I
should be destitute of feeling if I was not deeply affected
by the strong proof which my fellow-citizens have given me
of their confidence in calling me to the high office whose
functions I am about to assume. As the expression of their
good opinion of my conduct in the public service, I derive
from it a gratification which those who are conscious of
having done all that they could to merit it can alone feel.
My sensibility is increased by a just estimate of the
importance of the trust and of the nature and extent of its
duties, with the proper discharge of which the highest
interests of a great and free people are intimately
connected. Conscious of my own deficiency, I cannot enter on
these duties without great anxiety for the result. From a
just responsibility I will never shrink, calculating with
confidence that in my best efforts to promote the public
welfare my motives will always be duly appreciated and my
conduct be viewed with that candor and indulgence which I
have experienced in other stations.
In
commencing the duties of the chief executive office it has
been the practice of the distinguished men who have gone
before me to explain the principles which would govern them
in their respective Administrations. In following their
venerated example my attention is naturally drawn to the
great causes which have contributed in a principal degree to
produce the present happy condition of the United States.
They will best explain the nature of our duties and shed
much light on the policy which ought to be pursued in
future.
From
the commencement of our Revolution to the present day almost
forty years have elapsed, and from the establishment of this
Constitution twenty-eight. Through this whole term the
Government has been what may emphatically be called
self-government. And what has been the effect? To whatever
object we turn our attention, whether it relates to our
foreign or domestic concerns, we find abundant cause to
felicitate ourselves in the excellence of our institutions.
During a period fraught with difficulties and marked by very
extraordinary events the United States have flourished
beyond example. Their citizens individually have been happy
and the nation prosperous.
Under
this Constitution our commerce has been wisely regulated
with foreign nations and between the States; new States have
been admitted into our Union; our territory has been
enlarged by fair and honorable treaty, and with great
advantage to the original States; the States, respectively
protected by the National Government under a mild, parental
system against foreign dangers, and enjoying within their
separate spheres, by a wise partition of power, a just
proportion of the sovereignty, have improved their police,
extended their settlements, and attained a strength and
maturity which are the best proofs of wholesome laws well
administered. And if we look to the condition of individuals
what a proud spectacle does it exhibit! On whom has
oppression fallen in any quarter of our Union? Who has been
deprived of any right of person or property? Who restrained
from offering his vows in the mode which he prefers to the
Divine Author of his being? It is well known that all these
blessings have been enjoyed in their fullest extent; and I
add with peculiar satisfaction that there has been no
example of a capital punishment being inflicted on anyone
for the crime of high treason.
Some
who might admit the competency of our Government to these
beneficent duties might doubt it in trials which put to the
test its strength and efficiency as a member of the great
community of nations. Here too experience has afforded us
the most satisfactory proof in its favor. Just as this
Constitution was put into action several of the principal
States of Europe had become much agitated and some of them
seriously convulsed. Destructive wars ensued, which have of
late only been terminated. In the course of these conflicts
the United States received great injury from several of the
parties. It was their interest to stand aloof from the
contest, to demand justice from the party committing the
injury, and to cultivate by a fair and honorable conduct the
friendship of all. War became at length inevitable, and the
result has shown that our Government is equal to that, the
greatest of trials, under the most unfavorable
circumstances. Of the virtue of the people and of the heroic
exploits of the Army, the Navy, and the militia I need not
speak.
Such,
then, is the happy Government under which we live a
Government adequate to every purpose for which the social
compact is formed; a Government elective in all its
branches, under which every citizen may by his merit obtain
the highest trust recognized by the Constitution; which
contains within it no cause of discord, none to put at
variance one portion of the community with another; a
Government which protects every citizen in the full
enjoyment of his rights, and is able to protect the nation
against injustice from foreign powers.
Other
considerations of the highest importance admonish us to
cherish our Union and to cling to the Government which
supports it. Fortunate as we are in our political
institutions, we have not been less so in other
circumstances on which our prosperity and happiness
essentially depend. Situated within the temperate zone, and
extending through many degrees of latitude along the
Atlantic, the United States enjoy all the varieties of
climate, and every production incident to that portion of
the globe. Penetrating internally to the Great Lakes and
beyond the sources of the great rivers which communicate
through our whole interior, no country was ever happier with
respect to its domain. Blessed, too, with a fertile soil,
our produce has always been very abundant, leaving, even in
years the least favorable, a surplus for the wants of our
fellow-men in other countries. Such is our peculiar felicity
that there is not a part of our Union that is not
particularly interested in preserving it. The great
agricultural interest of the nation prospers under its
protection. Local interests are not less fostered by it. Our
fellow-citizens of the North engaged in navigation find
great encouragement in being made the favored carriers of
the vast productions of the other portions of the United
States, while the inhabitants of these are amply
recompensed, in their turn, by the nursery for seamen and
naval force thus formed and reared up for the support of our
common rights. Our manufactures find a generous
encouragement by the policy which patronizes domestic
industry, and the surplus of our produce a steady and
profitable market by local wants in less-favored parts at
home.
