Theodore Roosevelt on Being An American
"In
the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good
faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on
an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate
against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is
predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an
American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an
American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for
but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which
symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it
excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for
but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for
but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907