President Thomas Jefferson closed out his final address to congress with words of gratitude towards both Houses of Legislature and to his fellow citizens. To Congress, he thanked them for their repeated demonstration of confidence in him and in his administration. To the people of America, he thanked them for support and encouragement under all of his embarrassments. Those were his words, 'embarrassments'. But he did not mean embarrassments, like Kennedy's Bay of Pigs, Reagan's Iran-contra Affair or Clinton's Lewinsky scandal. Nor was he referring to his own failed embargo act. One might think that he was, especially since Jefferson followed with a line about making mistakes. "In the transaction of their business I can not have escaped error." Yes, Jefferson admitted making mistakes, but the embarrassments were not his misled actions, they were the harmful actions of others. You see, in 1808, the word "embarrassment" did not mean a feeling of shame or humiliation. Rather, it meant an "obstruction", a harmful deed done by someone or some country against another to stop them from meeting their goals. These embarrassments that Jefferson was speaking of were the edicts of France and Great Britain condemning American trade, the tributes demanded by Barbary pirates, the activities of Aaron Burr, the West Florida Controversy, the French monopoly on Tobacco trade, and others. These were the embarrassments or "obstacles" that were in the way of Jefferson's dream of eliminating the revolutionary war debts and making America strong. Here is his full statement from his last annual address to Congress. He wanted to thank the citizens of America for continuing to encourage him to fight against these embarrassments.
"Availing myself of this the last occasion which will occur of addressing the two Houses of the Legislature at their meeting, I can not omit the expression of my sincere gratitude for the repeated proofs of confidence manifested to me by themselves and their predecessors since my call to the administration and the many indulgences experienced at their hands. These same grateful acknowledgements are due to my fellow citizens generally, whose support has been my great encouragement under all embarrassments. In the transaction of their business I can not have escaped error. It is incident to our imperfect nature. But I may say with truth my errors have been of the understanding, not of intention, and that the advancement of their rights and interests has been the constant motive for every measure."One of the reason's I started this blog was to put quotes into the proper context. So often, the words of our president's are taken out of context and not properly understood. Such is the case with the word "embarrassment". To understand the word, we need to look at other cases of where the word was used at the turn of the 18th century. Here are a few examples:
"This would be still more the case were it not for the impediments which in some places continue to embarrass the collection of the duties on spirits distilled within the United States." George Washington 1792 (Whiskey Rebellion)
"Any serious and permanent injury to commerce would not fail to produce the most embarrassing disorders. To prevent it from being undermined and destroyed it is essential that it receive an adequate protection." John Adams 1797 (Seacoast Defense)
"to guard against the fraudulent usurpation of our flag, an abuse which brings so much embarrassment and loss on the genuine citizen" Thomas Jefferson 1801 (repealing the Naturalization act)
"our citizens, managing their own affairs in their own way and for their own use, unembarrassed by too much regulation, unoppressed by fiscal exactions." Thomas Jefferson 1802 (limited government)In none of these cases, did the word "embarrassment" mean to do something that makes you look foolish, as it did in 2014 when President Obama spoke these words:
"Today, women make up about half our workforce, but they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it's an embarrassment." Barrack Obama 2014 (Equal pay for women)
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29450
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/index.php
http://headsup.boyslife.org/files/2015/02/33603_h.jpg (Mt. Rushmore picture)
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