an Buren rode together to the Capitol from the White House in
a carriage made of timbers from the U.S.S. Constitution. Chief Justice
Roger Taney administered the oath of office on the East Portico of the
Capitol. For the first and only time, the election for Vice President
had been decided by the Senate, as provided by the Constitution, when
the electoral college could not select a winner. The new Vice President,
Richard M. Johnson, took his oath in the Senate Chamber.]

Fellow-Citizens:

The practice of all my predecessors imposes on me an obligation I
cheerfully fulfill--to accompany the first and solemn act of my public
trust with an avowal of the principles that will guide me in performing
it and an expression of my feelings on assuming a charge so responsible
and vast. In imitating their example I tread in the footsteps of
illustrious men, whose superiors it is our happiness to believe are not
found on the executive calendar of any country. Among them we recognize
the earliest and firmest pillars of the Republic--those by whom our
national independence was first declared, him who above all others
contributed to establish it on the field of battle, and those whose
expanded intellect and patriotism constructed, improved, and perfected
the inestimable institutions under which we live. If such men in the
position I now occupy felt themselves overwhelmed by a sense of
gratitude for this the highest of all marks of their country's
confidence, and by a consciousness of their inability adequately to
discharge the duties of an office so difficult and exalted, how much
more must these considerations affect one who can rely on no such claims
for favor or forbearance! Unlike all who have preceded me, the
Revolution that gave us existence as one people was achieved at the
period of my birth; and whilst I contemplate with grateful reverence
that memorable event, I feel that I belong to a later age and that I may
not expect my countrymen to weigh my actions with the same kind and
partial hand.

So sensibly, fellow-citizens, do these circumstances press themselves
upon me that I should not dare to enter upon my path of duty did I not
look for the generous aid of those who will be associated with me in the
various and coordinate branches of the Government; did I not repose with
unwavering reliance on the patriotism, the intelligence, and the
kindness of a people who never yet deserted a public servant honestly
laboring their