section of our country, the obligation I am under to my countrymen for
the great honor they have conferred on me by returning me to the
highest office within their gift, and the further obligation resting on
me to render to them the best services within my power. This I promise,
looking forward with the greatest anxiety to the day when I shall be
released from responsibilities that at times are almost overwhelming,
and from which I have scarcely had a respite since the eventful firing
upon Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, to the present day. My services were
then tendered and accepted under the first call for troops growing out
of that event.

I did not ask for place or position, and was entirely without influence
or the acquaintance of persons of influence, but was resolved to
perform my part in a struggle threatening the very existence of the
nation. I performed a conscientious duty, without asking promotion or
command, and without a revengeful feeling toward any section or
individual.

Notwithstanding this, throughout the war, and from my candidacy for my
present office in 1868 to the close of the last Presidential campaign,
I have been the subject of abuse and slander scarcely ever equaled in
political history, which to-day I feel that I can afford to disregard
in view of your verdict, which I gratefully accept as my vindication.


***

Rutherford B. Hayes
Inaugural Address
Monday, March 5, 1877

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 efforts 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 local 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 belongs 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 fellowmen, 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 4,000,000 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 not 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 cooperation 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 interest - 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 the 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 reelection.

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
payments, 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 noninterference 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 the 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."


***

James A. Garfield
Inaugural Address
Friday, March 4, 1881

Fellow-Citizens:

WE stand to-day upon an eminence which overlooks a hundred years of
national life - a century crowded with perils, but crowned with the
triumphs of liberty and law. Before continuing the onward march let us
pause on this height for a moment to strengthen our faith and renew our
hope by a glance at the pathway along which our people have traveled.

It is now three days more than a hundred years since the adoption of
the first written constitution of the United States - the Articles of
Confederation and Perpetual Union. The new Republic was then beset with
danger on every hand. It had not conquered a place in the family of
nations. The decisive battle of the war for independence, whose
centennial anniversary will soon be gratefully celebrated at Yorktown,
had not yet been fought. The colonists were struggling not only against
the armies of a great nation, but against the settled opinions of
mankind; for the world did not then believe that the supreme authority
of government could be safely intrusted to the guardianship of the
people themselves.

We can not overestimate the fervent love of liberty, the intelligent
courage, and the sum of common sense with which our fathers made the
great experiment of self-government. When they found, after a short
trial, that the confederacy of States, was too weak to meet the
necessities of a vigorous and expanding republic, they boldly set it
aside, and in its stead established a National Union, founded directly
upon the will of the people, endowed with full power of
self-preservation and ample authority for the accomplishment of its
great object.

Under this Constitution the boundaries of freedom have been enlarged,
the foundations of order and peace have been strengthened, and the
growth of our people in all the better elements of national life has
indicated the wisdom of the founders and given new hope to their
descendants. Under this Constitution our people long ago made
themselves safe against danger from without and secured for their
mariners and flag equality of rights on all the seas. Under this
Constitution twenty-five States have been added to the Union, with
constitutions and laws, framed and enforced by their own citizens, to
secure the manifold blessings of local self-government.

The jurisdiction of this Constitution now covers an area fifty times
greater than that of the original thirteen States and a population
twenty times greater than that of 1780.

The supreme trial of the Constitution came at last under the tremendous
pressure of civil war. We ourselves are witnesses that the Union
emerged from the blood and fire of that conflict purified and made
stronger for all the beneficent purposes of good government.

And now, at the close of this first century of growth, with the
inspirations of its history in their hearts, our people have lately
reviewed the condition of the nation, passed judgment upon the conduct
and opinions of political parties, and have registered their will
concerning the future administration of the Government. To interpret
and to execute that will in accordance with the Constitution is the
paramount duty of the Executive.

Even from this brief review it is manifest that the nation is
resolutely facing to the front, resolved to employ its best energies in
developing the great possibilities of the future. Sacredly preserving
whatever has been gained to liberty and good government during the
century, our people are determined to leave behind them all those
bitter controversies concerning things which have been irrevocably
settled, and the further discussion of which can only stir up strife
and delay the onward march.

The supremacy of the nation and its laws should be no longer a subject
of debate. That discussion, which for half a century threatened the
existence of the Union, was closed at last in the high court of war by
a decree from which there is no appeal - that the Constitution and the
laws made in pursuance thereof are and shall continue to be the supreme
law of the land, binding alike upon the States and the people. This
decree does not disturb the autonomy of the States nor interfere with
any of their necessary rights of local self-government, but it does fix
and establish the permanent supremacy of the Union.

The will of the nation, speaking with the voice of battle and through
the amended Constitution, has fulfilled the great promise of 1776 by
proclaiming "liberty throughout the land to all the inhabitants
thereof."

The elevation of the negro race from slavery to the full rights of
citizenship is the most important political change we have known since
the adoption of the Constitution of 1787. NO thoughtful man can fail to
appreciate its beneficent effect upon our institutions and people. It
has freed us from the perpetual danger of war and dissolution. It has
added immensely to the moral and industrial forces of our people. It
has liberated the master as well as the slave from a relation which
wronged and enfeebled both. It has surrendered to their own
guardianship the manhood of more than 5,000,000 people, and has opened
to each one of them a career of freedom and usefulness. It has given
new inspiration to the power of self-help in both races by making labor
more honorable to the one and more necessary to the other. The
influence of this force will grow greater and bear richer fruit with
the coming years.

No doubt this great change has caused serious disturbance to our
Southern communities. This is to be deplored, though it was perhaps
unavoidable. But those who resisted the change should remember that
under our institutions there was no middle ground for the negro race
between slavery and equal citizenship. There can be no permanent
disfranchised peasantry in the United States. Freedom can never yield
its fullness of blessings so long as the law or its administration
places the smallest obstacle in the pathway of any virtuous citizen.

The emancipated race has already made remarkable progress. With
unquestioning devotion to the Union, with a patience and gentleness not
born of fear, they have "followed the light as God gave them to see the
light." They are rapidly laying the material foundations of
self-support, widening their circle of intelligence, and beginning to
enjoy the blessings that gather around the homes of the industrious
poor. They deserve the generous encouragement of all good men. So far
as my authority can lawfully extend they shall enjoy the full and equal
protection of the Constitution and the laws.

The free enjoyment of equal suffrage is still in question, and a frank
statement of the issue may aid its solution. It is alleged that in many
communities negro citizens are practically denied the freedom of the
ballot. In so far as the truth of this allegation is admitted, it is
answered that in many places honest local government is impossible if
the mass of uneducated negroes are allowed to vote. These are grave
allegations. So far as the latter is true, it is the only palliation
that can be offered for opposing the freedom of the ballot. Bad local
government is certainly a great evil, which ought to be prevented; but
to violate the freedom and sanctities of the suffrage is more than an
evil. It is a crime which, if persisted in, will destroy the Government
itself. Suicide is not a remedy. If in other lands it be high treason
to compass the death of the king, it shall be counted no less a crime
here to strangle our sovereign power and stifle its voice.

It has been said that unsettled questions have no pity for the repose
of nations. It should be said with the utmost emphasis that this
question of the suffrage will never give repose or safety to the States
or to the nation until each, within its own jurisdiction, makes and
keeps the ballot free and pure by the strong sanctions of the law.

But the danger which arises from ignorance in the voter can not be
denied. It covers a field far wider than that of negro suffrage and the
present condition of the race. It is a danger that lurks and hides in
the sources and fountains of power in every state. We have no standard
by which to measure the disaster that may be brought upon us by