Seth Kaller, Inc.

“I wish to preach not the doctrine of ignoble ease but the doctrine of strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success that comes, not to the man who desires mere ease and peace, but to him who does not shrink from danger, hardship, or bitter toil, and who, out of these, wins the splendid ultimate triumph.” With facsimile signature at the bottom.

[THEODORE ROOSEVELT]. G./C. M./B. Sander/Sunder, Bas-Relief Portrait Plaque, ca. 1900-1910. 7? x 13¼ in.

Inventory #27425.02       Price: $1,750

Historical Background
On April 10, 1899, New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt spoke to the Hamilton Club in Chicago. He delivered a speech called “The Strenuous Life,” which began: “In speaking to you, men of the greatest city of the West, men of the State which gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men who preeminently and distinctly embody all that is most American in the American character I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life. The life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph.”

Roosevelt spoke of the ideal of strenuous endeavor rather than ease as being “as little worthy of a nation as of an individual.” Both individuals and nations should attempt great things: “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

He concluded, “I preach to you, then, my countrymen, that our country calls not for the life of ease but for the life of strenuous endeavor. The twentieth century looms before us big with the fate of many nations. If we stand idly by, if we seek merely swollen, slothful ease and ignoble peace, if we shrink from the hard contests where men must win at hazard of their lives and at the risk of all they hold dear, then the bolder and stronger peoples will pass us by, and will win for themselves the domination of the world. Let us therefore boldly face the life of strife, resolute to do our duty well and manfully; resolute to uphold righteousness by deed and by word; resolute to be both honest and brave, to serve high ideals, yet to use practical methods. Above all, let us shrink from no strife, moral or physical, within or without the nation, provided we are certain that the strife is justified, for it is only through strife, through hard and dangerous endeavor, that we shall ultimately win the goal of true national greatness.”

Roosevelt’s speech not only reflected his life experience but reflected American culture at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many Americans had embraced masculinity, recreational sports, patriotism, nationalism, and imperialism, believing that they individually and the nation as a whole had duties to perform in the coming century. Roosevelt published the speech and other essays in 1900 in a collection also entitled The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses.

Condition: Light wear; small dent and scratch below Roosevelt’s name.