We, here in America, hold in our hands the hope of the world, the fate of the coming years; and shame and disgrace will be ours if in our eyes the light of high resolve is dimmed, if we trail in the dust the golden hopes of men.

Speech delivered on 20 March 1912, Carnegie Hall, New York

As reported in: In the Words of Theodore Roosevelt - Quotations from the Man in the Arena (Cornell University Press, 2012), p. 83