The Roosevelt Quote That Never Was: "Worth Trading Texas"

A Great Line, A Fake History

Theodore Roosevelt never said the Grand Canyon was "a sight worth trading the whole state of Texas for."

The Myth

The quote appears in blogs, social media, tour guides, and even some park literature. It's attributed to Roosevelt's 1903 visit. The sentiment fits his conservation rhetoric—he did call the canyon "the one great sight which every American should see."

The Evidence

• No primary source: Not in his speeches, letters, diaries, Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter, or Letters to His Children.
• No contemporary account: Newspapers covering his 1903 rim speech (May 6) don't report it.
• Historian consensus: TR scholars (e.g., at Theodore Roosevelt Center, Dickinson State) classify it as apocryphal.

What He Actually Said (May 6, 1903, Grand Canyon Rim)

"Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is keep it for your children, your children's children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see."

Why the Fake Quote Persists

• It's punchy, hyperbolic, and fits the "TR the Rough Rider" persona.
• Texas pride makes it shareable (Texans love/hate it).
• Oral tradition > fact-checking in tourist storytelling.

Roosevelt's Real Canyon Legacy

He established Grand Canyon Game Preserve (1906) and Grand Canyon National Monument (1908)—the legal foundation for National Park status (1919). He protected 230M acres total. The real quote—and the action—matter more than the myth.