for the same office in several other states, but at the election of 1840 he received one electoral vote only for vice-president, which was given by one of the electors in Virginia.

Having served as governor of Tennessee for the constitutional term of two years, Mr. Polk was a candidate for re-election in August, 1841. His prospect was unpromising, as the State in 1840 showed a Whig majority of twelve thousand at the presidential election. The result was the defeat of Mr. Polk, and the election of James C. Jones, the whig candidate, as governor, by a majority of 3,224. Mr. Polk therefore retired from public life, at the expiration of his executive term. Two years after, in 1843, he was again a candidate for the executive chair, in opposition to Governor Jones, but he was the second time defeated, and the whig candidate re-elected, by a majority of 3,833.

From October, 1841, until his elevation to the highest office in the Union, Mr. Polk remained in private life, not, however, an inert spectator of the wild and troubled drama of politics. Happy in the confidence of his immediate neighbors, and his numerous political friends throughout the state, in the affections of a charming family, and in the ardent friendship of Andrew Jackson; he had determined to withdraw himself from the anxieties and labors of public life. But the voice of the democracy of Tennessee forbade the gratification of his wishes; as we have seen, he was repeatedly summoned to stand forward as its representative for governor of the state, and he yielded to the summons, whatever might have been the prospects of success.

Mr. Polk did not conceal his opinions on political subjects, when called upon by his fellow-citizens to express them. Those who differed from him had no difficulty in ascertaining the fact of the difference. A proof of this was found in the circumstance which developed his opinions on the subject of Texas. The citizens of Cincinnati had, early in 1844, expressed their "settled opposition" to the annexation of that republic to the United States, and invited him to announce his concurrence in their judgment. In his reply, he said: "Let Texas be re-annexed, and the authority and laws of the United States be established and maintained within her limits, as also in the Oregon territory, and let the fixed policy of our government be, not to permit Great Britain to plant a colony or hold dominion over any portion of the people or territory of either. These are my opinions; and without deeming it necessary to extend this letter, by assigning the many reasons which influence me in the conclusions to which I come, I regret to be compelled to differ so widely from the views expressed by yourselves, and the meeting of citizens of Cincinnati, whom you represent."

On the 29th of May, 1844, Mr. Polk received the nomination of the democratic national convention, assembled at Baltimore, for president of the United States. To this high office he was elected in the fall of the

same year, by the people of the United States, and his majority over Mr. Clay, the Whig candidate, as expressed through the electoral colleges, in December, 1844, was 65. The votes of the presidential electors were— for James K. Polk 170, for Henry Clay 105. George M. Dallas was elected vice-president by the same majority, over Theodore Frelinghuysen. The votes were counted in the house of representatives, on the 10th of February, 1845. The president elect, having repaired to the seat of government, informed the joint committee of Congress, who waited on him, that, "in signifying his acceptance of the office to which he had been. chosen by the people, he expressed his deep sense of gratitude to them, for the confidence which they had reposed in him, and requested the committee to convey to their respective houses of Congress, assurances, that, in executing the responsible duties which would devolve upon him, it would be his anxious desire to maintain the honor and promote the welfare of the country."

In person, President Polk is of middle stature, with a full angular brow, and a quick, penetrating eye. The expression of his countenance is grave, but its serious cast is often relieved by a peculiarly pleasant smile, indicative of the amenity of his disposition. The amiable character of his private life, which has ever been upright and pure, secures to him the esteem and friendship of all who have the advantage of his acquaintance. He married a lady of Tennessee, who is a member of the presbyterian church, and well qualified, by her virtues and accomplishments, equally to adorn the circles of private life, or the station to which she has been called. They have no children.

THE INAUGURATION.

On the fourth of March, 1845, James K. Polk was inaugurated as president of the United States. A concourse of people seldom congregated in the city of Washington were present to witness the ceremony. The weather proved unfavorable. The morning was lowering; and before the procession reached the capitol it commenced raining, and continued wet during the day, marring the enjoyments, and defeating the expectations of many, also much of the intended exhibition and display.

The ceremony at the capital was imposing. The occasion was one of those striking displays of our republican system which he must be a stoic indeed that could contemplate with indifference. The flagstaffs of the whigs, as well as those of their triumphant rivals, were decorated, as an acknowledgment that the chief of the nation was there, and must be recog

nised.

The inaugural procession moved about eleven o'clock, A. M., from the quarters of the president elect, at Coleman's hotel, to the capitol, under the

direction of General M'Calla and his aids. In the procession were the military of Washington, officers and soldiers of the revolution, the clergy, president elect and his predecessor, in an open carriage, President Tyler's cabinet, justices of the supreme court, diplomatic corps, members and exmembers of Congress, members of the Baltimore democratic national convention of 1844, officers of the army and navy, &c., democratic associations and clubs of the District of Columbia, and others from a distance, among whom was a detachment of the Empire club of the city of New York, citizens of states and territories, citizens of the District of Columbia, &c.

