1841年 约翰·泰勒总统 就职演讲
1841年4月4日，约翰·泰勒在华盛顿特区正式就任美国第10任总统，4月9日，他向全国人民发表就职演讲。
约翰·泰勒出身美国辉格党，来自美国南方，他原是美国副总统，哈里森总统病逝后接替其成为总统，因此他是第一位因现任总统死亡而继任的美国总统。
泰勒总统的任期，对内方面，他改革了美国海军，组建了美国气象局；他维护南方种植园主的利益，极力阻止北方资产阶级重建国家银行；1843年，美国的经济危机基本自然结束；他鼓励西进运动，但是其明显的南方立场使得他的名望在北方极其糟糕；他任期内，美国“昭昭天命”的思想迅速发展，越来越多的美国人认为将美国的领土从大西洋延伸到太平洋是美国人的天命，因而吞并德克萨斯和入侵墨西哥的呼声也越来越高。
对外方面，泰勒总统动用军队击败了多个印第安部落；由于德克萨斯问题，美国和墨西哥的关系日益紧张；但是他成功缓解了美国和加拿大的边界争端；在东方，美国同清政府签署了《望厦条约》，这是中国和美国之间签署的第一个不平等条约。
1845年3月4日，约翰·泰勒卸任美国总统一职，他继续活跃于美国政坛。
19世纪40、50年代，美国南北矛盾呈现出不可调和的趋势，泰勒始终坚持其维护南方种植园主的立场，并鼓励南方各州脱离联邦独立建国，美国南北战争爆发后，他作为议员加入南方各州所谓“美利坚联盟国”的国会。
1862年1月18日，约翰·泰勒死于因感冒引起的中风，享年71岁。
It was hard graft all the way and a good result in the end. —— John Tyler
前进的道路总是曲折艰辛，但终会取得好的结果。—— 约翰·泰勒
FELLOW-CITIZENS:
同胞们：
Before my arrival at the seat of Government the painful communication was made to you by the officers presiding over the several Departments of the deeply regretted death of William Henry Harrison, late President of the United States. Upon him you had conferred your suffrages for the first office in your gift, and had selected him as your chosen instrument to correct and reform all such errors and abuses as had manifested themselves from time to time in the practical operation of the Government. While standing at the threshold of this great work he has by the dispensation of an all-wise Providence been removed from amongst us, and by the provisions of the Constitution the efforts to be directed to the accomplishing of this vitally important task have devolved upon myself. This same occurrence has subjected the wisdom and sufficiency of our institutions to a new test. For the first time in our history the person elected to the Vice-Presidency of the United States, by the happening of a contingency provided for in the Constitution, has had devolved upon him the Presidential office. The spirit of faction, which is directly opposed to the spirit of a lofty patriotism, may find in this occasion for assaults upon my Administration; and in succeeding, under circumstances so sudden and unexpected and to responsibilities so greatly augmented, to the administration of public affairs I shall place in the intelligence and patriotism of the people my only sure reliance. My earnest prayer shall be constantly addressed to the all-wise and all-powerful Being who made me, and by whose dispensation I am called to the high office of President of this Confederacy, understandingly to carry out the principles of that Constitution which I have sworn "to protect, preserve, and defend."
在就任我在政府中的职位之前，我代表政府各部门，悲痛地告知你们，美国前总统威廉·亨利·哈里森已经不幸逝世。同胞们投票授予他担任最高职务的资格，选择由他来纠正并改革政府实践操作中时不时出现的错误与不妥之处。在他刚踏入这项伟大职务的大门时，全知的上帝将他带离了人间，而根据宪法规定，他所承担的艰巨重任如今落到了我的肩上。此事也给我国制度的优越性和完善度带来了新的考验。这是我国历史上首次出现宪法规定中，因意外事件而让人民选举的副总统接替总统职务的事例。与伟大爱国主义思想直接相左的党派思想，可能会趁机对我的政府进行攻击；意外事发过于突然，我肩上的责任也陡然剧增，因此我应当以人民的智慧和爱国作为我治国理政的唯一坚实依靠。我虔诚地向无所不知、无所不能的造物主祈祷，造物主创造了我，召唤我担任联邦总统这一崇高的职务，以使我实践我的誓言，“拥护，支持，捍卫”宪法原则。
The usual opportunity which is afforded to a Chief Magistrate upon his induction to office of presenting to his countrymen an exposition of the policy which would guide his Administration, in the form of an inaugural address, not having, under the peculiar circumstances which have brought me to the discharge of the high duties of President of the United States, been afforded to me, a brief exposition of the principles which will govern me in the general course of my administration of public affairs would seem to be due as well to myself as to you.
