| Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction - December 8, 1863 by Gil Wilson |
First public notice of the December 8, 1863 Presidential proclamation offering
amnesty to citizens of the Confederacy, providing they take an oath that they
"will abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made
during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves" (i.e. the Emancipation
Proclamation).
The issue was how how to restore the states that were separated from the
union. "The crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union is past",
announced Lincoln. Who would be in charge: Congress or the President? In his
message to Congress on December 8, 1863, Lincoln declared reconstruction of
the South a wholly executive responsibility and offered full pardon with
restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, to all rebels who would
take an oath of future loyalty to the Constitution and pledge to obey acts of
Congress and presidential proclamations relating to slavery. Those excluded
from taking the oath were the highest ranking members of the Confederacy
government officials, judges, military and naval officers above the rank of army
colonel or navy lieutenant, former congressmen, and all who have engaged in
treating colored persons or white persons otherwise than lawfully as prisoners
of war.
Lincoln encouraged the Southern states to make provisions 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.
Copies were reprinted throughout southern areas under union control including
copies made in February 15, 1864 at Union Army headquarters in St.
Augustine, Florida, where Major Hays was authorized to administer the oath â
€œto such persons of that vicinity. A public meeting had been held in St.
Augustine on December 18, 1864. Major Hay was Lincoln's former secretary
and the future Secretary of State under and William McKinley and Theodore
Roosevelt.
Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A PROCLAMATION.
"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 offenses
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 said
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 one thousand eight hundred and
sixty, 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 no wise
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 exclusively 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. one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the
United States of America the eighty-eighth."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State
(See Amnesty Oath of David Raney)
The Federal goernment had a wide range of loyalty oaths see Railroad Loyalty
oath for a 1862 version
amnesty to citizens of the Confederacy, providing they take an oath that they
"will abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made
during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves" (i.e. the Emancipation
Proclamation).
The issue was how how to restore the states that were separated from the
union. "The crisis which threatened to divide the friends of the Union is past",
announced Lincoln. Who would be in charge: Congress or the President? In his
message to Congress on December 8, 1863, Lincoln declared reconstruction of
the South a wholly executive responsibility and offered full pardon with
restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, to all rebels who would
take an oath of future loyalty to the Constitution and pledge to obey acts of
Congress and presidential proclamations relating to slavery. Those excluded
from taking the oath were the highest ranking members of the Confederacy
government officials, judges, military and naval officers above the rank of army
colonel or navy lieutenant, former congressmen, and all who have engaged in
treating colored persons or white persons otherwise than lawfully as prisoners
of war.
Lincoln encouraged the Southern states to make provisions 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.
Copies were reprinted throughout southern areas under union control including
copies made in February 15, 1864 at Union Army headquarters in St.
Augustine, Florida, where Major Hays was authorized to administer the oath â
€œto such persons of that vicinity. A public meeting had been held in St.
Augustine on December 18, 1864. Major Hay was Lincoln's former secretary
and the future Secretary of State under and William McKinley and Theodore
Roosevelt.
Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
A PROCLAMATION.
"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 offenses
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 said
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 one thousand eight hundred and
sixty, 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 no wise
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 exclusively 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. one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the independence of the
United States of America the eighty-eighth."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
By the President:
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State
(See Amnesty Oath of David Raney)
The Federal goernment had a wide range of loyalty oaths see Railroad Loyalty
oath for a 1862 version
| Picture of Abraham Lincoln in 1864 Library of Congress |
| Picture of John Hay Library of Congress |