E 449 .L732 Copy 2 / '/¥ -••^ THEE OPINIOlSrS /; 6 6 OF - ^^ ABRAHAM LINCOLN UPON SLAYERT AND ITS ISSUES: INDICATED BY HIS SPEECHES, LETTERS, MESSAGES, AND PROCLAMATIONS. The antagonism bet"ween Slavery and Freedom, natural. Tke policy of the Slaveocracy foreshado'wed. From Speech at Springfield, 111., June 11, 1858. We are now far into the fifth year since a policy was initiated with the avowed object, and confident promise, of putting an end to alavery agitation. Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opin- ion, it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divi- ded. It will become all one thing or all the Other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward till it ghall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South. Have we no tendency to the latter condi- tion ? Let any one who doubts, carefully con- template that now almost complete legal com- bination — a piece of machinery, so to speak — compounded of the Nebraska doctrine and the Dred Scott decision. Let him consider not ©nly what work the machinery is adapted to do, and how well adapted; but also let him study the history of its construction, and trace, if he can, or rather fail if he can, to trace the evidences of design, and concert of action among its chief architects, from the beginning The People warned of their danger, and summoned to duty. From the same. Such a decision is all thatslavery now lacks of being alike lawful in all the States, Wel- come or unwelcome, such decision is proba- bly coming, and will soon be upon us, unless the power of the present political dynasty shall be met and overthrown. We shall lie down pleasantly dreaming that the people of Missouri are on the verge of making their State free, and we shall awake to the reality , instead, that the Supreme Court has made Illinois a slave State. To meet and overthrow the power of that dynasty, is the work now before all those who would prevent that consummation. That is what we have to do. How can we best do it? Free hands and earnest hearts only to be trusted. From the same. Our cause must be intrusted to, and con- ducted by its own undoubted friends, those whose hands are free, whose hearts are in the work, who do care for the result. The Popular belief, that Slavery was In the course of ultimate extinction, gave the Country peace. Hatred of Sla- very. From Speech at Chicago, July 10, 1858. I am tolerably well acquainted with the ^^n^'^^y history of the country, and I know that it has eiKJured eighty-two years, hnlf shivc and half free. I be.ieve it hud endured, because during all that time, until the introduction of the Nebraska bill, the public mind did rest all lime in the belief that slavery was in the course of ultimate extinction. That was what g.ive us the rest tluit wc had through that pe- liod of eighty-two jears; at least so I believe. I HAVE ALWAYS HATKD SLAVKUY, I THINK, A3 MLCn AS ANY ABOLITIONIST. SJavcry a Vast ITIoral Evil. From the same. The American people look upon slavery as a vast m oral evil ; they can prove it such by the writings of those who gave us the bless- ings of liberty which we enjoy; and that the_v so looked upon ii, and not as an evil merely confining itself to the States where it is situ- ated. The Infallibility of th9 Dred Scott De- cision Questioned. From the same. I have never heard of such a thing [the sa- credness of tho Dred Scott decision.] Why, decisions apparently contrary to that decision have been made by that very court before. It is the first of its kind ; it is an astonisher in legal history. It is a new wonder of tho worM. It is based upon falsehood in the main as to the facts. Allegations of facts, upon which it stands, are not facts at all, in many instances. And no decision made on any ques- tion — the first instance of a decision made vinder so many unfavorable circumstances — thus placed, has ever been held by the protes- sion as law, and it has always needed con- lirmation before the lawyers regarded it as i r-cttlfd law. j The Manner in -which the White and I Black Rac33 can do each other most i good. From the same. I p-otP5t. now and forever, against that counterfeit logic which presumes that because 1 did not want a negro woman for a slave, I do necessarily want her for a wife. My under- standing is that I need not have her for either, l)iit, as God made us separate, wo can leave one another alone, and do one another much f^ood thereby. There are white men enough j to m.irry all the wliite women, and enough black men to marry all the black women; and, in God's name, let them be so married. The Declaration of Independence our j Bond of Union with all mankind. \ From the same. In every way we are better men in tho age, and race, and country in which we lire, for these Fourth of July celebrations. But after we have done all this, we have not yet reached the whole. There is something else connected with it. We hare, besides these, men — de- scended by blood from our ancestors — among us, perhaps half our people, who are not descendants at all of these men ; they are men who have come from Europe — German, Irish, French, and Scandinavian — men that hare come from Europe themselves, or whose an- cestors have come hither and settled here, finding themselves our equals in all things. If they look back through this hi.-^tory, to trace their connection with those days by blood, they find they have none; they cannot carry themselves back into that glorious epoch and make themselves feel that they are part of us, but when they look through that old Declara- tion of Independence, they find that tliose old men say that " We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal ;" and then they feel that that moral sentiment, tiiught in that day, evidences their relation to those men ; that it is the father of all moral principle in them, and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood, and flesh of the flesh, of the men who wrote that Declaration — and so they are. That is the electric cord in that Declaration that links the hearts of patriotic and liberty-loving men together, and will link those patriotic hearts as long as the love of freedom exists in the minds of men throughout the world. The assumption that Slavery is right does not stop ■V7ith one race. From the same. Turn in whatever way you will — whether it come from the mouth of a king, an excuse for enslaving the people of his country, or from the mouth of men of one race as a reason for enslaving the men of another race — it is all the same old serpent; and I hold if that course of argumentation that is made for the purpose of convincing the public mind that we should not care about this, should be be granted, it does not stop with the negro. I should like to know if, taking this old Declar- ation of Independence, which declares that all men are equal upon principle, and making ex- ception to it, when will it stoi>? If one man says it does not mean a negro, why not another say it does not mean some other man ? If that declaration is not the trath, let us get the stat- ute book, in which we find it, and tear it out? Who is 80 bold as to do it ? All quibbling as to the equality of man- kind must be discarded. From the same. Let us discard all this quibbling about this man and the other man — this race and that race, and the other race being inferior, and /76 therefore, they must be placed in nn inferior po?ition — discarding our standard that we have ... left us. let us discard all these thinj^s, and unite "^ as one people throughout this land, until we o shall once more stand up declaring that all men are created equal. The rights of the Negro. An appeal to the universal sense of justice. From Speech at Springfield, July lY, 1858. Ceitainly the negro is notour equal in color — perhaps not in many other respects ; still in the right to put into his mouth the bread that his own hands have earned, he is the equal of every other man, white or black. In pointing out that more has been given you, you cannot be justified in taking away the little which has been given him. The Slaveholders responsible for all agitation. From Speech atJoneihoro, 111., Sept. 15, 1858. All the trouble and convulsion has proceed- ed from efforts to spread slavery over more territory. It was thus at the date of the Mis- souri Compromise. It was so again with the annexation of Texas ; so with the ter- ritory acquired by the Mexican war, and it is so now. Whenever there has been an effort to spread it, there has been agitation and resist- ance. Now, I appeal to this audience, (very few of whom are my political friends,) as na- tional men, whether we have reason to expect that the agitation, in regard to this subject, will cease while the causes that tend to repro- duce agitation are actually at work? Will not the same cause that produced agitation in 1820,when the Missouri Compromise was form- ed — that which produced the agitation upon the annexation of Texas and at other times — work out the same results always? Do you think that the nature of man will be changed — that the same causes that produced agita- tion at one time will not have the same effect at another? As a political rule, the Dred Scott De- cision not binding. Should be re- versed. From Speech.et Quincy, III., Oct. 13. 