我国最高行政官在就任时通常会以就职演说的形式，借以向同胞们阐述自己治理国家的政策，由于本人就职美国总统这一高职的情况较为特殊，因而尚未能向大家阐述自己政府管理公共事务的原则大纲，我现在简要地告知各位我将采取的原则。
In regard to foreign nations, the groundwork of my policy will be justice on our part to all, submitting to injustice from none. While I shall sedulously cultivate the relations of peace and amity with one and all, it will be my most imperative duty to see that the honor of the country shall sustain no blemish. With a view to this, the condition of our military defenses will become a matter of anxious solicitude. The Army, which has in other days covered itself with renown, and the Navy, not inappropriately termed the right arm of the public defense, which has spread a light of glory over the American standard in all the waters of the earth, should be rendered replete with efficiency.
关于对外事务，我的政策基础是以平等的态度对待所有国家，不损害任何国家的权利。虽然我会致力同所有国家保持和平友好的关系，但是捍卫我国荣誉不受侵害才是我的首要责任。因此我国的军事国防问题引人关注。美国陆军此前享誉盛名，而美国海军被称之为国防的左膀右臂也丝毫不过，海军曾将美国军旗的光辉荣耀洒满全球每一个水域，我国军队能征善战。
In view of the fact, well avouched by history, that the tendency of all human institutions is to concentrate power in the hands of a single man, and that their ultimate downfall has proceeded from this cause, I deem it of the most essential importance that a complete separation should take place between the sword and the purse. No matter where or how the public moneys shall be deposited, so long as the President can exert the power of appointing and removing at his pleasure the agents selected for their custody the Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy is in fact the treasurer. A permanent and radical change should therefore be decreed. The patronage incident to the Presidential office, already great, is constantly increasing.
历史已经证明了，任何人类制度都倾向于将权力集中在一人之中，而正是因此导致了他们的最终覆灭，鉴于此经验，我认为将利剑和钱袋分开保管极具必要。无论国家资金以何种方式存放在何处，只要总统依然有权力随意任免国库负责人，那么陆海军总司令(译者注：美国总统是名义上的美国陆海军总司令)就成为了实际的国库掌握者。因此，应当采取永久性的根本改革。总统一职的实惠已经过大，且还在不断增加。
Such increase is destined to keep pace with the growth of our population, until, without a figure of speech, an army of officeholders may be spread over the land. The unrestrained power exerted by a selfishly ambitious man in order either to perpetuate his authority or to hand it over to some favorite as his successor may lead to the employment of all the means within his control to accomplish his object. The right to remove from office, while subjected to no just restraint, is inevitably destined to produce a spirit of crouching servility with the official corps, which, in order to uphold the hand which feeds them, would lead to direct and active interference in the elections, both State and Federal, thereby subjecting the course of State legislation to the dictation of the chief executive officer and making the will of that officer absolute and supreme. I will at a proper time invoke the action of Congress upon this subject, and shall readily acquiesce in the adoption of all proper measures which are calculated to arrest these evils, so full of danger in their tendency. I will remove no incumbent from office who has faithfully and honestly acquitted himself of the duties of his office, except in such cases where such officer has been guilty of an active partisanship or by secret means--the less manly, and therefore the more objectionable has given his official influence to the purposes of party, thereby bringing the patronage of the Government in conflict with the freedom of elections. Numerous removals may become necessary under this rule. These will be made by me through no acerbity of feeling--I have had no cause to cherish or indulge unkind feelings toward any--but my conduct will be regulated by a profound sense of what is due to the country and its institutions; nor shall I neglect to apply the same unbending rule to those of my own appointment. Freedom of opinion will be tolerated, the full enjoyment of the right of suffrage will be maintained as the birthright of every American citizen; but I say emphatically to the official corps, "Thus far and no farther." I have dwelt the longer upon this subject because removals from office are likely often to arise, and I would have my countrymen to understand the principle of the Executive action.
