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Inaugural Address of Franklin Pierce |
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The Inaugural Address of President Franklin Pierce
Friday, March 4, 1853
On religious grounds, former Senator and Congressman Franklin Pierce chose
"to affirm" rather than "to swear" the executive oath of office. He was the
only President to use the choice offered by the Constitution. Famed as an
officer of a volunteer brigade in the Mexican War, he was nominated as the
Democratic candidate in the national convention on the 49th ballot. His name
had not been placed in nomination until the 35th polling of the delegates.
Chief Justice Roger Taney administered the oath of office on the East
Portico of the Capitol. Several weeks before arriving in Washington, the
Pierces' only surviving child had been killed in a train accident.
My Countrymen:
IT a relief to feel that no heart but my own can know the personal regret
and bitter sorrow over which I have been borne to a position so suitable for
others rather than desirable for myself.
The circumstances under which I have been called for a limited period to
preside over the destinies of the Republic fill me with a profound sense of
responsibility, but with nothing like shrinking apprehension. I repair to
the post assigned me not as to one sought, but in obedience to the
unsolicited expression of your will, answerable only for a fearless,
faithful, and diligent exercise of my best powers. I ought to be, and am,
truly grateful for the rare manifestation of the nation's confidence; but
this, so far from lightening my obligations, only adds to their weight. You
have summoned me in my weakness; you must sustain me by your strength. When
looking for the fulfillment of reasonable requirements, you will not be
unmindful of the great changes which have occurred, even within the last
quarter of a century, and the consequent augmentation and complexity of
duties imposed in the administration both of your home and foreign affairs.
Whether the elements of inherent force in the Republic have kept pace with
its unparalleled progression in territory, population, and wealth has been
the subject of earnest thought and discussion on both sides of the ocean.
Less than sixty-four years ago the Father of his Country made "the" then
"recent accession of the important State of North Carolina to the
Constitution of the United States" one of the subjects of his special
congratulation. At that moment, however, when the agitation consequent upon
the Revolutionary struggle had hardly subsided, when we were just emerging
from the weakness and embarrassments of the Confederation, there was an
evident consciousness of vigor equal to the great mission so wisely and
bravely fulfilled by our fathers. It was not a presumptuous assurance, but a
calm faith, springing from a clear view of the sources of power in a
government constituted like ours. It is no paradox to say that although
comparatively weak the new-born nation was intrinsically strong.
Inconsiderable in population and apparent resources, it was upheld by a
broad and intelligent comprehension of rights and an all-pervading purpose
to maintain them, stronger than armaments. It came from the furnace of the
Revolution, tempered to the necessities of the times. The thoughts of the
men of that day were as practical as their sentiments were patriotic. They
wasted no portion of their energies upon idle and delusive speculations, but
with a firm and fearless step advanced beyond the governmental landmarks
which had hitherto circumscribed the limits of human freedom and planted
their standard, where it has stood against dangers which have threatened
from abroad, and internal agitation, which has at times fearfully menaced at
home. They proved themselves equal to the solution of the great problem, to
understand which their minds had been illuminated by the dawning lights of
the Revolution. The object sought was not a thing dreamed of; it was a thing
realized. They had exhibited only the power to achieve, but, what all
history affirms to be so much more unusual, the capacity to maintain. The
oppressed throughout the world from that day to the present have turned
their eyes hitherward, not to find those lights extinguished or to fear lest
they should wane, but to be constantly cheered by their steady and
increasing radiance.
In this our country has, in my judgment, thus far fulfilled its highest
duty to suffering humanity. It has spoken and will continue to speak, not
only by its words, but by its acts, the language of sympathy, encouragement,
and hope to those who earnestly listen to tones which pronounce for the
largest rational liberty. But after all, the most animating encouragement
and potent appeal for freedom will be its own historyits trials and its
triumphs. Preeminently, the power of our advocacy reposes in our example;
but no example, be it remembered, can be powerful for lasting good, whatever
apparent advantages may be gained, which is not based upon eternal
principles of right and justice. Our fathers decided for themselves, both
upon the hour to declare and the hour to strike. They were their own judges
of the circumstances under which it became them to pledge to each other
"their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor" for the acquisition of
the priceless inheritance transmitted to us. The energy with which that
great conflict was opened and, under the guidance of a manifest and
beneficent Providence the uncomplaining endurance with which it was
prosecuted to its consummation were only surpassed by the wisdom and
patriotic spirit of concession which characterized all the counsels of the
early fathers.