1858. Wedo not propose that when Dred Scott has been decided to be a slave by the court, we, as a mob, will decide him to be free. We do not propose that, when any other one, or one thousand, shall be decided by that court to be slaves, we will, in any violent way, disturb the rights of property thus settled ; but we nevertheless do oppose that decision as a political rule, which shall be binding on the voter to vote for nobody who thinks it wrong, ■which shall be binding on the members of Con- gress or the President to favor no measure that does not actually concur with the princi- ples of that decision. We do not propose to be bound by it as a political rule in that way, be- cause we think it lays the foundation, not merely of enlarging and spreading out what wc consider nn evil, but it lays the foundation of spreading that evil into the States them- selves. We propose so resisting it as to have it reversed if we can, and a new judicial rule es- tablished upon the subject. Discards all affiliation with those who believe Slavery not wrong. Irom the same. I will say now, that there is a sentiment in the country contrary to me— a sentiment which holds that slavery is not wrong, and therefore, it goes for the policy that does not propose dealing with it as a wrong. That policy is the Democratic policy, and that sentiment is the Democratic sentiment. The way to end Slavery agitation. From the same. I have been stating where we and they stand, and trying to show what is the real difference between us; and I now say, that whenever we can get the question distinctly stated, can get all these men who believe that slavery is in some of these respects wrong, to stand and act with us in treating it as a wrong — then, and not till then, I think we will in some way come to an end of this slavery agitation. The origin of the assault upon the De- claration of Independence. From Speech at Alton, Oct. 15, 1858. I know that Mr. Calhoun and all the polit;- tions of his school, denied the truth of the Declaration. I know that it ran along in the mouth of some southern men for a period of years, ending, at last, in that shameful, though rather forcible declaration of Pettit of Indiana, upon the floor of the United States Senate, that the Declaration of Independence was in that respect " a self-evident lie," rather than a self-evident truth. But I say, with a perfect knowledge of all this hawking at the Declar- ation, without directly attacking it, that three years ago there never had lived a man who had ventured to assail it in the sneaking way of pretending to believe it, and then asserting that it did not include the negro. I believe the first man who ever said it, was Chief Justice Tan- ey, in the Dred Scott case. Slavery Ignored by the text of the Con- stitution. From the same. In all three of these places, being the onlj allusions to slavery in the instrument, covert language is used. Language is used not sug- gesting that slavery existed, or that the black race were among us. And I understand the contemporaneous history of those times to be that covert language was used with a purpose, and that purpose was that in our Constitution, which it was hoped, and is still hoped, Avill endure forever — when it should be read by in- telligent and patriotic men, after the institu- tion of slavery had passed fruiu among us — there should be nothing on the face of the great charter of liberty suggesting that such a thing as negro slavery had ever existed among us. This is part of the evidence that the fathers of the Government expected and in- tended the institution of slavery to come to an end. They expected and intended that it should be in the course of ultimate extinction. And when I say that I desire to see the fi«.ther spread of it arrested, I only say I desire to see that done which the fathers have first done. The Consequences of establishing the Principle that there is no wrong in | Slavery. From Speech at Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 1859. Then, I say, if this principle is established, that there is no wrong in slavery, and who- ever wants it has a right to have it, is a mat- ter of dollars and cents — a sort of question as to how they shall deal with brutes ; that be- tween us and the negro here there is no sort of question, but that at the South the ques- tion is between the negro and the crocodile. That is all. It is a mere matter of policy; there is a perfect right, according to interest, to do just as you please ; when this is done, when this doctrine prevails, the miners and sappers will have formed public opinion for the slave trade. They will be ready for Jeff. Davis, and Stephens, and other leaders of that company, to sound the bugle for the revival of the slave trade, for the second Dred Scott de- cision, for the flood of slavery to be poured over the free States, while we shall be here tied down and helpless, and run over like sheep. Room enough for All to be !Free. From Speech at Cincinnati, Sept., 1859. I say there is room enough for us all to be free, and it not only does not wrong the white man that the negro should be free, but it posi- tively wrongs the mass of white men that the negro should be enslaved ; that the mass of white men are really injured by the effects of slave labor in the vicinity of the fields of their own labor. The Government char f^ed ivith the Duty of redressing all fVrongs lohich art IVroTifjs to itself. From the same. We want and must have a national policy, in regard to the institution of slavery, that ac- knowledges and deals with that institution ag being wrong. Whoever desires the preven- tion of the spread of slavery, and the nation- alization of that institution, yields all, when he yields to any policy that either recognises slavery as being right, or as being an indifferent thing. Nothing will make you successful, but setting up a policy which shall treat the thing as being wrong. When I say this, I do not mean to say that this General Government is charged with the duty of redressing or pre- venting all the wrongs in the world ; but I do think it is charged with preventingand redress- ing all wrongs which are wrongs to itself. This Government is expressly charged with the duty of providing for the general v/elfare. We be- lieve that the spreading out and perpetuity of the institution of slavery, impairs the general welfare. We believe, nay, we know, that that is the only thing that has threatened the perpetuity of the Union itself. The only thing which has ever menaced the destruction of the Government under which we live, is this very thing. To repress this thing, we think, is providing for the general welfare. WHAT THE PEOPLE BY THEIR VOTES MUST PREVENT. From the same. We must prevent the outspreading of the institution, because neither the ConstitiUion nor the general welfare requires us to extend it. We must prevent the revival of the Afri- can slave trade, and the enacting, by Congress, of a territorial slave code. We must prevent each of these things being done by either Con- gresses or courts. Tlie people of these United States are the rightful masters of both Con- gresses and courts not to overthrow the Consti- tution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. HE THAT GATHERETH NOT WITH US, SCATTERETH. From the same. The good old maxims of the Bible are appli- cable, and truly applicable, to human affairs ; and in this, as in other things, we may say here, that he who is not for us is against us; he who gathereth not with us, scattereth. THE EXTENT OF THE JUDGMENT AND FEKLING AGAINST SLAVERY IN THE NATION. From Speech at Cooper Institute, Feb. 27, 1860. Human