“I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men... in receiving from the people the sacred trust confided to my illustrious predecessor.”
More from Martin Van Buren
“If laws acting upon private interests can not always be avoided, they should be confined…”
“There is a power in public opinion in this country - and I thank God for it: for it is the…”
“New and inexhaustible sources of general prosperity have been opened; the effects of…”
“The President under our system, like the king in a monarchy, never dies.”