James Madison’s First Inaugural Address

Abstract This chapter presents James Madison’s First Inaugural Address on March 4, 1809. Madison begins by acknowledging that “under the benign influence of our republican institutions, and the maintenance of peace with all nations whilst so many of them were engaged in bloody and wasteful wars, the fruits of a just policy were enjoyed in an unrivaled growth of our faculties and resources.” Madison notes that “it has been the true glory of the United States to cultivate peace by observing justice, and to entitle themselves to the respect of the nations at war by fulfilling their neutral obligations with the most scrupulous impartiality.” Finally, he highlights his obligations to “maintain sincere neutrality toward belligerent nations”; “to support the Constitution, which is the cement of the Union, as well in its limitations as in its authorities”; and “to respect the rights and authorities reserved to the States and to the people.”