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Welcome to U.S. history!
Calvin Coolidge's
Inaugural Address:
| My Countrymen: NO one can contemplate current conditions without finding much that is
satisfying and still more that is encouraging. Our own country is leading the world in the
general readjustment to the results of the great conflict. Many of its burdens will bear
heavily upon us for years, and the secondary and indirect effects we must expect to
experience for some time. But we are beginning to comprehend more definitely what course
should be pursued, what remedies ought to be applied, what actions should be taken for our
deliverance, and are clearly manifesting a determined will faithfully and conscientiously
to adopt these methods of relief. Already we have sufficiently rearranged our domestic
affairs so that confidence has returned, business has revived, and we appear to be
entering an era of prosperity which is gradually reaching into every part of the Nation.
Realizing that we can not live unto ourselves alone, we have contributed of our resources
and our counsel to the relief of the suffering and the settlement of the disputes among
the European nations. Because of what America is and what America has done, a firmer
courage, a higher hope, inspires the heart of all humanity. |
| These results have not occurred by mere chance.
They have been secured by a constant and enlightened effort marked by many sacrifices and
extending over many generations. We can not continue these brilliant successes in the
future, unless we continue to learn from the past. It is necessary to keep the former
experiences of our country both at home and abroad continually before us, if we are to
have any science of government. If we wish to erect new structures, we must have a
definite knowledge of the old foundations. We must realize that human nature is about the
most constant thing in the universe and that the essentials of human relationship do not
change. We must frequently take our bearings from these fixed stars of our political
firmament if we expect to hold a true course. If we examine carefully what we have done,
we can determine the more accurately what we can do. |
| We stand at the opening of the one hundred and
fiftieth year since our national consciousness first asserted itself by unmistakable
action with an array of force. The old sentiment of detached and dependent colonies
disappeared in the new sentiment of a united and independent Nation. Men began to discard
the narrow confines of a local charter for the broader opportunities of a national
constitution. Under the eternal urge of freedom we became an independent Nation. A little
less than 50 years later that freedom and independence were reasserted in the face of all
the world, and guarded, supported, and secured by the Monroe doctrine. The narrow fringe
of States along the Atlantic seaboard advanced its frontiers across the hills and plains
of an intervening continent until it passed down the golden slope to the Pacific. We made
freedom a birthright. We extended our domain over distant islands in order to safeguard
our own interests and accepted the consequent obligation to bestow justice and liberty
upon less favored peoples. In the defense of our own ideals and in the general cause of
liberty we entered the Great War. When victory had been fully secured, we withdrew to our
own shores unrecompensed save in the consciousness of duty done. |
| Throughout all these experiences we have
enlarged our freedom, we have strengthened our independence. We have been, and propose to
be, more and more American. We believe that we can best serve our own country and most
successfully discharge our obligations to humanity by continuing to be openly and
candidly, intensely and scrupulously, American. If we have any heritage, it has been that.
If we have any destiny, we have found it in that direction. |
| But if we wish to continue to be distinctively
American, we must continue to make that term comprehensive enough to embrace the
legitimate desires of a civilized and enlightened people determined in all their relations
to pursue a conscientious and religious life. We can not permit ourselves to be narrowed
and dwarfed by slogans and phrases. It is not the adjective, but the substantive, which is
of real importance. It is not the name of the action, but the result of the action, which
is the chief concern. It will be well not to be too much disturbed by the thought of
either isolation or entanglement of pacifists and militarists. The physical configuration
of the earth has separated us from all of the Old World, but the common brotherhood of
man, the highest law of all our being, has united us by inseparable bonds with all
humanity. Our country represents nothing but peaceful intentions toward all the earth, but
it ought not to fail to maintain such a military force as comports with the dignity and
security of a great people. It ought to be a balanced force, intensely modern, capable of
defense by sea and land, beneath the surface and in the air. But it should be so conducted
that all the world may see in it, not a menace, but an instrument of security and peace. |
| This Nation believes thoroughly in an honorable
peace under which the rights of its citizens are to be everywhere protected. It has never
found that the necessary enjoyment of such a peace could be maintained only by a great and
threatening array of arms. In common with other nations, it is now more determined than
ever to promote peace through friendliness and good will, through mutual understandings
and mutual forbearance. We have never practiced the policy of competitive armaments. We
have recently committed ourselves by covenants with the other great nations to a
limitation of our sea power. As one result of this, our Navy ranks larger, in comparison,
than it ever did before. Removing the burden of expense and jealousy, which must always
accrue from a keen rivalry, is one of the most effective methods of diminishing that
unreasonable hysteria and misunderstanding which are the most potent means of fomenting
war. This policy represents a new departure in the world. It is a thought, an ideal, which
has led to an entirely new line of action. It will not be easy to maintain. Some never
moved from their old positions, some are constantly slipping back to the old ways of
