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2nd Inaugural Address of James Monroe, 5th President |
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Second Inaugural Address of President James Monroe
Washington, Monday, March 5, 1821
Fellow citizens, I shall not attempt to describe the grateful emotions which the new and very distinguished proof of the confidence of my fellow-citizens, evinced by my reelection to this high trust, has excited in my bosom. The approbation which it announces of my conduct in the preceding term affords me a consolation which I shall profoundly feel through life. The general accord with which it has been expressed adds to the great and never-ceasing obligations which it imposes. To merit the continuance of this good opinion, and to carry it with me into my retirement as the solace of advancing years, will be the object of my most zealous and unceasing efforts.
Having no pretensions to the high and commanding claims of my
predecessors, whose names are so much more conspicuously identified with our
Revolution, and who contributed so preeminently to promote its success, I
consider myself rather as the instrument than the cause of the union which
has prevailed in the late election. In surmounting, in favor of my humble
pretensions, the difficulties which so often produce division in like
occurrences, it is obvious that other powerful causes, indicating the great
strength and stability of our Union, have essentially contributed to draw
you together. That these powerful causes exist, and that they are permanent,
is my fixed opinion; that they may produce a like accord in all questions
touching, however remotely, the liberty, prosperity, and happiness of our
country will always be the object of my most fervent prayers to the Supreme
Author of All Good.
In a government which is founded by the people, who possess
exclusively the sovereignty, it seems proper that the person who may be
placed by their suffrages in this high trust should declare on commencing
its duties the principles on which he intends to conduct the Administration.
If the person thus elected has served the preceding term, an opportunity is
afforded him to review its principal occurrences and to give such further
explanation respecting them as in his judgment may be use ful to his
constituents. The events of one year have influence on those of another,
and, in like manner, of a preceding on the succeeding Administration. The
movements of a great nation are connected in all their parts. If errors have
been committed they ought to be corrected; if the policy is sound it ought
to be supported. It is by a thorough knowledge of the whole subject that our
fellow-citizens are enabled to judge correctly of the past and to give a proper direction to the future.
Just before the commencement of the last term the United States
had concluded a war with a very powerful nation on conditions equal and
honorable to both parties. The events of that war are too recent and too
deeply impressed on the memory of all to require a development from me. Our
commerce had been in a great measure driven from the sea, our Atlantic and
inland frontiers were invaded in almost every part; the waste of life along
our coast and on some parts of our inland frontiers, t o the defense of
which our gallant and patriotic citizens were called, was immense, in
addition to which not less than $120,000,000 were added at its end to the
public debt.
As soon as the war had terminated, the nation, admonished by its
events, resolved to place itself in a situation which should be better
calculated to prevent the recurrence of a like evil, and, in case it should
recur, to mitigate its calamities. With this view, after reducing our land
force to the basis of a peace establishment, which has been further modified
since, provision was made for the construction of fortifications at proper
points through the whole extent of our coast and such an augmentation of
our naval force as should be well adapted to both purposes. The laws making
this provision were passed in 1815 and 1816, and it has been since the
constant effort of the Executive to carry them into effect.
The advantage of these fortifications and of an augmented naval
force in the extent contemplated, in a point of economy, has been fully
illustrated by a report of the Board of Engineers and Naval Commissioners
lately communicated to Congress, by which it appears that in an invasion by
20,000 men, with a correspondent naval force, in a campaign of six months
only, the whole expense of the construction of the works would be defrayed
by the difference in the sum necessary to maintain the force which would be
adequate to our defense with the aid of those works and that which would be
incurred without them. The reason of this difference is obvious. If
fortifications are judiciously placed on our great inlets, as distant from
our cities as circumstances will permit, they will form the only points of
attack, and the enemy will be detained there by a small regular force a
sufficient time to enable our militia to collect and repair to that on which
the attack is made. A force adequate to the enemy, collected at that single
point, with suitable preparation for such others as might be menaced, is all
that would be requisite. But if there were no fortifications, then the enemy
might go where he pleased, and, changing his position and sailing from place
to place, our force must be called out and spread in vast numbers along the
whole coast and on both sides of every bay and river as high up in each as
it might be navigable for ships of war. By these fortifications, supported
by our Navy, to which t hey would afford like support, we should present to
other powers an armed front from St. Croix to the Sabine, which would
protect in the event of war our whole coast and interior from invasion; and
even in the wars of other powers, in which we were neutral, they would be
found eminently useful, as, by keeping their public ships at a distance from
our cities, peace and order in them would be preserved and the Government be
protected from insult.
