“History is replete with moral lessons ; the instability of human power, the tyranny of man over his brother, and the painful truth that the great are not always the good, mark almost almost every feature of its annals.”
— Mrs. Sigourney
Lydia Huntley Sigourney (September 1, 1791 – June 10, 1865), was an American poet, author, and publisher during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the "Sweet Singer of Hartford.” She had a long career as a literary expert, publishing 52 books and in over 300 periodicals in her lifetime.
I wish to present United States Presidents and Vice Presidents through time by their own words. I primarily searched for quotes on a theme of “democracy”, “government,” “Constitution,” but have included quotes, from speeches or letters of interest. An attempt is to present ideas expressed by past leaders still topical in 2023 America. I personally find the less known presidents and especially vice presidents of more interest. More than one quote will be included to attempt to give a taste of the leader. The Native American issue is addressed to one leader one might expect.
George Washington (1732-1799) - 1st President
FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1796
"It is important ... that the habits of thinking in a free Country should inspire caution in those entrusted with its administration, to confine themselves within their respective Constitutional Spheres; avoiding in the exercise of the Powers of one department to encroach upon another."
From Day’s Collacon, an Encyclopedia of Prose Quotations:
“It is among the evils, and perhaps not the smallest, of democratic governments, that the people must feel before they can see. When this happens, they are roused to action; hence it is that those kinds of government are so slow.”
John Adams (1735-1826) - 1st Vice President, 2nd President
From John Adams to John Taylor, 17 December 1814 speaking of democracy, specifically French.
“Real Philosophers, and Sincere Christians in amazing Numbers over all Europe and America were hurried away by the torrent of contagious Enthusiasm. Democracy is chargeable with all the blood that has been spilled for five and twenty years. Napoleon and all his Generals were but Creatures of Democracy as really as Rienzi [was an Italian politician and leader, who styled himself as the "tribune of the Roman people"], Theodore [Theodore Paleologus (c. 1560 – 1636), a 16th and 17th-century Italian nobleman, soldier and assassin], Mazzianello [of an Italian revolt (1648) in Naples of Spanish rule, he a fisherman], Jack Cade [of an English revolt 1450] or Wat Tyler [of an English revolt 1381]. This democratical, Hurricane, Inundation, Earthquake, Pestilence call it which you will, at last arroused and alarmed all the World and produced a Combination unexampled, to prevent its further Progress.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) - 2nd Vice President, 3rd President
Thomas Jefferson to Hugh P. Taylor, October 4, 1823
"I agree with you that it is the duty of every good citizen to use all the opportunities, which occur to him, for preserving documents relating to the history of our country."
From Day’s Collacon, an Encyclopedia of Prose Quotations:
“Democracy is equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.”
Aaron Burr (1756-1836) - 3rd Vice President
From the Washington Federalist, 13th March, 1805. [at the end of Aaron Burr’s vice presidency.] Having heard much said in commendation of Mr. Burr's valedictory address to the Senate, we have solicited and procured the following, which we present to our readers without comment. Text from Aaron Burr memoirs (1836).
"But he challenged their attention to considerations more momentous than any which regarded merely their personal honour and character—the preservation of law, of liberty, and the Constitution. This house, said he, is a sanctuary; a citadel of law, of order, and of liberty; and it is here—it is here, in this exalted refuge—here, if anywhere, will resistance be made to the storms of political phrensy [violent and irrational excitement] and the silent arts of corruption; and if the Constitution be destined ever to perish by the sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the usurper, which God avert, its expiring agonies will be witnessed on this floor."
George Clinton (1739-1812) - 4th Vice President
George Clinton’s Remarks on the Mode of Ratifying the Constitution, 17 July 1788.
“I have therefore avoided taking any considerable part in the debates lest as is too apt to be the case, I might become prejudiced in favor of my own reasoning—the little that I have said, it must appear has been rather to raise objections with a view of having them answered than to support any opinion on either side of the question—I have listened with candor and attention to every argument that has been offered in support of the system when under debate by paragraphs and as far as I have been capable, I have given them their due weight, and if they had been such as would have convinced me that my first opinion was wrong, I would have cheerfully acquiesced and used my utmost endeavours by the same arguments to spread conviction among my constituents and to reconcile them to the plan.”
