For America 250: The Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Citizenship
Enter Roosevelt. Exeunt Wilson.
Theodore Roosevelt was the greatest teacher of the essentials of popular self-government the world has ever known. —Elihu Root, American statesman, 1919
It’s time to bring Theodore Roosevelt back to Washington—and to reconsider the continued official honor accorded Woodrow Wilson.1
A clear path lies before us: transform the congressionally chartered Woodrow Wilson Center into the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Citizenship.
Redirecting taxpayer funding from the Wilson Center to the Roosevelt Center would require no new federal spending.
Congress and the president could make this happen as part of America’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026.
Roosevelt Speaks to Our Moment
The average citizen must be a good citizen if our republics are to succeed. The stream will not permanently rise higher than the main source; and the main source of national power and national greatness is found in the average citizenship of the nation. —Theodore Roosevelt, “Citizenship in a Republic,” the Sorbonne, April 23, 1910
Roosevelt’s lessons are timeless—and urgently relevant today.
He sought to embody the kind of American citizenship he viewed as central to our national experiment. He would be the first to admit that he sometimes fell short. That makes him not a myth, but a model.
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States faced existential challenges:
Oligarchic excesses surged amid the shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy.
Record levels of immigration fueled productivity—while straining institutions and communities.
The international scene was unsettled.
Corruption pervaded the political system; public ethics were in decline.
Many feared for the future of the nation—and themselves.
One can imagine Theodore Roosevelt stepping off the pages of history, straight into our moment.
TR’s enduring call to civic virtue and citizenship speaks to Americans of every generation, gender, class, race, ethnicity, and creed.
The Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Citizenship could serve as a nonpartisan clearinghouse for research, education, and civic engagement. As TR would surely insist, its mission would go beyond reflection—to action.
The Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Citizenship could serve as a nonpartisan clearinghouse for research, education, and civic engagement. As TR would surely insist, its mission would go beyond reflection—to action.
A natural starting point: the renewal of civic education, widely recognized as an urgent national priority.
Why Not Roosevelt?
Roosevelt stands in the presidential pantheon, transcending partisanship. Historians consistently rank him among the top five presidents—surpassed only by Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt.
Yet unlike those three, TR has no national memorial in the capital.2
Woodrow Wilson does.
Why Do We Still Have a Woodrow Wilson Center?
Most Americans don’t know there’s a Woodrow Wilson Center—a federally funded institution located mere blocks from the White House.
Even on the Center’s website, Wilson is scarcely highlighted.
That’s understandable.
Wilson’s historical standing has plummeted.3
His racial and gender views were retrograde in his own time—beyond the pale in ours.
His failure to secure Senate ratification of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 contributed to the conditions that led to the Second World War.
His refusal to relinquish power after suffering debilitating strokes resulted in a constitutional crisis.
Memorials to Wilson have been removed nationwide—including at Princeton University, where he once served as president.
Founded over fifty years ago, the Wilson Center’s original mission was to convene scholars to analyze foreign policy. But Wilson no longer serves as a meaningful exemplar.
Moreover, the policy space is now crowded with think tanks and research institutions.
Would Congress today create a new federal foreign policy center named for Wilson—with a taxpayer cost of $15 million annually?
Would Congress today create a new federal foreign policy center named for Wilson—with a taxpayer cost of $15 million annually?
Time for Change
Roughly two-thirds of the Wilson Center’s funding already comes from private sources. Why not transfer the entire operation to the private sector?
Action Point: July 4, 2026
Congress and the president have the power to establish the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Citizenship in time for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
In a time of division, Roosevelt commands bipartisan admiration.
Rep. French Hill (R-AR) is a longtime student of TR.
Former Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), another devotee, is proprietor of Theodore’s Books in Oyster Bay, Long Island.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum is an admirer of Roosevelt and has worked to advance his legacy.
If political leaders like these step forward, many Americans will stand with them.
TR is also revered by many among the massive and rising plurality of Americans who identify as Independents.4
Let’s roll!
If you have ideas for advancing this project, please respond in the comments.
Endorsements—from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents—would be welcomed. Updates will be provided here on Substack.
Many thanks for your consideration and participation.
Image Credits | OpenAI. (2025). [Image generated by ChatGPT using DALL·E]
In the spirit of transparency, I should disclose that I’m a longtime admirer of Roosevelt’s leadership and have worked to help sustain his legacy.
This is not to throw shade on the powerful TR statue and memorial on Roosevelt Island, a treasured National Park Service site. Regrettably, there is no monument to TR in the center of the capital—comparable to the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, or the FDR Memorial.
Thoughtful scholars such as John M. Cooper, the preeminent Wilson biographer of our time, urge that Wilson be placed in historical context. Cooper’s case is eloquent and informed, and he offered it recently on the Serve to Lead podcast.
Whereas the Wilson Center has been bi-partisan in orientation, reflecting its conception in the 1960s, the Theodore Roosevelt Center for American Citizenship might be non-partisan, reflecting our moment.
TR in the modern day, connecting with young people—first time an AI image has made me wistful. We can’t remember five minutes past. Can we honor and learn from a president who served a century-and-a-quarter ago? The only American from that era who seems to stick is Henry Ford—anti-intellectual, antisemitic, propagating a society-altering technology with unforeseen side effects. History is bunk, until you repeat it. And the good parts, like Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership, rarely get such treatment.
I admire Theodore Roosevelt as well. He has never really received the appreciation he well deserves. Thank you for sharing, Jim.