American Citizens Manual 1840

8/2/2019 American Citizens Manual 1840

1/124


2/124


3/124


4/124


5/124


6/124


7/124

THEAMERICAN CITIZEN'S

MANUAL OF REFERENCEBEING A COMPREHENSIVE

HISTOBICAL, STATISTICAL, TOPOGRAPHICAL, ANDPOLITICAL VIEW i

OF THE

UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA,AND OF THE

SEVERAL STATES AND TERRITORIES.t>

%

>-N

CAREFULLY COMPILED FROM THE LATEST AUTHORITIES,AND PUBLISHED BY

W. HOB ART H ADLEY,NEW-YORK.

______Stereotyped by Vincent L. Dill, 128 Fulton-street.

Printed by S. W. Benedict, 128 Fulton-street.1840.


8/124


9/124

THEAMERICAN CITIZEN'S

MANUAL OF REFERENCE:BEING A COMPREHENSIVE

HISTORICAL, STATISTICAL, TOPOGRAPHICAL, ANDPOLITICAL VIEW

OF THE

UNITED STATES OF NORTH AMERICA,AND OF THE

SEVERAL STATES AND TERRITORIES.

CAREFULLY COMPILED FROM THE LATEST AUTHORITIES,AND PUBLISHED BY

W. HOBART HADLEY,NEW-YORK.

Stereotyped by Vincent L. Dill, 128 Fulton-street.Printed by S. W. Benedict, 128 Fulton-street.

1840.


10/124

1 JSSSS^^ 1 CONTENTS.Page.

Declaration of Independence, 1Constitution of the United States, 5Amendments to the Constitution, - - - 16Washington's Inaugural Address, - - - 19Washington's Farewell Address, 22Jefferson's Inaugural Address, 36Biography of the Presidents, 40Explanation of the American coat of Arms, - - 41General statistics of the united states government, 42Treasury Department, 44Exports and Imports within the commercial year 1839, 45Of the Public Debt, 47Issue and redemption of Treasury Notes in 1839, - 48Imports into the United States from the 1st of October

1821, to the 30th of September 1838, - - 51Exports of the United States for same period, 53Statistics of the United States Navy, 57Statistics of the United States Army, 63Post Office, ...... lb.Value of foreign coin in money of the United States, - 64Statistics of the Press, .... lb.Principal Executive and Judiciary Officers, Foreign Min-

isters, &c. ----- 65Population of the United States, 68General Statistics of the individual States, - - 69Qualifications of Officers and appointment ofJudges, &c.

in the several States, 73Military ForceRevolutionary Pensioners, 78Universities and Colleges in the United States, - 79Religious Denominations, . ... 80Principal Rail Roads finished and in progress, - 81Principal Canals, " " " - - 82Indian Warriors near Western Frontier, Ministers, Con-

suls, Diplomatic and Commercial Agents of theUnited States in foreign countries, - - 83Topographical and Statistical Observations on the Statesand Territories, ----- 89


11/124

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATESOF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessaryfor one people to dissolve the political bands which have con-nected them with another, and to assume, among the powers ofthe earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws ofnature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect of theopinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causeswhich impel them to the separation.We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are cre-ated equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certainunalienable rights ; that among these, are life, liberty, and thepursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governmentsare instituted among men, deriving their just powers from theconsent of the governed ; and that, whenever any form of gov-ernment becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of thepeople to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government,laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its pow-ers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect theirsafety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that gov-ernments long established, should not be changed for light andtransient causes ; and, accordingly, all experience has shewn thatmankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable,than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which theyare accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpa-tions, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to re-duce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is theirduty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guardsfor their future security. Such has been the patient sufferanceof the colonies, and such is now the necessity which constrainsthem to alter their former systems of government. The historyof the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated in-juries and usurpations, all having, in direct object, the establish-ment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this,let facts be submitted to a candid world :He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and ne-cessary for the public good.


12/124

2 DECLARATION OFHe has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and

pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations till hisassent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utter-ly neglected to attend to them.He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of

large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish theright of representation in the legislature ; a right inestimable tothem, and formidable to tyrants only.He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, un-comfortable, and distant from the repository of their public re-cords, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliancewith his measures.He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for oppos-ing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people.He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to causeothers to be elected : whereby the legislative powers, incapableof annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their ex-ercise ; the state remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all thedangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states ;for that purpose, obstructing the laws of naturalization of for-eigners, refusing to pass others to encourage their migrationthither, and raising the conditions ofnew appropriations of lands.He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing hisassent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for thetenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their

salaries.He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hitherswarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their sub-

stance.He has kept among us, in time of peace, standing armies, with-

out the consent of our legislatures.He has affected to render the military independent of, and su-perior to, the civil power.He has combined, with others, to subject us to a jurisdictionforeign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ;giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation.For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us.

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment, for anymurders which they should commit on the inhabitants of thesestates :For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world :For imposing taxes on us without our consent :


13/124

INDEPENDENCE. 3For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefit of trial by jury :For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended

offences :For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighbor-

ing province, establishing there an arbitrary government, andenlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an exampleand fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule intothese colonies :For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable

laws, and altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments :For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves

invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of hisprotection, and waging war against us.He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt ourtowns, and destroyed the lives of our people.He is at this time, transporting large armies of foreign merce-naries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny,already begun, with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarce-ly paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthythe head of a civilized nation.He has constrained our fellow citizens, taken captive on thehigh seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the exe-cutioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves bytheir hands.He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en-deavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the mer-

ciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undis-tinguished destruction of all. ages, sexes, and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions,we have petitioned for re-dress, in the most humble terms. Our repeated petitions, have beenanswered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character isthus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit tobe the ruler of a free people.Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British breth-ren. We have warned them, from time to time, of the attempts,by their legislature, to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction overus. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emi-gration and settlement here. We have appealed to their nativejustice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by theties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, whichwould enevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence.They, too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consan-guinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which de-


14/124

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.nounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest ofmankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends.We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of

America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Su-preme Judge of the World for the rectitude of our intentions,do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of thesecolonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these United Coloniesare, and of right out to be, free and Independent States ; thatthey are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, andthat all political connexion between them and the state of GreatBritain, is, and ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as freeand Independent States, they have full power to levy war, con-clude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do allother acts and things which Independent States may of right do.And, for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance onthe protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to eachother, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.The forgoing declaration was, by order of Congress, engross-ed and signed by the following members :JOHN HANCOCK.