James Madison (1751-1836) - 4th President
From “The Federalist Papers”, p.680, Simon and Schuster
“The effect of a representative democracy is to refine and enlarge the public views, by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens, whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of the nation.”
[Letter to Edward Livingston, 10 July 1822 - Writings 9:100--103]
“Every new & successful example therefore of a perfect separation between ecclesiastical and civil matters, is of importance. And I have no doubt that every new example, will succeed, as every past one has done, in shewing that religion & Govt. will both exist in greater purity, the less they are mixed together.”
Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814) - 5th Vice President
TO THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL COURT 18 OCTOBER 1787*
“gentlemen, I have the honour to inclose, pursuant to my commission, the constitution proposed by the federal Convention.
My principal objections to the plan, are, that there is no adequate provision for a representation of the people— that they have no security for the right of election—that some of the powers of the Legislature are ambiguous, and others indefinite and dangerous—that the Executive is blended with and will have an undue influence over the Legislature—that the judicial department will be oppressive—that treaties of the highest importance may be formed by the President with the advice of two thirds of a quorum of the Senate—and that the system is without the security of a bill of rights. These are objections which are not local, but apply equally to all the States.”
James Monroe (1758-1831) - 5th President
From the State of the Union Address, James Monroe, December 3, 1822
“It is impossible to look to the oppressions of the country respecting which those differences arose without being deeply affected. The mention of Greece fills the mind with the most exalted sentiments and arouses in our bosoms the best feelings of which our nature is susceptible. Superior skill and refinement in the arts, heroic gallantry in action, disinterested patriotism, enthusiastic zeal and devotion in favor of public and personal liberty are associated with our recollections of ancient Greece. That such a country should have been overwhelmed and so long hidden, as it were, from the world under a gloomy despotism has been a cause of unceasing and deep regret to generous minds for ages past. It was natural, therefore, that the reappearance of those people in their original character, contending in favor of their liberties, should produce that great excitement and sympathy in their favor which have been so signally displayed throughout the United States. A strong hope is entertained that these people will recover their independence and resume their equal station among the nations of the earth.”
Daniel D. Tompkins (1774-1825) - 6th Vice President
Daniel D. Tompkins, Reply to the New York senate, 5 October 1814 as the governor of New York.
October 5th, 1818.
“Gentlemen,
The enlightened view which the Senate has taken of the great events, that have lately transpired, and of their probable influence upon the interests and destiny of the United States, displays wisdom and patriotism worthy of that dignified body. Their favorable notice of my official conduct, in the recent emergency, receives the most respectful acknowledgments; & a continuance of their approbation, is the highest reward to which I aspire.”
Letter from Daniel D. Tompkins then the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817.
TO GENERAL BROWN IN REGARD TO THE GENERAL SITUATION ALONG THE ST. LAWRENCE FRONTIER.
Sacketts Harbour, October 9, 1812
“It is a very general complaint that there is an undue proportion of officers for the number of men in service at Ogdensburgh [NY town on the Canadian/US border near Montreal]. A gentleman from that quarter informed me that before your arrival at that place, there were about thirty commissioned officers to one hundred and twenty men, and that neither officers or men wore very well disciplined. You will please to enquire into that business and if found to be so, rectify it by discharging by some equitable rule, supernumerary [present in excess] officers, and by disciplining both officers and men most industriously. I must also caution you against Flags of truce and the introduction of deserters to your encampment. The former are often sent for insidious purposes and the latter are seldom to be trusted or relied upon.”
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) - 6th President
From the John Quincy Adams Papers:
“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak, and that it is doing God’s service when it is violating all His laws.”
“When (an advocate) is not thoroughly acquainted with the real strength and weakness of his cause, he knows not where to choose the most impressive argument. When the mark is shrouded in obscurity, the only substitute for accuracy in the aim is in the multitude of the shafts.”
"The Jubilee of the Constitution, delivered at New York, April 30, 1839, before the New York Historical Society."
