It is our glory that whilst other nations have extended their dominions by the sword we have never acquired any territory except by fair purchase or, as in the case of Texas, by the voluntary determination of a brave, kindred, and independent people to blend their destinies with our own.  Even our acquisitions from Mexico form no exception.  Unwilling to take advantage of the fortune of war against a sister republic, we purchased these possessions under the treaty of peace for a sum which was considered at the time a fair equivalent.  Our past history forbids that we shall in the future acquire territory unless this be sanctioned by the laws of justice and honor.  Acting on this principle, no nation will have a right to interfere or to complain if in the progress of events we shall still further extend our possessions.  Hitherto in all our acquisitions the people, under the protection of the American flag, have enjoyed civil and religious liberty, as well as equal and just laws, and have been contented, prosperous, and happy.  Their trade with the rest of the world has rapidly increased, and thus every commercial nation has shared largely in their successful progress.

I shall now proceed to take the oath prescribed by the Constitution, whilst humbly invoking the blessing of Divine Providence on this great people.

March 4, 1857.

FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.

Washington, December 8, 1857.

Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and House of Representatives: 

In obedience to the command of the Constitution, it has now become my duty “to give to Congress information of the state of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures” as I judge to be “necessary and expedient.”

But first and above all, our thanks are due to Almighty God for the numerous benefits which He has bestowed upon this people, and our united prayers ought to ascend to Him that He would continue to bless our great Republic in time to come as He has blessed it in time past.  Since the adjournment of the last Congress our constituents have enjoyed an unusual degree of health.  The earth has yielded her fruits abundantly and has bountifully rewarded the toil of the husbandman.  Our great staples have commanded high prices, and up till within a brief period our manufacturing, mineral, and mechanical occupations have largely partaken of the general prosperity.  We have possessed all the elements of material wealth in rich abundance, and yet, notwithstanding all these advantages, our country in its monetary interests is at the present moment in a deplorable condition.  In the midst of unsurpassed plenty in all the productions of agriculture and in all the elements of national wealth, we find our manufactures suspended, our public works retarded, our private enterprises of different kinds abandoned, and thousands of useful laborers thrown out of employment and reduced to want.  The revenue of the Government, which is chiefly derived from duties on imports from abroad, has been greatly reduced, whilst the appropriations made by Congress at its last session for the current fiscal year are very large in amount.