action can be modified to some ex- tent, but human nature cannot be changed. There is a judgment and a feeling against slavery in this nation, which cast, at least, a /'/(^ million and a half of votes You cannot de- stroy that judgment and feelinnr, that sentiment, bj breaking up the politieal organiz.aiiun', which rallies around it. You can scarcely scatternnd disperse an army which has been form.ed into order in the face of your heavi- est fire ; but if you could, how much would you gain by forcing the sentiment which cre- ated it, out of the peaceful channel of the bal- lot-box into some other channel. What would that other channel probably be ? Would the number of John Browns be lessened, or enlar- ged by the operation ? The Constitution of the United States vindicated. Its framers did not in- tend it to be a Pro-Slavery instru- ment. The stand and deliver Argu- ment. From the same. When this obvious mistake of the Judges [that the right of property in the slave is distinctly and expressly affirmed in the Con- stitution] shall be brought to their notice, is it not reasonable to expect that they will with- draw the mistaken statement, and reconsider the conclusion based upon it? And then it is to be remembered that our fathers, who framed tho Government under ■which w^e live-, the men who made the Consti- tution, decided this same constitutional ques- tion in our fiivor long ago, decided it without a division amo!ig themselves when making the decision ; without division among them- selves about the meaning of it after it was made, and, so far as any evidence is left, with- out basing it upon any mistaken stntnmciit of facts. But 3'ou will not abide the election of a Republican President. In that supposed event, you say, you will destroy the Union ; and then you say the great crime of having destroyed it will be upon us? That is cool. A highwayman holds a pistol to ray ear, and mutters through his teeth — •' Stand and deliver, or I shall kill you ; and then you will be a murderer !" To be sure, what the robber demanded of me, my mone}-, was my own ; and I had a clear right to keep it ; but it is no more my own than my vote is my own ; and the threat of death to me to extort ray money, and the threat of destruction to the Union, to extort my vote, can scarcely be distinguished in principle. The slaveholders implacahlc. Their de- mands unreasonable. Wc cannot yield without surrendering our self-respect. From the same. The question recurs — What will satisfy them? Simply this: we must not only let them alone, but we must Bomebow convince them that we do let them alone. This, we know by experience, is no easy task. We have been so trying to convince them, from the very beginning of our orgatii/ation, but with no success. In all our platforms and speeches we have constantly protested our purpose to let them alone; but this has had no tendency to convince them. Alike una- vailing to convince them is the fact that they have never detected a man of us in any at- tempt to disturb them. These natural, and apparently adequate means, all failing, what will convince them? This, and this only : cease to call slavery u-ronr/, and join them in calling it right. And this must be done thoroughly — done in acts, as well as words. Silence will not be tolera- ted — we must place ourselves avowedly with hem. Nor can we justifiably withhold this on any ground save our conviction that slaver}- is wrong. If slavery is right, all words, acts, laws, and constitutions against it are them- selves wrong, and should be silenced, and swept away. If it is ri-ht, we cannot justly object to its nationality — its universality ; if it is wrong, they cannot justly insist upon its extension, its enlargement. All they ask, we could readily grant, if we thought slavery right; all we ask, they could readily grant, if they thought it wrong. Their thinking it right, and our thinking it wrong, is the precise fact upon which depends the whole contro- versy. Thinking it right, as they do, they are not to blame for desiring its full recogni- tion, as being right ; but thinking it wrong, a^ we do, can wc yield to them ? Can we cast our votes with their view, and against our own? In view of our moral, social, and po- litical responsibilities, can we do this? Let US abide by our Faith, and do our Duty. From (he same. Neither let us be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the CJov- ernment, nor of dungeons to ourselves. Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us to the end dare to do our duty, as we understand it. The [Han berore the Dollnr From letter to Boston Jefferson Anniversary Com. April 6, 1859. The Democracy of to-day hold the liberty of one man to be absolutely nothing, when in conflict with another man's right of property. Kepublicans, on the contrary, are both for the man and the dollar^ but in the case of conflict, the man before the dollar. BE NO SLAVE AND HAVE NO SLAVE. From the same. This is a world of compensations ; and he who would be no slave must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, (.'unnot long retain it. THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS OF MAN RE- AFFIRMED. From letter to Dr. Canisius, and other German citizens, May 17, 1859. It is well known that I deplore the op- pressed condition of the blucks ; and it would, therefore, be very inconsistent for me to look with approval upon any measures that infringe upon the inalienable rights of white men, whether or not they are born in another land. or speak a dllVerent language from my own. CONSCIOUS OF HIS IMMENSE RESPONST- DILITY. A CALM AND TRUSTFUL RE- LIANCE UPON DIVINE PROVIDENCE- ASKS PRAYE:1S FOR THAT DIVINE AS- SISTANCE ON WHICH WAi^HINGTON r.EPOSED, AND ^YH1CU WILL GIVE HIM SUCCESS. From Speech on leaving Springfield, Feb. 1, ISGl. A duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that which has devolved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never could have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Divine aid which sustained h.m ; and in the same almighty being I place my reliance for support, and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that 1 may receive that Divine assistance, without which I cannot suc- ceed, but with which success is certain. THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS IN .ALL THE STATES A SIMPLE DUTY, WHICH, WITH THE HELPOFTHE AMER- iL'AN PEOPLE, ^HALL BE FAITHFULLY PERFORMED. From the Inaugural Address. I consider that, in view of the Constitution nnd the laws, the Union is unbroken, and, to the extent of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself e.xpressly enjoins me, t!:at the laws of the Union shall be faithfully executed in all the States. Doing this, which I deem to bo only !\ simple duty on my part, I sh.ill perfectly perform it, so f.ir as is practi- cal, unless my rightful masters, the American people, shall withhold the requisition, or, in some authoritative manner, direct the con- trary. Rebels the authors of their own calam- ities. No constitutional rights in- fringed upon. Frirndli/ words oj advice. No cause for disaffection. From the same. That there are persons, in one section or another, who seek to destroy the Union at all events, and are glad of any pretext to do it, I will neither affirm nor deny. But, if there be such, I need address no word to them. To those, however, who really love the Union, may I not speak, before entering upon so grave a matter as the destruction of our national fabric, with all its benefits, its mem- ories and its hopes? Would it not be well to ascertain why we do it? Will you hazard so desperate a step, while any portion of the ills you lly from have no real existence? Will you, while the certain ills you fly to are greater than all the real ones you Hy from? Will you risk the commission of so fearful a mistake? All profess to be content in the Union, if all constitutional rights can be main- tained. Is it true, then, that any right, plainly written in the Constitution, has been denied? I think not. Happily, the human mind is so constituted that no party can reach to the au- dacity of doing this. The majoriti/ of the people the o)ilij legitimate socereign of this nation. From the same. A majority held in restraint by constitu- tional check and limitation, and always chang- ing easily with deliberate changes of popular opinions and sentiments, is the only true sov- ereign of a free people. Whoever rejects