Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-05-05
THE KU-KLUK WAR. J
Proclamation OF President
He VIII Enforce the Law North
--s -a and South. .B1
Words of Warning Let Us
Have Peace"
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERIoA--A PROCLAMATION.

| BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERIoA-A PROCLAMATION.
The act of Congress entitled an act
to enforce the provisions of the Four
teenth Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States, and for other pmpo-
ses, approved April 20, A. d., 1871, being
q law of extraordinary public importance,
consider it my duty to issue this, my
proclamation, calling the attention of the
people of the United States thereto, en-
joining upon all good citizens, and espe-
cially upon the public officers, to be zeal
Gus in the enforcement thereof, and
warning all perf-ss to abstain from CON-
mitting any acts thereby prohibited. By
the law of Congress, it applies to all
parts of the United States, and will be
enforced everywhere to the extent of the
powers vested iD the Executive
Inssmuch as the necessity therefor is
well known to have been caused chiefly
by persistent violation of the rights of
citizens of the United States, by combi-
nations of lawless and disaffected per-
sons in certain localities lately the thester
of insurrection and military conflict, /
do particularly exhort the people of those
parts of the country to suppress all such
combinations by their own voluntary efforts
through the agency of the local laws,
and maintain the rights of all citizens of
the United States, and secure to all such
citizens equal protection of the laws.
Fully sensible of the responsibility i'm
posed on the Executiveb by the act of Con-
gress to which the public attention is now
called, and reluctant to call into exercise
any of the extraordinary powers thereby
conferred upon me, except in cases of
imperative necessity, / do nevertheless
deem it my duty to make known, that l
will not hesitate to exhaust the powers
thus vested in the Executive whenever
and wherever it shall become necessary to
do 80 for the purpose of securing to all |
citizens of the United States the peaceful |
enjoyment of the rights guaranteed them
by the Constitution and the Laws.
1t is my earnest wish that peace and
chez rful obt tdience CT the law may pre-
vail throughout the land, and that all
traces of our late unhappy civil strife be
speedily removed. These ends can be |
easily reached by acquiescence in the re-
suits of the conflict, now written in our
constitution and by due and proper en-
forcement of equal, just and impartial
avs in every part of our country. The
failure of local communities to furnish
such means for the attainment of the re-
suits so earnestly desired, imposes upon
he national government the duty of put
ing forth all its energies for the protec-
ion of its citizens, of every race and
,olor, and for the restoration of peace
md order throughout the entire country.
In testimony whereof have hereunto
et my hand and caused the seal of the
United States to be affixed. Done at the
.ity of Washington this the third day of
Nay, in the year of our Lord, 1871, and
If the independence of the United States
he ninety fourth. U. s. GRANT,
President,
HAMILTON FISH, Secretary of st ate.