Honorable Theodore Roosevelt July 4, 1886

"But as you already know your rights and privileges so well, I am going to ask you to excuse me if I say a few words to you about your duties. Much has been given to us. . . and we must take heed to use aright the gifts entrusted to our care. It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it. I do not undervalue for a moment our material prosperity; like all Americans, I like big things; big praries, big forests and mountains, big wheat fields, railroads . . . big factories, sreamboats, and everything else. But we must keep steadfastly in mind that no people were ever yet benefited by riches if their prosperity corrupted their virtue."

July 4, 1886:
Hon Theodore Roosevelt,
Addressing the first Independence Day celebration
In Dickinson, Dakota Territory.

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