it, does, of necessity, fly to anarchy or to despot- ism. The Supreme Court not the masters of the people. From the same. The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government upon the vital ques- tions affecting the whole people is to be irre- vocably fixed" by the Decisions of the Supreme Court, the instant they are made, as in ordi- nary litigation between parties in personal actions, the people will have ceased to be their own masters, unless having to that ex- tent practically resigned their government into the hands of that eminent tribunal. The Government ivill make no assaults. The aggressors to be held accounta- ble. All oath registered in Heaven to protect the Governrnent. A touch- ing appeal to patriotism. From the same. la your hands, my dissatisfied fellow- /yy countrymen, and not in mine, is ihe momen- tou* issue of civil war. Tlie Government will not assail you. You CAN HAVE NO CONFLICT WITHOUT HEING YOUUSKLVES TUB AGORKSSOUS. Vou llUVe IIO oath registered in Heaven to destroy the (Jov- ernment ; while 1 shall hare the most solemn one to " preserve, protect and defend " it. lam loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot's grave to every living heart and hearth stone all over ihisbroad ; lanefore they obeyed as absolute law. This is the )atriotic i'nstinct of plain people. They under- hand, without an argument, that the destroy- ng the Government which was made by Wash- ngton, means no good to them. Our popular Government has often been called an experi- iient. Two points in it our people have set- tled; the successful establishing and the suc- L-espful administering of it. One still remains, its successful maintenance against a formida- ble internal attempt to overthrow it. It is now for them to demonstrate to the world, that those who can fairly carry an election, can also suppress a rebellion ; that ballots are the rightful and peaceful successorsof bullets. And that when ballots have fairly and contitution- ally decided, there can be no successful appeal back to bullets ; that there can be no success- ful appeal except to ballots themselves, at suc- ceeding elections. Such will be a great lesson of peace ; teaching men that what they cannoj take by an election, neither can they take by a -ivar — teaching all the folly of being the begin- ners of a war. The War Power employed with regret. Compromise could not cure, and would be a dangerous precedent. From the same. It was with the deepest regret that the Ex- ecutive found the duty of employing the war power. In defence of the Government forced upon him, he could but perform this duty, or surrender the existence of the Government. No compromise by public servants could in this case be a cure, not that compromises are not often proper, but that no popular Government can long survive a marked precedent, that those who carry an election, can only save the Govern' ment from immediate destruction, by giving up the main point upon which the people gave the ele- ction. The people themselves, and not their servants, can safely reverse their own deliberate decisions. Th" President, unswayed by position and power, does not forget that he is a man and an American citizen. much less could he, in betrayal of so vast and so sacred a trust as this free people had confided to him. lie felt that he had no moral right to shrink, nor even to count the chances of his own life in ichat might follow. Men in authority rising with the occa- siorij must think and act anew. If they are self-sacrificing and earn- est in their patriotism, history will do them justice. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free. From Message of December 1, 1862. The dogmas of the quiet past are inade- quate to the stormy preheat. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselres, and then we shall save our country. Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We, of this Congress, and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which wo pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation. We sag we are for the Union. The world will not forget that we say this. We know how to save the Union. The world knows we do know how to save it. We — eren we here — hold the power, and bear the responsibility. In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free — honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last, best hope of earth. Other means may succeed ; this could not fail. The way is plain, peaceful, generous, just — a way which, if followed, the world will forever applaud, and God must forever bless. AN APPEAL TO THE PATRIOTISM OF THE PEOPLE. From Proclamation of April 15, 1861. I appeal to all loyal eitlKcns to favor, facil- itate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our Na- tional Union, and the perpetuity of popular government ; and to redress wrongs already long enough endured. COMPENSATED EMANCIPATION RE- COMMENDED. From the same. As a private citizen, the Executive could not have consented that these institutions shall perish, From Proclamation of Mag 10, 1362. On the sixth day of March last, by a special mesdage, I recommended to Congress the adoption of a joint resolution, to be substan- tially as follows: //^ Resolved, That the Uoited States ought to co-operate with any State which may adopt a gradual abolishment of slavery, giving to such State pecuniary aid, to be used by such State in its discretion, to compensate for the incon- veniences, public and private, produced by such change of system. The resolution, in the language above quo- ted, was adopted by large majorities in both branches of Congress, and now stands an au- thentic, definite, and solemn proposal of the nation to the States and people most imme- diately interested in the subject matter. To the people of those States I now earnestly ap- peal. 1 do not argue — I beseech you to make the argument for yourselves. You cannot, if you would, be blind to the signs of the times. I beg of you a calm and enlarged considera- tion of tliem, ranging, if it may be, far above personal and partisan politics. This proposal makes common cause for a common object, casting no reproaches upon any. It acts not the Pharisee. The change it contemplates would come gently as the dews of heaven, not rend- ing or wrecking anything. Will you not em- brace it? So much good has not been done, by one effort, in all past time, as in the Provi- dence of God, it is now your high privilege to do. May the vast future not have to lament that you have neglected it. Our national sins acknowledged, and prayer for clemency and Jorgiveness recommended* From Proclamation of March 30/A, 1863, appoint- ing a day of fasting and prayer. May we not justly fear that the awful calam- ity of civil war which now desolates the land may be but a punishment inflicted upon us lor our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole peo- ple? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved ihese many years in peace and pros- perity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgot- ten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied, enriched, and strength- ened us ; and we have daily imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these bless- ings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with un- broken success, we have become too self- gufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. The coming of the Emancipation Proc- lamation announced. From Proclamation of Sept. 26th, 18G2. It is my purpose, upon the next meeting of Congress, to again recommend the adopliou of a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to the free acceptance or rejection of all slave States, so called, the people whereof may not then be in rebellion against the United States, and which States may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter may voluntarily adopt, immediate or gradual abol- ishment of slavery within their respective limits; and that the effort to colonize personi of African descent, with their consent, upon this continent or elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of the governments existing there, will be continued. That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free ; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the free- dom of such persons, and will do no act nor acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. The protection of the Army and Navy tendered to the escaped bondmen of rebels. capcd (From the tame.) 0/ Attention is hereby called to an net of Congress entitled "An act to make an addi- tional article of war," approved March 13, 1862, and which act is in the words and figures following : ^^ Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representativci of the United States of America in Congress assembled. That hereafter the fol- lowing shall be promulgated as an additional article of war, for the government of the army of the United States, and shall be obeyed and observed as such : "AuTicr.H. — All officers or persons in the military or naval service of the United States, are prohibited from employing any of the for- ces under their respective commands for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or labor who may have escaped from any persons to whom such service or labor is claimed to be due ; and any officer who shall be found guilty by a court-martial of violating this article shall be dismissed from the service. "Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That this act shall take effect from and after its pas- sage." 10 Also to the ninth nnd tenth sections of an fict entitled '= An net to suppress insurrection, to punish treason and rebellion, to seize and coniiscate property of rebels, and for other purposes,'' approved July 17, 18G2, and which sections are ia the words and figures follow- ing' : " Sec. 9. And be it further enacted, That all slaves of persons who shall hereafter be cn- j^'ftgcd in rebellion against the Government of the United States, or who shall in any way give aid or comfort thereto, escaping from such persons and taking refuge witMn the lines of the army ; and all slaves captured from such i)ersons or deserted by them, and coming under the control of the Government of the United States ; and all slaves of such persons found on [or] being within any place occupied by rebel forces and afterwards occu- pied by the forces of the United States, shall be deemed captives of war, and shall be for- ever free of their servitude, and not again held as slaves. •* Sec. 10. And be it further enacted, That no slave escaping into any State, Territory, or the District of Columbia, from any other State, shall be delivered up, or in any way impeded or hindered of his liberty, except for crime, or some offence against the laws, unless the per- son claiming said fugitive shall first make oath that the person to whom the labor or service of such fugitive is alleged to be due is his lawlul owner, and has not borne arms against the United States in the present rebel- lion, nor in any way given aid and comfort thereto: and no person engaged in the military or naval service of the United States shall, under any pretence whatever, assume to de- cide on the validity of the claim of any per- son to the service or labor of any other per- son, or surrender up any such person to the claimant, on pain of being dismissed from the service." And I do hereby enjoin upon and order all persons engaged in the military and naval service of the United States to observe, obey, and enforce, within their respective spheres of service, the acts and sections above recited. The Promise Redeemed. The great historical event of the century. Free- dom proclaimed to the Slave. From Proclamation, Jannary 1, 18G3. Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, Presi- dent of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as commander-in-chief ef the army and navy of the United States, in lime of actual and arn)ed rebellion against tlie authority and Government of the United Stites. and as a fit and necessary war measure fur suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day ot January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and siity-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do, pub- licly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days from the day first above men- tioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof, respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit : Arkansas, Teias, Louisiana, (except the parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jetferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, As- sumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the city of New Crleans,) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Geor- gia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Vir- ginia, (except the forty-eight counties desig- nated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkely, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, in- cluding the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth,) and which excepted parts are for the present left precisely uc 'f this proclamation were not issued. And by virtue of the power and for the pur- pose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States and parts of States, are, and hencefor- ward shall be, free ; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintiiin the freedom of said persons. And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence ; and I recom- mend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor fai'.hfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare and make known that such persons, of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service. And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitu- tion upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God. Sympathy ivith the licbellion depicted. Liberty of Speech, Liberty of the Press, and the Writ of Habeas Corpus designed to protect lAbertyy not to subvert it. From the Letter to Erastus Coming and others, June 12, 18G3. Prior to ray installation here it had been inculcated that any State had a lawful right to secede from the national Union, and that it would be expedient to exercise the right when- ever the devotees of the doctrine should fail to elect a President to their own liking. I was elected contrary to their liking; and, ac- cordingly, 80 far as it was legally possible, they had taken seven States out of the Union, had II / // seized mnny of the United States forfg, and had fired upon the United State? flag, lUl before I was inaugurated, and, of course, before I had done any official act whatever. The re- bellion thus began soon ran into the present civil war; and, in certain respects, it began on very unequal terms between the parties. The insurgents had been preparing for it more than thirty years, while the government had taken no steps to resist them. The former had care- fully considered all the means which could be turned to their account. It undoubtedly was a well-pondered reliance with thenx that in their own unrestricted efforts to destroy Union, Constitution, and law, altogether, the govern- ment would, in great degree, be restrained by the same Constitution and law from arresting their progress. Their sympathizers pervaded all departments of the government and nearly all communities of the people. From this ma- terial, under cover of " liberty of speech," "liberty of the press," and '■'■habeas corpus" they hoped to keep on foot amongst us a most efficient corps of spies, informers, suppliers, and aiders and abettors of their cause in a thousand ways. They knew that in times such as they were inaugurating, by the Constitution itself, the '-habeas corpus" might be suspended; but they also knew they had friends who would make a question as to who was to suspend it ; meanwhile their spies and others might remain at large to help on their cause. Or, if, as has happened, the Executive should suspend the writ, without ruinous waste of time, instances of arresting innocent persons might occur, as are always likely to occur in such cases; and then a clamor could be raised in regard to this, which might be, at least, of some service to the insurgent cause. It needed no very keen perception to discover this part of the enemy's programme, so soon as by open hostilities their machinery was fairly put in motion. Yet, thoroughly imbued with a reverence for the guaranteed rights of individuals, I was slow to adopt the strong measures which by degrees I have been forced to regard as being within the exceptions of the Constitution, and as in- dispensable to the public safety. Nothing is better known to history than that courts of justice are utterly incompetent to such cases. Civil courts are organized chiefly for trials of individuals, or, at most, a few individuals acting in concert; and this in quiet times, and on charges