Speech Transcript:

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.