It need scarcely be remarked that these measures have not been
resorted to in a spirit of hostility to other powers. Such a disposition
does not exist toward any power. Peace and good will have been, and will
hereafter be, cultivated with all, and by the most faithful regard to
justice. They have been dictated by a love of peace, of economy, and an
earnest desire to save the lives of our fellow-citizens from that
destruction and our country from that devastation which are inseparable
from war when it finds us unprepared for it. It is believed, and experience
has shown, that such a preparation is the best expedient that can be
resorted to prevent war. I add with much pleasure that considerable progress
has already been made in these measures of defense, and that they will be
completed in a few years, considering the great extent and importance of the
object, if the plan be zealously and steadily persevered in.
The conduct of the Government in what relates to foreign powers is
always an object of the highest importance to the nation. Its agriculture,
commerce, manufactures, fisheries, revenue, in short, its peace, may all be
affected by it. Attention is therefore due to this subject.
At the period adverted to the powers of Europe, after having been
engaged in long and destructive wars with each other, had concluded a peace,
which happily still exists. Our peace with the power with whom we had been
engaged had also been concluded. The war between Spain and the colonies in
South America, which had commenced many years before, was then the only
conflict that remained unsettled. This being a contest between different
parts of the same community, in which other powers h ad not interfered, was
not affected by their accommodations.
This contest was considered at an early stage by my predecessor a
civil war in which the parties were entitled to equal rights in our ports.
This decision, the first made by any power, being formed on great
consideration of the comparative strength and resources of the parties, the
length of time, and successful opposition made by the colonies, and of all
other circumstances on which it ought to depend, was in strict accord with
the law of nations. Congress has invariably acted on this principle, having
made no change in our relations with either party. Our attitude has
therefore been that of neutrality between them, which has been maintained by
the Government with the strictest impartiality. No aid has been afforded to
either, nor has any privilege been enjoyed by the one which has not been
equally open to the other party, and every exertion has been made in its
power to enforce the execution of the laws prohibiting illegal equipments
with equal rigor against both.
By this equality between the parties their public vessels have
been received in our ports on the same footing; they have enjoyed an equal
right to purchase and export arms, munitions of war, and every other supply,
the exportation of a ll articles whatever being permitted under laws which
were passed long before the commencement of the contest; our citizens have
traded equally with both, and their commerce with each has been alike
protected by the Government.
Respecting the attitude which it may be proper for the United
States to maintain hereafter between the parties, I have no hesitation in
stating it as my opinion that the neutrality heretofore observed should
still be adhered to. From t he change in the Government of Spain and the
negotiation now depending, invited by the Cortes and accepted by the
colonies, it may be presumed, that their differences will be settled on the
terms proposed by the colonies. Should the war be continued, the United
States, regarding its occurrences, will always have it in their power to
adopt such measures respecting it as their honor and interest may require.
