s of the Revolution;
the regular armed force has been reduced, and its constitution revised and
perfected; the accountability for the expenditures of public monies has
been 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 defence of the country, by fortifications and the increase of
the navy--towards 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 obligation. To the topic of internal improvement,
emphatically urged by him at his inauguration, I recur with peculiar
satisfaction. It is that from which I am convinced that the unborn
millions of our posterity, who are in future ages to people this
continent, will derive their most fervent gratitude to the founders of the
Union--that in which the beneficent action of its Government will be most
deeply felt and acknowledged. The magnificence and splendor of their
public works are among the imperishable glories of the ancient republics.
The roads and aqueducts of Rome have been the admiration of all after
ages, and have survived thousands of years after all her conquests have
been swallowed up in despotism, or become the spoil of barbarians. Some
diversity of opinion has prevailed with regard to the powers of Congress
for legislation upon objects of this nature. The most respectful deference
is due to doubts, originating in pure patriotism, and sustained by
venerated authority. But nearly twenty years have passed since the
construction of the first national road was commenced. The authority for
its construction was then unquestioned. To how many thousands of our
countrymen has it proved a benefit? To what single individual has it ever