FELLOW-CITIZENS OF THE
SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
BY the hands of the
Secretary of the Commonwealth I have received a certificate, that by
concurrent votes of the two branches of the Legislature,
namely, by the Senate on the 22d day of January, and the House of Representatives
on the 24th day of April, in conformity to the provisions of the
Constitution and Laws of the United States, I was duly elected a
Senator to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the
Senate of the United States for the term of six years,
commencing on the 4th day of March, 1851.
If I were to follow
the customary course, I should receive this in silence. But the protracted and
unprecedented contest which ended in my election, the interest it awakened, the
importance universally conceded to it, the ardor of opposition and
the constancy of support which it aroused, also the principles which
more than ever among us it brought into discussion, seem to justify, what my
own feelings irresistibly prompt, a departure from this rule. If, beyond these
considerations, any apology is needed for thus directly addressing the
Legislature, I may find it in the example of an illustrious
predecessor, whose clear and venerable name will be a sufficient authority.
The trust conferred
on me is one of the most weighty which a citizen can receive. It
concerns the grandest interests of our own Commonwealth, and
also of the Union in which we are an indissoluble link. Like every
post of eminent duty, it is a post of eminent honor. A personal
ambition, such as I cannot confess, might be satisfied to possess it. But when
I think what it requires, I am obliged to say that its honors are all eclipsed
by its duties.
Your appointment
finds me in a private station, with which I am entirely content. For the first
time in my life I am called to political office. With none of the
experience possessed by others to smooth the way of labor, I might
well hesitate. But I am cheered by the generous confidence which throughout a
lengthened contest persevered in sustaining me, and by the conviction, that,
amidst all seeming differences of party, the sentiments of which
I am the known advocate, and which led to my original selection as candidate,
are dear to the hearts of the people throughout this Commonwealth. I
derive, also, a most grateful consciousness of personal independence
from the circumstance, which I deem it frank and proper thus publicly to
declare and place on record, that this office comes to me unsought and
undesired.
Acknowledging the
right of my country to the service of her sons wherever she
chooses to place them, and with a heart full of gratitude that a
sacred cause is permitted to triumph through me, I now accept the post of Senator.
I accept it as the
servant of Massachusetts, mindful of the sentiments
solemnly uttered by her successive Legislatures, of the genius which
inspires her history, and of the men, her perpetual pride and
ornament, who breathed into her that breath of Liberty which early
made her an example to her sister States. In such a service, the way, though
new to my footsteps, is illumined by lights which cannot be missed.
I accept it as the
servant of the Union, bound to study and maintain the interests of all
parts of our country with equal patriotic care, to discountenance every
effort to loosen any of those ties by which our fellowship of States
is held in fraternal company, and to oppose all sectionalism, in whatsoever
form, whether in unconstitutional efforts by the North to carry so great a boon
as Freedom into the Slave States, in unconstitutional efforts by the South,
aided by Northern allies, to carry the sectional evil of Slavery into
the Free States, or in any efforts whatsoever to extend the sectional
domination of Slavery over the National Government. With me the Union
is twice blessed: first, as powerful guardian of the repose and
happiness of thirty-one States, clasped by the endearing name of country;
and next, as model and beginning of that all-embracing
Federation of States, by which unity, peace, and concord will finally
be organized among the Nations. Nor do I believe it possible, whatever the
delusion of the hour, that any part can be permanently lost from its
well-compacted bulk. E Pluribus Unum is stamped upon the national coin, the
national territory, and the national heart. Though composed of many
parts united into one, the Union is separable only by a crash which shall
destroy the whole.
Entering now upon
the public service, I venture to bespeak for what I do or say that candid
judgment which I trust always to have for others, but which I am well aware the
prejudices of party too rarely concede. I may fail in ability, but
not in sincere effort, to promote the general weal. In the conflict of opinion,
natural to the atmosphere of liberal institutions, I may err; but I
trust never to forget the prudence which should temper firmness, or the modesty
which becomes the consciousness of right. If I decline to recognize
as my guides the leading men of to-day, I shall feel safe while I
follow the master principles which the Union was established to secure, leaning
for support on the great Triumvirate of American Freedom, Washington,
Franklin, and Jefferson. And since true politics are simply morals applied to
public affairs, I shall find constant assistance from those everlasting
rules of right and wrong which are a law alike to individuals and
communities.
Let me borrow, in
conclusion, the language of another: "I see my duty, that of standing
up for the liberties of my country; and whatever difficulties and
discouragements lie in my way, I dare not shrink from it; and I rely on that
Being who has not left to us the choice of duties, that, whilst I
conscientiously discharge mine, I shall not finally lose my reward." These
are words attributed to Washington, in the early darkness of the
American Revolution. The rule of duty is the same for the lowly and
the great; and I hope it may not seem presumptuous in one so humble as myself
to adopt his determination, and to avow his confidence.
I have the honor to
be, fellow-citizens,
SOURCE: The Works of Charles Sumner, Volume 2,
437-40
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