thought and the old action of seizing a musket and relying on force. America has taken the
lead in this new direction, and that lead America must continue to hold. If we expect
others to rely on our fairness and justice we must show that we rely on their fairness and
justice. |
| If we are to judge by past experience, there is
much to be hoped for in international relations from frequent conferences and
consultations. We have before us the beneficial results of the Washington conference and
the various consultations recently held upon European affairs, some of which were in
response to our suggestions and in some of which we were active participants. Even the
failures can not but be accounted useful and an immeasurable advance over threatened or
actual warfare. I am strongly in favor of continuation of this policy, whenever conditions
are such that there is even a promise that practical and favorable results might be
secured. |
| In conformity with the principle that a display
of reason rather than a threat of force should be the determining factor in the
intercourse among nations, we have long advocated the peaceful settlement of disputes by
methods of arbitration and have negotiated many treaties to secure that result. The same
considerations should lead to our adherence to the Permanent Court of International
Justice. Where great principles are involved, where great movements are under way which
promise much for the welfare of humanity by reason of the very fact that many other
nations have given such movements their actual support, we ought not to withhold our own
sanction because of any small and inessential difference, but only upon the ground of the
most important and compelling fundamental reasons. We can not barter away our independence
or our sovereignty, but we ought to engage in no refinements of logic, no sophistries, and
no subterfuges, to argue away the undoubted duty of this country by reason of the might of
its numbers, the power of its resources, and its position of leadership in the world,
actively and comprehensively to signify its approval and to bear its full share of the
responsibility of a candid and disinterested attempt at the establishment of a tribunal
for the administration of even-handed justice between nation and nation. The weight of our
enormous influence must be cast upon the side of a reign not of force but of law and
trial, not by battle but by reason. |
| We have never any wish to interfere in the
political conditions of any other countries. Especially are we determined not to become
implicated in the political controversies of the Old World. With a great deal of
hesitation, we have responded to appeals for help to maintain order, protect life and
property, and establish responsible government in some of the small countries of the
Western Hemisphere. Our private citizens have advanced large sums of money to assist in
the necessary financing and relief of the Old World. We have not failed, nor shall we fail
to respond, whenever necessary to mitigate human suffering and assist in the
rehabilitation of distressed nations. These, too, are requirements which must be met by
reason of our vast powers and the place we hold in the world. |
| Some of the best thought of mankind has long
been seeking for a formula for permanent peace. Undoubtedly the clarification of the
principles of international law would be helpful, and the efforts of scholars to prepare
such a work for adoption by the various nations should have our sympathy and support. Much
may be hoped for from the earnest studies of those who advocate the outlawing of
aggressive war. But all these plans and preparations, these treaties and covenants, will
not of themselves be adequate. One of the greatest dangers to peace lies in the economic
pressure to which people find themselves subjected. One of the most practical things to be
done in the world is to seek arrangements under which such pressure may be removed, so
that opportunity may be renewed and hope may be revived. There must be some assurance that
effort and endeavor will be followed by success and prosperity. In the making and
financing of such adjustments there is not only an opportunity, but a real duty, for
America to respond with her counsel and her resources. Conditions must be provided under
which people can make a living and work out of their difficulties. But there is another
element, more important than all, without which there can not be the slightest hope of a
permanent peace. That element lies in the heart of humanity. Unless the desire for peace
be cherished there, unless this fundamental and only natural source of brotherly love be
cultivated to its highest degree, all artificial efforts will be in vain. Peace will come
when there is realization that only under a reign of law, based on righteousness and
supported by the religious conviction of the brotherhood of man, can there be any hope of
a complete and satisfying life. Parchment will fail, the sword will fail, it is only the
spiritual nature of man that can be triumphant. |
| It seems altogether probable that we can
contribute most to these important objects by maintaining our position of political
detachment and independence. We are not identified with any Old World interests. This
position should be made more and more clear in our relations with all foreign countries.
We are at peace with all of them. Our program is never to oppress, but always to assist.
But while we do justice to others, we must require that justice be done to us. With us a
treaty of peace means peace, and a treaty of amity means amity. We have made great
contributions to the settlement of contentious differences in both Europe and Asia. But
there is a very definite point beyond which we can not go. We can only help those who help
themselves. Mindful of these limitations, the one great duty that stands out requires us
to use our enormous powers to trim the balance of the world. |
| While we can look with a great deal of pleasure
upon what we have done abroad, we must remember that our continued success in that
direction depends upon what we do at home. Since its very outset, it has been found
necessary to conduct our Government by means of political parties. That system would not
have survived from generation to generation if it had not been fundamentally sound and
provided the best instrumentalities for the most complete expression of the popular will.
