Citizen Duties Defined Part 9: What Do Important People Say?

I am not surprised that a former US President outlined specific duties of a US Citizen. I am surprised I only found this from Teddy. The list is almost 150 years old. Here’s what he put together.

Theodore Roosevelt Speech: The Duties of American Citizenship

In a speech given in Buffalo NY Jan 26, 1883 Teddy Roosevelt talked about

1. A good husband
2. A good father
3. Honest
4. Faithful to friends
5. Fearless in presence of foes
6. Sound heart, mind and body
7. Willing to take arms for the defense of the flag
8. Good Breeder. Be a father to many healthy children
9. Good Fighter.
10. Vote
11. Ward Meetings
12. Organize political clubs
13. Work in Politics
14. Act against one’s personal interests when called for
15. Act against one’s political affiliations when called for
16. Denouncing evil
17. Denounce and punish crimes against the people by politicians or officials
18. Criticize honestly, discriminatingly and with intelligence – without sarcasm, innuendo or half-truths.
19. Fight corruption and vices

Excerpts from the Speech

No man has a right to shirk his political duties under whatever plea of pleasure or business; and while such shirking may be pardoned in those of small means it is entirely unpardonable in those among whom it is most common—in the people whose circumstances give them freedom in the struggle for life.

The first duty of an American citizen, then, is that he shall work in politics; his second duty is that he shall do that work in a practical manner; and his third is that it shall be done in accord with the highest principles of honor and justice. Of course, it is not possible to define rigidly just the way in which the work shall be made practical. Each man’s individual temper and convictions must be taken into account. To a certain extent his work must be done in accordance with his individual beliefs and theories of right and wrong.

There are occasions when it may be the highest duty of any man to act outside of parties and against the one with which he has himself been hitherto identified; and there may be many more occasions when his highest duty is to sacrifice some of his own cherished opinions for the sake of the success of the party which he on the whole believes to be right.

The voice of the people is not always the voice of God; and when it happens to be the voice of the devil, then it is a man’s clear duty to defy its behests.

Some Thoughts About Teddy’s List- The Good and Pertinent Bits

• A good husband: I can find a lot of information about whether marriage can bestow upon you the rights of citizenship. I don’t find a great deal written about marriage as a duty of citizenship. In fact, centuries past, that is what it was seen as. In some cultures or parts of society, marriage was the ultimate duty.
  
  Does that persiste today? Pew research basically says no.

• A good father: clearly women were not considered citizens at this time, and would not be for another 40 years. Even if we extrapolate this to ‘ A good parent’, the question is, do you have to be apparent to be a good citizen? If so, does adoption count? If you are physically able, must you at least attempt having biological children? We are no longer ‘conquering’ the West, which was part of the impetus to reproduce in that time period.

• Good Breeder. Be a father to many healthy children: xx

• Faithful to friends: I think this is important to be a good friend. I’m not so sure it’s a duty for a citizen.

• Good Fighter. In an era where maleness was the center of citizenship criteria, being a good fighter makes sense. Also, this era was also still marked by physical warfare, before the pulling of a trigger and the pushing of a button was how war was conducted.

• Fearless in presence of foes: Similar to being a good fighter, this may be an outdated duty

• Ward Meetings: I believe this means attend city council meetings, which is already on my list.

• Organize political clubs: The

• Act against one’s personal interests when called for: This is the first time I’ve seen this specified as a duty of a citizen. I think this can be also called sacrifice.

• Act against one’s political affiliations when called for

• Denounce and punish crimes against the people by politicians or officials: This is particularly relevant today, though clearly is nothing new. Stated as a duty to citizenship,

• Fight corruption and vices

Time is definitely a huge factor when considering the duties one is expected to carry out in exchange for citizenship. Two hundred years ago, some of the items on Teddy’s list needed to be looked at in context of history. This speech was given a decade before the West was declared settled, and before the Dakotas were even created as states.

Citizens List of Duties Version nine (v 009) with only a few extra changes.

Photo by Russ Ward on Unsplash