New-Hampshire.Joseph Bartlett,William Whipple,Mathew Thornton.Massachusetts Bay.Samuel Adams,John Adams,

New-Jersey.Richard Stockton,John Witherspoon,Francis Hopkinson,John Hart,Abraham Clark.

Pennsylvania.Robert Treat Paine, Robert Morris,

Benjamin Rush,Benjamin Franklin,

Elbridge GerryRhode Island.

Stephen Hopkins,William Ellery.Connecticut.

Roger Sherman,Samuel Huntington,William Williams,Oliver Wolcott.

New-York.William Floyd,Phillip Livingston,Francis Lewis,Lewis Morris.

John Morton,George Clymer,James Smith,George Taylor,James Wilson,George Ross.

Delaware.Caesar Rodney,George Read,Thomas M'Kean.

Maryland.Samuel Chase,William Paca,Thomas Stone,

Charles Carroll, ofCarrollton.

Virginia.George Wythe,Richard Henry Lee,Thomas Jefferson,Benjamin Harrison,Thomas Nelson, Jr.Francis LightfootLee,Carter Braxton.

North Carolina.William Hooper,Joseph Hewes,John Penn.

South Carolina.Edward Rutledge,Thomas Heyward, Jr.Thomas Lynch, Jr.Arthur Middleton.

Georgia.Button Guinett,Lyman Hall,George Walton.


15/124

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more

perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility,provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare,and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our poster-ity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the UnitedStates of America.

ARTICLE I.Sec. I.All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested

in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Sen-ate and House of Representatives.Sec II. 1. The House of Representatives shall be composedof members chosen every second year, by the people of the

several states : and the electors in each state shall have the quali-fications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch ofthe state legislature.

2. No person shall be a representative who shall not have at-tained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citi-zen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be aninhabitant of the state in which he shall be chosen.

3. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned amongthe several states which may be included within this union, ac-cording to their respective numbers, which shall be determinedby adding to the whole number of free persons, including thosebound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians nottaxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumerationshall be made within three years after the first meeting of theCongress of the United States, and within every subsequent termof ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. Thenumber of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirtythousand, but each state shall have at least one representative :and until such enumeration shall be made, the state of New-Hampshire shall be entitled to choose three; Massachusetts eight;Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations one ; Connecticut five ;New-York six ; New-Jersey four ; Pennsylvania eight ; Delawareone ; Maryland six ; Virginia ten ; North Carolina five ; SouthCarolina five ; Georgia three.

4. When vacancies shall happen in the representation from


16/124

6 CONSTITUTION OP THEany state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of elec-tion to fill such vacancies.

5. The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker andother officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment.Sec III. 1. The Senate of the United States shall be com-posed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislaturethereof, for six years ; and each senator shall have one vote.

2. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequenceof the first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be,into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first classshall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the se-cond class at the expiration of the fourth year, and the third class,at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one-third may bechosen every second year ; and ifvacancies happen by resignationor otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state,the executive thereof may make temporary appointments untilthe next meeting of the legislature, which shall then fill such va-cancies.

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attainedthe age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the UnitedStates, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of thatstate for which he shall be chosen.

4. The Vice-President of the United States shall be Presi-dent of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equallydivided.

5. The Senate shall choose their other officers and also a presi-dent pro-tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or whenhe shall exercise the office of President of the United States.

6. The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeach-ments. When sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath oraffirmation. When the President of the United States is tried,the Chief Justice shall preside ; and no person shall be convictedwithout the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present.

7. Judgment in cases of impeachment, shall not extend fur-ther than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold andenjoy any office of honor, trust or profit, under the UnitedStates ; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable andsubject to indictment, trial, judgment, and punishment accordingto law.Sec. IV.1. The times, places, and manner of holding elec-tions for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in eachstate, by the legislature thereof ; but the Congress may, at anytime, by law, make or alter such regulations, except as to theplaces of choosing senators.


17/124

UNITED STATES.2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year ;

and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, un-less they shall by law appoint a different day.

Sec. V.1. Each house shall be judge of the elections, returnsand qualifications of its own members ; and a majority of eachshall constitute a quorum to do business ; but a smaller numbermay adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compelthe attendance of absent members, in such manner, and undersuch penalties, as each house may provide.

2. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings,punish

its members for disorderly behaviour, and, with the con-currence of two-thirds, expel a member.

3. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and fromtime to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, intheir judgment, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of themembers of either house on any question, shall, at the desire ofone-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal.

4. Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, with-out the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days,nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall besitting.

Sec. VI. 1. The senators and representatives shall receive acompensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, andpaid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in allcases, except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privi-leged from arrest, during their attendance at the session of theirrespective houses, and in going to or returning from the same ;and for any speech in debate in either house, they shall not bequestioned in any other place.

2. No senator or representative shall, during the time forwhich he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under theauthority of the United States, which shall have been created,or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, duringsuch time ; and no person holding any office under the UnitedStates, shall be a member of either house, during his continuancein office.Sec VII. 1. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in

the House of Representatives ; but the Senate may propose orconcur with amendments as on other bills.

2. Every bill, which shall have passed the House of Repre-sentatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be pre-sented to the President of the United States, if he approve, heshall sign it ; but if not, he shall return it with his objections, tothat house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the2


18/124

8 CONSTITUTION OF THEobjections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it.If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agreeto pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to theother house, and if approved by two-thirds of that house, it shallbecome a law. But in all such cases, the votes of both housesshall be determined by yeas and nays ; and the names of the per-sons voting for and against the bill, shall be entered on the journalsof each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned bythe President, within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shallhave been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like man-ner as if he had signed it, unless Congress, by their adjourn-ment, prevent its return ; in which case it shall not be a law.

3. Every order, resolution, or vote, to which the concurrenceof the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary(except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to thePresident of the United States : and before the same shall takeeffect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him,shall be re-passed by two-thirds of the Senate and House of Re-presentatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed inthe case of a bill.

Sec. VIII.The Congress shall have power1. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises ; to

pay the debts and provide for the common defence and generalwelfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts, and excisesshall be uniform throughout the United States.

2. To borrow money on the credit of the United States :3. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among theseveral states, and with the Indian tribes :4. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniformlaws on the subject of bankruptcies, throughout the UnitedStates :5. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreigncoin, and fix the standard of weights and measures :6. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the secu-

rities and current coin of the United States :7. To establish post-offices and post-roads :8. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by se-

curing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusiveright to their respective writings and discoveries :9. To consitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court :

10. To define and punish piracies and felonies committed onthe high seas, and offences against the law of nations :11. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, andmake rules concerning captures on land and water :


19/124

UNITED STATES. 912. To raise and support armies ; but no appropriation of

money to that use, shall be for a longer term than two years :13. To provide and maintain a navy :14. To make rules for the government and regulation of the

land and naval forces :15. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws

of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions :16. To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the mili-

tia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed inthe service of the United States, reserving to the states respect-ively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of train-ing the militia, according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.

