What are the key features of the “strenuous life” that Roosevelt would have Americans lead? Why does Roosevelt think it’s so important at this particular point in American history to take up the behaviors, beliefs, and values he endorses?
11 thoughts on “The Philippine War and the Strenuous Life”
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In his essay Roosevelt describes the ideal America as a perfectly functioning machine, consistent of and dependent upon the proper attitudes of the American people. It is the responsibility of each individual to better his country, and he can only do so through exhibiting altruism, a diligent attitude, and by maintaining a sense of responsibility to himself and to his country. It is in this country, where people are working to better themselves and others that one can become a leading nation. He applies this idea of unselfishness and working to improve yourself and others to countries as well. Countries not only have responsibilities to themselves and to their internal struggles, but also to others and their issues. It is on this premise that he supports the American presence in Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rice, and the Philippines. Roosevelt is in favor of strengthening and improving the American army so that the upstanding country of America can spread its influence on the world. Discussing the issues in the West Indies and Puerto Rico he quotes, “It is cowardly to shrink from solving them in the proper way; for solved they must be, if not by us, then by some stronger and more manful race”. Roosevelt talks about times when the American navy was not strong enough to compete with the world, but how Congress improved upon it to keep up with other countries. He calls again to strengthen the army, for America has the opportunity to be a leading presence in the world with a very strong and organized army.
The key features of a “strenuous life” that Roosevelt would lead are hard working and gritty. An american that does not back down from a challenge, and is always up for hard work. I think that it is an important time for Roosevelt to be stressing the importance of hard work and dedication in all types of jobs because Chicago, at the beginning of the 20th century, like most cities had many factory and low-wage jobs that required strenuous labor. In Roosevelt’s speech, he is speaking to the working class and making them feel needed and important. He is encouraging them to keep working hard and to not slack off. Also, he preaches that people should raise their kids with similar values of hard work paying off and to not let their kids grow up and waste time by doing nothing with leisure time. Roosevelt also goes into how a life that is given everything from a parent or a predecessor than one does not learn a work ethic and does not live a satisfactory life. He also stresses the importance of living a good life with good morals and being a good neighbor. He also mentioned that women should strive to be good mothers and be good takers of the households. Roosevelt is giving a motivational speech to Americans, specifically the working class, to stay positive when faced with problems and work hard and don’t back down from problems, but face them and work them out.
In this speech “strenuous life,” Roosevelt refers to hard work that is necessary for our country to succeed and further develop into a superpower of the world. This effort and meaning, which he references multiple times, represents as a whole the imperialist arguments for a stronger foreign policy. Roosevelt believed that these values were needed in order to build a stronger and more powerful country. At a time in history when exploration and colonization were keys to forming stronger nations, Roosevelt pushed a more muscular foreign policy in order to make our country stronger with a gateway to Asia. He believed that the U.S should play a leadership role in the world (Anglo-Saxon supremacy) in order to make the world better as a whole. As the progressive began in the U.S government changed from a more laissez faire role into an active role. At the beginning of the 20th century people ‘s views of the government shifted from a threat to liberty to an agent of change and reform.
Roosevelt recognizes that the United States was established and saved during the Civil War by a foundation of hard-working, manly, and virtuous men who battled in the face of adversity. In doing so, he praises those hard-working individuals who would keep the nation strong as a whole, and discards those citizens who lazily fail take on the expectations of an American citizen. The main features of the “strenuous life” of the common man that Roosevelt references as the key to the country’s foundation and future growth are a dedication to one’s trade, family, and country. For men, they must value their work to support the family, and for women, they must value the growth of the future generations of children. In addition, the common man must not fear taking up arms in battle for their country. If the country were to continue growing at the turn of the century, Roosevelt believes that the country must rely on those ideals of the common man, instill them within new generations, and apply them to the country’s future foreign affairs. Like the common man who supports his family first and foremost followed by his country’s best interests, Roosevelt argued that the United States must focus on affairs within its own boarders first off and its interests abroad secondly. In the context of our class’s recent discussions of “Orientalism” and the treatment of Chinese immigrants, it was interesting that Roosevelt used China as a counter-example of a country that was withering away because it was made up of individuals that lacked aspirations, and the nation failed to recognize the importance of foreign affairs. Roosevelt references the country’s recent acquisition of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and and the Philippines as the main concern abroad, and that the country must unite from the government to the common working man through the ideals of a “strenuous life” in establishing, and stabilizing those colonies. In conclusion, Roosevelt feels as though the fate of the nation as well as nations abroad at the turn of the century relies on the country’s individuals and their belief in the endless value of a dedicated, hard-working life.
When I read this, I felt as if Roosevelt was talking less about actually being proud and having integrity in one’s own nation, and more about a competition between nations. Roosevelt encourages active and hard work rather than consistent passivity – even though it might seem that being passive might be the right thing to do at the time. For me, this seems to arise from a belief that active nations are threatening nations. If a nation were to be satisfied with current standards, there would be nothing new to energize it. But if a nation were to constantly look for new ventures and toils, it would eventually feel the need to extend past its borders. This was illustrated in the mentioning of the Philippines and Puerto Rico. So I believe the reading centered on being threatening so no one would threaten you. In order to ensure national power and security, a nation must ultimately impinged on another nation – or else it would be impinged by another in due time.
