Spam Email Turns Out True

I get so many “forward this to everybody” emails. When you investigate the outragous claims, almost without exception they are false. A great site for this is Snopes.com. I’m reprinting this here, I enjoyed the follow on history lesson and there are some good links on investigating internt rumors that I use and you may enjoy.

Photo and statement follow:

Theodore Roosevelt 1907 Speech
Theodore Roosevelt 1907 Speech

‘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 person’s becoming in every facet 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… 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

When I Google’d “Snopes 1907 Roosevelt Photo”, the link came up snopes.com: Theodore Roosevelt on Immigration.

There you will find a nice little history lesson on Theodore Roosevelt and his views on Immagration. Many speech’s he made talking about these important issues. I thought the debate on immigration, hyphenated Americans and what language we speak was only something that has happened during my lifetime. Turns out forces have been pushing these issues for at least the last 100 years.

A couple of other sites that deal with email claims of this nature also attribute the words to Teddy actually came from a 1919 letter yet agree the email is true. Even thought the originator may attribute this to the wrong date, it seems clear these views were emblimatic of Theodore Roosevelt during his time in and after the Whitehouse. Snoopes site above is the best read on the subject.

Other useful sites for investigating internet rumors (Roosevelt links within the sites)
TruthOrFiction.com
UrbanLegends.com

Share