Shortly after the general peace a band of adventurers took
advantage of this conflict and of the facility which it afforded to
establish a system of buccaneering in the neighboring seas, to the great
annoyance of the commerce of the United States, and, as was represented, of
that of other powers. Of this spirit and of its injurious bearing on the
United States strong proofs were afforded by the establishment at Amelia
Island, and the purposes to which it was made instrumental by this b and in
1817, and by the occurrences which took place in other parts of Florida in
1818, the details of which in both instances are too well known to require
to be now recited. I am satisfied had a less decisive course been adopted
that the worst consequences would have resulted from it. We have seen that
these checks, decisive as they were, were not sufficient to crush that
piratical spirit. Many culprits brought within our limits have been
condemned to suffer death, the punishment due to that atrocious c rime. The
decisions of upright and enlightened tribunals fall equally on all whose
crimes subject them, by a fair interpretation of the law, to its censure. It
belongs to the Executive not to suffer the executions under these decisions
to transcend the gr eat purpose for which punishment is necessary. The full
benefit of example being secured, policy as well as humanity equally forbids
that they should be carried further. I have acted on this principle,
pardoning those who appear to have been led astray by ignorance of the
criminality of the acts they had committed, and suffering the law to take
effect on those only in whose favor no extenuating circumstances could be urged.
Great confidence is entertained that the late treaty with Spain,
which has been ratified by both the parties, and the ratifications whereof
have been exchanged, has placed the relations of the two countries on a
basis of permanent friendship. The provision made by it for such of our
citizens as have claims on Spain of the character described will, it is
presumed, be very satisfactory to them, and the boundary which is
established between the territories of the parties westward of the
Mississippi, heretofore in dispute, has, it is thought, been settled on
conditions just and advantageous to both. But to the acquisition of Florida
too much importance can not be attached. It secures to the United States a
territory important in itself, an d whose importance is much increased by
its bearing on many of the highest interests of the Union. It opens to
several of the neighboring States a free passage to the ocean, through the
Province ceded, by several rivers, having their sources high up within
their limits. It secures us against all future annoyance from powerful
Indian tribes. It gives us several excellent harbors in the Gulf of Mexico
for ships of war of the largest size. It covers by its position in the Gulf
the Mississippi and other great waters within our extended limits, and
thereby enables the United States to afford complete protection to the vast
and very valuable productions of our whole Western country, which find a
market through those streams.
By a treaty with the British Government, bearing date on the 20th
of October, 1818, the convention regulating the commerce between the United
States and Great Britain, concluded on the 3d of July, 1815, which was about
expiring, was revived and continued for the term of ten years from the time
of its expiration. By that treaty, also, the differences which had arisen
under the treaty of Ghent respecting the right claimed by the United States
for their citizens to take and cure fish on t he coast of His Britannic
Majesty's dominions in America, with other differences on important
interests, were adjusted to the satisfaction of both parties. No agreement
has yet been entered into respecting the commerce between the United States
and the British dominions in the West Indies and on this continent. The
restraints imposed on that commerce by Great Britain, and reciprocated by
the United States on a principle of defense, continue still in force.
The negotiation with France for the regulation of the commercial
relations between the two countries, which in the course of the last summer
had been commenced at Paris, has since been transferred to this city, and
will be pursued on t he part of the United States in the spirit of
conciliation, and with an earnest desire that it may terminate in an
arrangement satisfactory to both parties.
Our relations with the Barbary Powers are preserved in the same
state and by the same means that were employed when I came into this office.
As early as 1801 it was found necessary to send a squadron into the
Mediterranean for the protection of our commerce, and no period has
intervened, a short term excepted, when it was thought advisable to withdraw
it. The great interests which the United States have in the Pacific, in
commerce and in the fisheries, have also made it necessary to maintain a
naval force there. In disposing of this force in both instances the most
effectual measures in our power have been taken, without interfering with
its other duties, for the suppression of the slave trade and of piracy in
the neighboring seas.
The situation of the United States in regard to their resources,
the extent of their revenue, and the facility with which it is raised
affords a most gratifying spectacle. The payment of nearly $67,000,000 of
the public debt, with the great progress made in measures of defense and in
other improvements of various kinds since the late war, are conclusive
proofs of this extraordinary prosperity, especially when it is recollected
that these expenditures have been defrayed without a burthen on the people,
the direct tax and excise having been repealed soon after the conclusion of
the late war, and the revenue applied to these great objects having been
raised in a manner not to be felt. Our great resources therefore remain
untouched for any purpose which may affect the vital interests of the
nation. For all such purposes they are inexhaustible. They are more
especially to be found in the virtue, patriotism, and intelligence of our
fellow-citizens, and in the devotion with which they would yield up by any
just measure of taxation all their property in support of the rights and
honor of their country.
