Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-03-31
PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S
FAREWELL ADDRESS

limitation, this day falls from my shOul
ders, to be Immediately assumed by m!
successor. For him the forbearance anC
cooperation of the American people IL
all his efforts to administer the Govern
nlent within the pale of the Federal Con
- stitutiOn are sincerely invoked. Without
Z ambition to crafty party ends or sub
serve or personal gUarrels to avenge al
the sacrifice of the peace and welfare o.
the country my earnest desire is to see the
Constitution Of the Republic again re-
cOgnized and obeyed as the supreme law
of the land, and the whole people
North, South, East and West, prosper
Ous and happy under its wise provision,
y In surrendering the high ONCE to
= which I was called four years ago in q
memorable and terrible crisis, it is my
privilege, I trust, to say TO the people OF
the United States few parting words
in yindicatiOn of an official course so
ceaselessIy assailed and aspersed by pO-
Iitical leaders to whose plans and wish
es my policy to restore the Union has
been obnoxious.
In period of difficulty and turmoil,
I almost without precedent in the history
of any people, consequent upon the clos
ing scenes of a great rebellion, and the
assassination of the President, it was,
perhaps, too much on my part to expect
of the devoted partisans who rode on
the waves of excitement, which at that
time swept all before them, that degree
of liberation and magnanimity which
I sought to recommend and enforce, and
which, believe, in good time would
have advanced us infinitely further on
the road to permanent peace and pros
perity than we have thus far attained
Doubtless, had I at the commencement
Of my term of office unhesitatinglyl lent
its powers or perverted them to purpOs-
Sc and plans outside of the Constitution,
and became an instrument to schemes
of cOnfiscatiOn and of general and Op-
pressive disqualification, l would have
been hailed as al that was true, loyal
and deserving, as the reliable head Of q
party, whatever / might have been as
the Executive of a nation.
Unwilling, however, to accede to the
propositions the extremists, and bound
to obey at every personal hazard my
oath to defend the Constitution, need
not, perhaps, be surprised at having
met the fate Of others whose only re-
ward for uphOlding constitutional rights
and laws has been the consciousness of
having attempted to do their duty, and
the calmer judgment of history and of
time.
a mysterious Providence assigned to
me the office of President. I was, by
/ the terms of the Constitution, the Com
mander-in-chief of nearly O million of
men under arms. One of my first acts
was to disband and restore to the vOca-
! tiOns of civil life this immense host, and
/ to divest myself as far as l could of the
unparalleled powers then incident to
| the office and the times. Whether or
not in this step was right, and how far
] rinGnrV-iTrCr nf tho 20 Of oil
| people can now on reflection Judge,
when reminded Of the ruinoUs condition
Of public affairs that must have resulted
| from the continuance in the military
| service of such q vast number of men,
The close of our domestic conflict found
the army eager to distinguish itself in a
new field by an effort to punish Euro
pean intervention in Mexico. BY many
twas believed and urged that aside from
the assumed justice of the proceedings, |
q foreign war in which both sides would
cheerfully unite to vindicate the honor
of the National flag, and further Illus
trate the National pTOwess, would be the
sUrest and speediest way of awakening
National enthusiasm, reViying devotion
to the Union, and occupying n force
which concerning grave doubts existed
as to its willingness, after four years of
active campaigning, at once to return to
the pursuits of peace.
Whether these speculatiOns were true
or false, it will be conceded that they
existed, and that the pTedilectiOn of the
army were, for the time being, in the
direction indicated. Taking advantage
of that feeling, it would have been easy,
as the COmmander-in-chief of the army
and navy, with all the power and pat
rOnage Ofthe Presidential Office atmy dis
pOsal, to turn the concentrated strength
of the nation against the French inter-
ference in Mexico, and to inaugurate
movement which would have been re-
ceived with favor by the military and |
large portion OF the people. It is pro- |
per, in this connection, that I should !
refer TO the almost unlimited additional !
power tended to the Executive by the |
measures relating to civil rights and |
the Freedmen's Bureau. Contrary to |
most precedents in the ineXperiences of
the public men, the powers thus placed |
within my grasp were declined as being |
in violation of the Constitution, dang !
erOus to the liberties of the people, and /
tending to aggravate, rather than lessen |
the discOrds naturally resulting from our
civil war. With large army and an |
augmented authority, it would have |
been no difficult task to direct, at pleas
Ure, the destinies of the Republic and to |
make secure my continuance in the |
highest Office known to our laws. Let !
the people, whom I am addressing from
the Presidential chair during the closing
hours of a labOTiOus term, consider how |
different would have been the present |
condition had yielded to the dazzling
temptation of foreign cOnqUests, of per-
sOnal aggrandizement, and the desire to |
WELD additional power. Let them with /
Justice consider that if I have not undu- |
ly magnified mine Office the public bur-
dens have not been increased by nv
acts, and perhaps thousands or tens Of
thousands of lives sacrificed to visions
of false glory.
It can not, therefore, be charged that
my ambition has'been of that OrdindTV
or criminal kind, which, to the detri-
ment Of the peoples rights and liberties,
ever seeks to grasp more and unwar-
rented power, and to accomplish its pur-
pose panders too often to popular pFeiu-
dice and party aims.
What then have been the aspirations
which guided me in my official acts ?
Those acts need not at this time an eIab-
crate explanation. They have elsewhere
been ncOmprehensively and fully discuss
ed and become a part Of the Nations
history. By them I am ready to be
judged knowing that, however imper-
feet, they at least show to the impartial
mind that my sole ambition has been to
restore the Union of the States, faithful
ly to execute the office of President, and l.
" to the best of my ability to preserve,
protect and defend the Constitution" l
can not be censUTed if my efforts have
been impeded in the interests of party
faction, and II policy which was in
tended to reaSSure and concliate the
people Of both sections of the country
was made the occasion of infIaminC and |,
dividing still further those who ONLY re-
Gently were in arms against each other II
yet, as individuals and citizens. were
sincerely desirOus, as I shall ever believe
of burying all hostile feelings i'm tho
grave Of the past.
The bitter war was Waged on the part
Of the Government to vindicate the Con \
stitutiOn and save the Union, and if I /
have erred in trying to bring about
more speedy and lasting peace to h
PXtinguish heaTt-buTnings and eumi-
ties, and to prevent trouble in the
South, which retarding material pros
perity in the region injuriOusly affected
the whole country, ! am quite content {
to rest my case with the more deliber-
ate Judgment Of the people and, as I Is
have already intimated, with the dist
ant future. The war, all must remem-
ber, was stupendOus and deplorable (
mistake. Neither side understood the
other. And had this simple fact and ita ,