The Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses is a collection of Theodore Roosevelt's published commentaries and public addresses on what is necessary for a vital and healthy political, social and individual life. In ""The Strenuous Life"" he argues that strenuous effort and overcoming hardship were ideals to be embraced by Americans for the betterment of the nation. Also included are the following essays and speeches: Expansion And Peace, Latitude And Longitude Among Reformers, Fellow-Feeling As A Political Factor, Civic Helpfulness, Character And Success, The Eighth And Ninth Commandments In Politics, The Best And The Good, Promise And Performance, The American Boy, Military Preparedness And Unprepared-Ness, Admiral Dewey, Grant, The Two Americas, Manhood And Statehood, Brotherhood And The Heroic Virtues, National Duties, The Labor Question, and Christian Citizenship.