Under the pledge of these promises, made by that eminent
citizen at the time of his first induction to this office, in his
career of eight years the internal taxes have been repealed; sixty
millions of the public debt have been discharged; provision has
been made for the comfort and relief of the aged and indigent
among the surviving warriors of the Revolution; the regular armed
force has been reduced and its constitution revised and perfected;
the accountability for the expenditure of public moneys has been
made more effective; the Floridas have been peaceably acquired,
and our boundary has been extended to the Pacific Ocean; the
independence of the southern nations of this hemisphere has been
recognized, and recommended by example and by counsel to the
potentates of Europe; progress has been made in the defense of the
country by fortifications and the increase of the Navy, toward the
effectual suppression of the African traffic in slaves; in
alluring the aboriginal hunters of our land to the cultivation of
the soil and of the mind, in exploring the interior regions of the
Union, and in preparing by scientific researches and surveys for
the further application of our national resources to the internal
improvement of our country.
In this brief outline of the promise and performance of my
immediate predecessor the line of duty for his successor is
clearly delineated To pursue to their consummation those purposes
of improvement in our common condition instituted or recommended
by him will embrace the whole sphere of my obligations.
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