Democratic standard. [volume] (Georgetown, Brown County, Ohio) 1837-1850, 1841-03-16
Inaugural Address.


supposed WAS 10 continue for tho residur
Of my life, 10 fill the Chief Executive o.:
tice Of This great and free nation, appeal
before you, fellow citizens, Ia take the
oalhs which the Constitution prescribes,
as necessary qualification for the perlor-
nance of lis duties. And in obedience
10 custom coeval with our e vernmen;,
aud what ! believe 10 lie your expec
lions, ! proceed TO present To ypul sum
mary OF the principles which will govern
me u the discharge of the duties which
shall he called upon T. perform.
1t was The remark of Roman COhsu'
in an early period Of that celebrated Re-
public, that most striking contrast was
Observable in the c"nducr of candidates
for Offices Of power and trust, he(ure and
after obtaining them they seldom carry.
ng out, in the latter case, the pledges
and promises made in the former. How.
ever much The world may have improved,
in many respects, in The lapse of upwards
Of two thousand years since the remark
was made by the vrtuous and indignant
Roman, fear that strict examnli0n of
some of the modern elective governments
would deveope similar instances Of vio-
lated confidence.
Although the fiat Of the people has
gone forth. proclaiming me the Chief Ma.
gislrate of this glorious Union, nothing up.
on their part remaining 10 be done, il may
be thought that motive may exist TO
keep up the delusion under which they
may be supposed to have acted in relation
to my principles and opinions; and per-
haps there may be some in this assembly
who have come here either TO condemn
those shall now deliver, or, approving
them, to doubt The sincerity with which
they arc uttered. But tl,n lapse Of f-w
months will confirm dispel their fears.
The outline of principles 10 govern, and
measures to be adopted, by an Admins.
tralon not yet begun. will soon be ex.
changed for immulahle history, and |
shrll stand eli her exonerated by my coun
lrynem, or cassed with the mass Of those
who promised thai they might deceive.
and Aailered with the intention to belray
However strong may be my present pur-
pose TO realize the expectations Of
magnanimous and con6ding Peoplc, too
we'll understand the dangerous empta.
ions to which shall he exposed, from
the magnitude Of the powe' which it has
been the pleasure Of The People to CON.
nit TO my hands, not TO place my chief
confidence upon the aid Of That Almighty
power which has hitherto protected me,
and enabled me to bring TO favorable
Issue other important, but sill greatly
inferior trusts, heretofore coniled!o me
by my country.
The broad foundation upon Which our
Con srrurion rests, being the People-a
breath Of theirs having made, as breath
can unmake, change, o. modify it-it can
he assigned 10 none Of the gr0al diviS Ons
nc Government. but to that Of Democra-
cy. If such is theory, rhose who are
called upon TO administer It must recog.
nize, as its leading principles, the dnry
of shaping their measures so as 10 pro-
duce The greatest good TO The greatest
number. But with these broad admis-
sions, if VIC would compare the sovcr.
eignty acknowledged to exist in the mass
If our People, with the power claimed by
other sovereignties, even by th0se which
have been considered most purely demn-
cratic, we shall find a most essential dic
ference. All others lay claim to power
limited only by their own will. The ma
joriiv Of onr citizens on the contrary, pos.
sess sovereignty with an amount of
power precisely equal to that which has
be en- granted 10 them by the parties TO
tho national compact, aud nothing be-
yond. We admit of no Government BY
divine right. Believing that, so far as
power is concerned the Benifccnt
Creator has nude no distinction amongst
men, that all are upon an equality, and
tlat the only legitimate right to govern
is an express grant of power from the
governed. The Constitution of the Uni
led States is the instrument containing
this grant of power to the several de-
partments composing the Government
On an examination Of that instrument
il will be found to contain declarations
of power granted and of power withheld.
The latter is also susceptible Of division
INTO power which the majority had the
right to grant, but which they did moi
think proper TO entrust TO their agents,
+ and that which they could not have gran.
ted, not being possessed by them
selvea.
In other words there are certain right:
possessed by each individual American
, citizen, which in his compact with thu
/ others, he has never surrendered. Som,
Of hem indeed, he is unable to surrender
/ being in thelanguage Of our system una
! ienable. The boasted privilege of I
! Roman citizen was to him shield oul
4 | i ! a -. A