right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the
work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who
shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphans; to do
all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace among
ourselves and with all nations.
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY.
ACCOMPANYING THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE, DECEMBER 8, 1863.
WHEREAS, in and by the Constitution of the United States, it is provided
that the President "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for
offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment;" and
whereas a rebellion now exists whereby the loyal State governments of
several States have for a long time been subverted, and many persons
have committed and are now guilty of treason against the United States;
and whereas, with reference to said rebellion and treason, laws have
been enacted by Congress declaring forfeitures and confiscation of
property and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and conditions therein
stated; and also declaring that the President was thereby authorized at
any time thereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have
participated in the existing rebellion, in any State or part thereof,
pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at such times and on such
conditions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare; and whereas
the congressional declaration for limited and conditional pardon accords
with well established judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and
whereas, with reference to said rebellion, the President of the United
States has issued several proclamations with provisions in regard to the
liberation of slaves; and whereas it is now desired by some persons
heretofore engaged in said rebellion to resume their allegiance to the
United States, and to reinaugurate loyal State governments within and
for their respective States: Therefore,
"I, ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, do proclaim,
declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly or by
implication, participated in the existing rebellion, except as
hereinafter excepted, that a full pardon is hereby granted to them and
each of them, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to
slaves, and in property cases where rights of third parties shall have
intervened, and upon the condition that every such person shall take and
subscribe an oath, and thenceforward keep and maintain such oath
inviolate; and which oath shall be registered for permanent
preservation, and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit:
"I, --------, do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, that I will
henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of
the United States, and the union of the States thereunder; and that I
will in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts of
Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves,
so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress,
or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will, in like manner,
abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made
during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so
far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court.
So help me God."
The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing provisions are,
all who are, or shall have been, civil or diplomatic officers or agents
of the so-called confederate government; all who have left judicial
stations under the United States to aid the rebellion; all who are, or
shall have been, military or naval officers of said so-called
confederate government, above the rank of colonel in the army, or of
lieutenant in the navy; all who left seats in the United States Congress
to aid the rebellion; all who resigned commissions in the Army or Navy
of the United States, and afterwards aided the rebellion; and all who
have engaged in any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in
charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war, and which
persons may have been found in the United States Service as soldiers,
seamen, or in any other capacity.
And I do further proclaim, declare and make known, that whenever, in any
of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee,
Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, a number
of persons, not less than one-tenth in number of the votes cast in such
State at the presidential election of the year of our Lord 1860, each
having taken the oath aforesaid, and not having since violated it, and
being a qualified voter by the election law of the State existing
immediately before the so-called act of secession, and excluding all
others shall re-establish a State government which shall be republican,
and in nowise contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the
true government of the State, and the State shall receive thereunder the
benefits of the constitutional provision which declares that "the United
States shall guaranty to every State in this Union a republican form of
government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and, on
application of the Legislature, or the Executive (when the Legislature
cannot be convened), against domestic violence."
And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known that any provision
which may be adopted by such State government in relation to the freed
people of such State, which shall recognize and declare their permanent
freedom, provide for their education, and which may yet be consistent,
as a temporary arrangement, with their present condition as a laboring,
landless, and homeless class, will not be objected to by the National
Executive. And it is suggested as not improper, that, in constructing a
loyal State government in any State, the name of the State, the
boundary, the subdivisions, the constitution, and the general code of
laws, as before the rebellion, be maintained, subject only to the
modifications made necessary by the conditions hereinbefore stated, and
such others, if any, not contravening said conditions, and which may be
deemed expedient by those framing the new State government.
To avoid misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this
proclamation, so far as it relates to State governments, has no
reference to States wherein loyal State governments have all the while
been maintained. And for the same reason, it may be proper to further
say that whether members sent to Congress from any State shall be
admitted to seats, constitutionally rests exclusive with the respective
Houses, and not to any extent with the Executive. And still further,
that this proclamation is intended to present the people of the States
wherein the national authority has been suspended, and loyal State
governments have been subverted, a mode in and by which the national
authority and loyal State governments may be re-established within said
States, or in any of them; and, while the mode presented is the best the
Executive can suggest, with his present impressions, it must not be
understood that no other possible mode would be acceptable.
Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, the 8th day of December,
A.D. 1863, and of [L.S.] the independence of the United States of
America the eighty-eighth.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
By the President.
WM. H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S AMNESTY PROCLAMATION.
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
_Whereas_, The President of the United States, on the 8th day of
December, 1863, did, with the object of suppressing the existing
rebellion, to induce all persons to lay down their arms, to return to
their loyalty, and to restore the authority of the United States, issue
proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to certain persons who had
directly or by implication, engaged in said rebellion; and
_Whereas_, Many persons who had so engaged in the late rebellion have,
since the issuance of said proclamation, failed or neglected to take the
benefits offered thereby; and
_Whereas_, Many persons who have been justly deprived of all claim to
amnesty and pardon thereunder, by reason of their participation directly
or by implication in said rebellion, and continued in hostility to the
Government of the United States since the date of said proclamation,
now desire to apply for and obtain amnesty and pardon:
To the end, therefore, that the authority of the Government of the
United States may be restored, and that peace, and order, and freedom
may be established, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States,
do proclaim and declare, that I hereby grant to all persons who have
directly or indirectly participated in the existing rebellion, except as
hereafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all rights
of property, except as to slaves, except in cases where legal
proceedings under the laws of the United States, providing for the
confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion, have been
instituted, but on the condition, nevertheless, that every such person
shall take and subscribe to the following oath, which shall be
registered, for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and
effect following, to wit:
I do solemnly swear or affirm in presence of Almighty God, that I will
henceforth support, protect, and faithfully defend the Constitution of
the United States, and will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully
support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the
existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help
me God.