One of the most impressive evidences of that wisdom is to be found in the
fact that the actual working of our system has dispelled a degree of
solicitude which at the outset disturbed bold hearts and far-reaching
intellects. The apprehension of dangers from extended territory, multiplied
States, accumulated wealth, and augmented population has proved to be
unfounded. The stars upon your banner have become nearly threefold their
original number; your densely populated possessions skirt the shores of the
two great oceans; and yet this vast increase of people and territory has not
only shown itself compatible with the harmonious action of the States and
Federal Government in their respective constitutional spheres, but has
afforded an additional guaranty of the strength and integrity of both.
With an experience thus suggestive and cheering, the policy of my
Administration will not be controlled by any timid forebodings of evil from
expansion. Indeed, it is not to be disguised that our attitude as a nation
and our position on the globe render the acquisition of certain possessions
not within our jurisdiction eminently important for our protection, if not
in the future essential for the preservation of the rights of commerce and
the peace of the world. Should they be obtained, it will be through no
grasping spirit, but with a view to obvious national interest and security,
and in a manner entirely consistent with the strictest observance of
national faith. We have nothing in our history or position to invite
aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations
of peace and amity with all nations. Purposes, therefore, at once just and
pacific will be significantly marked in the conduct of our foreign affairs.
I intend that my Administration shall leave no blot upon our fair record,
and trust I may safely give the assurance that no act within the legitimate
scope of my constitutional control will be tolerated on the part of any
portion of our citizens which can not challenge a ready justification before
the tribunal of the civilized world. An Administration would be unworthy of
confidence at home or respect abroad should it cease to be influenced by the
conviction that no apparent advantage can be purchased at a price so dear as
that of national wrong or dishonor. It is not your privilege as a nation to
speak of a distant past. The striking incidents of your history, replete
with instruction and furnishing abundant grounds for hopeful confidence, are
comprised in a period comparatively brief. But if your past is limited, your
future is boundless. Its obligations throng the unexplored pathway of
advancement, and will be limitless as duration. Hence a sound and
comprehensive policy should embrace not less the distant future than the
urgent present.
The great objects of our pursuit as a people are best to be attained by
peace, and are entirely consistent with the tranquillity and interests of
the rest of mankind. With the neighboring nations upon our continent we
should cultivate kindly and fraternal relations. We can desire nothing in
regard to them so much as to see them consolidate their strength and pursue
the paths of prosperity and happiness. If in the course of their growth we
should open new channels of trade and create additional facilities for
friendly intercourse, the benefits realized will be equal and mutual. Of the
complicated European systems of national polity we have heretofore been
independent. From their wars, their tumults, and anxieties we have been,
happily, almost entirely exempt. Whilst these are confined to the nations
which gave them existence, and within their legitimate jurisdiction, they
can not affect us except as they appeal to our sympathies in the cause of
human freedom and universal advancement. But the vast interests of commerce
are common to all mankind, and the advantages of trade and international
intercourse must always present a noble field for the moral influence of a
great people.
With these views firmly and honestly carried out, we have a right to
expect, and shall under all circumstances require, prompt reciprocity. The
rights which belong to us as a nation are not alone to be regarded, but
those which pertain to every citizen in his individual capacity, at home and
abroad, must be sacredly maintained. So long as he can discern every star in
its place upon that ensign, without wealth to purchase for him preferment or
title to secure for him place, it will be his privilege, and must be his
acknowledged right, to stand unabashed even in the presence of princes, with
a proud consciousness that he is himself one of a nation of sovereigns and
that he can not in legitimate pursuit wander so far from home that the agent
whom he shall leave behind in the place which I now occupy will not see that
no rude hand of power or tyrannical passion is laid upon him with impunity.
