President Jefferson Davis's Inaugural Speech
Montgomery Alabama
Feb 18, 1861
GENTLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA,
FRIENDS AND FELLOW-CITIZENS:
Called to the difficult and responsible station of Chief Executive of the
Provisional Government which you have instituted, I approach the discharge of
the duties assigned to me with an humble distrust of my abilities, but with a
sustaining confidence in the wisdom of those who are to guide and to aid me
in the administration of public affairs, and an abiding faith in the virtue
and patriotism of the people.
Looking forward to the speedy establishment of a permanent government to take
the place of this, and which by its greater moral and physical power will be
better able to combat with the many difficulties which arise from the
conflicting interests of separate nations, I enter upon the duties of the
office to which I have been chosen with the hope that
the beginning of our career as a Confederacy may not be obstructed by hostile
opposition to our enjoyment of the separate existence and independence which
we have asserted, and, with the blessing of Providence, intend to maintain.
Our present condition, achieved in a manner unprecedented in the history of
nations, illustrates the American idea that governments rest upon the consent
of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish
governments whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were
established . The declared purpose of the compact of Union from which we
have withdrawn was "to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity;" and when, in the
judgment of the sovereign States now composing this Confederacy, it had been
perverted from the purposes for which it was ordained, and had ceased to
answer the ends for which it was established, a peaceful appeal to the ballot-
box declared that so far as they were concerned, the government created by
that compact should cease to exist. In this they merely asserted a right
which the Declaration of Independence of 1776 had defined to be inalienable;
of the time and occasion for its exercise, they, as sovereigns, were the
final judges, each for itself. The impartial and enlightened verdict of
mankind will vindicate the rectitude of our conduct, and He who knows the
hearts of men will judge of the sincerity with which we labored to preserve
the Government of our fathers in its spirit. The right solemnly proclaimed at
the birth of the States, and which has been affirmed and reaffirmed in the
bills of rights of States subsequently admitted into the Union of 1789,
undeniably recognize in the people the power to resume the authority
delegated for the purposes of government. Thus the sovereign States here
represented proceeded to form this Confederacy, and it is by abuse of
language that their act has been denominated a revolution. They formed a new
alliance, but within each State its government has remained, the rights of
person and property have not been disturbed. The agent through whom they
communicated with foreign nations is changed, but this does not necessarily
interrupt their international relations.
Sustained by the consciousness that the transition from the former Union to
the present Confederacy has not proceeded from a disregard on our part of
just obligations, or any failure to perform every constitutional duty, moved
by no interest or passion to invade the rights of others, anxious to
cultivate peace and commerce with all nations, if we may not hope to avoid
war, we may at least expect that posterity will acquit us of having
needlessly engaged in it. Doubly justified by the absence of wrong on our
part, and by wanton aggression on the part of others, there can be no cause
to doubt that the courage and patriotism of the people of the Confederate
States will be found equal to any measures of defense which honor and
security may require.
An agricultural people, whose chief interest is the export of a commodity
required in every manufacturing country, our true policy is peace, and the
freest trade which our necessities will permit. It is alike our interest, and
that of all those to whom we would sell and from whom we would buy, that
there should be the fewest practicable restrictions upon the interchange of
commodities. There can be but little rivalry between ours and any
manufacturing or navigating community, such as the Northeastern States of the
American Union. It must follow, therefore, that a mutual interest would
invite good will and kind offices. If, however, passion or the lust of
dominion should cloud the judgment or inflame the ambition of those States,
we must prepare to meet the emergency and to maintain, by the final
arbitrament of the sword, the position which we have assumed among the
nations of the earth. We have entered upon the career of independence, and it
must be inflexibly pursued. Through many years of controversy with our late
associates, the Northern States, we have vainly endeavored to secure
tranquility, and to obtain respect for the rights to which we were entitled.
As a necessity, not a choice, we have resorted to the remedy of separation;
and henceforth our energies must he directed to the conduct of our own
affairs, and the perpetuity of the Confederacy which we have formed.
If a just perception of mutual interest shall permit us peaceably to pursue
our separate political career, my most earnest desire will have been
fulfilled. But, if this be denied to us, and the integrity of our territory
and jurisdiction be assailed, it will but remain for us, with firm resolve,
to appeal to arms and invoke the blessings of Providence on a just cause.
