Embody all American in American character
It was a matter of higher necessity for the President to show his respect to the dwellers of Chicago, underline their good qualities, but not only in the connection with their native city, but to tie their achievements with the greatness of the country. That is one of the main reasons why he used the statement “you embody all American in American character”. He called them typical Americans but he say that in such a way so they were proud to be called so. They were deeply convinced that there is no better praise for an American than to be called a typical one. This irony helped Roosevelt to break the ice and make a good contact with the listeners.
Leisure is not for idleness
In his speech, the President places emphasis on the concepts of labor and hard work. He had been highlighting for several times, that citizens of Chicago, and the whole state have always been working really hard for the good of their county and so they taught their sons. “you will teach your sons that though they may have leisure, it is not to be spent in idleness; for wisely used leisure merely means that those who possess it, being free from the necessity of working for their livelihood, are all the more bound to carry on some kind of non-remunerative work in science, in letters, in art, in exploration, in historical research—work of the type we most need in this country, the successful carrying out of which reflects most honor upon the nation”. Roosevelt ironically and nonetheless fairly says that leisure is given to humans not for idleness but for thinking over new tasks and goals.
Lazy boys – away from here!
The message that Theodore Roosevelt sent to his audience is that one has to use his leisure time not like the time for relaxing and chilling but as one more possibility to think about new goals and try to achieve them. Those who don’t use their time properly are just “cumberers of the earth's surface”; they cannot do anything good for their family, city, state, country, and such people shouldn’t be called Americans: “A mere life of ease is not in the end a very satisfactory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world.” The irony represents the importance of endless efforts for achieving good results.
Happy nation
What nation can be considered as happy one? That one which has no history? - asks Roosevelt. No. – he answers, “It is a base untruth to say that happy is the nation that has no history. Thrice happy is the nation that has a glorious history”. But each nation has its own history and, undoubtedly, there is at least one heroic feat in it. The irony here is used with the purpose of highlighting the greatness of America as a country with “glorious history” by contrasting it with unnamed countries which have “no history.”