The following classes of persons are excepted from the benefits of this
proclamation.
1. All who are or have been pretended diplomatic officers, or otherwise
domestic or foreign agents of the pretended Confederate States.
2. All who left judicial stations under the United States to aid in the
rebellion.
3. All who have been military or naval officers of the pretended
Confederate Government above the rank of colonel in the army, and
lieutenant in the navy.
4. All who left their seats in the Congress of the United States to aid
in the rebellion.
5. All who resigned or tendered the resignation of their commissions in
the army and navy of the United States to evade their duty in resisting
the rebellion.
6. All who have engaged in any way in treating otherwise than lawfully
as prisoners of war, persons found in the United States service as
officers, soldiers, seamen, or in other capacities.
7. All persons who have been or are absentees from the United States for
the purpose of aiding the rebellion.
8. All military or naval officers in the rebel service who were educated
by the Government in the Military Academy at West Point, or at the
United States Naval Academy.
9. All persons who held the pretended offices of Governors of the
States in insurrection against the United States.
10. All persons who left their homes within the jurisdiction and
protection of the United States, and passed beyond the Federal military
lines into the so-called Confederate States for the purpose of aiding
the rebellion.
11. All persons who have engaged in the destruction of the commerce of
the United States upon the high seas, and all persons who have made
raids into the United States from Canada, or been engaged in destroying
the commerce of the United States on the lakes and rivers that separate
the British provinces from the United States.
12. All persons who, at a time when they seek to obtain the benefits
hereof by taking the oath herein prescribed, are in military, naval or
civil confinement or custody, or under bond of the military or naval
authorities or agents of the United States as prisoners of any kind,
either before or after their conviction.
13. All persons who have voluntarily participated in said rebellion, the
estimated value of whose taxable property is over twenty thousand
dollars.
14. All persons who have taken the oath of amnesty, as prescribed in the
President's proclamation of December 8, 1863, or the oath of allegiance
to the United States since the date of said proclamation, and who have
not thenceforward kept the same inviolate; provided, that special
application may be made to the President for pardon by any person
belonging to the excepted classes, and such clemency will be extended as
may be consistent with the facts of the case and the peace and dignity
of the United States. The Secretary of State will establish rules and
regulations for administering and recording the said amnesty oath, so as
to insure its benefits to the people, and guard the government against
fraud.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal
of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this the 29th day of May, 1865, and of
the independence of America the 89th.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
By the President,
WM. H. SEWARD, _Secretary of State_.
A PEACE PROCLAMATION.
On the 20th of August, 1866, the President issued a proclamation
announcing the return of peace and restoring the writ of _habeas corpus_
in all the Southern States. Among the points made in this proclamation
are the following:
"There now exists no organized armed resistance of the misguided
citizens or others to the authority of the United States in the States
of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida, and the laws can
be sustained and enforced therein by the proper civil authority, State
or Federal, and the people of the said States are well and loyally
disposed, and have conformed, or will conform, in their legislation to
the condition of affairs growing out of the amendment to the
Constitution of the United States prohibiting slavery within the
jurisdiction of the United States.
"* * * The people of the several before mentioned States have, in the
manner aforesaid, given satisfactory evidence that they acquiesce in
this sovereign and important revolution of the national unity.
"It is believed to be a fundamental principle of government that people
who have revolted, and who have been overcome and subdued, must either
be dealt with so as to induce them voluntarily to become friends, or
else they must be held by absolute military power, or devastated so as
to prevent them from ever again doing harm as enemies, which last named
policy is abhorrent to humanity and freedom.
"The Constitution of the United States provides for constitutional
communities only as States, and not as territories, dependencies,
provinces, or protectorates.
"* * * Therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do
hereby proclaim and declare that the insurrection which heretofore
existed in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina,
Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and
Florida is at an end, and henceforth to be so regarded."
CIVIL RIGHTS BILL.
AS ADOPTED BY CONGRESS, MARCH, 1866.
Sec. 1. That all persons in the United States, and not subject to any
foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be
citizens of the United States; and such citizens of every race and
color, without regard to any previous condition of Slavery or
involuntary service, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party
shall have been duly convicted, shall have the same right, in every
State and Territory, to make and enforce contracts, to sue, to be sued,
be parties and give evidence; to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold,
and convey personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws
and proceedings for the security of person and property as are enjoyed
by white citizens; and shall be subject to the like punishment, pains
and penalties, and to none other; any law, statute, ordinance,
regulation, or custom to the contrary notwithstanding.