of crimes well defined in the law. Even in times of peace bands of horsethieves and robbers frequently grow too numerons and powerful for the ordinary courts of justice. But what comparison, in numbers, have such bands ever borne to the insurgent sympathizers even in many of the loyal States ? Again, a jury too frequently has at least one member more ready to hang the panel than to hang the the traitor. And yet. again, he who dissuades one man from volunteering, or induces one soldier to desert, weakens the Union cause as much as he who kills a Union soldier in battle. Yet this dissuasion or inducement may be so conducted as to be no defined crime of which any civil court would take cognizance. The logic of the Torpid Copperheads overturned. From the same. The man who stands by and says nothing when the peril of his govcrrnnent is discussed, cannot bn misunderstood. If not hindered, he is sure to help the enemy ; much more, if he talks ambiguously — talks for his country with "buts" and "ifs" and "ands." Of how little value the constitutional provisions I have quoted will be rendered, if arrests shall never be made until defined crimes shall have been committed, may be illustrated by a few notable examples. General John C. Breckinridge, General Robert E. Lee, General Joseph E. Johnston, General John B. Magruder, Gt-neral William B. Preston, General Simon B. Buck- ner, and Commodore Franklin Buchanan, now- occupying the v€ry highest places in the rebel war service, were all within the power of the government since the rebellion began, and were nearly as well known to be traitors then as now. Unquestionably if we had seized and held them, the insurgent cause would be much weaker. But no one of them had then com- mitted any crime defined in the law. Every one of them, if arrested, would have been dis- charged on habeas corpus were the writ allowed to op'erate. In view of these and similar cases, I think the time not unlikely to come when I shall be blamed for baring made too few arrests rather than too many. ''Must I shoot a simple-minded Soldier- boy, who deserts, ivhile I must not touch a hair of the loily agitator who induces him to desert?'''' From the same. I understand the meeting, whose resolutions I am considering, to be in favor of suppressing the rebellion by military force— by armies. Long experience' has shown that armies can- not be maintained unless desertion shall be punished by the severe penalty of death. The case requires, and the law and the constitution sanction, this punishment. Must 1 shoot a simple-minded soldier boy who deserts, while I must not touch a hair of a wily agitator who induces him to desert? This is none the less injurious when efFected by getting a father, or brother, or friend, into a public meeting, and there working upon his feelings till he is per- suaded to write the soldier boy that he is fight- ing in a bad cause, for a wicked administration of a contemptible government, too weak to arrest and punish him if he shall desert. I think that in such a case, to silence the agitator and save the boy is not only constitutional, but withal a great mercy. 12 Constitutional Power in cases of Pub- lic Danger. From the same. If I be wrong on this question of constitu- tional power, my error lies in believing that certain proceedings are constitutional when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety requires them, which would not be constitu- tional when, in absence of rebellion or inva- sion, the public safety does not require them : in other words, that the constitutoin is not, in its application, in all respects the same, in cases of rebellion or invasion involving the public safety, as it is in times of profound peace and public security. The constitution itself makes the distinction ; and I can no more be persuaded that the government can constitutionally take no strong measures in time of rebellion, because it can be shown that the same could not be lawfully taken in time of peace, than I can be persuaded that a par- ticular drug is not good medicine fora sickman, because it can be shown to not be good food for a well one. Nor am I able to appreciate the d;inger apprehended by the meeting that the American people will, by means of military arrests during the rebellion, lose the right of public discussion, the liberty of speech and the press, the law of evidence, trial by jury, aud habeas corpus, throughout the indefinite peace- ful future, which I trust lies before them, any more than I am able to believe that a man could contract so strong an appetite for emetics during temporary illness as to persist in feed- ing upon them during the remainder of his healthful life. President Lincoln occupies a level higher than any Party Platform. From the same. In this time of national peril I would have preferred to meet you upon a level one step higher than any party platform; because I am Bure that, from such more elevated position, we could do better battle for the country we all love than we possibly can from those lower ones where, from the force of habit, the preju- dices of the past, and selfish hopes of the future, we are sure to expend much of our ingenuity and strength in finding fault with, and aiming blows at, each other. iJut since you have de- nied me this, I will yet be thankful, for the country's sake, that not all democrats have done so. He on who.se discretionary judgment Mr. Vallaridighani was arrested and tried is a democrat, having no old party affinity with me; and the judge who rejected the constitutional view expressed in these resolutions, by refusing to di-.charge Mr. Vallandigliam on habeat corpug is a democrat of better days than these, having received his judicial mantle at the hands of President Jackson. And still more, of all those democrats who are nobly exposing their lives and shedding their blood on the battle- field, I have learned that many approve the course taken with Mr. Vallandigbam, while I have not heard of a single one condemning it. The example of General Jackson cited. From the same. It m.iy be remarked : First, that we had the same Constitution then [when General Jackson suspended the writ of habeas corpus at New Orleans, and arrested Judge Hall, and others.] as now; secondly, that we then had a case of invasion, and now we have a case of rebellion; and, thirdly, that the permanent right of the people to public discussion, the liljerty of speech and of the press, the trial by jury, the law of evidence, and the habeas corpus, suff- ered no detriment whatever by that conduct of General Jackson, or its subsequent approval by the American Congress. The Commander-in-Chief must take the responsibility, and ask justifica- tion from the People. From Letter to the Vallandigham Committee, January 29, 1863. You ask in substance whether I really claim that I may override all the guarantied rights of individuals, on the plea of conserving the public safety, when I may choose to say the public safety reqr.ires it. This question, divest- ed of the phraseology calculated to represent me as struggling for an arbitrary personal pre- rogative, is either simply a question who shall decide, or an affirmation that nobody shall de- cide, what the public safety does require in cases of rebellion or invasion. The Consti- tution contemplates the question as likely to occur for decision, but it does not expressly declare who is to decide it. By necessary im- plication, when rebellion or invasion comes, the decision is to be made, from time to time, and I think the man whom, for the time, the people have, under the Constitution, made the Commander-in-Chief of their army and navy, is the man who holds the power, and bears the responsibility of making it. If he uses the power justly, the same people will i)roba- bly justify him; if he abuses it, he is in their hands, to be dealt with by all the modes they have reserved to themselves in the Constitu- tion. The whole flatter narrowed down to a Question between Patriotism and Treason. From the tame. Your nominee for Governor, (Vallandigham,) in whose behalf you ap])eal, is known to you and to the world, to declare against the use of an army to suppress the rebellion. Your 13 f6^ own attitude, therefore, encourages desertion, resistance to the draft, and the like, because it teaches those who incline to desert and to es- cape the draft, to believe it is your purpose to protect them, and to hope that you will become strong enough to do so. After a short personal intercourse with you, gentlemen of the committee, I cannot say I think you desire this effect to follow your altitude ; but I assure you that both friends and enemies of the Union look upon it in this light. It is a substantial hope, and by conse- quence, a real strength to the enemy. It is a false hope, and one which you would will- ingly dispel. I will make the way exceedingly easy. I send yon duplicates of this letter, in order that you, or a majority, may, if you choose, endorse your names upon one of them, and return it thus endorsed to me, with the understanding that those signing are thereby committed to the following propositions, and to noihing else : 1. That there is now a rebellion in the Uni- ted States, the object and tendency of which is to destroy the National Union ; and that in your opinion an army and navy are constitu- tional means for suppressing that rebellion. 