Search Results: Inaugural & State of the Union Addresses from Seth Kaller, Inc.

[ABRAHAM LINCOLN].
Chromolithograph. Presidents of the United States, [Philadelphia]: Published by F. Bouclet, lithographed by A. Feusier. Sheet size: 21 in. x 27 in. Image size: 24½ in. x 18¾ in. A large, patriotic chromolithograph, issued around the time of Abraham Lincoln's first inauguration. The central image is the goddess Columbia wearing a draped American flag, flanked by bald eagle and Union shield. Behind her is a steam ship and the artist's rendition of what the then-uncompleted Capitol building was expected to look like. Surrounding Columbia is an ornate frame made up of portraits of the presidents of the United States from 1789-1861—including a beardless Abraham Lincoln: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William H. Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln.

Historical Background

Erin Mast,… Read More

"As long as our Government is administered for the good of the people, and is regulated by their will; as long as it secures to us the rights of person and of property, liberty of conscience and of the press, it will be worth defending...."

Andrew Jackson's election in 1828 over incumbent John Quincy Adams marked an end to the "Era of Good Feelings," as Jackson's supporters became the Democratic Party, while those who supported Adams became the National Republicans. In March 1829, Jackson became the first president to take the oath of office on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol. His inaugural address promised to respect the rights of states and the constitutional limits on the presidency. ANDREW JACKSON.
Newspaper. Niles' Weekly Register, March 7, 1829. Baltimore, Maryland: Hezekiah Niles & Son. 16 pp. (17-32), 6ÂĽ x 9â…ž in.During Jackson's two terms, he concluded about seventy treaties with Native Americans in the South and Northwest that initiated a policy of Indian removal to… Read More

"If there is one measure better calculated than another to produce that state of things so much deprecated by all true republicans, by which the rich are daily adding to their hoards and the poor sinking deeper into penury, it is an exclusive metallic currency...."

"Always the friend of my countrymen, never their flatterer, it becomes my duty to say to them… that there exists in the land a spirit hostile to their best interests—hostile to liberty itself.... It is union that we want, not of a party for the sake of that party, but a union of the whole country for the sake of the whole country, for the defense of its interests and its honor against foreign aggression, for the defense of those principles for which our ancestors so gloriously contended...." WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
Broadside. ca. March 1841. 1 p., 11â…ť x 19 in.On a cold, wet day, March 4, 1841, President Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history. Harrison wrote the entire speech himself, though it was… Read More

"If there is one measure better calculated than another to produce that state of things so much deprecated by all true republicans, by which the rich are daily adding to their hoards and the poor sinking deeper into penury, it is an exclusive metallic currency...."

On a cold, wet day, March 4, 1841, President Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history. Harrison wrote the entire speech himself, though it was edited by his soon-to-be Secretary of State, Daniel Webster. Webster said afterwards that in the process of editing the text, he had "killed seventeen Roman proconsuls." Contracting pneumonia, Harrison became the first president to die in office 31 days after delivering this address. His vice president John Tyler became the new president and served out Harrison's term.

In an 8,460-word address, printed here on the front page of the National Intelligencer, Harrison presents a detailed statement of the Whig agenda and a repudiation of the populism and policies of… Read More

THOMAS JEFFERSON. [LEWIS AND CLARK].
Newspaper. Connecticut Courant. Hartford, Conn., December 10, 1806. 4 pp, 12½ x 20½ in. After purchasing the Louisiana Territory in 1803, President Jefferson sent his former personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis and Army officer William Clark to explore the huge tract of land. In his December 2, 1806, State of the Union address, Jefferson praised the expedition's success. His address, in full on page 3, includes this important paragraph:

Excerpt:

"The expedition of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, for exploring the river Missouri, and the best communication from that to the Pacific Ocean, has had all the success which could have been expected. They have traced the Missouri nearly to its source, descended the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean....and it is but justice to say that Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, and their brave companions, have, by this arduous service, deserved well of their country."

Meriwether Lewis (1774 - 1809) was best known for leading,… Read More

"Indulging no passions which trespass on the rights or the repose of other nations, 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."