“Two centuries have not yet elapsed since the first European foot touched the soil which now constitutes the American Union. Two centuries more and our numbers must exceed those of Europe itself. The destinies of their empire, as they appear in prospect before us, disdain the powers of human calculation. Yet, as the original founder of the Roman State is said once to have lifted upon his shoulders the fame and fortunes of all his posterity, so let us never forget that the glory and greatness of all our descendants is in our hands. Preserve in all their purity, refine, if possible, from all their alloy, those virtues which we this day commemorate as the ornament of our forefathers. Adhere to them with inflexible resolution, as to the horns of the altar; instil them with unwearied perseverance into the minds of your children; bind your souls and theirs to the national Union as the chords of life are centred in the heart, and you shall soar with rapid and steady wing to the summit of human glory. Nearly a century ago, one of those rare minds to whom it is given to discern future greatness in its seminal principles, upon contemplating the situation of this continent, pronounced, in a vein of poetic inspiration, "Westward the star of empire takes its way." Let us unite in ardent supplication to the Founder of nations and the Builder of worlds, that what then was prophecy may continue unfolding into history—that the dearest hopes of the human race may not be extinguished in disappointment, and that the last may prove the noblest empire of time.”
John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) - 7th Vice President
From “Calhoun versus Madison: The Transformation of the Thought of the Founding a Bicentennial Celebration, by Harry V. Jaffa, Claremont, California.
“All men are not created. According to the Bible, only two, a man and a woman, ever were, and of these one was pronounced subordinate to the other. All others have come into the world by being born, and in no sense ... either free or equal ... [This proposition] was inserted in our Declaration of Independence without any necessity.”
“... although society and government are thus intimately connected with and dependent on each other, of the two, society is the greater. It is the first in the order of things and in the dignity of its object; that of society being primary, to preserve and perfect our race; and that of government secondary and subordinate, to preserve and perfect society.”
The government of the concurrent majority, says Calhoun,
“tends to unite the most opposite and conflicting interests, and to blend the whole into one common attachment to country... the same cause.. which makes it the interest of each portion to conciliate and promote the interest of the others would exert a powerful influence towards purifying and elevating the character of the government and the people, morally, as well as politically.”
From John C. Calhoun papers:
“… it must necessarily follow, that some one portion of the community must pay in taxes more than it receives back in disbursements; while another receives in disbursements more than it pays in taxes… The necessary result, then, of the unequal fiscal action of the government is, to divide the community into two great classes; one consisting of those who, in reality, pay the taxes, and, of course, bear exclusively the burthen of supporting the government; and the other, of those who are the recipients of their proceeds, through disbursements, and who are, in fact, supported by the government; or, in fewer words, to divide it into tax-payers and tax-consumers.”
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845) - 7th President
From Day’s Collacon, an Encyclopedia of Prose Quotations:
“Our constitution has preserved unimpaired the liberties of the people, secured the rights of property, and our country has improved, and is flourishing beyond any former example in the history of nations.”
FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE. Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives (1829)
“Since the last session of Congress numerous frauds on the Treasury have been discovered, which I thought it my duty to bring under the cognizance of the United States court for this district by a criminal prosecution.”
“Our conduct toward these people is deeply interesting to our national character. Their present condition, contrasted with what they once were, makes a most powerful appeal to our sympathies. Our ancestors found them the uncontrolled possessors of these vast regions. By persuasion and force they have been made to retire from river to river and from mountain to mountain, until some of the tribes have become extinct and others have left but remnants to preserve for awhile their once terrible names.”
“As a means of effecting this end I suggest for your consideration the propriety of setting apart an ample district west of the Mississippi, and without the limits of any State or Territory now formed, to be guaranteed to the Indian tribes as long as they shall occupy it, each tribe having a distinct control over the portion designated for its use. There they may be secured in the enjoyment of governments of their own choice, subject to no other control from the United States than such as may be necessary to preserve peace on the frontier and between the several tribes. There the benevolent may endeavor to teach them the arts of civilization, and, by promoting union and harmony among them, to raise up an interesting commonwealth, destined to perpetuate the race and to attest the humanity and justice of this Government.”
“This emigration should be voluntary, for it would be as cruel as unjust to compel the aborigines to abandon the graves of their fathers and seek a home in a distant land. But they should be distinctly informed that if they remain within the limits of the States they must be subject to their laws. In return for their obedience as individuals they will without doubt be protected in the enjoyment of those possessions which they have improved by their industry. But it seems to me visionary to suppose that in this state of things claims can be allowed on tracts of country on which they have neither dwelt nor made improvements, merely because they have seen them from the mountain or passed them in the chase. Submitting to the laws of the States, and receiving, like other citizens, protection in their persons and property, they will ere long become merged in the mass of our population.”
The chronological treatment will continue in a future post.
15th Post, February 22, 2023