The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1861-03-07
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
PRESIDENT LINCOLN,
DELIVERED MARCH {. 1855
BIO. Citizens of t1e Unitad .Statss.

Fsllo,o- Citizens Of the United States
In compliance with custom as ole
as the government itself, | appear be
fore you to address you briefly, and tc
take, in your presence, the oath pre-
scribed by the Constitution of the Uni
ted States, to be taken by the Presi
dent before he enters on the execution
of his office. i do not consider j,
necessary at present for me to discuss
those matters of administration about
which there is no special anxiety or ex
element. Apprehension seems to ex.
list among the people of the Southern
States, that, by the accession of Re.
publican administration, their property,
their peace and personal security are
to be endangered. There has never been
any reasonable cause for such appre.
tension. Indeed, the most ample evi.
dence to the contrary has all the while
existed and been open to their inspec.
ton. 1t is found IN nearly all the pub
lished speeches of him who now ad.
dresses You. I do but quote from one
Of those speeches when declare that
1 have no purpose, directly or indirect.
ly, to interfere with the institution OF
Slavery in the States where it exists.
/ believe / have no lawful right to do
so, and have no inclination to do so.
Those who nominated and elected me,
did so with the full knowledge that ]
had made this and many similar de.
clarations, and had never recalled
them; more than this, they placed in
the platform for my acceptance, as a
law to themselves and to me, the clear
emphatic resolution which now read
Reso1ued, That the maintenance inviolate of the
rights of the States, and especially the rights o.
each State, to order and control its own domestic
institutions according to its own Judgment exclu
sively is essential to the balance of power on which
the perfection and endurance of our political fabric
depends, and we denounce the lawless invasion BY
an armed force of the government of any State or
Territory, no matter under what pretext, as among
the greatest of crimes"
Inow reiterate these sentiments, and
in doing so, only press upon the pub
lie attention the most conclusive evi.
dence of which the case is susceptible,
that the property, peace and security
of no section are to be in any wise en-
dangered by the now incoming admin
istration. l add, too, that all the pro-
lection which, consistently with the
Constitution and the laws, can be Civ
en-, will be cheerfully given to all the
States when lawfully demanded, for
whatever cause, as cheerfully to one
section as to another.
There is much controversy about the
delivering of fugitives from service or
labor. The clause / now read is as
plainly written in the Constitution as
any other of its provisions.
mo person held to service or labor in one State
under the laws thereof escaping into another shall
in consequence OF any law or regulation therein,
be discharged from such service labor but shall
be delivered on claim of the party to whom such
service or labor my be due"
1t was intended by those who made
it for the retaining of what we call
fugitive slaves, and the intention of the
law-giver is the law. All members of
Congress swear their support to when
they swear to support the whole
constitution, and to this provision, as
much as to any other. To the propo-
sition then, that slaves, whose cases
come within the terms Of this clause,
and shall be delivered, their oaths are
unanimous.
Now, if they would make the effort in
good temper, could they not with near
ly equal unanimity, frame and pass a
law by means of which to keep good
that unanimous oath ? There is some
difference of opinion whether the clause
should be enforced by National or
State authority but surely that differ
ence is not a very material one if the
slave is to be surrendered, it can be of
but little consequence to him or to 9TH
ers, by which authority it is done, and
should any one in any case be content
that his oath shall be kept, or merely
unsubstantial controversy as to how it
shall be kept. Again in any law upon
this subject ought not all the safe
guards of liberty now in civilized and
human jurisprudence to be introduced,
so that freeman may not be, in any
case, surrendered as slave; and might
it not be well, at the same time, to pro-
vide by law for the enforcement of that
clause in the Constitution which guar.
antees that the citizens of each State
shall be entitled to all the privileges
and immunities of citizens in the seve-
raj States?
l take the official oath to-day with no
mental reservations, and with no pur-
pose to construe the Constitution or
laws by any hypocritical rules; and
while [ do not choose now to specify
particular acts of Congress as proper
to be enforced, / do suggest that it will
be much safer, far best in official and
private stations, to conform to, and
abide by, all these acts which stand un-
repealed, than to violate any of them,
trusting to find impunity in having
them held to be unconstitutional. 30
1t is seventy-two years since the first
inauguration of President under our
national Constitution. During that
period fifteen different and greatly dis
tinguished citizens have in succession,
administered the Executive branch OF
the Government. They have conduc-
ted it through many perils, Cand gene
rally with great success, yet with all
this scope for precedent, / now enter
upon the same task for the brief Con
stitutional term of four years, under
great and peculiar difficulties. Disrup.
ton of the Federal Union, heretofore
only menaced, is now formidably at.
/ tempted, | hold that in contamination