Year: 1868

The Presidents Amnesty Proclamation.


The telegraph has already given US the outlines
of the Presidents Fourth of July proclamation,
We now have the text of the proclamation as
issued from the State Departments


Whereas in the month of July, Ammo Domini
| 1851. in accepting the condition of civil war,
which was brought about by insurrection and
| rebellion in several of the States which consti-
tute the United Statets, the two houses of Con-
gress did soemnly declare that the war was not
Waged on the part of the Government in any
spirit of oppression, not for any purpose of con-
quest or subjugation, nor for any purpose of
overthrowing or interfering with the rights or
established institutions of the States, but only
to defend and maintain the supremacy of the
Constitution of the United States and to preserve
the Union with all the dignity equality, and
rights of the several States unimpaired and that
so soon as those objects should be accomplished,
the war on the part of the Government should
| cease;


And whereas the President OF the United States
has heretofore, in the spirit of that declaration,
and with the view of securing for it ultimate and
complete effect, set forth several proclamations
| offering amnesty and pardon to persons who had
been or were concerned in the aforesaid rebell-
| ion which proclamations, however were attend
with prudential reservations and exceptions then
deemed necessary and proper, and which procla-
nations were respectively issued on the 9Th day
of March, 1864 on the 29th day of May, 1865
and on the 7th day of September, 1867.


And whereas the said lamentable civil war
has long since altogether ceased, with an ac-
knowledgment by all the States of the supremacy
| of the Federal Constitution and the Governmen
Hereunder, and there no longer exists any reas
sonable ground to apprehend renewal of the
said civil war, aEy foreign interference, or ary
unlawful resistance by any portion of the people
of any of the States to the Constitution and laws
of the United States


And whereas it is desirable to reduce the
standing army, and to bring to speedy termi-
nation military occupation, martial law, military
tribunals, abridgment of freedom of speech and
of the press, and suspension of the privilege of
habeds corpus and the right of trial by jury-such
encroachments upon our free institutions in times
of peace being dangerous to public liberty, in>
compatible with the individual rights of the citi
zen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our
republican form of government, and exhaustive
of the national resources.


And whereas it is believed that amnesty and
pardon will tend to secure complete and uni
versal establishment and prevalence of municipal
law and order, III conformity with the Constitu-
ton of the United States, and to remove all aps
pearances or presumptions of a retaliatory or
yindictive policy on the part of the Government,
attended by unnecessary disqual:fcations, pains,
penalties, confscations, and disfranchisements /;
and, on the contrary, to promote and procure
complete fraterua reconciliation among the
whole people with due submission to the Consti-
tuition and laws:


Now, therefore be it known that l, Andrew
| johnson, President of the United States, do, by
virtue of the Constitution and in the name of the
people Of the United States, hereby proclaim and
declare, Internationally and without reservation,
to all and to every person who directly or indi.
rectly participated in the late insurrection or
rebellion, excepting such person or persons as
may be under presentment or indictment in any
court of the United States having competent
jurisdiction upon charge of treason or other
felony, full pardon and amnesty for the offence
of treason against the United States, or of adhe.
ring to their enemies during the late civil war,
with restoration of all rights of property except
as to slaves, and except also as to any property
Of which any person may have been legally dis
vested under the laws of the United States


In testimony whereof, l have signed these
presents with my hand and have caused the seal
| of the United States tn hn h~-~~-'- ~GAeu'