Realizable Ideals

by Theodore Roosevelt

Literary addresses or spoken essays by reason of their time, place and quality, often partake of the nature of an epic. This is true of the course of addresses on Applied Ethics delivered by Theodore Roosevelt in the famous Greek Theatre at Berkeley, California. Few addresses delivered in the west have attracted the widespread and national interest that met the ex-president. Spoken and written at a time when Colonel Roosevelt was a private citizen and probably without a thought of again entering the presidential race, these opinions upon great public and moral questions have a more genuine value than if they had come from the Presidential chair or campaign platform. In a way these simply expressed, virile exhortations on public duties and public morals have become embodied in the spirit of the "progressive" political movement that is facing each party and every individual. Since their delivery the author has re-written the lectures for publication in their present form. Their informal and vital expression renders them one of the most representative pieces of literature in America - a book portraying the author and speaker for future generations as vividly as the famous memoirs of General Grant or the Gettysburg speech of Lincoln. The essays, which cover the themes Applied Ethics, The Home and the Child, The Bible and the Life of the People, The Public Servant and the Eighth Commandment, The Shaping of Public Opinion and the Ninth Commandment, embody the author's acknowledged attempt "to preach action in five lectures."

154 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1969

About the author

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., also known as T.R., and to the public (but never to friends and family) as Teddy, was the twenty-sixth President of the United States, and a leader of the Republican Party and of the Progressive Movement.

He fathered Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a daughter.

He became the youngest President in United States history at the age of 42. He served in many roles including Governor of New York, historian, naturalist, explorer, author, and soldier (posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in 2001 for his role at the Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War).

Roosevelt is most famous for his personality: his energy, his vast range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" persona.