Under the present depression of prices, affecting all the
productions of the country and every branch of industry, proceeding from
causes explained on a former occasion, the revenue has considerably
diminished, the effect of which has been to compel Congress either to
abandon these great measures of defense or to resort to loans or internal
taxes to supply the deficiency. On the presumption that this depression and
the deficiency in the revenue arising from it would be temporary, loans were
authorized for the demands of the last and present year. Anxious to relieve
my fellow-citizens in 1817 from every burthen which could be dispensed with,
and the state of the Treasury permitting it, I recommended the repeal of the
internal taxes, kno wing that such relief was then peculiarly necessary in
consequence of the great exertions made in the late war. I made that
recommendation under a pledge that should the public exigencies require a
recurrence to them at any time while I remained in this t rust, I would with
equal promptitude perform the duty which would then be alike incumbent on
me. By the experiment now making it will be seen by the next session of
Congress whether the revenue shall have been so augmented as to be adequate
to all these necessary purposes. Should the deficiency still continue, and
especially should it be probable that it would be permanent, the course to
be pursued appears to me to be obvious. I am satisfied that under certain
circumstances loans may be resorted to with great advantage. I am equally
well satisfied, as a general rule, that the demands of the current year,
especially in time of peace, should be provided for by the revenue of that year.
I have never dreaded, nor have I ever shunned, in any situation in
which I have been placed making appeals to the virtue and patriotism of my
fellow-citizens, well knowing that they could never be made in vain,
especially in times of great emergency or for purposes of high national
importance. Independently of the exigency of the case, many considerations
of great weight urge a policy having in view a provision of revenue to meet
to a certain extent the demands of the nation, without relying altogether
on the precarious resource of foreign commerce. I am satisfied that internal
duties and excises, with corresponding imposts on foreign articles of the
same kind, would, without imposing any serious burdens on the people,
enhance the price of produce, promote our manufactures, and augment the
revenue, at the same time that they made it more secure and permanent.
The care of the Indian tribes within our limits has long been an
essential part of our system, but, unfortunately, it has not been executed
in a manner to accomplish all the objects intended by it. We have treated
them as independent nations, without their having any substantial
pretensions to that rank. The distinction has flattered their pride,
retarded their improvement, and in many instances paved the way to their
destruction. The progress of our settlements westward, supported as they are
by a dense population, has constantly driven them back, with almost the
total sacrifice of the lands which they have been compelled to abandon. They
have claims on the magnanimity and, I may add, on the justice of this nation
which we must all feel. We should become their real benefactors; we should
perform the office of their Great Father, the endearing title which they
emphatically give to the Chief Magistrate of our Union. Their sovereignty
over vast territories should cease, in lieu of which the right of soil
should be secured to each individual and his posterity in competent
portions; and for the territory thus ceded by each tribe some reasonable
equivalent should be granted, to be vested in permanent funds for the
support of civil government over them and for the education of their
children, for their instruction in the arts of husbandry, and to provide
sustenance for them until they could provide it for themselves. My earnest
hope is that Congress will digest some plan, founded on these principles,
with such improvements as their wisdom may suggest, and carry it into effect
as soon as it may be practicable.
Europe is again unsettled and the prospect of war increasing.
Should the flame light up in any quarter, how far it may extend it is
impossible to foresee. It is our peculiar felicity to be altogether
unconnected with the causes which produce this menacing aspect elsewhere.