It is not necessary to claim that it has always worked perfectly. It is enough to know
that nothing better has been devised. No one would deny that there should be full and free
expression and an opportunity for independence of action within the party. There is no
salvation in a narrow and bigoted partisanship. But if there is to be responsible party
government, the party label must be something more than a mere device for securing office.
Unless those who are elected under the same party designation are willing to assume
sufficient responsibility and exhibit sufficient loyalty and coherence, so that they can
cooperate with each other in the support of the broad general principles, of the party
platform, the election is merely a mockery, no decision is made at the polls, and there is
no representation of the popular will. Common honesty and good faith with the people who
support a party at the polls require that party, when it enters office, to assume the
control of that portion of the Government to which it has been elected. Any other course
is bad faith and a violation of the party pledges. |
| When the country has bestowed its confidence
upon a party by making it a majority in the Congress, it has a right to expect such unity
of action as will make the party majority an effective instrument of government. This
Administration has come into power with a very clear and definite mandate from the people.
The expression of the popular will in favor of maintaining our constitutional guarantees
was overwhelming and decisive. There was a manifestation of such faith in the integrity of
the courts that we can consider that issue rejected for some time to come. Likewise, the
policy of public ownership of railroads and certain electric utilities met with
unmistakable defeat. The people declared that they wanted their rights to have not a
political but a judicial determination, and their independence and freedom continued and
supported by having the ownership and control of their property, not in the Government,
but in their own hands. As they always do when they have a fair chance, the people
demonstrated that they are sound and are determined to have a sound government. |
| When we turn from what was rejected to inquire
what was accepted, the policy that stands out with the greatest clearness is that of
economy in public expenditure with reduction and reform of taxation. The principle
involved in this effort is that of conservation. The resources of this country are almost
beyond computation. No mind can comprehend them. But the cost of our combined governments
is likewise almost beyond definition. Not only those who are now making their tax returns,
but those who meet the enhanced cost of existence in their monthly bills, know by hard
experience what this great burden is and what it does. No matter what others may want,
these people want a drastic economy. They are opposed to waste. They know that
extravagance lengthens the hours and diminishes the rewards of their labor. I favor the
policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people.
The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the
Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much
the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much
the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical form. |
| If extravagance were not reflected in taxation,
and through taxation both directly and indirectly injuriously affecting the people, it
would not be of so much consequence. The wisest and soundest method of solving our tax
problem is through economy. Fortunately, of all the great nations this country is best in
a position to adopt that simple remedy. We do not any longer need wartime revenues. The
collection of any taxes which are not absolutely required, which do not beyond reasonable
doubt contribute to the public welfare, is only a species of legalized larceny. Under this
republic the rewards of industry belong to those who earn them. The only constitutional
tax is the tax which ministers to public necessity. The property of the country belongs to
the people of the country. Their title is absolute. They do not support any privileged
class; they do not need to maintain great military forces; they ought not to be burdened
with a great array of public employees. They are not required to make any contribution to
Government expenditures except that which they voluntarily assess upon themselves through
the action of their own representatives. Whenever taxes become burdensome a remedy can be
applied by the people; but if they do not act for themselves, no one can be very
successful in acting for them. |
| The time is arriving when we can have further
tax reduction, when, unless we wish to hamper the people in their right to earn a living,
we must have tax reform. The method of raising revenue ought not to impede the transaction
of business; it ought to encourage it. I am opposed to extremely high rates, because they
produce little or no revenue, because they are bad for the country, and, finally, because
they are wrong. We can not finance the country, we can not improve social conditions,
through any system of injustice, even if we attempt to inflict it upon the rich. Those who
suffer the most harm will be the poor. This country believes in prosperity. It is absurd
to suppose that it is envious of those who are already prosperous. The wise and correct
course to follow in taxation and all other economic legislation is not to destroy those
who have already secured success but to create conditions under which every one will have
a better chance to be successful. The verdict of the country has been given on this
question. That verdict stands. We shall do well to heed it. |
| These questions involve moral issues. We need
not concern ourselves much about the rights of property if we will faithfully observe the
rights of persons. Under our institutions their rights are supreme. It is not property but
the right to hold property, both great and small, which our Constitution guarantees. All
owners of property are charged with a service. These rights and duties have been revealed,
through the conscience of society, to have a divine sanction. The very stability of our
society rests upon production and conservation. For individuals or for governments to
waste and squander their resources is to deny these rights and disregard these
obligations. The result of economic dissipation to a nation is always moral decay. |
| These policies of better international
understandings, greater economy, and lower taxes have contributed largely to peaceful and
prosperous industrial relations. Under the helpful influences of restrictive immigration
and a protective tariff, employment is plentiful, the rate of pay is high, and wage
earners are in a state of contentment seldom before seen. Our transportation systems have
been gradually recovering and have been able to meet all the requirements of the service.
