Elected by the American people to the highest office known to our laws, I appear here
to
take the oath prescribed by the Constitution, and, in compliance with a time-honored
custom, to address those who are now assembled.
The confidence and respect shown by my countrymen in calling me to be the Chief
Magistrate of a Republic holding a high rank among the nations of the earth have
inspired me with feelings of the most profound gratitude; but when I reflect that the
acceptance of the office which their partiality has bestowed imposes the discharge
of
the most arduous duties and involves the weightiest obligations, I am conscious that
the
position which I have been called to fill, though sufficient to satisfy the loftiest
ambition, is surrounded by fearful responsibilities. Happily, however, in the
performance of my new duties I shall not be without able cooperation. The legislative
and judicial branches of the Government present prominent examples of distinguished
civil attainments and matured experience, and it shall be my endeavor to call to my
assistance in the Executive Departments individuals whose talents, integrity, and
purity
of character will furnish ample guaranties for the faithful and honorable performance
of
the trusts to be committed to their charge. With such aids and an honest purpose to
do
whatever is right, I hope to execute diligently, impartially, and for the best interests
of the country the manifold duties devolved upon me.
In the discharge of these duties my guide will be the Constitution, which I this day
swear to “preserve, protect, and defend.” For the interpretation of that instrument
I
shall look to the decisions of the judicial tribunals established by its authority
and
to the practice of the Government under the earlier Presidents, who had so large a share
in its formation. To the example of those illustrious patriots I shall always defer with
reverence, and especially to his example who was by so many titles “the Father of
his
Country.”
To command the Army and Navy of the United States; with the advice and consent of
the
Senate, to make treaties and to appoint ambassadors and other officers; to give to
Congress information of the state of the Union and recommend such measures as he shall
judge to be necessary; and to take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed—these
are the most important functions intrusted to the President by the Constitution, and
it
may be expected that I shall briefly indicate the principles which will control me
in
their execution.
Chosen by the body of the people under the assurance that my Administration would
be
devoted to the welfare of the whole country, and not to the support of any particular
section or merely local interest, I this day renew the declarations I have heretofore
made and proclaim my fixed determination to maintain to the extent of my ability the
Government in its original purity and to adopt as the basis of my public policy those
great republican doctrines which constitute the strength of our national existence.
In reference to the Army and Navy, lately employed with so much distinction on active
service, care shall be taken to insure the highest condition of efficiency, and in
furtherance of that object the military and naval schools, sustained by the liberality
of Congress, shall receive the special attention of the Executive.
As American freemen we can not but sympathize in all efforts to extend the blessings
of
civil and political liberty, but at the same time we are warned by the admonitions
of
history and the voice of our own beloved Washington to abstain from entangling alliances
with foreign nations. In all disputes between conflicting governments it is our interest
not less than our duty to remain strictly neutral, while our geographical position,
the
genius of our institutions and our people, the advancing spirit of civilization, and,
above all, the dictates of religion direct us to the cultivation of peaceful and
friendly relations with all other powers. It is to be hoped that no international
question can now arise which a government confident in its own strength and resolved
to
protect its own just rights may not settle by wise negotiation; and it eminently becomes
a government like our own, founded on the morality and intelligence of its citizens
and
upheld by their affections, to exhaust every resort of honorable diplomacy before
appealing to arms. In the conduct of our foreign relations I shall conform to these
views, as I believe them essential to the best interests and the true honor of the
country.
The appointing power vested in the President imposes delicate and onerous duties.
So far
as it is possible to be informed, I shall make honesty, capacity, and fidelity
indispensable prerequisites to the bestowal of office, and the absence of either of
these qualities shall be deemed sufficient cause for removal.
It shall be my study to recommend such constitutional measures to Congress as may
be
necessary and proper to secure encouragement and protection to the great interests of
agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, to improve our rivers and harbors, to provide
for the speedy extinguishment of the public debt, to enforce a strict accountability
on
the part of all officers of the Government and the utmost economy in all public
expenditures; but it is for the wisdom of Congress itself, in which all legislative
powers are vested by the Constitution, to regulate these and other matters of domestic
policy. I shall look with confidence to the enlightened patriotism of that body to adopt
such measures of conciliation as may harmonize conflicting interests and tend to
perpetuate that Union which should be the paramount object of our hopes and affections.
In any action calculated to promote an object so near the heart of everyone who truly
loves his country I will zealously unite with the coordinate branches of the Government.
In conclusion I congratulate you, my
fellow-citizens, upon the high state of prosperity to which the goodness of Divine Providence has conducted our common
country. Let us invoke a continuance of the same protecting care which
has led us from small beginnings to the eminence we this day occupy, and let us seek
to
deserve that continuance by prudence and moderation in our councils, by well-directed
attempts to assuage the bitterness which too often marks unavoidable differences of
opinion, by the promulgation and practice of just and liberal principles, and by an
enlarged patriotism, which shall acknowledge no limits but those of our own widespread
Republic.