2. That no one of you will do anything which, in his own judgment, will tend to hinder the increase, or favor the decrease, or lessen the efficiency of the army and navy while en- gaged in the effort to suppress that rebellion : and 3. That each of you will, in his sphere, do all he can, to have the officers, soldiers, and seamen of the army and navy, while engaged in the effort to suppress the rebellion, paid, fed, clad, and otherwise well provided for and supported. And with the further understanding that upon receiving the letter and names thus en- dorsed, I will cause them to be published, which publication shall be, within itself, a re- vocation of the order in relation to Mr. Val- landigham. NO COMPROMISE WITH REBELS IN ARMS PRACTICAL. From Letter to James C. Conkling, August 26, 1863. I do not believe any compromise embracing the maintenance of the Union is now possible. All I learn leads to a directly opposite belief. The strength of the rebellion is its military- its army. That army dominates all the country and all the people within its range. Any offer of terms made by any man or men within that range, in opposition to that army, is simply nothing for the present, because such man or men have no power whatever to enforce their side of a compromise, if one were made with ihem. The Emancipation Proclamation justi- fied. Its Benefits pointed out. " 7Vie Promise made^ must be kept. ^* " The Job ivas a (jreat National one, and let none be banned ivho bore an lionorabh. part in it.'' '^ Thanks to allT' The memories of Black Men and of " some White Ones,'' when Peace shall come. From the tame. You disliked the emancipation proclama- tion, and perhaps you would have it retracted. You say it is unconstitutional. I think dif- ferently. I think the Constitution invests itg Commander-in-Chief with the law of war in time of war. The most that can be said — if so much — is that slaves are property. Is there, has there ever been, any question that by the law of war property, both of enemies and friends, may be taken when needed? And is it not needed, whenever taking it helps us, or hurts the enemy? Armies, the world over, destroy enemies' property when they cannot use it, and even destroy their own, to keep it from the enemy. Civilized belligerents do all in their power to help themselves or hurt the enemy, except a few things, regarded as bar- barous or cruel. Among the exceptions are the massacre of vanquished foes and non-com- batants, male and female. But the proclama- tion, as law, cither is valid, or is not valid. If it is not valid, it needs no retraction. If it is valid, it cannot be retracted, any more than the dead can be brought to life. Some of you pro- fess to think its retraction would operate favor- ably for the Union. Why better after the retrac- tion than be/ore the issue. There was more t han a year and a half of trial to suppress the rebellion before the proclamation issued ; the last one hundred days of which passed under an explicit notice that it was coming, unless averted by those who revolt, returning to their allegiance. The war has certainly progressed as favorably for us since the issue of the proc- lamation as before. I know, as fully as one can know the opinions of others, that some of the commanders of our armies in the field, who have given us our most important suc- cesses, believe the emancipation policy and the use of colored troops couftitutc the heavi- est blow yet dealt to the rebellion, and that at least one of those important successes could not have been achieved when it was, but for the aid of black soldiers. Among the com- manders holding these views, are some who have never had any afhmity with what is called Abolitionism, or with Republican party poli- tics, but who hold them purely as military opinions. I submit these opinions, as being entitled to some weight against the objections 14 often ui^'ed that eni;Micipation and arming the bhicks are unwise as militarv measures, and were not adopted as such in good faith. You say you will not fijjht to free negroes. Some of them seem willing to fight for jou. But no matter ; fight you, then, exclusively to save the Union. 1 issued the proclamation on pur- pose to aid you in saving the Union. When- ever you shall have conquered all resistance to the Union, if I shall urge you to continue fighting, it will be an apt time then for you to declare that you will not fight to free negroes. 1 thought that in your struggle for the Union, to whiitever extent the negroes should cease helping the enemy, to that extent it weakened the enemy in his resistance to you. Do you think ditierentiy? I thought that whatever negroes can be got to do as soldiers, leaves just so much less for white soldiers to do in saving the Union. Does it appear otherwise to you ? But negroes, like other people, act upon motives. Why should the ij do ant/thiug for its, if u-e tcill do nothing for them ? If they stake their lives for us, they must be prompted by the strongest motive, even the promise of freedom. And the promise being made, must be kept. The signs look better. The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea. Thanks to the great Northwest for it. Nor yet wholly to them. Three hundred miles up they met New England, Empire, Keystone, and Jersey, hew- ing their way right aud left. The sunny South, too, in more colors than one, also lent a hand. On the spot, their part of the history was jot- ted down, in black and white. The job was a great national one, and let none be banned who Ijore an honorable part in it. While those who have cleared the great river may well be proud, even that is not all. It is hard to say that anything has been more bravely aud well done than at Antietam, Murfreesboro', Gettys- burg, and on many fields of lesser note. Nor mu3t Uncle Sara's web-feet be forgotten. At nil the watery margins thev have been present ; not only on the deep sea, the broad bay, and the rapid river, but also up the narrow muddy bayou ; and wherever the ground was a little damp, they have been, and made their tracks. Thanks to all for the great liepublic, for the principle it lives by and keeps alive — for man's vast future — thanks to all. Peace does not appear so distant as it did. I hope it will come soon, and come to stay, and so come as to be worth the keeping in all fu- ture time. It will then have been proved that among free men there can be no successtiil appeal from the ballot to the bullet, and that they who take such appeal are sure to lose their case, and y.ay the cost. And then there Mill be some black men uho can remember that nith fiient tongue and with clenched teeth , and steady eye and well poised bayonet, they have helped mankind on to this great consummation ; irhilc I fear (here will be tome white ones unable to forget that with malignant heart and deceitful speech they have etrove to hinder it. THE PROCLAMATIONS IN REGARD TO SLAVERY INVIOLABLE. From the Annual Message, December 8, 18G3. But if it be proper to require as a test of admission to the political hodif an oath of allep;iayice to the United State^j and to the Union tinder it, tvhif not also to the laws and proclamations in regard to Slavery. Those lairs and proclamations were put forth for the purpose of aiding in the suppression of the Rebellion. To give them the fullest effect there had to be a pledge for their maintenance. In my judgment they have aided, and will further aid, the cause for tvhich they were intended. To notv abandon them woidd be not only to relinquish a lever (f power, but