17. To exercise exclusive legislation, in all cases whatsoever,over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, bycession of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, be-come the seat of government of the United States, and to exer-cise like authority over all places purchased by the consent ofthe legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for theerection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock-yards, and other need-ful buildings : And

18. To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper, forcarrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other pow-ers vested by this constitution in the government of the UnitedStates, or in any department or officer thereof.

Sec. IX. 1. The migration or importation of such personsas any of the states, now existing, shall think proper to admit,shall not be prohibited by the Congress, prior to the year one thou-sand eight hundred and eight : but a tax or duty may be imposedon such importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person.

2. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus-pended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the publicsafety may require it.3. No bill of attainder, or ex-post-facto law, shall be passed.

4. No capitation, or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in pro-portion to the census or enumeration herein before directed tobe taken.

5. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from anystate. No preference shall be given, by any regulation ofcommerce or revenue to the ports of one state over those of an-other ; nor shall vessels bound to or from one state, be obliged toenter, clear, or pay duties in another.

6. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in conse-quence of appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement


20/124

10 CONSTITUTION OF THEand account of the receipts and expenditures of all public moneyshall be published from time to time.

7. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States;and no person holding any office of profit or trust under them,shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present,emolument, office or title of any kind whatever, from any king,prince, or foreign state.

Sec. X. 1. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, orconfederation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin mo-ney ; emit bills of credit ; make any thing but" gold and silver coina tender in payment of debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex-post-facto law, or law impairing the obligation of contracts ; or grantany title of nobility.

2. No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay anyimposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be ab-solutely necessary for executing its inspection laws ; and thenett produce of all duties and imposts laid by any state on im-ports or exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the Uni-ted States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the revision andcontrol of the Congress. No state shall, without the consent ofCongress, lay any duty of tonage, keep troops or ships of war, intime of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with anoth-er state, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actu-ally invaded, or in such iminent danger as will not admit of delay.

ARTICLE II.Sec I. 1. The executive power shall be vested in a Presi-

dent of the United States of America. He shall hold his officeduring the term of four years, and, together with the Vice-Presi-dent, chosen for the same term, be elected as follows :

2. Each state shallappoint,

in such manner as the legislaturethereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the wholenumber of senators and representatives to which the state maybe entitled in the Congress ; but no senator or representative, orperson holding an office of trust or profit under the United States,shall be appointed an elector.

3. [Annulled. See Amendments, art. 12.]4. The Congress may determine the time of choosing the elec-tors, and the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day

shall be the same throughout the United States.5. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of theUnited States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution,

shall be eligible to the office of President ; neither shall any per-


21/124

UNITED STATES. 11son be eligible to that office, who shall not have attained the ageof thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident withinthe United States.

6. In case of the removal of the President from office, or ofhis death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers andduties of said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-Presi-dent ; and the Congress may by law provide for the case of re-moval, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President andVice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President,and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be re-moved, or a President shall be elected.

7. The President shall, at stated times, receive for his servicesa compensation which shall neither be increased nor diminishedduring the period for which he shall have been elected ; and heshall not receive, within that period, any other emolument fromthe United States, or any of them.

8. Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall takethe following

oath or affirmation :" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute

the office of President of the United States, and will, to the bestof my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the constitution ofthe United States."

Sec. II.1. The President shall be commander-in-chief of thearmy and navy of the United States, and of the militia of theseveral states, when called into the actual service of the UnitedStates : he may require the opinion in writing, of the principalofficer in each of the executive departments, upon any subjectrelating to the duties of their respective offices; and he shall havepower to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against theUnited States, except in cases of impeachment.

2. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consentof the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the sen-ators present concur ; and he shall nominate, and by and withthe advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors,other public ministers, and consuls, judges of the supreme court,and all other officers of the United States, whose appointmentsare not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be astab-lished by law. But the Congress may, by law, vest the appoint-ment of such inferior officers as they think proper, in the Presi-dent alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

3. The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies thatmay happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting com-missions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

Sec. III.1. He shall, from time to time, give to the Congress


22/124

12 CONSTITUTION OF THEinformation of the state of the union, and recommend to theirconsideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and ex-pedient ; he may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses,or either ofthem, and in case of disagreement between them, withrespect to the time of adjournment, he may adjourn them to suchtime as he shall think proper ; he shall receive ambassadors, andother public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be faith-fully executed ; and shall commission all the officers of the Uni-ted States.Sec IV. 1. The President, Vice-President, and all civil of-

ficers of the United States, shall be removed from office on im-peachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other highcrimes and misdemeanors.

ARTICLE III.Sec I.1. The judicial power of the United States shall be

vested in one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as theCongress may, from time to time, ordain and establish. Thejudges, both of the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold theiroffices during good behaviour, and shall, at stated times, receivefor their services, a compensation which shall not be diminishedduring their continuance in office.Sec II. 1. The judicial power shall extend to all cases inlaw and equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of theUnited States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, undertheir authority ; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other publicministers and consuls ; to all cases of admiralty and maritime ju-risdiction ; to controversies to which the United States shall be aparty ; to controversies between two or more states ; between astate and citizens of another state ; between citizens of differentstates ; between citizens of the same state claiming lands undergrants of different states, and between a state, of the citizensthereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.

2. In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministersand consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the su-preme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other casesbefore mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate juris-diction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and undersuch regulations as the Congress shall make.

3. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment,shall be by jury ; and such trial shall be held in the state wherethe said crimes shall have been committed ; but when not com-


23/124

UNITED STATES. 13mitted within any state, the trial shall be at such place or placesas the Congress may by law have directed.

Sec. III. 1. Treason against the United States, shall consistonly in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies,giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted oftreason, unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the sameovert act, or confessions in open court.

2. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishmentof treason, but no attainder of treason, shall work corruption ofblood, or forfeiture, except during the life of the person attainted.

ARTICLE IV.Sec. I. 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state,

to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every oth-er state. And the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe themanner in which such acts, records, and proceedings, shall beproved, and the effect thereof.Sec II. 1. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to allprivileges and immunities of citizens in the several states.

2. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or othercrime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state,shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state fromwhich he fled, be delivered up to be removed to the state havingjurisdiction of the crime.

