On receiving from the people the sacred trust twice confided on my illustrious predecessor, and which he has discharged so faithfully and so well, I know that I can not expect to perform the arduous task with equal ability and success.

I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men... in receiving from the people the sacred trust confided to my illustrious predecessor.

When Landon Carter, a Virginia plantation owner, read the Declaration of Independence two days after it was issued, he wondered whether its ringing affirmation of equality meant that slaves must be freed. If so, he confided to his diary, 'You must send them out of the country, or they must steal for their support.'

I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men... in receiving from the people the sacred trust confided to my illustrious predecessor.

On receiving from the people the sacred trust twice confided on my illustrious predecessor and which he has discharged so faithfully and so well I know that I can not expect to perform the arduous task with equal ability and success.