总统的权力注定会和我国人口同步增长，我毫不夸张地说，一支由政客控制的军队很能不久就会控制全国。权力不受控制，就会被有私心的野心家利用，他可能会施行权力终身制，亦或钦定自己偏爱的傀儡接替自己的职位，进而使用一切手段达成自己的目的。总统的罢免权并没有得到有效的制约，这势必会导致人民产生对官僚全体卑躬屈膝的想法，最终控制人民这张将他们托到高处的手，然后积极地干涉各州和联邦选举，使得国家在立法过程中只能完全服从总统的命令，进而造成总统专制，总统的意志至高无上。我会在时机恰当时召开国会商议这一问题，并采取一切合法措施遏制这种邪恶的趋势。我不会罢免任何忠实履职，诚信工作的现任官员，除非该官员有私心偏袒、秘密勾结——这些缺乏男子汉气概的行为，还有更令人无法接受的便是，他利用公职权力为自己的党派谋私，使得政府与自由选举站在了对立面。据此原则，可能会有许多官员遭到罢免。这些罢免的决定将由我公平公正地做出——我从不希望，也不会随意待人不友善——但是我的行为必须符合国家和制度的规范；同样，我在任命新官员时同样会恪守这一原则。思想自由会得到尊重，选举权将作为每个美国公民与生俱来所充分享有的权利，我们坚决捍卫这一权利；但是我也会对官员团体强调：“仅此而已，适可而止。”因为我预计我会经常罢免官员，所以我谈及该问题花了较多时间，我希望同胞们能够理解我的行政准则。
In all public expenditures the most rigid economy should be resorted to, and, as one of its results, a public debt in time of peace be sedulously avoided. A wise and patriotic constituency will never object to the imposition of necessary burdens for useful ends, and true wisdom dictates the resort to such means in order to supply deficiencies in the revenue, rather than to those doubtful expedients which, ultimating in a public debt, serve to embarrass the resources of the country and to lessen its ability to meet any great emergency which may arise. All sinecures should be abolished. The appropriations should be direct and explicit, so as to leave as limited a share of discretion to the disbursing agents as may be found compatible with the public service. A strict responsibility on the part of all the agents of the Government should be maintained and peculation or defalcation visited with immediate expulsion from office and the most condign punishment.
在处理财政支出时，应当尽最大可能坚持勤俭节约，这带给我们的好处之一便是和平时期不必再偿还债务。一位聪明而爱国的选民绝对不会反感为必要目标而征收的税款，真正有智慧的人会采取这种方法弥补收入不足，而不是采用发行国债，这种导致国家的资源储备陷入困境，应对紧急情况的能力遭到削弱这种难以预测的救急之法。所有吃空饷的闲职都应废除。政府拨款应确保直接精准到账，拨款交于分配者代理保管时，要尽可能限制代管者的权力，这样才符合政府部门的要求。所有代管人都应认真负责，一旦查有任何私吞、挪用公款的行为，将立刻开除公职，并给予相应的适当惩罚。
The public interest also demands that if any war has existed between the Government and the currency it shall cease. Measures of a financial character now having the sanction of legal enactment shall be faithfully enforced until repealed by the legislative authority. But I owe it to myself to declare that I regard existing enactments as unwise and impolitic and in a high degree oppressive. I shall promptly give my sanction to any constitutional measure which, originating in Congress, shall have for its object the restoration of a sound circulating medium, so essentially necessary to give confidence in all the transactions of life, to secure to industry its just and adequate rewards, and to reestablish the public prosperity. In deciding upon the adaptation of any such measure to the end proposed, as well as its conformity to the Constitution, I shall resort to the fathers of the great republican school for advice and instruction, to be drawn from their sage views of our system of government and the light of their ever-glorious example.
