“This is the private box in Ford’s Theater, Washington, where President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, on the night of April 14, 1865. “
For another perspective on that evening, see the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police blotter of April 14, 1865.
During their presidencies, both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis suffered the death of a child—a not uncommon event for most American parents in the 19th century. Starting with the death of Willie Lincoln in 1862 and the tragic accident that befell Joseph Davis in 1864, Catherine Clinton explores Victorian mourning and the embrace of rituals of grief and symbols of remembrance during the Civil War.
Join us at noon on March 29 in the McGowan Theater at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, or watch online at our Ustream channel.
Image: Abraham Lincoln and his youngest son Tad (ARC 52628). While Lincoln was President, Tad’s older brother Willie—the middle child—died of typhoid fever while living in the White House. Tad himself died at age 18 in Chicago in 1871. Only the oldest son, Robert, lived to adulthood.
Honest Abe’s Congressional Expenses:
Researchers at the National Archives are still finding fascinating records related to President Lincoln. Our guest blogger David Gerleman of the The Papers of Abraham Lincoln just found a missing piece of Lincoln’s history—his pay and mileage records for the 30th Congress.
Congressional pay was based on a per diem basis stemming from an 1818 law by which members received $8 per day and $8 per 20 miles traveled to and from their districts. However, the legislation did not specify the shortest route, a fact later prompting investigation when former member-turned-newspaperman Horace Greeley publicly reproached members for taking less-than-direct routes home
You can read the whole story here:Prologue: The Check is in the Mail: The Hunt for Abraham Lincoln’s Congressional Pay Records
President Gerald R. Ford Walking away from the Lincoln Sculpture after Laying a Wreath at the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Wreath Laying Ceremony, 02/12/1975
The cornerstone of the Lincoln Memorial was laid on February 12, 1914, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday. A little more than eight years later it was completed and dedicated on May 30, 1922 with Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln attending the ceremony.
The Thirteenth Amendment, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865:
The news of the Emancipation Proclamation was greeted with joy, but it did not free all the slaves. Because of the limitations of the proclamation, and because it depended on a Union military victory, President Lincoln knew the Emancipation Proclamation would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment.
After the Senate passed a bill for an amendment in April 1864, but the House of Representatives did not, Lincoln suggested that the bill be taken up by the Republican Party in its 1864 platform for the upcoming Presidential elections.
His efforts met with success when the House passed the bill in January 1865. On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures. The necessary number of states ratified it by December 6, 1865.
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution formally abolished slavery in the United States. It provides that ”Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
Image: Joint Resolution Proposing the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 01/31/1865–01/31/1865; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789–2008; General Records of the United States Government, 1778–2006, Record Group 11; National Archives (National Archives Identifier: 1408764)
Inauguration Fact: Theodore Roosevelt wore a very unusual piece of jewelry to his inauguration. On his finger was a ring containing a lock of Lincoln’s hair, cut from the President’s head after he was shot.
Image: Theodore Roosevelt, Record Group 111, ARC 530950.
When Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, he came from standing in a reception receiving line. He is reported to have said that while his arm was tired and his signature shaky, he was convinced of the rightness of his proclamation. This detail of the signature on the Emancipation Proclamation shows the wavering ink line (top image). The ink lines of the signature have lost their intensity and are in poor condition. The mottled discoloration of the paper is also evident. Emancipation Proclamation, RG 11, ARC # 299998.
This signature by Abraham Lincoln appears on the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation issued in September 1862 (bottom image). Because the document has been handled and exhibited much less, it is in very good condition. The ink signature is dark and crisp in appearance. Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation RG 11.
A stern warning
Four days after President Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, U.S. Brig. Gen. R. H. Milroy put the citizens of Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, on notice with this order. It warned that all those who opposed the Proclamation would be treated as “rebels in arms.”
U.S. Brigadier General R. H. Milroy’s Order to Citizens of Winchester and Frederick County, Virginia in Reference to the Emancipation Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, 01/05/1863
via DocsTeach
(via todaysdocument)
Some highlights from our commemoration of the Emancipation Proclamation’s 150th anniversary:
On New Year’s Eve, over 4,000 people saw this important document. Then, on January 1, 2013, the National Archives celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation with special guests, songs, and a stamp.
