Fellow-citizens: We
have assembled to repeat the public ceremonial, begun by Washington, observed
by all my predecessors, and now a time-honored custom, which marks the
commencement of a new term of the Presidential office. Called to the duties of
this great trust, I proceed, in compliance with usage, to announce some of the
leading principles on the subjects that now chiefly engage the public
attention, by which it is my desire to be guided in the discharge of those
duties. I shall not undertake to lay down irrevocably principles or measures of
administration, but rather to speak of the motives which should animate us, and
to suggest certain important ends to be attained in accordance with our
institutions and essential to the welfare of our country.
At the outset of
the discussions which preceded the recent Presidential election, it seemed to
me fitting that I should fully make known my sentiments in regard to several of
the important questions which then appeared to demand the consideration of the
country. Following the example, and in part adopting the language, of one of my
predecessors, I wish now, when every motive for misrepresentation has passed
away, to repeat what was said before the election, trusting that my countrymen
will candidly weigh and understand it, and that they will feel assured that the
sentiments declared in accepting the nomination for the Presidency will be the
standard of my conduct in the path before me, charged, as I now am, with the
grave and difficult task of carrying them out in the practical administration
of the Government so far as depends, under the Constitution and laws, on the
Chief Executive of the Nation.
The permanent
pacification of the country upon such principles and by such measures as will
secure the complete protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment of all
their constitutional rights is now the one subject, in our public affairs,
which all thoughtful and patriotic citizens regard as of supreme importance.
Many of the
calamitous effects of the tremendous revolution which has passed over the
Southern States still remain. The immeasurable benefits which will surely
follow, sooner or later, the hearty and generous acceptance of the legitimate
results of that revolution, have not yet been realized. Difficult and
embarrassing questions meet us at the threshold of this subject. The people of
those States are still impoverished, and the inestimable blessing of wise,
honest, and peaceful self-government is not fully enjoyed. Whatever difference
of opinion may exist as to the cause of this condition of things, the fact is
clear, that, in the progress of events, the time has come when such government
is the imperative necessity required by all the varied interests, public and
private, of those States. But it must not be forgotten that only a local
government which recognizes and maintains inviolate the rights of all is a true
self-government.
With respect to the
two distinct races whose peculiar relations to each other have brought upon us
the deplorable complications and perplexities which exist in those States, it
must be a government which guards the interests of both races carefully and
equally. It must be a government which submits loyally and heartily to the
Constitution and the laws — the laws of the Nation and the laws of the States
themselves — accepting and obeying faithfully the whole Constitution as it is.
Resting upon this
sure and substantial foundation, the superstructure of beneficent local
governments can be built up, and not otherwise. In furtherance of such
obedience to the letter and the spirit of the Constitution, and in behalf of
all that its attainment implies, all so-called party interests lose their
apparent importance, and party lines may well be permitted to fade into
insignificance. The question we have to consider for the immediate welfare of
those States of the Union is the question of government or no government, of
social order and all the peaceful industries and the happiness that belong to
it, or a return to barbarism. It is a question in which every citizen of the
Nation is deeply interested, and with respect to which we ought not to be, in a
partisan sense, either Republicans or Democrats, but fellow-citizens and fellow-men,
to whom the interests of a common country and a common humanity are dear.
The sweeping
revolution of the entire labor system of a large portion of our country, and
the advance of four millions of people from a condition of servitude to that of
citizenship, upon an equal footing with their former masters, could not occur
without presenting problems of the gravest moment, to be dealt with by the
emancipated race, by their former masters, and by the General Government, the
author of the act of emancipation. That it was a wise, just, and Providential
act, fraught with good for all concerned, is now generally conceded throughout
the country. That a moral obligation rests upon the National Government to
employ its constitutional power and influence to establish the rights of the
people it has emancipated, and to protect them in the enjoyment of those rights
when they are infringed or assailed, is also generally admitted.
The evils which
afflict the Southern States can only be removed or remedied by the united and
harmonious efforts of both races, actuated by motives of mutual sympathy and
regard. And while in duty bound and fully determined to protect the rights of
all by every constitutional means at the disposal of my administration, I am
sincerely anxious to use every legitimate influence in favor of honest and
efficient local self-government as the true resource of those States for the
promotion of the contentment and prosperity of their citizens. In the effort I
shall make to accomplish this purpose I ask the cordial co-operation of all who
cherish an interest in the welfare of the country, trusting that party ties and
the prejudice of race will be freely surrendered in behalf of the great purpose
to be accomplished. In the important work of restoring the South it is not the
political situation alone that merits attention. The material development of
that section of the country has been arrested by the social and political
revolution through which it has passed, and now needs and deserves the
considerate care of the National Government, within the just limits prescribed
by the Constitution and wise public economy.
But, at the basis
of all prosperity, for that as well as for every other part of the country,
lies the improvement of the intellectual and moral condition of the people.
Universal suffrage should rest upon universal education. To this end, liberal
and permanent provision should be made for the support of free schools by the
State governments, and, if need be, supplemented by legitimate aid from
national authority.
Let me assure my
countrymen of the Southern States that it is my earnest desire to regard and
promote their truest interests, the interests of the white and of the colored
people both, and equally, and to put forth my best efforts in behalf of a civil
policy which will forever wipe out in our political affairs the color line, and
the distinction between North and South, to the end that we may have not merely
a united North or a united South, but a united country.