Also, Zakary said “In the context of the strenuous life, war and conquests are virtuous displays of strength, regardless of their legitimacy or net value”. I disagree a little bit here. I think Roosevelt believes his ideas and thoughts ARE legitimate, and therefore he thinks they are virtuous. But it might be a stretch to say all war and conquests are virtuous – Roosevelt just believes they are in his situation as he wrote the reading.
Roosevelt’s essay advocating a “strenuous life” is a staunch defense of imperialism, globalization, and masculinity. It is a call to the American people that the country not be complacent with recent growth and continue to be a global force rather than being “content to rot in ignoble ease within our borders.” This strenuous life is lived with courage, honesty, and good judgement with an emphasis on increased masculinity and hands on aggressiveness when dealing with the nations problems. Roosevelt has recognized the means with which America had reached its economic and industrial success and the increased material consumption that accompanied it. In doing so he wants to encourage the rising generation to be active and that America did not get here by valuing material consumption over everything else but rather by enduring “strife” and “hard and dangerous endeavor[s]” while working toward “true national greatness.”
Like what’s been mentioned already, some of the key features of Roosevelt’s “strenuous life” include an energetic, go-getter attitude amongst the American people. Roosevelt believes that the history of the United States was based on a level of dedication, fortitude, and strength that must be carried on through contemporary generations. The “strenuous life” represents the opposing aspects of an idle, easy, leisurely life that has never met with challenges or misfortune. Roosevelt thinks it’s especially important to embrace the “strenuous life” at this point in history because of the inevitability of facing “responsibilities that confront us in Hawaii, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines”. He emphasizes the fact that Americans cannot shy away from unavoidable events in the future, and that the only factor within the people’s control is the way to address these issues that await them. He believes that a country will not last long unless “its foundations are not laid deep in the material prosperity which comes from thrift, from business energy and enterprise, from hard, unsparing effort in the fields of industrial activity…” This attitude that Roosevelt espouses for American individuals can be viewed as justification for the U.S.’s forceful display of imperialism around the time of the speech. By glorifying aggressive, assertive, and productive personalities, Roosevelt subtly vindicates any questionable behavior of the U.S. abroad.
According to Roosevelt, either the “men of the greatest city of the West” would embrace the “doctrine of the strenuous life,” demonstrating manliness and by suffering through “bitter toil,” or they would worship the “doctrine of ignoble ease” shrink from challenges, and prove themselves unfit for the “serious work in the world.” Roosevelt saw how modern citizens had become too materialistic and sought to remind the nation of how difficult it was to create a nation with a “glorious history.” Roosevelt states that our founding fathers understood that it was “better 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.” Roosevelt knew how important this next century would be for America, and many other nations, and wanted to revive the nations spirit by reminding the audience of America’s great past accomplishments which were achieved through moral and physical characteristics of the strenuous life.
As previously mentioned, Roosevelt desired that Americans lead a “strenuous life” of hard work, dedication, and responsibility. Instead of taking the easy way out, he wanted the nation to work to become better and work together in a self-efficient way. At this point, the US is continuing it expansion of power across the world and it is important for the nation to be whole at home in order to support its foreign policy. In order for the rest of the world to look up to the US, Roosevelt felt it important to insure that the US was “placed once more as a helmeted queen among nations.” The “strenuous life” was necessary for the increasing position of the US in world politics and to continue the rapid growth occurring within.
I agree with Yina’s thoughts; however, there are some key aspects that she did not include. For instance, Roosevelt wants families to teach their children from a young age that they must have the will and power to win. He hopes parents will ingrain these ideas into their children’s heads and even states “we admire the man who embodies victorious effort; the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but has those virile qualities necessary to win in stern strife of actual life”. As the US continues to expand its power Roosevelt pushes the citizens to live a life of hard work. He believes that “A mere life of ease is not in the end a very satisfactory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world”. Roosevelt has a drive to create and maintain political power and he recognizes that the only way to achieve this power is to talk directly to the citizens. His words attempt to sway their opinions and explain to them that a life of pleasure and ease will not help the country succeed. He brainwashes them into thinking that the only way to survive is in the lead.
Roosevelt’s “strenuous life” consists of taking on challenges and overcoming obstacles in an aggressive, hands-on way, even when other less abrasive alternatives exist. His rhetoric relies strongly on the conception of manliness, a distinct variety of dominant masculine attitude built upon a foundation of self-reliance and work-ethic; it is the antithesis of the described “life of slothful ease” springing from a “lack either of desire or of power to strive after great things.” This ideology attempts to justify the imperialist consequences of the Spanish American War and increasingly aggressive foreign policy, specifically America’s acquisition of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. In the context of the strenuous life, war and conquests are virtuous displays of strength, regardless of their legitimacy or net value.