et us invoke a continuance of the same
protecting care which has led us from small beginnings to the eminence
we this day occupy, and let us seek to deserve that continuance by
prudence and moderation in our councils, by well-directed attempts to
assuage the bitterness which too often marks unavoidable differences of
opinion, by the promulgation and practice of just and liberal
principles, and by an enlarged patriotism, which shall acknowledge no
limits but those of our own widespread Republic.

* * * * *

FRANKLIN PIERCE, INAUGURAL ADDRESS

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 1853

[Transcriber's note: On religious grounds, former Senator and Congressman
Franklin Pierce chose "to affirm" rather than "to swear" the executive
oath of office. He was the only President to use the choice offered by
the Constitution. Famed as an officer of a volunteer brigade in the
Mexican War, he was nominated as the Democratic candidate in the
national convention on the 49th ballot. His name had not been placed in
nomination until the 35th polling of the delegates. Chief Justice Roger
Taney administered the oath of office on the East Portico of the
Capitol. Several weeks before arriving in Washington, the Pierces' only
surviving child had been killed in a train accident.]

My Countrymen:

It is a relief to feel that no heart but my own can know the personal
regret and bitter sorrow over which I have been borne to a position so
suitable for others rather than desirable for myself.

The circumstances under which I have been called for a limited period to
preside over the destinies of the Republic fill me with a profound sense
of responsibility, but with nothing like shrinking apprehension. I
repair to the post assigned me not as to one sought, but in obedience to
the unsolicited expression of your will, answerable only for a fearless,
faithful, and diligent exercise of my best powers. I ought to be, and
am, truly grateful for the rare manifestation of the nation's
confidence; but this, so far from lightening my obligations, only adds
to their weight. You have summoned me in my weakness; you must sustain
me by your strength. When looking for the fulfillment of reasonable
requirements, you will not be unmindful of the great changes which have
occurred, even within the last quarter of a century, and the consequent
augmentation and complexity of duties imposed in the administration both
of your home and foreign affairs.

Whether the ele