3. No person held to service or labor in one state, under thelaws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of anylaw or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or la-bor, but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom suchservice or labor may be due.Sec III. 1. New states may be admitted by the Congress in-to this union ; but no new state shall be formed or erected with-in the jurisdiction of any other state ; nor any state be formedby the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, withoutthe consent of the legislature of the states concerned, as well asof the Congress.

2. The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make allneedful rules and regulations, respecting the territory or otherproperty belonging to the United States ; and nothing in thisconstitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims ofthe United States or of any particular state.Sec IV. 1. The United states shall guarantee to every statein this union, a republican form of government, and shall protecteach of them against invasion ; and, on application of the legisla-


24/124

14 CONSTITUTION OF THEture, or of the executive, (when the legislature cannot be con-vened,) against domestic violence.

ARTICLE V.1. The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shalldeem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution,

or on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of theseveral states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments,which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, aspart of this constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourthsthereof, as the one, or the other mode of ratification may be pro-posed by the Congress; provided, that no amendment whichmay be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred andeight, shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in theninth section of the first article ; and that no state, without itsconsent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

ARTICLE VI.1. All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, before

the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against theUnited States under this constitution, as under the confederation.2. This constitution, and the laws of the United States which

shall be made in pursuance thereof: and all treaties made, orwhich shall be made under the authority of the United States,shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in everystate shall be bound thereby ; any thing in the constitution or lawsof any state, to the contrary notwithstanding.

3. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and themembers of the several state legislatures, and all executive andjudicial officers, both of the United States and of the severalstates, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this con-stitution, but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualifi-cation to any office or public trust under the United States.

ARTICLE VII.1. The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be

sufficient for the establishment of this constitution between thestates so ratifying the same.


25/124

UNITED STATES. 15Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the states

present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of ourLord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and ofthe Independence of the United States of America, thetwelfth. In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribedour names.

New-Hampshire.John Langon,Nicholas Gilman.

Massachusetts.Nathaniel Gorman,Rufus King.

GEORGE WASHINGTON,President and deputyfrom Virginia.Pennsylvania. Virginia.

Benjamin Franklin, John Blair,Thomas Mifflin,Robert Morris,George Clymer,Thomas Fitzsimons,Jared Ingersoll,James Wilson,Governeur Morris.onnecticut.Wm. Samuel Johnson,

Roger Sherman. DelawareGeorge Reed,

James Madison, Jr.North Carolina.

William Blount,Richd. DobbsSpaight,Hugh Williamson.

South Carolina.John Rutledge,Charles C. Pinckney,New-York. Gunning Bedford, Jr.Charles Pinckney,

Alexander Hamilton. John Dickerson,Richard Bassett,

New-Jersey.William Livingston,David Brearley,William Patterson,Jonathan Dayton.

Pierce Butler.

Jacob Broom.Maryland.James M'Henry,

Daniel of St. Tho. Jenifer,Daniel Carrol.

Georgia.William Few,Abraham Baldwin.

Attest, WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary.3


26/124

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.

Art. I.Congress shall make no law respecting an establish-ment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; orabridging the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the rightof the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the govern-ment for a redress of grievances.Art. II.A well regulated militia being necessary to the se-curity of a free state, the right of the people to keep and beararms shall not be infringed.Art. III.No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered inany house without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war,but in a manner to be prescribed by law.Art. IV.The right of the people to be secure in their per-sons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searchesand seizures, shall not be violated ; and no warrants shall issue,but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, andparticularly describing the place to be searched, and the personsor things to be seized.Art. V.No person shall be held to answer for a capital, orotherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictmentof a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or navalforces, or in the militia, when in actual service, in time of waror public danger ; nor shall any person be subject for the sameoffence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall becompelled, in any criminal case, to be witness against himself, norbe deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process oflaw ; nor shall private property be taken for public use withoutjust compensation.Art. VI.In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoythe right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of thestate and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, andto be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; to beconfronted with the witnesses against him ; to have compulsoryprocess for obtaining witnesses in his favor ; and to have the as-sistance of counsel for his defence.


27/124

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 17Art. VII.In suits of common law, where the value in con-

troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by juryshall be preserved ; and no fact, tried by a jury, shall be other-wise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.Art. VIII.Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces-sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.Art. IX.The enumeration in the constitution, of certainrights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retain-ed by the people.Art. X.The powers not delegated to the United States bythe constitution, nor prohibited to it by the states, are reservedto the states respectively, or to the people.Art. XLThe judicial power of the United States shall notbe construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commencedor prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of an-other state, or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state.Art. XII.1. The electors shall meet in their respectivestates, and vote by ballot, for President and Vice President, oneof whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same statewith themselves ; they shall name in their ballots the person vo-ted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted foras Vice President ; and they shall make distinct lists of all per-sons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as VicePresident, and of the number of votes for each, which lists theyshall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of govern-ment of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate ;the President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senateand House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and thevotes shall then be counted ; the person having the greatest num-ber of votes for President, shall be President, if such number beamajority

of the whole number of electors appointed ; and ifno person have such majority, then from the persons having thehighest number not exceeding three on the list of those voted foras President, the House of Representatives shall choose imme-diately, by ballot, the President.But in choosing the President,the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from eachstate having one vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist ofa member or members from two-thirds of the states, and a ma-jority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. And if theHouse of Representatives shall not choose a President wheneverthe right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth dayof March next following, then the Vice President, shall act as


28/124

18 AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION.President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disa-bility of the President.

2. The person having the greatest number of votes for Vice-President, shall be the Vice President, if such number be a ma-jority of the whole number of electors appointed ; and if noperson have a majority, then from the two highest numbers onthe list, the Senate shall choose the Vice President ; a quorumfor the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole numberof Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be neces-sary to a choice.

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office ofPresident shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the UnitedStates.

Art. XIII.If any citizen of the United States shall accept,claim, receive, or retain any title of nobility or honor, or shallwithout the consent of Congress, accept or retain any present,pension, office, or emolument of any kind whatever, from anyemperor, king, prince, or foreign power, such person shall ceaseto be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable ofholding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.


29/124

WASHINGTON'SINAUGURAL AND FAREWELL ADDRESSES.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.April 30, 1789.