Sec. 2. And that any person who, under color of any law, statute,
ordinance, regulation, or custom, shall subject, or cause to be
subjected, any inhabitant of any State or Territory to the deprivation
of any right secured or protected by this act, or to punishment, pains,
and penalties, on account of such person having at any time been held in
a condition of slavery, or involuntary servitude, except for the
punishment of crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, or
by the reason of his color or race, than is prescribed for the
punishment of white persons, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, on conviction, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, in
the discretion of the court.
Sec. 3. That the district courts of the United States, within their
respective districts, shall have, exclusively of the courts of the
several States, cognizance of all crimes and offences committed against
the provisions of this act, and also, concurrently with the circuit
courts of the United States, of all causes civil and criminal, affecting
persons who are denied, or can not enforce in the courts of judicial
tribunal of the State or locality where they may be, any of the rights
secured to them by the first section of this act; and if any suit or
prosecution, civil or criminal, has been, or shall be commenced in any
State court against any such person, for any cause whatsoever, civil or
military, or any other person, any arrest or imprisonment, trespasses,
or wrong done or committed by virtue or under color of authority derived
from this act, or the act establishing a bureau for the relief of
freedmen and refugees, and all acts amendatory thereof, or for refusing
to do any act, upon the ground that it would be inconsistent with this
act, such defendant shall have the right to remove such cause for trial
to the proper district or circuit court, in the manner prescribed by the
act relating to _habeas corpus_, and regulating judicial proceedings in
certain cases, approved March 3, 1863, and all acts amendatory thereto.
The jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters hereby conferred on the
district and circuit courts of the United States shall be exercised and
enforced, in conformity with the laws of the United States, so far as
such laws are suitable to carry the same into effect; but in all cases
where such laws are not adapted to the object, or are deficient in the
provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish offences
against the law, the common law, as modified and changed by the
Constitution and statutes of the State wherein the court having
jurisdiction of the cause, civil or criminal, is held, so far as the
same is not inconsistent with the Constitution, and laws of the United
States, shall be extended, and govern the said courts in the trial and
disposition of such causes, and, if of a criminal nature, in the
infliction of punishment on the party found guilty.
Sec. 4. That the district attorneys, marshals, and deputy marshals, of the
United States, the commissioners appointed by the circuit and
territorial courts of the United States, with power of arresting,
imprisoning, or bailing offenders against the laws of the United States,
the officers and agents of the Freedmen's Bureau, and every other
officer who may be specially empowered by the President of the United
States, shall be, and they are, hereby specially authorized and
required, at the expense of the United States, to institute proceedings
against all and every person who shall violate the provisions of this
act, and cause him or them to be arrested and imprisoned, or bailed, as
the case may be, for trial before such of the United States or
territorial courts as by this act have cognizance of the offence, and,
with a view to affording reasonable protection to all persons in their
constitutional rights of equality before the law, without distinction of
race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary
servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall
have been duly convicted, and the prompt discharge of the duties of
this act, it shall be the duty of the circuit courts of the United
States and the superior courts of the territories of the United States,
from time to time, to increase the number of Commissioners, so as to
afford a speedy and convenient means for the arrest and examination of
persons charged with a violation of this act.
Sec. 5. That said Commissioners shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the
judges of the circuit and district courts of the United States, and the
judges of the superior courts of the territories, severally and
collectively, in term time and vacation, upon satisfactory proof being
made, to issue warrants and precepts for arresting and bringing before
them all offenders against the provisions of this act, and, on
examination, to discharge, admit to bail, or commit them for trial, as
the facts may warrant.
Sec. 6. And such Commissioners are hereby authorized and required to
exercise and discharge all the powers and duties conferred on them by
this Act, and the same duties with regard to offences created by this
act, as they are authorized by law to exercise with regard to other
offences against the laws of the United States. That it shall be the
duty of all marshals and deputy marshals to obey and execute all
warrants and precepts issued under the provisions of this act when to
them directed, and should any marshal or deputy marshal refuse to
receive such warrant or other process, when tendered, or to use all
proper means diligently to execute the same, he shall on conviction
thereof be fined in the sum of one thousand dollars, to the use of the
person upon whom the accused is alleged to have committed the offence;
and the better to enable the said Commissioners to execute their duties
faithfully and efficiently, in conformity with the Constitution of the
United States, and the requirements of this act, they are hereby
authorized and empowered, within their counties respectively, to
appoint, in writing under their hands, one or more suitable persons,
from time to time, to execute all such warrants and other process as may
be issued by them in the lawful performance of their respective duties,
and the person so appointed to execute any warrant or process as
aforesaid shall have authority to summon and call to their aid the
bystanders of a _posse comitatus_ of the proper county, or such portion
of the land or naval forces of the United States, or of the militia, as
may be necessary to the performance of the duty with which they are
charged, and to insure a faithful observance of the clause of the
Constitution which prohibits slavery, in conformity with the provisions
of this act; and said warrants shall run and be executed by said
officers anywhere in the State or Territory within which they are
issued.