Such,
then, being the highly favored condition of our country, it
is the interest of every citizen to maintain it. What are
the dangers which menace us? If any exist they ought to be
ascertained and guarded against.
In
explaining my sentiments on this subject it may be asked,
What raised us to the present happy state? How did we
accomplish the Revolution? How remedy the defects of the
first instrument of our Union, by infusing into the National
Government sufficient power for national purposes, without
impairing the just rights of the States or affecting those
of individuals? How sustain and pass with glory through the
late war? The Government has been in the hands of the
people. To the people, therefore, and to the faithful and
able depositaries of their trust is the credit due. Had the
people of the United States been educated in different
principles, had they been less intelligent, less
independent, or less virtuous, can it be believed that we
should have maintained the same steady and consistent career
or been blessed with the same success? While, then, the
constituent body retains its present sound and healthful
state everything will be safe. They will choose competent
and faithful representatives for every department. It is
only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they
degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of
exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy
attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves
become the willing instruments of their own debasement and
ruin. Let us, then, look to the great cause, and endeavor to
preserve it in full force. Let us by all wise and
constitutional measures promote intelligence among the
people as the best means of preserving our liberties.
Dangers
from abroad are not less deserving of attention.
Experiencing the fortune of other nations, the United States
may be again involved in war, and it may in that event be
the object of the adverse party to overset our Government,
to break our Union, and demolish us as a nation. Our
distance from Europe and the just, moderate, and pacific
policy of our Government may form some security against
these dangers, but they ought to be anticipated and guarded
against. Many of our citizens are engaged in commerce and
navigation, and all of them are in a certain degree
dependent on their prosperous state. Many are engaged in the
fisheries. These interests are exposed to invasion in the
wars between other powers, and we should disregard the
faithful admonition of experience if we did not expect it.
We must support our rights or lose our character, and with
it, perhaps, our liberties. A people who fail to do it can
scarcely be said to hold a place among independent nations.
National honor is national property of the highest value.
The sentiment in the mind of every citizen is national
strength. It ought therefore to be cherished.
To
secure us against these dangers our coast and inland
frontiers should be fortified, our Army and Navy, regulated
upon just principles as to the force of each, be kept in
perfect order, and our militia be placed on the best
practicable footing. To put our extensive coast in such a
state of defense as to secure our cities and interior from
invasion will be attended with expense, but the work when
finished will be permanent, and it is fair to presume that a
single campaign of invasion by a naval force superior to our
own, aided by a few thousand land troops, would expose us to
greater expense, without taking into the estimate the loss
of property and distress of our citizens, than would be
sufficient for this great work. Our land and naval forces
should be moderate, but adequate to the necessary
purposes the former to garrison and preserve our
fortifications and to meet the first invasions of a foreign
foe, and, while constituting the elements of a greater
force, to preserve the science as well as all the necessary
implements of war in a state to be brought into activity in
the event of war; the latter, retained within the limits
proper in a state of peace, might aid in maintaining the
neutrality of the United States with dignity in the wars of
other powers and in saving the property of their citizens
from spoliation. In time of war, with the enlargement of
which the great naval resources of the country render it
susceptible, and which should be duly fostered in time of
peace, it would contribute essentially, both as an auxiliary
of defense and as a powerful engine of annoyance, to
diminish the calamities of war and to bring the war to a
speedy and honorable termination.
But
it ought always to be held prominently in view that the
safety of these States and of everything dear to a free
people must depend in an eminent degree on the militia.
Invasions may be made too formidable to be resisted by any
land and naval force which it would comport either with the
principles of our Government or the circumstances of the
United States to maintain. In such cases recourse must be
had to the great body of the people, and in a manner to
produce the best effect. It is of the highest importance,
therefore, that they be so organized and trained as to be
prepared for any emergency. The arrangement should be such
as to put at the command of the Government the ardent
patriotism and youthful vigor of the country. If formed on
equal and just principles, it can not be oppressive. It is
the crisis which makes the pressure, and not the laws which
provide a remedy for it. This arrangement should be formed,
too, in time of peace, to be the better prepared for war.
With such an organization of such a people the United States
have nothing to dread from foreign invasion. At its approach
an overwhelming force of gallant men might always be put in
motion.
Other
interests of high importance will claim attention, among
which the improvement of our country by roads and canals,
proceeding always with a constitutional sanction, holds a
distinguished place. By thus facilitating the intercourse
between the States we shall add much to the convenience and
comfort of our fellow-citizens, much to the ornament of the
country, and, what is of greater importance, we shall
shorten distances, and, by making each part more accessible
to and dependent on the other, we shall bind the Union more
closely together. Nature has done so much for us by
intersecting the country with so many great rivers, bays,
and lakes, approaching from distant points so near to each
other, that the inducement to complete the work seems to be
peculiarly strong. A more interesting spectacle was perhaps
never seen than is exhibited within the limits of the United
States a territory so vast and advantageously situated,
containing objects so grand, so useful, so happily connected
in all their parts!