ivould also be a cruel and astounding breach of faith. I may add, at this pohxt, while I re- main in my present position I shall not attempt to retract or modify the Eman- cipation Proclamation, nor shall I return to slavery any person icho i^free by the terms of that Proclamation, or by any of the acts of Congress. "SO FA^ AS TESTED, IT IS DIFFICULT TO SAY THEY ARE NOT AS GOOD SOL- DIERS AS ANY." From the same. Of those who were slaves at the beginning of the rebellion, full 100,000 are now in the United States military service, about one-lialf of which number actu.'vlly bear arms in the ranks, thus giving the double advantage of taking so much 1 ibor from the insurgent cause, and supplying the places which otherwise must be filled with so many white men. So far as tested, it is difficult to say they are not as good soldiers as any. No servile insurrection or tendency to violence or cruelty has marked the measures of Emancipation and arming the blacks. THE WAR POWER OUR CHIEF RELL\NCE. THE ARMY AND NAVY. From the same. While I do not repeat nor detail what I have heretofore so earnestly urged upon this subject, my general views and feelings remain un- changed ; and I trust that Congress will omit no fair opportunity of aiding these important steps to the great consummation. In the midst of other cares, however important, we must not lose sight of the fact that the war power Ifi // 1 is still our main reliance. To that power alone | can wc look for a time to give confidence to i the people in the contested rejijions, tkiit the I insurgent power will not again overrun iheni. < Until that confidence shall be established, liille \ can be done anywhere for whut is called recon- j struction. | Hence our chieftcst care must still be directed i to the Army and Navy, which have thus far borne their harder part so nobly and well ; 1 and it may be esteemed fortunate that in giving ] the greatest efficiency to these indispensable ; arms we do honorably recognize the gallant men, from commander to sentinel, who com- pose them, and to whom more than to others the world must stand indebted for the home of freedom disenthralled, regeuerated, enlarged and perpetuated. In his right hatid he carries gentle peace To silence envious tongues. lie is just, and fears not: All the things he aims at are his country's. His God's, and truths. The Aftaiaesly ProcflaniatioBi Whereas, In and by the Constitution of the United States, it is provided that the President " shall have power to grant reprieves and par- dons 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 per- sons have committed and are now guilty of treason against the United States ; and Wlicrcas, With reference to said rebellion and treason, laws have been enacted by Congress declaring forfeitures and confiscation of prop- erty and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and cond*itions therein stated ; and also declar- ing that the President was thereby authorized at any time thereafter, by proclamation, to ex- tend to persons who may have participated in the existing rebellion in any state, or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, witli such ex- ceptions and at such times and on such con- ditions as he may deem expedient for the pub- lic welfare ; and Whereas, The Congressional declaration for limited and conditional pardon accords with the well-established judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and Whereas, With reference to the said Rebell- ion the President of the United States has is- sued several proclamations with provisions in regard to the liberation of slaves; and Whereas, it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in the said rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United States, and to reinaugurate loyal State Governments wi'hin and for their respective States: Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare and make known tfl all persons who have directly or by implication participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that a full pardon i.^ hereby griinted to iliem and each of them, with restoration of all rights of {jropcrty. except as to blavcs. and in property cases where tlie rights of third parties shall have intervened, and upon the condition that every such person .shall take and subscribe an oath, and thenceforward kecf) and maintain such oath inviolate, and which oath shall be registered for peruianent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and etfect following, to wit: "I, , do solemnly SAvear in the presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faith- fully support, protect, and defend the Consti- tution of the United States and the Union or 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 relerenco to slaves, so long and so fir as not repealed, modified, or held void by Con- gress or by decision of the Supreme Court, and that I will in like manner abide by and faith- fully support all proclamations of the Presi- dent 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 ofiicers or agents of the so-called Confederate Govern- ment; all who have left judicial staticn.s under the United States to aid the rebellion : all who are or shall have been military or naval officer 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 the resigned commissions in the army or navv of the United States, and afterward aided the\ebellion, 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 per- sons may have been found in the United States service a's soldiers, seanicn, or in any other ca- pacity. And I do further proclaim, declare and make known, that whenever, in any of the Slates of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana. Mississippi, Ten- nessee, Alabama. Georgia. Florida. South Car- olina, and North Carolina a number of persons, not less than one-tenth in number of the votes cast, in such Statet at the Presidential election of the year of our Lord 18G0, each liaving 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 «o-cailed act of secession, and ex- cluding all others, shall reestablish a State Government, which shall be republican, and in nowise contravening said oath, such shall be rccof-nized as the true GoTernment of tlie 16 State, and the State shall receive thereunder the benefits of the constitutional provision which declares that — "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican form of Gov- ernment, and shall protect each of them against invasion, and on application of the Legisla- ture, or the Executive, when the Legislature can- not be convened, against domestic violence." And I do further proclaim, declare, and make known, that an}' 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 ob- jected 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 gen- eral code of laws as before the Rebellion, be maintained, subject only to the modifications made necessary by the conditions herein before stated, and such others, if any, not contra- vening Baid 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 Constitution- ally, rests exclusively with the respective Houses, and not to any extent with the Exec- utive. And still further, that this Proclamation is intended to present the people of the States wherein the national authority has been sus- pended, and loyal State Governments have been subverted, a mode in and by which the national authority and loyal State Governments may be reestablished 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 Wash- ington, the eighth 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, [l. s.] Secretary of State. The foregoing pages are submitted for the consideration of the American people, without comment, as a complete and unanswerable vindication, by the highest authority, of their motives in the per- sistent prosecution of the war for the preservation of the Union ; a justification of the policy which has been adopted by the National authority with the sanction of the popular judgment, and as establish- ing beyond controversy the necessity, legality, wisdom, and propri- ety of the measures which have been determined upon, the deep sense of duty and ardent love of country which dictated them, the fidelity to liberty, the patriotism and the high and unalterable purposes ef the great man, and statesman, under whose guidance we have pro- gressed thus far with safety, and upon whose prudence and wisdom we may justly and confidently rely. ' C Mw '/ Q HBRRRY OF CONGRESS 011 899 478 4 g