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First Inaugural Address of James Monroe, 5th President |
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First Inaugural Address of President James Monroe
Tuesday, March 4, 1817
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 s elf-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 w ith 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 ha ve 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 livea
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 th e 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 purposesthe
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 Statesa territory so vast and advantageously situated, containing
objects so grand, so useful, so happily connect ed 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 t he 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 entrusted 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 p reserve 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 prospero us 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 display ed in our favor.
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The U. S. Constitution