As a consequence of our new condition and with a view to meet anticipated
wants, it will be necessary to provide for the speedy and efficient
organization of branches of the executive department, having special charge
of foreign intercourse, finance, military affairs, and the postal service.
For purposes of defense, the Confederate States may, under ordinary
circumstances, rely mainly upon their militia, but it is deemed advisable, in
the present condition of affairs, that there should be a well-instructed and
disciplined army, more numerous than would usually be required on a peace
establishment. I also suggest that for the protection of our harbors and
commerce on the high seas a navy adapted to those objects will be required.
These necessities have doubtless engaged the attention of Congress.
With a Constitution differing only from that of our fathers in so far as it
is explanatory of their well-known intent, freed from the sectional conflicts
which have interfered with the pursuit of the general welfare it is not
unreasonable to expect that States from which we have recently parted may
seek to unite their fortunes with ours under the government which we have
instituted. For this your Constitution makes adequate provision; but beyond
this, if I mistake not the judgment and will of the people, a reunion with
the States from which we have separated is neither practicable nor desirable.
To increase the power, develop the resources, and promote the happiness
of a confederacy, it is requisite that there should be so much of homogeneity
that the welfare of every portion shall be the aim of the whole. Where this
does not exist, antagonisms are engendered which must and should result in
separation.
Actuated solely by the desire to preserve our own rights and promote our own
welfare, the separation of the Confederate States has been marked by no
aggression upon others and followed by no domestic convulsion. Our industrial
pursuits have received no check. The cultivation of our fields has progressed
as heretofore, and even should we be involved in war there would be no
considerable diminution in the production of the staples which have
constituted our exports and in which the commercial world has an interest
scarcely less than our own. This common interest of the producer and consumer
can only be interrupted by an exterior force which should obstruct its
transmission to foreign markets-a course of conduct which would be as unjust
toward us as it would be detrimental to manufacturing and commercial
interests abroad. Should reason guide the action of the Government from which
we have separated, a policy so detrimental to the civilized world, the
Northern States included, could not be dictated by even the strongest desire
to inflict injury upon us; but otherwise a terrible responsibility will rest
upon it, and the suffering of millions will bear testimony to the folly and
wickedness of our aggressors. In the meantime there will remain to us,
besides the ordinary means before suggested, the well-known resources for
retaliation upon the commerce of an enemy.
Experience in public stations, of subordinate grade to this which your
kindness has conferred, has taught me that care and toil and disappointment
are the price of official elevation. You will see many errors to forgive,
many deficiencies to tolerate, but you shall not find in me either a want of
zeal or fidelity to the cause that is to me highest in hope and of most
enduring affection. Your generosity has bestowed upon me an undeserved
distinction, one which I neither sought nor desired. Upon the continuance of
that sentiment and upon your wisdom and patriotism I rely to direct and
support me in the performance of the duty required at my hands.
We have changed the constituent parts, but not the system of our Government.
The Constitution formed by our fathers is that of these Confederate States,
in their exposition of it, and in the judicial construction it has received,
we have a light which reveals its true meaning.
Thus instructed as to the just interpretation of the instrument, and ever
remembering that all offices are but trusts held for the people, and that
delegated powers are to be strictly construed, I will hope, by due diligence
in the performance of my duties, though I may disappoint your expectations,
yet to retain, when retiring, something of the good will and confidence which
welcome my entrance into office.
It is joyous, in the midst of perilous times, to look around upon a people
united in heart, where one purpose of high resolve animates and actuates the
whole-where the sacrifices to be made are not weighed in the balance against
honor and right and liberty and equality. Obstacles may retard, they cannot
long prevent the progress of a movement sanctified by its justice, and
sustained by a virtuous people. Reverently let us invoke the God of our
fathers to guide and protect us in our efforts to perpetuate the principles
which, by his blessing, they were able to vindicate, establish and transmit
to their posterity, and with a continuance of His favor, ever gratefully
acknowledged, we may hopefully look forward to success, to peace, and to
prosperity.
President Jefferson Davis, Confederate States of America
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