Fellow Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives :Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have

filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notifica-tion was transmitted by your order, and received on the 14thday of the present month. On the one hand, I was summonedby my country, whose voice I can never hear but with venera-tion and love, from a retreat which I had chosen with the fond-est predilection, and, in my flattering hopes, with an immutabledecision, as the assylum of my declining years, a retreat whichwas rendered every day more necessary as well as more dear tome by the addition of habit to inclination, and of frequent inter-ruptions in my health, to the gradual waste committed on it bytime. On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of thetrust to which the voice of my country called me, being sufficientto awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens adistrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but over-whelm with despondence, one, who, inheriting inferior endow-ments from nature, and unpractised in the duties of civil admin-istration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies.In this conflict of emotions, all I dare aver, is, that it has been myfaithful study to collect my duty from a just appreciation of everycircumstance by which it might be effected. All I dare hope isthat if in executing this task I have been too much swayed by agrateful remembrance of former instances, or by an affectionatesensibility to this transcendant proof of the confidence of my fel-low citizens, and have thence too little consulted my incapacityas well as disinclination for the weighty and untried cares beforeme, my error will be palliated by the motives

which misled me,and its consequences be judged by my country with some shareof the partiality with which they originated.Such being the impressions under which I have, in obedienceto the public summons, repaired to the present station, it wouldbe peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent


30/124

20 WASHINGTON S INAUGURAL ADDRESS.supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universewho presides in the councils of nationsand whose providen-tial aids can supply every human defect, that his benediction mayconsecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of theUnited States a government instituted by themselves for theseessential purposes, and may enable every instrument employedin its administration to execute with success the functions allot-ted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the great authorof every public and private good, I assure myself that it ex-presses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of myfellow citizens, at large less than either. No people can be boundto acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts theaffairs of men, more than the people of the United States. Everystep by which they have advanced to the character of an inde-pendent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token ofprovidential agency ; and in the important revolution just accom-plished in the system of their united government, the tranquildeliberations and voluntary consent of so many distinct commu-nities, from which the event has resulted, cannot be comparedwith the means by which most governments have been establish-ed, without some return of pious gratitude, along with an hum-ble anticipation of the future blessings which the past seem topresage. These reflections, arising out of the present crisis, haveforced themselves too strongly on my mind to be suppressed.You will join with me, I trust, in thinking that there are none un-der the influence of which the proceedings of a new and freegovernment can more auspiciously commence.By the article establishing the executive department, it is made

the duty of the President "to recommend to your considerationsuch measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." Thecircumstances under which I now meet you will acquit me fromentering into that subject farther than to refer to the great con-stitutional charter under which you are assembled, and which, indefining your powers, designates the objects to which your atten-tion is to be given. It will be more consistent with those circum-stances, and far more congenial with the feelings which actuateme, to substitute, in place of a recommendation of particularmeasures, the tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, andthe patriotism which adorn the characters selected to devise andadopt them. In these honorable qualifications I behold the surestpledges, that, as on one side, no local prejudices or attachments, noseparate views, nor party animosities will misdirect the compre-hensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great as-semblage of communities and interests : so, on another, that the


31/124

Washington's inaugural address. 21foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure andimmutable principles of private morality ; and the pre-eminenceof free government be exemplified by all the attributes whichcan win the affections of its citizens and command the

respectof the world. I dwell on this prospect with every satisfactionwhich an ardent love for my country can inspire, since there isno truth more thoroughly established than that there exists in theeconomy and course of nature an indissoluble union between vir-tue and happiness, between duty and advantage ; between thegenuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and thesolid rewards of

public prosperityand felicity ; since we oughtto be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can

never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rulesof order and right which Heaven itself has ordained, and sincethe preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny ofthe republican model of government are justly considered asdeeply, perhaps as finally staked on the experiment entrusted tothe hands of the American people.Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your care, it will re-main with your judgment to decide how far an exercise of theoccasional power delegated by the fifth article of the constitu-tion is rendered expedient at the present juncture by the natureof the objections which have been urged against the system, orby the degree of inquietude which has given birth to them. In-stead of undertaking particular recommendations on this subject,in which I could be guided by no lights derived from official op-portunities, I shall again give way to my entire confidence in yourdiscernment and pursuit of the public good ; for, I assure myselfthat while you carefully avoid every alteration which might en-danger the benefits of an united and effective government, orwhich ought to await the future lessons of experience, a reverencefor the characteristic rights of freemen, and a regard for thepublic harmony will sufficiently influence your deliberations onthe question how far the former can be more impregnably forti-fied, or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted.To the preceding observations I have one to add, which willbe most properly addressed to the House of Representatives. Itconcerns myself, and will therefore be as brief as possible.When I was first honored with a call into the service of my coun-try, then on the eve of an arduous struggle for its liberties, thelight in which I contemplated my duty required that I should re-nounce every pecuniary compensation. From this resolution Ihave in no instance departed ; and being still under the impres-sions which produced it, I must decline as inapplicable to myself


32/124

22 Washington's farewell address.any share in the personal emoluments which may be indispensa-bly included in a permanent provision for the executive depart-ment, and must accordingly pray that the pecuniary estimatesfor the station in which I am placed, may, during my continuancein it, be limited to such actual expenditures as the public goodmay be thought to require.Having thus imparted to you my sentiments as they have beenawakened by the occasion which brings us together, I shall takemy present leave, but not without resorting once more to the be-

nign Parent of the human race, in humble supplication that, sincehe has been pleased to favor the American people with opportu-nities for deliberating in perfect tranquility and dispositions fordeciding with unparalleled unanimity on a form of government forthe security of their union and the advancement of their happi-ness, so his divine blessing may be equally conspicuous in the en-larged views, the temperate consultations, and the wise measureson which #the success of this government must depend.

FAREWELL ADDRESS.September 17, 1796.

Friends and Fellow Citizens :The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the

executive government of the United States being not far distant,and the time actually arrived when your thoughts must be em-ployed in designating the person who is to be clothed with thatimportant trust, it appears to me proper, especially as it mayconduce to a more distinct expression of the public voice, that Ishould now apprize you of the resolution I have formed, to declinebeing considered among the number of those out of whom thechoice is to be made.

