Details
LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President. Printed document signed ("Abraham Lincoln") as President, Washington, D.C., 8 May 1863. 1 page, 4to, integral blank, the two leaves cleanly detached, lightly age-toned.
Lincoln directs the Secretary of State to "affix the Seal of the United States to my proclamation relative to the liability to Military service of the United States, under the Act of Congress of March 3rd 1863, of foreigners who have declared their intentions to become citizens of the United States, in certain cases..."
LINCOLN AUTHORIZES THE CONSCRIPTION OF FOREIGNERS UNDER THE ENROLLMENT ACT OF MARCH 3, THE ACT WHICH TOUCHED OFF THE NEW YORK CITY DRAFT RIOTS
An important clarification of the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863 which sparked riots in northern cities, especially the New York City Draft Riots. The actual proclamation, with the seal affixed and bearing Lincoln's and Seward's signatures, is in the National Archives. The full text is in Collected Works, ed. Basler, 6:203-204. It stipulated that because "there now exist in the United States an insurrection and rebellion against the authority"; for the suppression of which "a military force is indispensable, to raise and support which all persons ought willingly to contribute" for the maintenance of the Constitution and Union, and the consequent preservation of free government." For this purpose, "able-bodied male citizens...and persons of foreign birth who shall have declared on oath their intention to become citizens" are liable for conscription. To clarify the liability of the Union's many foreign-born residents, Lincoln's act specified that "no plea of alienage will be received or allowed to exempt" any person who has declared his intention to become a citizen and "shall have exercised, at any time, the right of suffrage, or any other political franchise," at the Federal or state level.
After the first battle of Bull Run, Congress authorized the creation of a volunteer army of 500,000. By mid-1862 the army had been depleted by casualties and disease, so an additional 300,000 volunteers were called for on July 2 and 300,000 militia drafted for nine-months service. By early 1863 it was evident that battle losses, the expiration of short-term enrollments and the acarcity of volunteers would effectively cripple the army by the end of the year. At this critical juncture, Congress enacted the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863 to provide men by draft. Men of means were exempted upon payment of a $300 commutation fee or the hiring of a substitute. Objections to this provision in particular ("rich men's money, poor men's blood") sparked four days of riots in New York, July 13-17, the most destructive civil disorders in America to that date.
Lincoln directs the Secretary of State to "affix the Seal of the United States to my proclamation relative to the liability to Military service of the United States, under the Act of Congress of March 3rd 1863, of foreigners who have declared their intentions to become citizens of the United States, in certain cases..."
LINCOLN AUTHORIZES THE CONSCRIPTION OF FOREIGNERS UNDER THE ENROLLMENT ACT OF MARCH 3, THE ACT WHICH TOUCHED OFF THE NEW YORK CITY DRAFT RIOTS
An important clarification of the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863 which sparked riots in northern cities, especially the New York City Draft Riots. The actual proclamation, with the seal affixed and bearing Lincoln's and Seward's signatures, is in the National Archives. The full text is in Collected Works, ed. Basler, 6:203-204. It stipulated that because "there now exist in the United States an insurrection and rebellion against the authority"; for the suppression of which "a military force is indispensable, to raise and support which all persons ought willingly to contribute" for the maintenance of the Constitution and Union, and the consequent preservation of free government." For this purpose, "able-bodied male citizens...and persons of foreign birth who shall have declared on oath their intention to become citizens" are liable for conscription. To clarify the liability of the Union's many foreign-born residents, Lincoln's act specified that "no plea of alienage will be received or allowed to exempt" any person who has declared his intention to become a citizen and "shall have exercised, at any time, the right of suffrage, or any other political franchise," at the Federal or state level.
After the first battle of Bull Run, Congress authorized the creation of a volunteer army of 500,000. By mid-1862 the army had been depleted by casualties and disease, so an additional 300,000 volunteers were called for on July 2 and 300,000 militia drafted for nine-months service. By early 1863 it was evident that battle losses, the expiration of short-term enrollments and the acarcity of volunteers would effectively cripple the army by the end of the year. At this critical juncture, Congress enacted the Enrollment Act of March 3, 1863 to provide men by draft. Men of means were exempted upon payment of a $300 commutation fee or the hiring of a substitute. Objections to this provision in particular ("rich men's money, poor men's blood") sparked four days of riots in New York, July 13-17, the most destructive civil disorders in America to that date.