I ask the attention
of the public to the paramount necessity of reform in our civil service, a
reform not merely as to certain abuses and practices of so-called official
patronage, which have come to have the sanction of usage in the several
departments of our Government, but a change in the system of appointment
itself, a reform that shall be thorough, radical, and complete; a return to the
principles and practices of the founders of the Government. They neither
expected nor desired from public officers any partisan service. They meant that
public officers should owe their whole service to the Government and to the
people. They meant that the officer should be secure in his tenure as long as
his personal character remained untarnished, and the performance of his duties
satisfactory. They held that appointments to office were not to be made nor expected
merely as rewards for partisan services, nor merely on the nomination of
members of Congress, as being entitled in any respect to the control of such
appointments.
The fact that both
the great political parties of the country, in declaring their principles prior
to the election, gave a prominent place to the subject of reform of our civil
service, recognizing and strongly urging its necessity, in terms almost
identical in their specific import with those I have here employed, must be
accepted as a conclusive argument in behalf of these measures. It must be
regarded as the expression of the united voice and will of the whole country
upon this subject, and both political parties are virtually pledged to give it
their unreserved support.
The President of
the United States of necessity owes his election to office to the suffrage and
zealous labors of a political party, the members of which cherish with ardor,
and regard as of essential importance, the principles of their party
organization. But he should strive to be always mindful of the fact that he
serves his party best who serves his country best.
In furtherance of
the reform we seek, and in other important respects a change of great
importance, I recommend an amendment to the Constitution prescribing a term of
six years for the Presidential office, and forbidding a re-election.
With respect to the
financial condition of the country, I shall not attempt an extended history of
the embarrassment and prostration which we have suffered during the past three
years. The depression in all our varied commercial and manufacturing interests
throughout the country, which began in September, 1873, still continues. It is
very gratifying, however, to be able to say that there are indications all
around us of a coming change to prosperous times.
Upon the currency
question, intimately connected as it is with this topic, I may be permitted to
repeat here the statement made in my letter of acceptance, that, in my
judgment, the feeling of uncertainty inseparable from an irredeemable paper
currency, with its fluctuation of values, is one of the greatest obstacles to a
return to prosperous times. The only safe paper currency is one which rests
upon a coin basis, and is at all times and promptly convertible into coin.
I adhere to the
views heretofore expressed by me in favor of congressional legislation in
behalf of an early resumption of specie payment, and I am satisfied not only
that this is wise, but that the interests as well as the public sentiment of
the country imperatively demand it. Passing from these remarks upon the
condition of our own country to consider our relations with other lands, we are
reminded by the international complications abroad, threatening the peace of
Europe, that our traditional rule of non-interference in the affairs of foreign
nations has proved of great value in past times, and ought to be strictly
observed.
The policy
inaugurated by my honored predecessor, President Grant, of submitting to
arbitration grave questions in dispute between ourselves and foreign Powers,
points to a new and incomparably the best instrumentality for the preservation
of peace, and will, as I believe, become a beneficent example of the course to
be pursued in similar emergencies by other nations.
If, unhappily,
questions of difference should at any time during the period of my
administration arise between the United States and any foreign Government, it
will certainly be my disposition and my hope to aid in their settlement in the
same peaceful and honorable way, thus securing to our country the great
blessings of peace and mutual good offices with all the nations of the world.
Fellow-citizens, we
have reached the close of a political contest marked by the excitement which
usually attends the contests between great political parties, whose members
espouse and advocate with earnest faith their respective creeds. The
circumstances were, perhaps, in no respect extraordinary, save in the closeness
and the consequent uncertainty of the result.
For the first time
in the history of the country, it has been deemed best, in view of the peculiar
circumstances of the case, that the objections and questions in dispute with
reference to the counting of the electoral votes should be referred to the
decision of a tribunal appointed for this purpose.
That tribunal — established
by law for this sole purpose; its members, all of them, men of long-established
reputation for integrity and intelligence, and, with the exception of those who
are also members of the Supreme Judiciary, chosen equally from both political
parties; its deliberations — enlightened by the research and the arguments of
able counsel — was entitled to the fullest confidence of the American people.
Its decisions have been patiently waited for, and accepted as legally
conclusive by the general judgment of the public. For the present, opinion will
widely vary as to the wisdom of the several conclusions announced by that
tribunal. This is to be anticipated in every instance where matters of dispute
are made the subject of arbitration under the forms of law. Human judgment is
never unerring, and is rarely regarded as otherwise than wrong by the unsuccessful
party in the contest.
The fact that two
great political parties have in this way settled a dispute, in regard to which
good men differ as to the facts and the law, no less than as to the proper
course to be pursued, in solving the question in controversy, is an occasion
for general rejoicing.
Upon one point
there is entire unanimity in public sentiment, that conflicting claims to the
Presidency must be amicably and peaceably adjusted, and that when so adjusted
the general acquiescence of the Nation ought surely to follow.
It has been
reserved for a Government of the people, where the right of suffrage is
universal, to give to the world the first example in history of a great Nation,
in the midst of a struggle of opposing parties for power, hushing its party
tumults, to yield the issue of the contest to adjustment according to the forms
of law.
Looking for the
guidance of that Divine Hand by which the destinies of nations and individuals
are shaped, I call upon you, Senators, Representatives, Judges,
fellow-citizens, here and everywhere, to unite with me in an earnest effort to
secure to our country the blessings, not only of material prosperity, but of
justice, peace, and union — a Union depending not upon the constraint of force,
but upon the loving devotion of a free people; “and that all things may be so
ordered and settled upon the best and surest foundations, that peace and
happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety, may be established among us
for all generations.”
SOURCE: Rutherford
B. Hayes, Letters and Messages of Rutherford B. Hayes, President of the
United States, p. 11-16