I beg you at the same time to do me the justice to be assured,that this resolution has not been taken without a strict regard toall the considerations appertaining to the relation which binds adutiful citizen to his country ; and that in withdrawing the tenderof service, which silence in my situation might imply, I am in-fluenced by no diminution of zeal for your future interest ; nodeficiency of grateful respect for your past kindness; but amsupported by a full conviction that the step is compatible withboth.The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in the office towhich your suffrages have twice called me, have been an uniform

sacrifice of inclination to the opinion of duty, and to a deference


33/124

WASHINGTON S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 23for what appeared to be your desire. I constantly hoped that itwould have been much earlier in my power, consistently withmotives which I was not at liberty to disregard, to return to thatretirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. Thestrength ofmy inclination to do this, previous to the last election,had even led to the preparation of an address to declare it toyou; but mature reflection on the then perplexed and criticalposture of affairs with foreign nations, and the unanimous adviceof persons entitled to my confidence, impelled me to abandon theidea. I rejoice that the state of your concerns, external as wellas internal, no longer renders the pursuit of inclination incom-patible with the sentiment of duty or propriety ; and am per-suaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, thatin the present circumstances of our country you will not disap-prove of my determination to retire.The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust,were explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of thistrust, I will only say that I have, with good intentions, contribu-ted towards the organization and administration of the govern-ment the best exertions of which a very fallible judgment wascapable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of the inferiority of myqualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps still more inthe eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence ofmyself; and, every day the increasing weight of years admon-ishes me more and more, that the shade of retirement is as ne-cessary to me as it will be welcome. Satisfied that if any cir-cumstances have given peculiar value to my services, they weretemporary, I hare the consolation to believe, that while choice andprudence invite me to quit the political scene, patriotism doesnot forbid it.

In looking forward to the moment which is to determinate thecareer of my political life, my feelings do not permit me to sus-pend the deep acknowledgment of that debt of gratitude whichI owe to my beloved country for the many honors it has confer-red upon me ; still more for the steadfast confidence with whichit has supported me ; and for the opportunities 1 have thence en-joyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment, by services faith-ful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. Ifbenefits have resulted to our country from these services, let italways be remembered to your praise, and as instructive exam-ple in our annals, that under circumstances in which the passions,agitated in every direction, were liable to misleadamidst ap-pearances sometimes dubiousvicissitudes of fortunes often dis-couragingin situations in which not unfrequently want of suc-4


34/124

24 WASHINGTON S FAREWELL ADDRESS.\

cess has countenanced the spirit of criticismthe constancy ofyour support was the essential prop of the efforts, and a guaran-tee of the plans, by which they were effected. Profoundly pen-etrated with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave, as astrong incitement to unceasing wishes, that Heaven may continueto you the choicest tokens of its beneficencethat your union andbrotherly affection may be perpetualthat the free constitutionwhich is the work of your hands may be sacredly maintainedthat its administration in every department may be stampedwith wisdom and virtuethat, in fine, the happiness of the peo-ple of these States, under the auspices of liberty, may be madecomplete, by so careful a preservation, and so prudent a use ofthis blessing, as will acquire to them the glory of recommendingit to the applause, the affection, and adoption of every nationwhich is yet a stranger to it.

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your wel-fare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehensionof danger, natural to that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion likethe present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recom-mend to your frequent review, some sentiments, which are theresult of much reflection, of no inconsiderable observation, andwhich appear to me all important to the permanency of your fe-licity as a people. These will be offered to you with the morefreedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warningsof a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive tobias his counsel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it,your indulgent reception of my sentiments on a former and notdissimilar occasion.

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of ourhearts, no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or con-firm the attachment.The unity of government, which constitutes you one people,is also now dear to you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pillar in

the edifice of your real independence ; the support of your tran-quility at home ; your peace abroad ; of your safety ; of yourprosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize. Butas it is easy to foresee, that from different causes and from differ-ent quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed,to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth ; as this isthe point in your political fortress against which the batteries ofinternal and external enemies will be most constantly and active-ly (though often covertly and insidiously) directed ; it is of infi-nite moment, that you should properly estimate the immense valueof your national union to your collective and individual happi-


35/124

Washington's farewell address. 25ness ; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovea-ble attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and tospeak of it as a palladium of your political safety and prosperi-ty ; watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety ; discoun-tenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can inany event be abandoned ; and indignantly frowning upon the firstdawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our countryfrom the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link to-gether the various parts.For this you have every inducement of sympathy and inter-est. Citizens by birth or choice, of a common country, thatcountry has a right to concentrate your affections. The nameof American, which belongs to you in your national capacity,must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than anyappellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shadesof difference you have the same religion, manners, habits, andpolitical principle. You have, in a common cause, fought andtriumphed together ; the independence and liberty you possess,are the work of joint councils, and joint effortsof common dan-gers, sufferings, and success.But these considerations, however powerfully they addressthemselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by thosewhich apply more immediately to your interest. Here everyportion of our country finds the most commanding motives forcarefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole.The north, in an unrestrained intercourse with the south, pro-tected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in theproductions of the latter, great additional resources of maritimeand commercial enterprize, and precious materials of manufac-turing industry. The south, in the same intercourse, benefittingby the same agency of the north, sees its agriculture grow andits commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels theseamen of the north, it finds its particular navigation invigoratedand while it contributes in different ways to nourish and in-crease the general mass of the national navigation, it looks for-ward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itselfis unequally adapted. The east, in like intercourse with the west,already finds in the progressive improvement of interior com-munications by land and water, will more and more find a valua-ble vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, ormanufactures. at home. The west derives from the east suppliesrequisite to its growth and comfortand what is perhaps of stillgreater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoy-ment of indispensable outlets for its own productions, to the


36/124

26 Washington's farewell address.weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlan-tic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community ofinterest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the west canhold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own sepa-rate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connexion withany foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.While therefore every part of our country thus feels an imme-diate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined can-not fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts, greaterstrength, greater resource, proportionably greater security fromexternal danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace byforeign nations ; and what is of inestimable value, they must de-rive from union an exemption from those broils and wars be-tween themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring coun-tries, not tied together by the same government, which their ownrivalships alone would be sufficient to produce ; but which oppo-site foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues, would stimulateand embitter. Hence', likewise, they will avoid the necessity ofthose overgrown military establishments, which under any formof government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to beregarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this senseit is, that your union ought to be considered as a main prop ofyour liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to youthe preservation of the other.These considerations speak a persuasive language to every re-flecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of theunion as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubtwhether a common government can embrace so large a sphere 1Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such acase were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a properorganization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of govern-ments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue ofthe experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. Withsuch powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all partsof our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated itsimpractability, there will always be reason to distrust the patri-otism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken itsbands.

