Address of President Roosevelt at Canton, Ohio, September 30, 1907

Delivered in Canton, Ohio in September 1907, this is Theodore Roosevelt's heartfelt memorial address honoring William McKinley, the president he succeeded after assassination. Six years after McKinley's death at the hands of an anarchist, Roosevelt returns to the town where his predecessor was killed to deliver a meditation on character, leadership, and the responsibilities of American citizenship. Speaking to a crowd still haunted by that violence, Roosevelt rejects the politics of envy and class warfare, arguing instead that a man's worth should be measured by his conduct rather than his wealth. He champions the "forgotten man" of honest labor while condemning dishonest business practices that gave legitimate capitalism a bad name. The speech reveals Roosevelt at his most philosophical, wrestling with the forces that divide Americans and offering a vision of unity rooted in shared moral responsibility. For readers interested in early 20th-century American political rhetoric, Progressive Era philosophy, or the complex legacy of McKinley, this address captures a pivotal moment in the nation's cultural and political life.