There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism:. The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Roosevelt warns against hyphenated Americanism, arguing that dividing the nation along ethnic lines will destroy it.
- In plain terms
- We should be united as one nation without letting ethnicity split us apart.
- What can you take from it?
- National unity requires embracing a single identity over ethnic divisions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can unity exist without erasing diversity?
- How do we define national identity?
Another view
This ignores the value of multiculturalism and cultural diversity.
More from Theodore Roosevelt
If I must choose between righteousness and peace I choose righteousness.
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