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our union, itoccurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should havebeen furnished for characterizing parties, by geographical dis-criminationsNorthern and Southern; Atlantic and Western;whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that thereis a real difference of local interests and views. One of the ex*


37/124

WASHINGTON S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 27pedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts,is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. Youcannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies andheart-burnings which spring from these misrepresentations ; theytend to render alien to each other those who ought to be boundtogether by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our western 'country have lately had a useful lesson on this head. They haveseen in the negotiation by the executive, and in the unanimous rat-ification by the senate of the treaty with Spain, and in the uni-versal satisfaction at that event throughout the United States, adecisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagatedamong them of a policy in the general government, and in theAtlantic states, unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mis-sissippi. They have been witnesses to the formation of two trea-ties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secureto them every thing they could desire, in respect to our foreignrelations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be theirwisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on theunion by which they were procured 1 Will they not henceforthbe deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would severthem from their brethren and connect them with aliens ?To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a government

for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, be-tween the parts can be an adequate substitute ; they must inev-itably experience the infractions and interruptions which alliancesat all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth,you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of aconstitution of government, better calculated than your formerfor an intimate union, and for the efficacious management ofyour common concern. This government, the offspring of yourown choice, uninfluenced and unawed ; adopted upon full inves-tigation and mature deliberation; completely free in its princi-ples ; in the distribution of its powers uniting security with en-ergy, and containing within itself provision for its own amend-ment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Re-spect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence inits measures,- are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims oftrue liberty. The basis of our political system is the right of thepeople to make and to alter their constitutions of government.But the constitution which at any time exists, until changed byan explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly ob-ligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of thethe people to establish government, presupposes the duty of everyindividual to obey the established government.


38/124

28 Washington's farewell address.All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations

and associations, under whatever plausible character, with thereal design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular de-liberations and action of the constituted authorities, are destruc-tive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. Theyserve to organize faction ; to give it an artificial and extraordi-nary force ; to put in the place of the delegated will of the na-tion, the will of party, often a small, but artful and enterprizingminority of the community ; and according to the alternate tri-umphs of different parties, to make the public administration themirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction,rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans, di-gested by common councils, and modified by mutual interests.However combinations or associations of the above descrip-tion may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, inthe course of time and things, to become potent engines by whichcunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to sub-vert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves thereigns of government ; destroying afterwards the very engineswhich have lifted them to unjust dominion.Towards the preservation of your government, and the per-

manency of your present happy state, it is requisite not only thatyou steadily discountenance irregular opposition to its acknow-ledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit ofinnovation upon its principles, however specious the pretext.One method of assault may be to affect in the forms of the con-stitution alterations which will impair the energy of the system,and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. Inall the changes to which you may be invited, remember that timeand habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character ofgovernments, as of other human institutions ; that experience isthe surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the ex-isting constitutions of a country ; that facility in changes uponthe credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetualchange, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion ; andremember especially, that from the efficient management ofyour common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a gov-ernment of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect secu-rity

ofliberty,

isindispensable. Liberty

itself will find in such agovernment, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, itssurest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where thegovernment is too feeble to withstand the enterprizes of faction,to confine each member of society within the limits prescribed


39/124

Washington's farewell address. 25ness ; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovea-ble attachment to it; accustoming yourselves to think and tospeak of it as a palladium of your political safety and prosperi-ty ; watching for its preservation

with jealous anxiety ; discoun-tenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can inany event be abandoned ; and indignantly frowning upon the firstdawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our countryfrom the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link to-gether the various parts.For this you have every inducement of sympathy and inter-est. Citizens by birth or choice, of a common country, thatcountry has a right to concentrate your affections. The nameof American, which belongs to you in your national capacity,must always exalt the just pride of patriotism, more than anyappellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shadesof difference you have the same religion, manners, habits, andpolitical principle. You have, in a common cause, fought andtriumphed together ; the independence and liberty you possess,are the work of joint councils, and joint effortsof common dan-gers, sufferings, and success.But these considerations, however powerfully they addressthemselves to your sensibility, are greatly Outweighed by thosewhich apply more immediately to your interest. Here everyportion of our country finds the most commanding motives forcarefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole.The north, in an unrestrained intercourse with the south, pro-tected by the equal laws of a common government, finds in theproductions of the latter, great additional resources of maritimeand commercial enterprize^and precious materials of manufac-turing industry. The south, in the same intercourse, benefittingby the same agency of the north, sees its agriculture grow andits commerce expand. Turning partly into its own channels theseamen of the north, it finds its particular navigation invigoratedand while it contributes in different ways to nourish and in-crease the general mass of the national navigation, it looks for-ward to the protection of a maritime strength, to which itselfis unequally adapted. The east, in like intercourse with the west,already finds in the progressive improvement of interior com-munications by land and water, will more and more find a valua-ble vent for the commodities which it brings from abroad, ormanufactures at home. The west derives from the east suppliesrequisite to its growth and comfortand what is perhaps of stillgreater consequence, it must of necessity owe the secure enjoy-ment of indispensable outlets for its own productions, to the


40/124

26 WASHINGTON S FAREWELL ADDRESS.weight, influence, and the future maritime strength of the Atlan-tic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community ofinterest as one nation. Any other tenure by which the west canhold this essential advantage, whether derived from its own sepa-rate strength, or from an apostate and unnatural connexion withany foreign power, must be intrinsically precarious.While therefore every part of our country thus feels an imme-diate and particular interest in union, all the parts combined can-not fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts, greaterstrength, greater resource, proportionably greater security fromexternal danger, a less frequent interruption of their peace byforeign nations ; and what is of inestimable value, they must de-rive from union an exemption from those broils and wars be-tween themselves, which so frequently afflict neighboring coun-tries, not tied together by the same government, which their ownrivalships alone would be sufficient to produce ; but which oppo-site foreign alliances, attachments, and intrigues, would stimulateand embitter. Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity ofthose overgrown military establishments, which under any formof government are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to beregarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty. In this senseit is, that your union ought to be considered as a main prop ofyour liberty, and that the love of the one ought to endear to youthe preservation of the other.

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every re-flecting and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of theunion as a primary object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubtwhether a common government can embrace so large a sphere ?Let experience solve it. To listen to mere speculation in such acase were criminal. We are authorized to hope that a properorganization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency of govern-ments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue ofthe experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. Withsuch powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all partsof our country, while experience shall not have demonstrated itsimpractability, there will always be reason to distrust the patri-otism of those who in any quarter may endeavor to weaken itsbands.