Agriculture has been very slow in reviving, but the price of cereals at last indicates
that the day of its deliverance is at hand. |
| We are not without our problems, but our most
important problem is not to secure new advantages but to maintain those which we already
possess. Our system of government made up of three separate and independent departments,
our divided sovereignty composed of Nation and State, the matchless wisdom that is
enshrined in our Constitution, all these need constant effort and tireless vigilance for
their protection and support. |
| In a republic the first rule for the guidance of
the citizen is obedience to law. Under a despotism the law may be imposed upon the
subject. He has no voice in its making, no influence in its administration, it does not
represent him. Under a free government the citizen makes his own laws, chooses his own
administrators, which do represent him. Those who want their rights respected under the
Constitution and the law ought to set the example themselves of observing the Constitution
and the law. While there may be those of high intelligence who violate the law at times,
the barbarian and the defective always violate it. Those who disregard the rules of
society are not exhibiting a superior intelligence, are not promoting freedom and
independence, are not following the path of civilization, but are displaying the traits of
ignorance, of servitude, of savagery, and treading the way that leads back to the jungle. |
| The essence of a republic is representative
government. Our Congress represents the people and the States. In all legislative affairs
it is the natural collaborator with the President. In spite of all the criticism which
often falls to its lot, I do not hesitate to say that there is no more independent and
effective legislative body in the world. It is, and should be, jealous of its prerogative.
I welcome its cooperation, and expect to share with it not only the responsibility, but
the credit, for our common effort to secure beneficial legislation. |
| These are some of the principles which America
represents. We have not by any means put them fully into practice, but we have strongly
signified our belief in them. The encouraging feature of our country is not that it has
reached its destination, but that it has overwhelmingly expressed its determination to
proceed in the right direction. It is true that we could, with profit, be less sectional
and more national in our thought. It would be well if we could replace much that is only a
false and ignorant prejudice with a true and enlightened pride of race. But the last
election showed that appeals to class and nationality had little effect. We were all found
loyal to a common citizenship. The fundamental precept of liberty is toleration. We can
not permit any inquisition either within or without the law or apply any religious test to
the holding of office. The mind of America must be forever free. |
| It is in such contemplations, my fellow
countrymen, which are not exhaustive but only representative, that I find ample warrant
for satisfaction and encouragement. We should not let the much that is to do obscure the
much which has been done. The past and present show faith and hope and courage fully
justified. Here stands our country, an example of tranquillity at home, a patron of
tranquillity abroad. Here stands its Government, aware of its might but obedient to its
conscience. Here it will continue to stand, seeking peace and prosperity, solicitous for
the welfare of the wage earner, promoting enterprise, developing waterways and natural
resources, attentive to the intuitive counsel of womanhood, encouraging education,
desiring the advancement of religion, supporting the cause of justice and honor among the
nations. America seeks no earthly empire built on blood and force. No ambition, no
temptation, lures her to thought of foreign dominions. The legions which she sends forth
are armed, not with the sword, but with the cross. The higher state to which she seeks the
allegiance of all mankind is not of human, but of divine origin. She cherishes no purpose
save to merit the favor of Almighty God. |
Back
to Calvin Coolidge
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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back in Time
1George Washington, 2John
Adamsl, 3Thomas Jefferson, 4James Madison, 5James
Monroe, 6John Quincy Adams, 7Andrew Jackson, 8Martin
Van Buren,9William H Harrison,10John Tyler,11James K
Polk, 12Zachary Taylor, 13Millard Fillmore,14Franklin
Pierce,15James Buchanan,16Abraham Lincoln, 17Andrew
Johnson, 18Ulysses S Grant,19Rutherford B Hayes, 20James A Garfield, 21Chester
A. Arthur, 22Grover
Cleveland,23Benjamin Harrison, 24Grover Cleveland, 25William
McKinley,26Theodore Roosevelt, 27William H. Taft,28Woodrow Wilson, 29Warren
G. Harding,30Calvin Coolidge,31Herbert Hoover,32Franklin
D Roosevelt,33Harry S.
Truman, 34Dwight D Eisenhower,35John F Kennedy, 36Lyndon
B Johnson, 37RichardN. Nixon, 38Gerald R Ford, 39James E
Carter,40Ronald
W. Reagan, 41George
HerbertW. Bush, 42Bill Clinton,
43George Walker Bush 44
Barack H. Obama last updated
07/14/09
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