Jackson's First Inaugural
Address: A Transcript
Andrew Jackson
(1767-1845)
Draft of Inaugural Address
(first term)
[undated, ca. March 4, 1829]
Fellow citizens,
About to enter upon the duties to which as President of the United
States, I have been called by voluntary suffrages of my country,
I avail myself of this occasion to express the deep and heartfelt
gratitude with which a testimonial of such distinguished favor has
been received. To be elected under the circumstances which have
marked the recent contest of opinion to administer the affairs of
a government deriving all its powers from the will of the people,
a government whose vital principle is the right of the people to
control its measures, and whose only object and glory are the equal
happiness and freedom of all the members of the confederacy, cannot
but penetrate me with the most powerful and mingled emotions of
thanks, on the one hand, for the honor conferred on me, and on the
other, of solemn apprehensions for the safety of the great and important
interests committed to my charge.
Under the weight of these emotions, unaided by any confidence inspired
by past experience, or by any strength derived from the conscious
possession of powers equal to the station, I confess, fellow citizens,
that I approach it with trembling reluctance. But my Country has
willed it, and I obey, gathering hope from the reflection that the
other branches of the Govt. with whom the constitutional will associates
me, will yield those resources of Patriotism and intelligence, by
which the administration may be rendered useful, and the honor and
independence of our widely extended Republic guarded from encroachment;
but above all, trusting to the smiles of that overruling Providence,
"in the hollow of whose hand," is the destiny of nations, for that
animation of common council and harmonizing effort, which shall
enable us to steer, the Bark of liberty, through every difficulty.
In the present Stage of our history, it will not be expected of
me on this occasion to enter into any detail of the first principles
of our government. The achievements of our fathers, our subsequent
intercourse with each other, the various relations we have sustained
with other powers of the world, and our present attitude at home,
exhibits the practical operations of these principles, all of which
are comprised in the sovereignty of the people. This is the basis
of our system, and to its security from violation and innovation
must our practice and experience as a government be dedicated. To
the administration of my illustrious predecessors I will be permitted
to refer as mirrors not so much for the measures which may be demanded
by the present state of the country, but as applications of the
same principles to the various exigencies which have occurred in
our history, and as shedding light upon those which may hereafter
arise. It is thus the great moral race we are running, connects
us with the past, and is tributary to the events which are to come:
thus, that every period of our Government is useful to that which
follows, not as the source of principles, but as guides on that
sacred fountain to which we must often go for the refreshment of
our laws, and the invigoration of the public morals. It is from
this source that we derive the means of congratulation ourselves
upon the present free condition of our country, and build our hopes
for its future safety. In fine, Fellow Citizens, this is the bulwark
of our liberties.
Among the various and important duties that are confided to the
President, there are none of more interest than that which requires
the selection of his officers. The application of the laws, and
the management of our relations with foreign powers, form the chief
object of an Executive, and are as essential to the welfare of the
union as the laws themselves. In the discharge of this trust it
shall be my care to fill the various offices at the disposal of
the Executive with individuals uniting as far as possible the qualifications
of the head and heart, always recollecting that in a free government
the demand for moral qualities should be made superior to that of
talents. In other forms of government where the people are not regarded
as composing the sovereign power, it is easy to perceive that the
safeguard of the empire consists chiefly in the skill by which the
monarch can wield the bigoted acquiescence of his Subjects. But
it is different with us. Here the will of the people, prescribed
in a constitution of their own choice, controls the service of the
public functionaries, and is interested more deeply in the preservation
of those qualities which ensures fidelity and honest devotion to
their interests.
Provisions for the national defense form another class of duties
for the Representatives of the people, and as they stand in delicate
connection with the powers of the general and state Governments,
when understood to embrace the protection of our own labor, merit
the most serious consideration. Legislation for this object encouraging
the production of those articles which are essential in the emergencies
of war, and to the independence of the nation, seems to me to be
sanctioned by the constitution, as lawful and just. The general
safety was the great motive for the confederation of the states,
and never could have been effected without conferring on the Federal
Government the power to provide those internal supplies which constitute
the means of war, and which if left to the ordinary operations of
commerce, might be withheld at a time when we most needed them.
Judicious Tariff imposing duties high enough to insure us against
this calamity will always meet with my hearty cooperation. But beyond
this point, legislation effecting the natural relations of the labor
of the states are irreconcilable to the objects of the Union, and
threatening to its peace and tranquility.
Recollecting that all the states are equal in sovereignty, and
in claims to the benefits accruing from the confederation, upon
the federal principle of providing by taxation for the wants of
the Government, it seems Just that the expenditures should be distributed
regard being first paid to the national debt, and the appropriations
for the support of the Government, and safety of the Union. The
necessity of conforming more closely to this principle is illustrated
by the dissatisfaction which the expenditures for the purposes of
improvement has already created in several of the states. The operation
of the principle, as fixed on this equitable basis, will give to
the states the fiscal prosperity of the nation, and secure harmony
by removing the grounds of Jealousy.
Between the powers granted to the general government, and those
reserved to the states and the people, it is to be regretted that
no line can be so obviously drawn as that all shall understand alike
its boundaries. There will be a territory between them which must
be governed by the good sense of a nation always ready to resist
oppression, and too high minded to forget the rights of the minority.
It is the inheritance of that sentiment of conciliation, and spirit
of compromise which gave us the constitution, and which is to enable
us in the progress of time to amend such defects in the system as
experience may detect. Fully sensible of the necessity which I shall
have for the exercise of this spirit on the part of my fellow Citizens,
I shall notice with pleasure an unreserved examination of the measures
of my administration, and shall be the last to cry out treason against
those who interpret differently from myself the policy, or powers
of the government.
Some of the Topics which shall engage my earliest attention as
intimately connected with the prosperity of our beloved country,
are, the liquidation of the national debt. The introduction and
observance of the strictest economy in the disbursements of the
Government, a Judicious tariff, combined with a fostering care of
commerce and agriculture, and regulated by the principles before
adverted to, a Just respect for state rights and the maintenance
of state sovereignty as the best check of the tendencies to consolidation;
and the distribution of the surplus revenue amongst the states according
to the apportionment of representation, for the purposes of education
and internal improvement, except where the subjects are entirely
national. With the accomplishment of these objects I trust the memorials
of our national blessings may be multiplied, and the scenes of domestic
labor be made more animating and happy.
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