "to whatever degree the public welfare may require it"?

Would a constitutionalist say that he "declined to adopt the view that what was imperatively necessary for the nation could not be done by the President unless he could find some specific authorization to do it."?

Would a constitutionalist say that a man can only be permitted to to earn and keep his property "only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community"?

Would a constitutionalist champion progressive income taxation?

Would a constiutionalist hate the Supreme Court because it dared to uphold the Constitution?

This is only the tip of the iceberg. TR laid the groundwork for a progressive like Wilson. Wilson laid the groundwork for a progressive like FDR. And we all know that FDR is Barry Obama's mentor. One can make a convincing argument there wouldn't be a Barry Obama if it weren't for a progressive like Teddy Roosevelt.