The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1836-1851, 1841-03-17
PRESIDENT HARRISON'S INAU-
GURAL ADDRESS.

of nv life, to fill the Chief Executive Of
flee of this great and free nation, l appear
before you, fellow-citizens, to take the
oaths which the Constitution prescrbes,
as a necessary qualification for the per-
formance of its duties. And in obedience
to custom coeval with our Government,
and what ] believe to be your expecta-
tons, 1 proceed to present to you sum-
mary of the principles which will govern
me. in the discharge of the duties which
I shall be called upon to perform.
It was a remark of Roman Consul,
in an early period of that celebrated Re-
public, that a most striking contrast was
observable in the conduct of candidates
for offices of power and trust, before and
after obtaining them-thev seldom carry
inc out in the latter case the pledges and
promises made in the former. However
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 virtuous and indignant Ro-
man, fear that strict examination OF
the annals of some of the modern elcc-
tive Governments, would develope SINH
lar instances of violated confidence.
Although the fiat of the people has
gone forth, prcclaiming me the Chief Ma
9istrate of this glorious Union, nothing
upon their part remaining to be done, it
NAV be though that motive may exist
to keep up the delusion under which they
may be supposed to have acted in rela,
ton to my principles and opinions; and
perhaps there may be some in this assem-.
blv who have come here either prepared
to condemn those / shall now deliver, or,
approving them, to doubt the sincerity
with which they are uttered. But the
LAPSE of a few months will confirm or dis
pei their fears. The outline Of principles
to govern, and measures to be adopted, by
an Administration not yet begun, will soon
be exchanged for immutablc history; and
shall stand, either exoneratcd by my,
countrvmen, or classed with the mass of
those who promised that they might de-
ceive, and fattcred with the intention TO
betray.
However strong may be MY present
purpose to realize the expectations OF a
magnanimous and confding people, l too
well understand the infrmities of human
nature, and the dangerous temptations to
which shall be exposed, from the mag mag
n:tude Of the power which it has been tho
pleasure of the people to commit to my
hands, not to place my chief confidence
upon the aid of that Almighty p over
which has hitherto protected me, and ena-
bled me to bring to favorable issues other
important, but still greatly inferior trusts,
heretofore conidcd to me by my country.
The broad foundation upon which our
Constitution rests, being the people-a
breath of theirs having made, as breath
can unmakc, change, or modify tit can
be assigned to none of the great divisions
of Government but to that of Democra-
cy. If such is its theory, those who are
called upon to administer it must recog-
Mise, as its leading principle, the duty of
shaping their measures so as to produce
the greatest good to the greatest number.
But, with these broad admissions, if we
"OuN COtupdIC tliC sovereignty oSnh""
lodged to exist in the mass of our people
with the power claimed by other sovc-
rcignties, even by those which have been
considered most purely Democratic, we
shall find most essential difference. All
others lay clam to power limited only by
their own will The majority Of our citl-
zens, on the contrary, possess sovereign
ty with an amount of power precisely
equal to that which has been granted to
them by the parties to the national com.
pact, and nothing beyond. We admit of
no Government by Divine right-belev-
ing that, so far as power is concerned, the
benefcient Creator has made no dlstlnc-
tion amongst men, that all are upon an
equality, and that the only legitimate right
to govern is ain express grant OF power
from the governed. The Constitution OF
the United States is the instrument con-
tanning this grant Of power to the several
departments composing tho Government.
On an examination of that instrument, it
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 togrant, butwhich they did not think
proper to intrust TO their agents, and that