March 4, 1833
Fellow-Citizens — The will of the American people,
expressed through their unsolicited suffrages, calls me before you to pass
through the solemnities preparatory to taking upon myself the duties of
President of the United States for another term. For their approbation of my
public conduct, through a period which has not been without its difficulties,
and for this renewed expression of their confidence in my good intentions, I am
at a loss for terms adequate to the expression of my gratitude. It shall be
displayed, to the extent of my humble abilities, in continued efforts so to
administer the Government, as to preserve their liberty and promote their
happiness.
So many events have occurred within the last four years,
which have necessarily called forth, sometimes under circumstances the most
delicate and painful, my views of the principles and policy which ought to be
pursued by the general Government, that I need on this occasion, but allude to
a few leading considerations, connected with some of them.
The foreign policy adopted by our Government soon after the
formation of our present Constitution, and very generally pursued by successive
administrations, has been crowned with almost complete success, and has
elevated our character among the nations of the earth. To do justice to all,
and submit to wrong from none, has been, during my administration, its governing
maxim; and so happy has been its results, that we are not only at peace with
all the world, but have few causes of controversy; and those of minor
importance, remaining unadjusted.
In the domestic policy of this Government, there are two
objects which especially deserve the attention of the people and their
Representatives, and which have been, and will continue to be, the subjects of
my unceasing solicitude. They are, the preservation of the rights of the
States, and the integrity of the Union.
These great objects are necessarily connected, and can only
be attained by an enlightened exercise of the powers of each within its
appropriate sphere, in conformity to the public will constitutionally
expressed. To this end, it becomes the duty of all to yield a ready and
patriotic submission to the laws constitutionally enacted, and thereby promote
and strengthen a proper confidence in those institutions of the several States
and of the United States, which the people themselves have ordained for their own
government.
My experience in public concerns, and the observation of a
life somewhat advanced, confirm the opinions long since imbibed by me, that the
destruction of our State Governments, or the annihilation of their control over
the local concerns of the people, would lead directly to revolution and
anarchy, and finally to despotism and military domination. In proportion,
therefore, as the General Government encroaches upon the rights of the States,
in the same proportion does it impair its own power and detract from its
ability to fulfil the purposes of its creation. Solemnly impressed with these
considerations, my countrymen will ever find me ready to exercise my
constitutional powers in arresting measures which may directly or indirectly
encroach upon the rights of the States, or tend to consolidate all political
power in the General Government. But of equal, and indeed of incalculable
importance, is the Union of these States, and the sacred duty of all to
contribute to its preservation by a liberal support of the General Government
in the exercise of its just powers. You have been wisely admonished to “accustom
yourselves to think and speak of the Union as of the palladium of your
political safety and prosperity, watching for its preservation with jealous
anxiety, discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in
any event be abandoned, and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of any
attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble
the sacred ties which now link together the various parts.” Without union our
independence and liberty would never have been achieved — without union they
never can be maintained. Divided in twenty-four, or even a smaller number of
separate communities, we shall see our internal trade burdened with numberless
restraints and exactions; communication between distant points and sections
obstructed, or cut off; our sons made soldiers to deluge with blood the fields
they now till in peace; the mass of our people borne down and impoverished by
taxes to support armies and navies; and military leaders at the head of their
victorious legions becoming our lawgivers and judges. The loss of liberty, of
all good government, of peace, plenty, and happiness must inevitably follow a
dissolution of the Union. In supporting it, therefore, we support all that is
dear to the freeman and the philanthropist.
The time at which I stand before you is full of interest.
The eyes of all nations are fixed on our republic. The event of the existing
crisis will be decisive in the opinion of mankind of the practicability of our
federal system of Government. Great is the stake placed in our hands: great is
the responsibility which must rest upon the people of the United States. Let us
realize the importance of the attitude in which we stand before the world. Let
us exercise forbearance and firmness. Let us extricate our country from the
dangers which surround it, and learn wisdom from the lessons they inculcate.
SOURCE: John F. Brown
and William White, Editors, Messages of
Gen. Andrew Jackson: with a Short Sketch of His Life, p. 247-9
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