Catalog Archive
Auction 182, Lot 790

Civil War Proclamation Granting Full Pardon and Amnesty and Transmittal of 14th Amendment

"[Lot of 2 - Andrew Johnson] Message of the President of the United States, Communicating, … A Copy of Proclamation Granting Pardon and Amnesty to All Persons Engaged in the Late Rebellion [and] ... An Additional Article to the Constitution...", U.S. Government

Subject: Documents - Reconstruction

Period: 1866-69 (published)

Publication:

Color: Black & White

Size:
5.8 x 9.1 inches
14.7 x 23.1 cm
Download High Resolution Image
(or just click on image to launch the Zoom viewer)

Two important documents from Andrew Johnson in original unbound condition:

A. Message of the President of the United States, Communicating, … A Copy of Proclamation Granting Pardon and Amnesty to All Persons Engaged in the Late Rebellion, from Sen. Ex. Doc. 23 ½, 40th Congress, 3rd Session, published 1869. This document contains a copy of the full pardon President Johnson issued to "all persons engaged in the late rebellion." The document goes beyond just the Civil War, however, and includes the pardons granted by Presidents Washington, Adams, Madison and Lincoln. These earlier pardons were intentionally included by Johnson to show precedent in providing amnesty to participants of the Civil War. Earlier in 1868 this same Senate Judiciary Committee challenged the President’s authority to grant a general pardon. This is an important document not only for its key proclamation to restore the Union but also for its reassertion of the President’s authority to grant general pardons. Octavo, 13 pages, disbound with original string ties. Condition: A bright example with a faint dampstain at upper left. (B+)

B. Message from the President Of The United States, Communicating … An Additional Article to the Constitution of the United States, from Sen. Ex. Doc. 57, 39th Congress, 1st Session, published 1866. In this short document, Johnson notified Congress that the proposed amendment had been forwarded to the states, but he wanted to be clear that the transmittal in no way constituted his support. It was a bitterly contested amendment in its day and remains one of the most litigated parts of the Constitution, especially the Equal Protection Clause in the first section that overturned the Dred Scott decision. Octavo, 4 pages on a single sheet, uncut and never bound. Condition: A clean example. (A)

References:

Condition:

See description above.

Estimate: $180 - $220

Sold for: $120

Closed on 4/28/2021

Archived