If you didn’t see it this time, stay tuned. Although its display time is limited each year, the document does travel to other venues, and it will be on display here again.
You can learn more about the Emancipation Proclamation and related documents in our free eBook, available to download for iPad, iPad, Android, and other eReaders: http://www.archives.gov/publications/ebooks/
![By the President of the United States of America:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
“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 freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
“That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.”
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, 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, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain 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 [sic]; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully 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 Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord
[SEAL]
one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,Secretary of State.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/8f29d1c579daacb054744d6f5b791174/tumblr_mfceh9o3a41qhk04bo1_r2_1280.gif)
By the President of the United States of America:
A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
“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 freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
“That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States.”
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, 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, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain 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 [sic]; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully 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 Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord
[SEAL]
one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President:
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State.
In advance of the 150th anniversary exhibition, a senior conservator mends the bottom of the first page of the Emancipation Proclamation, RG11, ARC # 299998. Its damaged paper can tear or break readily.
Our new eBook - The Meaning and Making of Emancipation - is now available in iTunes!
This Multi-Touch book for iPad is free to download. An ePub version for iPhone, Android devices, eReaders, and online ePub readers is coming soon!
The book presents the Emancipation Proclamation in its social and political context with documents in the National Archives’ holdings that illustrate the efforts of the many Americans, enslaved and free, white and black, by whom slavery was abolished in the United States. It was created to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.
The National Archives will commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation with a special display of the original document at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, from Sunday, December 30, to Tuesday, January 1. This will include extended viewing hours, inspirational music, a dramatic reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, and family activities and entertainment for all ages.
This photograph shows 88-year-old Mrs. Sally Fickland, a former slave, looking at the Emancipation Proclamation in 1947.
She would have been 3 years old when Lincoln signed the proclamation in 1862.
The document was in Philadelphia that day on the first stop on the Freedom Train tour. The Freedom Train carried the Emancipation Proclamation and the Bill of Rights across America. During the 413-day tour, 3.5 million people in 322 cities in 48 states viewed these recordsDue to its fragile condition—it was printed on both sides of poor-quality 19th-century paper, unlike the Constitution, which is written on more durable parchment—the Emancipation Proclamation can only be displayed for 30 hours each year.
Now you have a chance to see this invaluable document on the 150th anniversary of its signing! We will have extended viewing hours, dramatic readings, music, and family activities, all for free at the National Archives from December 30, 2012, to January 1, 2013. Details here: http://go.usa.gov/gWbAImage: Record Group 64, National Archives.
The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation…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.
On December 1, 1862, three months after issuing the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, President Lincoln delivered his State of the Union address to Congress in writing, as was the custom in the nineteenth century. The Union lay in shambles; slavery had been abolished in Washington, DC, and in the territories of the United States. Lincoln reflected on saving the union, ending slavery, and how the two were connected, thus preserving the United States “the last best, hope of earth.”
The Emancipation Proclamation would go into effect on the first day of the new year, January 1, 1863, a declaration of freedom for slaves in rebellious areas not yet under Union control.
This document will be featured in The Meaning and Making of Emancipation, a forthcoming ebook compiled by the National Archives as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation. (The ebook will be available for multiple devices. Look for information here and on the National Archives web site.)
Along with the ebook, the National Archives will commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation with a special display of the original document at the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, from Sunday, December 30, to Tuesday, January 1.
Message from President Abraham Lincoln to Congress, December 1, 1862; (SEN 37A-F1), Box 43; Records of the U.S. Senate, Record Group 46; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
The Emancipation Proclamation is displayed for a few days each year because of its fragility and the need to preserve it for future generations.
This year we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s proclamation with a special three-day exhibit and extended viewing hours:
Sunday, December 30, 2012, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Monday, December 31, 2012, 10 a.m.-12 a.m.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.The document will be on display in the East Rotunda Gallery of the National Archives building, which is located on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. The building is Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines at the Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station.
