'Citizenship In A Republic' By President T. Roosevelt

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In the year of nineteen thirty-five America became a welfare state. The establishment of welfare programs sprung from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s belief that struggling Americans should be guaranteed a minimum standard of living by the United States Government. (socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu) In the midst of a depression, the President’s decision fostered a lot of respect from the American people. However, nearly eighty-five years later the countries welfare state has expanded exponentially and there is still a request for more assistance. The United States welfare policies as they stand now are an extremely heavy burden for middle class America. Not only that, they also take away from the American ideology that says we can, “do it …show more content…
In fact, the values that President T. Roosevelt outlined during his speech to France entitled “Citizenship in a Republic” are imperative to have in the fight against welfare. These ideas are quintessential to the American way and the success of our nation, President Roosevelt quotes this here, “the main source of national power and national greatness is found in the average citizenship of the nation”. He then listed out what was required of a “average citizen”. President Roosevelt first stresses that these citizens have to be “actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood” (Citizenship in a Republic). The President is saying that citizens need to attack life and not be complacent, this is imperative for the success of a movement against welfare. The President then stated that citizens should “know great enthusiasm” (Citizenship in a Republic). This is the American way, and it becomes diluted by the idea that people can reap the benefits of hard work without sowing the seeds there of it. These virtues would need to be integrated into a campaign against welfare to help ensure its success. The best way of pushing these ideals on the public would come from pulling on their heart strings as Americans. By appealing to their sense of independence and nationalism, people would be more willing to accept the idea of “pulling yourself up by …show more content…
This political ideology is the best option for guiding the movement against America’s welfare state because it would act as a middle ground for both sides. Since the principle promotes helping others it would resonate well with anyone that receives help from welfare programs; yet still versatile enough to satisfy the working class and their desire to have their earnings protected. It would be imperative that while pushing policy change that the public understand what the Constitution guarantees them in regard to welfare. The Constitution reads, “We the People of The United States, in order to form a more perfect union…promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”. By saying “We the People” the Constitution is placing the responsibility on the people to, “promote” welfare, rather than the government guaranteeing it. If the founding fathers meant for government to insure welfare for the people, they would not have chosen the wording they did. Russel Kirk’s eight principle and its ability to appease both sides of the issue, in conjunction with the Constitution and its precise wording would give a stable platform for enacting
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