He must realize that upon every sea and on every soil where our enterprise
may rightfully seek the protection of our flag American citizenship is an
inviolable panoply for the security of American rights. And in this
connection it can hardly be necessary to reaffirm a principle which should
now be regarded as fundamental. The rights, security, and repose of this
Confederacy reject the idea of interference or colonization on this side of
the ocean by any foreign power beyond present jurisdiction as utterly
inadmissible.
The opportunities of observation furnished by my brief experience as a
soldier confirmed in my own mind the opinion, entertained and acted upon by
others from the formation of the Government, that the maintenance of large
standing armies in our country would be not only dangerous, but unnecessary.
They also illustrated the importanceI might well say the absolute
necessityof the military science and practical skill furnished in such an
eminent degree by the institution which has made your Army what it is, under
the discipline and instruction of officers not more distinguished for their
solid attainments, gallantry, and devotion to the public service than for
unobtrusive bearing and high moral tone. The Army as organized must be the
nucleus around which in every time of need the strength of your military
power, the sure bulwark of your defensea national militiamay be readily
formed into a well-disciplined and efficient organization. And the skill and
self-devotion of the Navy assure you that you may take the performance of
the past as a pledge for the future, and may confidently expect that the
flag which has waved its untarnished folds over every sea will still float
in undiminished honor. But these, like many other subjects, will be
appropriately brought at a future time to the attention of the coordinate
branches of the Government, to which I shall always look with profound
respect and with trustful confidence that they will accord to me the aid and
support which I shall so much need and which their experience and wisdom
will readily suggest.
In the administration of domestic affairs you expect a devoted integrity
in the public service and an observance of rigid economy in all departments,
so marked as never justly to be questioned. If this reasonable expectation
be not realized, I frankly confess that one of your leading hopes is doomed
to disappointment, and that my efforts in a very important particular must
result in a humiliating failure. Offices can be properly regarded only in
the light of aids for the accomplishment of these objects, and as occupancy
can confer no prerogative nor importunate desire for preferment any claim,
the public interest imperatively demands that they be considered with sole
reference to the duties to be performed. Good citizens may well claim the
protection of good laws and the benign influence of good government, but a
claim for office is what the people of a republic should never recognize. No
reasonable man of any party will expect the Administration to be so
regardless of its responsibility and of the obvious elements of success as
to retain persons known to be under the influence of political hostility and
partisan prejudice in positions which will require not only severe labor,
but cordial cooperation. Having no implied engagements to ratify, no rewards
to bestow, no resentments to remember, and no personal wishes to consult in
selections for official station, I shall fulfill this difficult and delicate
trust, admitting no motive as worthy either of my character or position
which does not contemplate an efficient discharge of duty and the best
interests of my country. I acknowledge my obligations to the masses of my
countrymen, and to them alone. Higher objects than personal aggrandizement
gave direction and energy to their exertions in the late canvass, and they
shall not be disappointed. They require at my hands diligence, integrity,
and capacity wherever there are duties to be performed. Without these
qualities in their public servants, more stringent laws for the prevention
or punishment of fraud, negligence, and peculation will be vain. With them
they will be unnecessary.
But these are not the only points to which you look for vigilant
watchfulness. The dangers of a concentration of all power in the general
government of a confederacy so vast as ours are too obvious to be
disregarded. You have a right, therefore, to expect your agents in every
department to regard strictly the limits imposed upon them by the
Constitution of the United States. The great scheme of our constitutional
liberty rests upon a proper distribution of power between the State and
Federal authorities, and experience has shown that the harmony and happiness
of our people must depend upon a just discrimination between the separate
rights and responsibilities of the States and your common rights and
obligations under the General Government; and here, in my opinion, are the
considerations which should form the true basis of future concord in regard
to the questions which have most seriously disturbed public tranquillity. If
the Federal Government will confine itself to the exercise of powers clearly
granted by the Constitution, it can hardly happen that its action upon any
question should endanger the institutions of the States or interfere with
their right to manage matters strictly domestic according to the will of
their own people.