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our union, itoccurs as matter of serious concern that any ground should havebeen furnished for characterizing parties, by geographical dis-criminationsNorthern and Southern; Atlantic and Western;whence designing men may endeavor to excite a belief that thereis a real difference, of local interests and views. One of the ex-


41/124

WASHINGTON S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 27pedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts,is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. Youcannot shield yourselves too much against the jealousies andheart-burnings which spring from these misrepresentations ; theytend to render alien to each other those who ought to be boundtogether by fraternal affection. The inhabitants of our western 'country have lately had a useful lesson on this head. They haveseen in the negotiation by the executive, and in the unanimous rat-ification by the senate of the treaty with Spain, and in the uni-versal satisfaction at that event throughout the United States, adecisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagatedamong them of a policy in the general government, and in theAtlantic states, unfriendly to their interests in regard to the Mis-sissippi. They have been witnesses to the formation of two trea-ties, that with Great Britain, and that with Spain, which secureto them every thing they could desire, in respect to our foreignrelations, towards confirming their prosperity. Will it not be theirwisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on theunion by which they were procured 1 Will they not henceforthbe deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would severthem from their brethren and connect them with aliens ?To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a government

for the whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, be-tween the parts can be an adequate substitute ; they must inev-itably experience the

infractions and interruptions which alliancesat all times have experienced. Sensible of this momentous truth,you have improved upon your first essay, by the adoption of aconstitution of government, better calculated than your formerfor an intimate union, and for the efficacious management ofyour common concern. This government, the offspring of yourown choice, uninfluenced and unawed ; adopted upon full inves-tigation and mature deliberation ; completely free in its princi-ples ; in the distribution of its powers uniting security with en-ergy, and containing within itself provision for its own amend-ment, has a just claim to your confidence and your support. Re-spect for its authority, compliance with its laws, acquiescence inits measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims oftrue liberty. The basis of our political system is the right of thepeople to make and to alter their constitutions of government.But the constitution which at any time exists, until changed byan explicit and authentic act of the whole people, is sacredly ob-ligatory upon all. The very idea of the power and the right of thethe people to establish government, presupposes the duty of everyindividual to obey the established government.


42/124

28 Washington's farewell address.All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations

and associations, under whatever plausible character, with thereal design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular de-liberations and action of the constituted authorities, are destruc-tive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. Theyserve to organize faction ; to give it an artificial and extraordi-nary force ; to put in the place of the delegated will of the na-tion, the will of party, often a small, but artful and enterprizingminority of the community ; and according to the alternate tri-umphs of different parties, to make the public administration themirror of the ill concerted and incongruous projects of faction,rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans, di-gested by common councils, and modified by mutual interests.However combinations or associations of the above descrip-tion may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, inthe course of time and things, to become potent engines by whichcunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to sub-vert the power of

the people, and to usurp for themselves thereigns of government; destroying afterwards the very engineswhich have lifted them to unjust dominion.Towards the preservation of your government, and the per-manency of your present happy state, it is requisite not only thatyou steadily discountenance irregular opposition to its acknow-ledged authority, but also that you resist with care the spirit ofinnovation upon its principles, however specious the pretext.One method of assault may be to affect in the forms of the con-stitution alterations which will impair the energy of the system,and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown. Inall the changes to which you may be invited, remember that timeand habit are at least as necessary to fix the true character ofgovernments, as of other human institutions ; that experience isthe surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the ex-isting constitutions of a country ; that facility in changes uponthe credit of mere hypothesis and opinion, exposes to perpetualchange, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion ; andremember especially, that from the efficient management ofyour common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a gov-ernment of as much vigor as is consistent with the perfect secu-rity of liberty, is indispensable. Liberty itself will find in such agovernment, with powers properly distributed and adjusted, itssurest guardian. It is, indeed, little else than a name, where thegovernment is too feeble to withstand the enterprizes of faction,to confine each member of society within the limits prescribed


43/124

Washington's farewell address. 29by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil enjoy-ment of the rights of person and property.

I have already intimated to you the dangers of parties in thestate, with particular reference to the founding of them upongeographical discriminations. Let me now take a more compre-hensive view, and warn you, in the most solemn manner, againstthe baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, hav-ing its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It ex-ists under different shapes in all governments, more or lessstifled, controlled, or repressed ; but in those of the popular formit is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.The alternate domination of one faction over another,sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissention,which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the mosthorrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leadsat length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The dis-orders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds ofmen to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an in-dividual ; and, sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing fac-tion, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns thisdisposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins ofthe public liberty.Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, (whichnevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight,) the commonand continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient tomake it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage andrestrain it.

It serves always to distract the public councils, and enfeeble thepublic administration. It agitates the community with ill-found-ed jealousies and false alarms ; kindles the animosity of one partagainst another ; foments occasional riot and insurrection. Itopens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which finds afacilitated access to the government itself, through the channelsof party passion. Thus the policy and will of one country aresubjected to the policy and will of another.There is an opinion that parties in free countries are usefulchecks upon the administration of the government, and serve tokeep alive the spirit of liberty. This, within certain limits, isprobably true ; and in governments of a monarchical cast, patriot-ism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spiritof party. But in those of popular character, in governmentspurely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From the na-tural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that


44/124

30 Washington's farewell address.spirit for every salutary purpose ; and there being constant dan-ger of excess, the effort ought to be, by force of public opinion tomitigate and assuage it. A fire not to quenched, it demands auniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, insteadof warming, it should consume.

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking, in a freecountry, should inspire caution in those intrusted with its admin-istration, to confine themselves within their respective constitu-tional spheres ; avoiding, in the exercise of the powers of one de-partment, to encroach upon another. The spirit of encroach-ment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments inone, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a realdespotism. A just estimate of that love of power, and prone-ness to abuse it, which predominate in the human heart, is suf-ficient to satisfy us of the truth of this position. The necessityof reciprocal checks in the exercise of political power, by di-viding and distributing into different depositories, and constitutingeach the guardian of the public weal against invasions of theother, has been evinced by experiments, ancient and modern ;some of them in our country, and under our own eyes. Topreserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, inthe opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of theconstitutional powers be, in any particular wrong, let it be cor-rected by an amendment in the way in which the constitutiondesignates. But let there be no change by usurpation, for thoughthis, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is thecustomary weapon by which free governments are destroyed.The precedent must always greatly overbalance, in permanentevil, any partial or transient benefit which the use can at anytime yield.Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political pros-perity, religion and morality are indispensible supports. In vainwould that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should laborto subvert these great pillars of human happinessthese firmestprops of the duties of men and citizens. The mere politician,equally with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them.A volume could not trace all their connexion with private andpublic felicity. Let it simply be asked, where is the security forproperty, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obliga-tion desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigationin courts of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the suppo-sition that morality can b

American Citizens Manual 1840

Documents

Transcript of American Citizens Manual 1840