With every power we are in perfect amity, and it is our interest to remain
so if it be practicable on just conditions. I see no reasonable cause to
apprehend variance with any power, unless it proceed from a violatio n of
our maritime rights. In these contests, should they occur, and to whatever
extent they may be carried, we shall be neutral; but as a neutral power we
have rights which it is our duty to maintain. For like injuries it will be
incumbent on us to seek redress in a spirit of amity, in full confidence
that, injuring none, none would knowingly injure us. For more imminent
dangers we should be prepared, and it should always be recollected that such
preparation adapted to the circumstances and sanctioned by the judgment and
wishes of our constituents can not fail to have a good effect in averting
dangers of every kind. We should recollect also that the season of peace is
best adapted to these preparations.
If we turn our attention, fellow-citizens, more immediately to the
internal concerns of our country, and more especially to those on which its
future welfare depends, we have every reason to anticipate the happiest
results. It is now rather more than forty-four years since we declared our
independence, and thirty-seven since it was acknowledged. The talents and
virtues which were displayed in that great struggle were a sure presage of
all that has since followed. A people who were able to surmount in their
infant state such great perils would be more competent as they rose into
manhood to repel any which they might meet in their progress. Their physical
strength would be more adequate to foreign danger, and the practice of
self-government, aided by the light of experience, could not fail to
produce an effect equally salutary on all those questions connected with the
internal organization. These favorable anticipations have been realized.
In our whole system, national and State, we have shunned all the
defects which unceasingly preyed on the vitals and destroyed the ancient
Republics. In them there were distinct orders, a nobility and a people, or
the people governed in one assembly. Thus, in the one instance there was a
perpetual conflict between the orders in society for the ascendency, in
which the victory of either terminated in the overthrow of the government
and the ruin of the state; in the other, in which the people governed in a
body, and whose dominions seldom exceeded the dimensions of a county in one
of our States, a tumultuous and disorderly movement permitted only a
transitory existence. In this great nation there is but one order, that of
the people, whose power, by a peculiarly happy improvement of the
representative principle, is transferred from them, without impairing in the
slightest degree their sovereignty, to bodies of their own creation, and to
persons elected by themselves, in the full extent necessary for all the
purposes of free, enlightened and efficient government. The whole system is
elective, the complete sovereignty being in the people, and every officer in
every department deriving his authority from and being responsible to them
for his conduct.
Our career has corresponded with this great outline. Perfection in
our organization could not have been expected in the outset either in the
National or State Governments or in tracing the line between their
respective powers. But no serious conflict has arisen, nor any contest but
such as are managed by argument and by a fair appeal to the good sense of
the people, and many of the defects which experience had clearly
demonstrated in both Governments have been remedied. By steadily pur suing
this course in this spirit there is every reason to believe that our system
will soon attain the highest degree of perfection of which human
institutions are capable, and that the movement in all its branches will
exhibit such a degree of order and harmony as to command the admiration and
respect of the civilized world.
Our physical attainments have not been less eminent. Twenty-five
years ago the river Mississippi was shut up and our Western brethren had no
outlet for their commerce. What has been the progress since that time? The
river has not only become the property of the United States from its source
to the ocean, with all its tributary streams (with the exception of the
upper part of the Red River only), but Louisiana, with a fair and liberal
boundary on the western side and the Floridas on the eastern, have been
ceded to us. The United States now enjoy the complete and uninterrupted
sovereignty over the whole territory from St. Croix to the Sabine. New
States, settled from among ourselves in this and in other parts, have been
admitted into our Union in equal participation in the national sovereignty
with the original States. Our population has augmented in an astonishing
degree and extended in every direction. We now, fellow-citizens, comprise
within our limits the dimensions and faculties of a great power under a
Government possessing all the energies of any government ever known to the
Old World, with an utter incapacity to oppress the people.
Entering with these views the office which I have just solemnly
sworn to execute with fidelity and to the utmost of my ability, I derive
great satisfaction from a knowledge that I shall be assisted in the several
Departments by the very enlightened and upright citizens from whom I have
received so much aid in the preceding term. With full confidence in the
continuance of that candor and generous indulgence from my fellow-citizens
at large which I have heretofore experienced, and with a firm reliance on
the protection of Almighty God, I shall forthwith commence the duties of the
high trust to which you have called me.
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The U. S. Constitution
