Essay: Farewell Address

Overview
Andrew Jackson’s 1837 Farewell Address is a valedictory statement of principles and cautions from a president who cast himself as a guardian of popular sovereignty and constitutional restraint. He reviews what he takes to be the achievements of his administration, chiefly the preservation of the Union, the reduction of public debt, and the defeat of privileged financial power, while warning against threats he believes could corrupt republican government: sectionalism, public indebtedness, corporate monopolies, and an overextended federal state. The tone blends gratitude with admonition, appealing directly to the people to remain vigilant stewards of their liberty.

Union and the Constitution
Jackson treats the Union as the indispensable safeguard of American freedom and prosperity. He condemns doctrines that would authorize states to nullify federal law or flirt with secession, arguing that the Constitution provides orderly means, elections and amendments, for correcting abuses. Fidelity to that compact, he insists, secures minority rights without surrendering the principle of majority rule. Those who incite disunion, he cautions, promise liberty while preparing a despotism born of faction and force.

Public Finance and the “Monied Power”
A central theme is fiscal morality. Jackson praises frugality, low taxation, and the near-eradication of the national debt, portraying public indebtedness as a temptation to extravagance and a channel for elite manipulation. He denounces the Second Bank of the United States and the wider system of paper credit as a “monied power” capable of dominating elections, press, and policy. Government, he argues, must be disentangled from banks, keep its own funds, and rely on a sound metallic currency to prevent booms, panics, and favoritism. He warns against federal assumption of state debts and schemes that distribute surplus revenue in ways that bind states to Washington’s purse.

Limited Government and Economic Policy
Jackson reaffirms a narrow construction of federal power. Federal expenditures should be confined to clearly national purposes; local or sectional “internal improvements” and selective privileges to corporations or industries injure equality and foster corruption. He accepts tariffs for revenue but opposes using them as permanent protection for favored interests. The republic, he contends, flourishes when enterprise is left free, laws are impartial, and officeholders resist the seductions of patronage and influence.

Native American Policy
Addressing one of the most controversial features of his tenure, Jackson defends Indian removal as a policy meant to relieve pressure between state authority and tribal communities and to promote what he calls the security and civilization of Native peoples. He portrays removal as humane and voluntary under treaties, advancing the spread of settlement and state sovereignty. The defense is couched as a reconciliation of rights and progress within constitutional bounds.

Foreign Relations and Defense
Jackson advocates peace with all and entangling alliances with none. He urges a posture of firmness and independence abroad, expanding commerce under equal and fair conditions while avoiding commitments that would embroil the nation in European rivalries. National honor, he argues, rests on preparedness for defense, prudence in diplomacy, and freedom from financial dependence.

Civic Virtue and Parting Appeal
The address closes with gratitude to the citizenry and a plea for civic virtue. Liberty, Jackson maintains, depends less on schemes of policy than on the steadfast character of the people: their attachment to the Constitution, jealousy of special privilege, and willingness to sustain a government both strong enough to protect rights and restrained enough to avoid oppression. He departs claiming to leave the public trust purer and the principles of democracy more secure, entrusting the future to popular judgment and constitutional fidelity.