When President Thomas Jefferson followed George Washington's example and declined to seek a third term, he selected James Madison as his successor. Reflecting challenges within his own party, Madison won the Presidency over fellow Democratic-Republican DeWitt Clinton, who was endorsed by some state Federalist parties, by a narrow margin. JAMES MADISON.
Newspaper. The Repertory, March 14, 1809. Boston, Massachusetts: John & Andrew W. Park. 4 pp., 13ÂĽ x 20ÂĽ in.Madison's first administration was dominated by growing conflict with Great Britain over British impressment of American sailors and attacks on American shipping that culminated in the War of 1812. Although a supporter of… Read More

Monroe enters office in a time of peace and prosperity well deserving of its moniker, the Era of Good Feelings. Still, the president outlines a plan for the future in his first message to Congress. [JAMES MONROE].
Newspaper. American Mercury, Hartford, Ct., December 9, 1817, 4 pp., 13 x 19½ in. With the State of the Union Address in full on page 2.
Excerpt

"Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives:

At no period of our political existence had we so much cause to felicitate ourselves at the prosperous and happy condition of our country. The abundant fruits of the earth have filled it with plenty. An extensive and profitable commerce has greatly augmented our revenue. The public credit has attained an extraordinary elevation. Our preparations for defense in case of future wars, from which, by the experience of all nations, we ought not to expect to be exempted, are advancing under a well-digested system with all the dispatch which so important a work will admit. Our free… Read More

"the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers."

The Monroe Doctrine - as it is now known- was largely the creation of Secretary of State John Quincy Adams, and issued not on its own but as part of James Monroe's Annual Message to Congress (now referred to as the State of the Union Address). By declaring that the western hemisphere was no longer subject to European colonization, it marked a defining moment in Monroe's presidency and informed American foreign policy for more than a century.

Monroe's message covered other important topics, among them the international slave trade, the possible construction of a canal to connect the Chesapeake Bay with the Ohio River, and the Greek War of Independence. In addition, this newspaper prints the editor's brief reaction to the president's "luminous message" (p2/c4); notice of Henry Clay's election… Read More

"The States are emphatically the constituents of this Government...." JOHN TYLER.
Broadside. State of the Union Message. National Intelligencer—Extra, June 1, 1841. Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton. 1 p., 18 x 23 in.William Henry Harrison took office in 1841 while the nation was still suffering from a depression sparked by the Panic of 1837, causing many banks to fail and unemployment to reach then-record levels. Though Harrison took ill almost immediately after giving his lengthy March 4 inaugural address, on March 17 he summoned Congress into a special session that would convene on May 31, 1841. On April 4, Harrison became the first President to die in office. John Tyler delivered his own inaugural address on April 9, but opponents in Congress, including John Quincy Adams, refused to accept Tyler's claim to be president and considered him instead the "acting president," arguing that he had to follow Harrison's policies.

When Congress convenes, it appoints a joint committee "to wait on… Read More

Apparently unrecorded, this broadside extra prints President Monroe's last annual message to Congress, delivered on December 7, 1824. Covers relations with Great Britain, the slave trade, Indian relations, the comprehensive survey of possible road and canal sites in the interior, and an elaboration on the Monroe Doctrine, providing the rationale for exhorting European states not to interfere with the evolution of the newly independent Latin American states. "Separated as we are, from Europe by the great Atlantic Ocean, we can have no concern in the wars of the European governments, nor in the causes which produce them. The balance of power between them, into whichever scale it may turn, in its various vibrations, cannot affect us. It is the interest of the United States to preserve the most friendly relations with every power, and on conditions fair, equal, and applicable to all. But in regard to our neighbours, our situation is different. It is impossible for the European governments to… Read More

On a cold, wet day, March 4, 1841, President Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history. Harrison wrote the entire speech himself, though it was edited by his soon-to-be Secretary of State, Daniel Webster. Webster said afterwards that in the process of editing the text, he had "killed seventeen Roman proconsuls." Contracting pneumonia, Harrison became the first president to die in office 31 days after delivering this address. His vice president John Tyler became the new president and served out Harrison's term.

In an 8,460-word address, Harrison presents a detailed statement of the Whig agenda and a repudiation of the populism and policies of Democratic Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. Harrison promises to reestablish the Bank of the United States, to issue paper currency, to use his veto power sparingly, and to appoint qualified officers of government in contrast to the spoils system that Jackson heralded. He favors term limits, limits on the powers of… Read More

"If there is one measure better calculated than another to produce that state of things so much deprecated by all true republicans, by which the rich are daily adding to their hoards and the poor sinking deeper into penury, it is an exclusive metallic currency...."

"Always the friend of my countrymen, never their flatterer, it becomes my duty to say to them … that there exists in the land a spirit hostile to their best interests--hostile to liberty itself.... It is union that we want, not of a party for the sake of that party, but a union of the whole country for the sake of the whole country, for the defense of its interests and its honor against foreign aggression, for the defense of those principles for which our ancestors so gloriously contended...."

On a cold, wet day, March 4, 1841, President Harrison delivered the longest inaugural address in history. Contracting pneumonia, 31 days later he was the first president to die in office. This same-day National Intelligencer broadside… Read More