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Rutherford B. Hayes' Inaugural Address:
| 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." |
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to Rutherford B. Hayes
Executive Oath of Office
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of
President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States."
United States Constitution, Article II,
Section 1, Clause 8
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