The senate convened at eleven o'clock, A. M. The oath being administered to Hon. George M. Dallas, vice-president elect, he delivered a brief address to the senators on taking his seat, after which the new senators were qualified. The justices of the supreme court, in gowns, and the diplomatic corps, twenty-nine in number, entered and took their seats; also General Scott and other officers, of the army and navy. About noon, the president elect, Mr. Polk, attended by President Tyler and senator Woodbury, entered the senate-chamber, when a procession was formed to the platform on the east front of the capitol, from which the president delivered his inaugural address. Chief-Justice Taney then administered to the president the oath of office, after which the president, quitting the capitol, drove rapidly, by an indirect route, to the president's house, where he received, during the afternoon, the congratulations of his fellow-citizens. In the evening he and his lady attended the two inauguration balls. which were given in the city.

THE CABINET.

The senate being in session, the president, on the 5th of March, made the following nominations for members of the cabinet, which were confirmed James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, secretary of state; Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, secretary of the treasury; William L. Marcy, of New York, secretary of war; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, secretary of the navy; Cave Johnson, of Tennessee, postmaster-general; John Y. Mason, of Virginia, attorney-general.

POLK'S

ADDRESSES AND MESSAGES.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS.

MARCH 4, 1845.

Fellow-Citizens :

WITHOUT Solicitation on my part, I have been chosen by the free and voluntary suffrages of my countrymen to the most honorable and most responsible office on earth. I am deeply impressed with gratitude for the confidence reposed in me. Honored with this distinguished consideration at an earlier period of life than any of my predecessors, I can not disguise the diffidence with which I am about to enter on the discharge of my official duties.

If the more aged and experienced men who have filled the office of president of the United States, even in the infancy of the republic, distrusted their ability to discharge the duties of that exalted station, what ought not to be the apprehensions of one so much younger and less endowed, now that our domain extends from ocean to ocean, that our people have so greatly increased in numbers, and at a time when so great diversity of opinion prevails in regard to the principles and policy which should characterize the administration of our government? Well may the boldest fear, and the wisest tremble, when incurring responsibilities on which may depend our country's peace and prosperity, and, in some degree, the hopes and happiness of the whole human family.

In assuming responsibilities so vast, I fervently invoke the aid of that Almighty Ruler of the universe, in whose hands are the destinies of nations and of men, to guard this heaven-favored land against the mischiefs which, without his guidance, might arise from an unwise public policy. With a firm reliance upon the wisdom of Omnipotence to sustain and direct me in the path of duty which I am appointed to pursue, I stand in the presence of this assembled multitude of my countrymen, to take upon myself the solemn obligation, " to the best of my ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States."

A concise enumeration of the principles which will guide me in the administrative policy of the government, is not only in accordance with the examples set me by all my predecessors, but is eminently befitting the

occasion.

The constitution itself, plainly written as it is, the safeguard of our federative compact, the offspring of concession and compromise, binding

together in the bonds of peace and union this great and increasing family of free and independent states, will be the chart by which I shall be directed.

It will be my first care to administer the government in the true spirit of that instrument, and to assume no powers not expressly granted or clearly implied in its terms. The government of the United States is one of delegated and limited powers; and it is by a strict adherence to the clearly granted powers, and by abstaining from the exercise of doubtful or unauthorized implied powers, that we have the only sure guarantee against the recurrence of those unfortunate collisions between the federal and state authorities, which have occasionally so much disturbed the harmony of our system, and even threatened the perpetuity of our glorious Union. "To the states, respectively, or to the people," have been reserved “the powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states." Each state is a complete sovereignty within the sphere of its reserved powers. The government of the Union, acting within the sphere of its delegated authority, is also a complete sovereignty. While the general government should abstain from the exercise of authority not clearly delegated to it, the states should be equally careful that, in the maintenance of their rights, they do not overstep the limits of powers reserved to them. One of the most distinguished of my predecessors attached deserved importance to "the support of the state government in all their rights, as the most competent administration for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwark against anti-republican tendencies;" and to the "preservation of the general government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet-anchor of our peace at home, and safety abroad."

To the government of the United States has been intrusted the exclusive management of our foreign affairs. Beyond that, it wields a few general enumerated powers. It does not force reform on the states. It leaves individuals, over whom it casts its protecting influence, entirely free to improve their own condition by the legitimate exercise of all their mental and physical powers. It is a common protector of each and all the states; of every man who lives upon our soil, whether of native or foreign birth; of every religious sect, in their worship of the Almighty according to the dictates of their own conscience; of every shade of opinion, and the most free inquiry; of every art, trade, and occupation, consistent with the laws of the states; and we rejoice in the general happiness, prosperity, and advancement of our country, which have been the offspring of freedom, and not of power.

This most admirable and wisest system of well-regulated self-government among men, ever devised by human minds, has been tested by its successful operation for more than half a century; and, if preserved from the usurpations of the federal government on the one hand, and the exercise by the states of powers not reserved to them on the other, will, I fervently hope and believe, endure for ages to come, and dispense the blessings of civil and religious liberty to distant generations. To effect objects so dear to every patriot, I shall devote myself with anxious solicitude. It will be my desire to guard against that most fruitful source of danger to the harmonious action of our system, which consists in substituting the mere discretion and caprice of the executive, or of majorities in the legislative department of the government, for powers which have been withheld from the federal government by the constitution. By the