In expressing briefly my views upon an important subject rich has recently
agitated the nation to almost a fearful degree, I am moved by no other
impulse than a most earnest desire for the perpetuation of that Union which
has made us what we are, showering upon us blessings and conferring a power
and influence which our fathers could hardly have anticipated, even with
their most sanguine hopes directed to a far-off future. The sentiments I now
announce were not unknown before the expression of the voice which called me
here. My own position upon this subject was clear and unequivocal, upon the
record of my words and my acts, and it is only recurred to at this time
because silence might perhaps be misconstrued. With the Union my best and
dearest earthly hopes are entwined. Without it what are we individually or
collectively? What becomes of the noblest field ever opened for the
advancement of our race in religion, in government, in the arts, and in all
that dignifies and adorns mankind? From that radiant constellation which
both illumines our own way and points out to struggling nations their
course, let but a single star be lost, and, if these be not utter darkness,
the luster of the whole is dimmed. Do my countrymen need any assurance that
such a catastrophe is not to overtake them while I possess the power to stay
it? It is with me an earnest and vital belief that as the Union has been the
source, under Providence, of our prosperity to this time, so it is the
surest pledge of a continuance of the blessings we have enjoyed, and which
we are sacredly bound to transmit undiminished to our children. The field of
calm and free discussion in our country is open, and will always be so, but
never has been and never can be traversed for good in a spirit of
sectionalism and uncharitableness. The founders of the Republic dealt with
things as they were presented to them, in a spirit of self-sacrificing
patriotism, and, as time has proved, with a comprehensive wisdom which it
will always be safe for us to consult. Every measure tending to strengthen
the fraternal feelings of all the members of our Union has had my heartfelt
approbation. To every theory of society or government, whether the offspring
of feverish ambition or of morbid enthusiasm, calculated to dissolve the
bonds of law and affection which unite us, I shall interpose a ready and
stern resistance. I believe that involuntary servitude, as it exists in
different States of this Confederacy, is recognized by the Constitution. I
believe that it stands like any other admitted right, and that the States
where it exists are entitled to efficient remedies to enforce the
constitutional provisions. I hold that the laws of 1850, commonly called the
"compromise measures," are strictly constitutional and to be unhesitatingly
carried into effect. I believe that the constituted authorities of this
Republic are bound to regard the rights of the South in this respect as they
would view any other legal and constitutional right, and that the laws to
enforce them should be respected and obeyed, not with a reluctance
encouraged by abstract opinions as to their propriety in a different state
of society, but cheerfully and according to the decisions of the tribunal to
which their exposition belongs. Such have been, and are, my convictions, and
upon them I shall act. I fervently hope that the question is at rest, and
that no sectional or ambitious or fanatical excitement may again threaten
the durability of our institutions or obscure the light of our prosperity.
But let not the foundation of our hope rest upon man's wisdom. It will not
be sufficient that sectional prejudices find no place in the public
deliberations. It will not be sufficient that the rash counsels of human
passion are rejected. It must be felt that there is no national security but
in the nation's humble, acknowledged dependence upon God and His overruling
providence.
We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis. Wise counsels,
like those which gave us the Constitution, prevailed to uphold it. Let the
period be remembered as an admonition, and not as an encouragement, in any
section of the Union, to make experiments where experiments are fraught with
such fearful hazard. Let it be impressed upon all hearts that, beautiful as
our fabric is, no earthly power or wisdom could ever reunite its broken
fragments. Standing, as I do, almost within view of the green slopes of
Monticello, and, as it were, within reach of the tomb of Washington, with
all the cherished memories of the past gathering around me like so many
eloquent voices of exhortation from heaven, I can express no better hope for
my country than that the kind Providence which smiled upon our fathers may
enable their children to preserve the blessings they have inherited.
Visit Mr. Pierce's Website
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The U. S. Constitution