Our
manufacturers will likewise require the systematic and
fostering care of the Government. Possessing as we do all
the raw materials, the fruit of our own soil and industry,
we ought not to depend in the degree we have done on
supplies from other countries. While we are thus dependent
the sudden event of war, unsought and unexpected, can not
fail to plunge us into the most serious difficulties. It is
important, too, that the capital which nourishes our
manufacturers should be domestic, as its influence in that
case instead of exhausting, as it may do in foreign hands,
would be felt advantageously on agriculture and every other
branch of industry. Equally important is it to provide at
home a market for our raw materials, as by extending the
competition it will enhance the price and protect the
cultivator against the casualties incident to foreign
markets.
With
the Indian tribes it is our duty to cultivate friendly
relations and to act with kindness and liberality in all our
transactions. Equally proper is it to persevere in our
efforts to extend to them the advantages of civilization.
The
great amount of our revenue and the flourishing state of the
Treasury are a full proof of the competency of the national
resources for any emergency, as they are of the willingness
of our fellow-citizens to bear the burdens which the public
necessities require. The vast amount of vacant lands, the
value of which daily augments, forms an additional resource
of great extent and duration. These resources, besides
accomplishing every other necessary purpose, put it
completely in the power of the United States to discharge
the national debt at an early period. Peace is the best time
for improvement and preparation of every kind; it is in
peace that our commerce flourishes most, that taxes are most
easily paid, and that the revenue is most productive.
The
Executive is charged officially in the Departments under it
with the disbursement of the public money, and is
responsible for the faithful application of it to the
purposes for which it is raised. The Legislature is the
watchful guardian over the public purse. It is its duty to
see that the disbursement has been honestly made. To meet
the requisite responsibility every facility should be
afforded to the Executive to enable it to bring the public
agents intrusted with the public money strictly and promptly
to account. Nothing should be presumed against them; but if,
with the requisite facilities, the public money is suffered
to lie long and uselessly in their hands, they will not be
the only defaulters, nor will the demoralizing effect be
confined to them. It will evince a relaxation and want of
tone in the Administration which will be felt by the whole
community. I shall do all I can to secure economy and
fidelity in this important branch of the Administration, and
I doubt not that the Legislature will perform its duty with
equal zeal. A thorough examination should be regularly made,
and I will promote it.
It
is particularly gratifying to me to enter on the discharge
of these duties at a time when the United States are blessed
with peace. It is a state most consistent with their
prosperity and happiness. It will be my sincere desire to
preserve it, so far as depends on the Executive, on just
principles with all nations, claiming nothing unreasonable
of any and rendering to each what is its due.
Equally
gratifying is it to witness the increased harmony of opinion
which pervades our Union. Discord does not belong to our
system. Union is recommended as well by the free and benign
principles of our Government, extending its blessings to
every individual, as by the other eminent advantages
attending it. The American people have encountered together
great dangers and sustained severe trials with success. They
constitute one great family with a common interest.
Experience has enlightened us on some questions of essential
importance to the country. The progress has been slow,
dictated by a just reflection and a faithful regard to every
interest connected with it. To promote this harmony in
accord with the principles of our republican Government and
in a manner to give them the most complete effect, and to
advance in all other respects the best interests of our
Union, will be the object of my constant and zealous
exertions.
Never
did a government commence under auspices so favorable, nor
ever was success so complete. If we look to the history of
other nations, ancient or modern, we find no example of a
growth so rapid, so gigantic, of a people so prosperous and
happy. In contemplating what we have still to perform, the
heart of every citizen must expand with joy when he reflects
how near our Government has approached to perfection; that
in respect to it we have no essential improvement to make;
that the great object is to preserve it in the essential
principles and features which characterize it, and that is
to be done by preserving the virtue and enlightening the
minds of the people; and as a security against foreign
dangers to adopt such arrangements as are indispensable to
the support of our independence, our rights and liberties.
If we persevere in the career in which we have advanced so
far and in the path already traced, we can not fail, under
the favor of a gracious Providence, to attain the high
destiny which seems to await us.
In
the Administrations of the illustrious men who have preceded
me in this high station, with some of whom I have been
connected by the closest ties from early life, examples are
presented which will always be found highly instructive and
useful to their successors. From these I shall endeavor to
derive all the advantages which they may afford. Of my
immediate predecessor, under whom so important a portion of
this great and successful experiment has been made, I shall
be pardoned for expressing my earnest wishes that he may
long enjoy in his retirement the affections of a grateful
country, the best reward of exalted talents and the most
faithful and meritorious service. Relying on the aid to be
derived from the other departments of the Government, I
enter on the trust to which I have been called by the
suffrages of my fellow-citizens with my fervent prayers to
the Almighty that He will be graciously pleased to continue
to us that protection which He has already so conspicuously
displayed in our favor.
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