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Who really said it

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing

Not Theodore Roosevelt — traces to journalist Alfred Henry Lewis Alfred Henry Lewis 1855–1914 · American muckraking journalist who wrote about Roosevelt
Disputed Free to reuse

There is no evidence Theodore Roosevelt ever said this — the Theodore Roosevelt Center finds “no known source” for it. The earliest documented wording traces to journalist Alfred Henry Lewis, who in an 1910 piece on Roosevelt wrote “the best thing is to do the right thing; the next best is to do the wrong thing; the worst thing of all things is to stand perfectly still.”

Last verified 7 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed — copy with the correction

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing” 'In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing' is popularly credited to Theodore Roosevelt, but there is no source for it in his works. The earliest documented wording traces to journalist Alfred Henry Lewis, La Follette's Magazine, 28 May 1910. — Quotle.info

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In context

Evoking the world of Alfred Henry Lewis — American journalist and novelist. Theme: "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The source

Earliest wording
Alfred Henry Lewis, 1910
Published in
La Follette’s Magazine
Date
28 May 1910
Status
No Roosevelt source; earliest TR credit found is 1995

The best thing is to do the right thing; the next best is to do the wrong thing; the worst thing of all things is to stand perfectly still. ↑ the polished “In any moment of decision…” version is a later reworking of these words

Lewis wrote this as his own characterization of Roosevelt’s bias toward action — not as a quotation of anything Roosevelt actually said. The familiar modern wording (“In any moment of decision…”) is a later, smoother reworking.

Wikiquote: Theodore Roosevelt (Disputed)

The paper trail

  • The Theodore Roosevelt Center finds “no known source” to verify the attribution.
  • Wikiquote lists it as disputed and traces the wording to Alfred Henry Lewis’s 1910 writing in La Follette’s Magazine.
  • The earliest known crediting of the polished line to Roosevelt is only from a 1995 U.S. Congressional hearing, per Wikiquote.
Public domain

Alfred Henry Lewis’s 1910 wording is in the public domain (pre-1929). The polished modern aphorism now attributed to Roosevelt is of uncertain, later authorship and cannot be sourced to him.

Fact-check

The misattribution

The line is one of the most common inspirational quotes pinned on Theodore Roosevelt, appearing across quote sites, business books, and motivational posters — yet it appears nowhere in his speeches or writings.

Theodore Roosevelt

The Theodore Roosevelt Center states plainly that “no known source can be found to verify the attribution,” and Wikiquote lists it as disputed.

The earliest documented wording is not Roosevelt’s at all: journalist Alfred Henry Lewis wrote it in La Follette’s Magazine on 28 May 1910, and the polished modern version was linked to Roosevelt only decades later, per Wikiquote.

Context

Why it stuck to Roosevelt

The sentiment is a near-perfect match for Roosevelt’s public image — the strenuous life, the man in the arena, action over hesitation — which is exactly why it attaches to him so easily. Ironically, that fit is no accident: Alfred Henry Lewis wrote the original words about Roosevelt, describing his bias for decisive action, so the phrasing was Roosevelt-flavored from the start even though the words were Lewis’s own.

Lewis was describing Roosevelt’s temperament — not quoting him.

How a description became a quotation

Over the twentieth century the passage was compressed and smoothed into the aphorism now in circulation, and the framing flipped: a journalist’s characterization of Roosevelt became a first-person Roosevelt quotation. The earliest instance Wikiquote finds of the polished line being credited to Roosevelt is a 1995 U.S. Congressional hearing — more than eighty years after his presidency.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Character Wisdom

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Theodore Roosevelt Center — quote recordtheodorerooseveltcenter.org

The authoritative TR archive: it cannot find any source to verify the attribution.
Wikiquote — Theodore Roosevelt (Disputed)en.wikiquote.org

Traces the wording to Alfred Henry Lewis, 1910; earliest Roosevelt credit found is 1995.
Alfred Henry Lewis — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org

Biography of the muckraking journalist behind the 1910 phrasing.
Did TR Really Say That?trlibrary.com

The TR Presidential Library’s guide to quotations falsely pinned on Roosevelt.
TR Association — genuine quotationstheodoreroosevelt.org

Curated collection of verified Roosevelt quotations for comparison.

The author

About Alfred Henry Lewis

Alfred Henry Lewis

1855–1914 · American journalist and novelist

Alfred Henry Lewis (1855–1914) was an American muckraking journalist, lawyer, and novelist, known for exposing Tammany Hall corruption and for his popular Wolfville Western stories. Around 1910 he wrote admiringly of Theodore Roosevelt’s bias for action, coining the “do the right thing… the worst thing is to stand perfectly still” formulation that was later smoothed into a polished aphorism and misattributed to Roosevelt himself.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

La Follette’s Magazine, 28 May 1910

Earliest documented wording in Alfred Henry Lewis, La Follette’s Magazine (28 May 1910), as recorded in Wikiquote, “Theodore Roosevelt” (Disputed); the polished modern form is unverified and credited to Roosevelt only from a 1995 U.S. Congressional hearing.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing’?” Last verified 7 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/in-any-moment-of-decision-the-best-thing-you-can-do-is-the

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