在政府与通货发生冲突时，为维护公众利益，应予以立即制止。先下法案已通过的财政措施应得到充分执行，直到其被议会废除为止。但是我应当声明，我认为我们现行的法律既不明智也不符合我国政治制度，在很大程度上甚至可以说是压迫。我会即刻批准国会提出的一些合宪措施，以恢复正常的经济循环模式，如要重建人民对生活交易的信心，保障各行各业能够充分得到其应有收入，恢复国家繁荣之景，这一措施必不可少。在采取相关措施时，应当考虑其是否可达成我们的目标，是否符合宪法，就这一点我将以我们伟大共和派的先辈们为参考指导，以他们智慧的视角看待政府制度，追随他们立下的光辉榜样。
The institutions under which we live, my countrymen, secure each person in the perfect enjoyment of all his rights. The spectacle is exhibited to the world of a government deriving its powers from the consent of the governed and having imparted to it only so much power as is necessary for its successful operation. Those who are charged with its administration should carefully abstain from all attempts to enlarge the range of powers thus granted to the several departments of the Government other than by an appeal to the people for additional grants, lest by so doing they disturb that balance which the patriots and statesmen who framed the Constitution designed to establish between the Federal Government and the States composing the Union. The observance of these rules is enjoined upon us by that feeling of reverence and affection which finds a place in the heart of every patriot for the preservation of union and the blessings of union--for the good of our children and our children's children through countless generations. An opposite course could not fail to generate factions intent upon the gratification of their selfish ends, to give birth to local and sectional jealousies, and to ultimate either in breaking asunder the bonds of union or in building up a central system which would inevitably end in a bloody scepter and an iron crown.
同胞们，在我们生活的制度下，所有人都可以享有自己的所有权利。一个政府从被统治者手中仅获取足以维持其正常运转所需的有限权力，这堪称是展现在世人面前的奇景。政府管理人员应杜绝任何有可能侵犯其他部门下辖领域的行为，除非得到了人民授权，否则就破坏了爱国制宪者们的用意，即使联邦政府和联邦各州平权。我们应当怀疑崇敬和爱戴的心情遵守这些规定，如果这种心情根植于每一位爱国者心中，联邦及其利益便可以得到保障——我们子孙后代的利益也能有所保障。如反其道而行之，很难不会出现各派系为一己私利而相互敌视对抗，联邦要么瓦解，要么被一个中央集权政府取而代之，最终不可避免地走向残暴君主和血腥王冠统治的结局。
In conclusion I beg you to be assured that I shall exert myself to carry the foregoing principles into practice during my administration of the Government, and, confiding in the protecting care of an everwatchful and overruling Providence, it shall be my first and highest duty to preserve unimpaired the free institutions under which we live and transmit them to those who shall succeed me in their full force and vigor.
最后，我希望大家相信我会在治国理政时会不遗余力地执行上述原则，我相信注视万物、统治一切的上帝会护佑我国，我会将保护我们生活的自由制度不受侵害，并确保这一制度被交给同样倾尽全力，充满活力的后继者，作为我的首要使命。
声明：本人仅按照原文翻译内容，演讲内容不代表本人观点。此专栏仅供历史和英语交流学习使用，任何读者皆可引用本人的译本。
希望来学习英语的观众明白：我觉得这些专栏的主要精华在于英语原文，而并非我的译本，我的译本很大程度上只是供来学习历史的观众使用的。本人的英语水平一般，翻译得并不会多么精彩，只能在你看不懂时来帮助你了解这些演讲内容最基本的意思，而且翻译时难免会出现差错，切勿直接完全以我的译本为标准。如发现有翻译错误或者歧义内容，欢迎指正。
希望来学习历史的观众明白：任何历史人物都有一定的局限性，随着时代发展，很多观点看法可能已经不再适用今天的世界，西方的观点也不一定适用于我们。通过了解这些演讲，仅可给我们提供一个更全面了解过去和世界的渠道。我们可以从优秀的历史、当代人物身上学到很多，但是请保持独立思考，理性看待演讲内容，切勿全信或将其奉为真理。
