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JOHNSON, Andrew (1808-1875), President. Partly printed document signed ("Andrew Johnson"), as President, Washington, 7 September 1867. 1 page, folio, with blank integral, repairs to crease.
JOHNSON'S DRASTIC DEPARTURE FROM RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION. "I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to my Proclamation of Amnesty of the 7th of September 1867, dated this day, and signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant." Johnson's rough and bumpy course through the politics of Reconstruction can be fairly traced in the dueling Proclamations of Amnesty and Reconstruction issued by him and the Republican dominated Congress. Lincoln, of course, started the process with his generous 8 December 1863 Proclamation, permitting all but a small group of high-ranking rebels to take an oath of loyalty and receive pardon. The excluded groups were high Confederate civil or diplomatic officers, army officers above the rank of colonel, naval officers above the rank of lieutenant, and anyone who had resigned a seat in Congress, a judicial post, or a military commission in order to join the rebellion. After Lincoln's murder, radicals in Congress opted for a much tougher policy. In early 1867 they put through a new Proclamation--which President Johnson allowed to become law without signing or vetoing--that excluded a much larger pool: such as any West Point or Annapolis grads that served in the rebel army or navy, governors of rebel states, and anyone worth more than $20,000. This was what the Republican firebrands meant by "radical reconstruction": crippling the old planter class, and not just the top generals and politicos. But Johnson retaliates in this 7 September Proclamation. The bar is moved back up to exclude from the amnesty only those former officers with ranks of brigadier and naval captain or above. The only new group added is those involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln. The rich planters, junior officers, former officeholders, were all off the hook. Johnson makes it clear that he is out to exclude the top leaders of the Confederacy "and no others." The President declared political war with the radicals with this Proclamation, and they eagerly joined the battle.
JOHNSON'S DRASTIC DEPARTURE FROM RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION. "I hereby authorize and direct the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to my Proclamation of Amnesty of the 7th of September 1867, dated this day, and signed by me and for so doing this shall be his warrant." Johnson's rough and bumpy course through the politics of Reconstruction can be fairly traced in the dueling Proclamations of Amnesty and Reconstruction issued by him and the Republican dominated Congress. Lincoln, of course, started the process with his generous 8 December 1863 Proclamation, permitting all but a small group of high-ranking rebels to take an oath of loyalty and receive pardon. The excluded groups were high Confederate civil or diplomatic officers, army officers above the rank of colonel, naval officers above the rank of lieutenant, and anyone who had resigned a seat in Congress, a judicial post, or a military commission in order to join the rebellion. After Lincoln's murder, radicals in Congress opted for a much tougher policy. In early 1867 they put through a new Proclamation--which President Johnson allowed to become law without signing or vetoing--that excluded a much larger pool: such as any West Point or Annapolis grads that served in the rebel army or navy, governors of rebel states, and anyone worth more than $20,000. This was what the Republican firebrands meant by "radical reconstruction": crippling the old planter class, and not just the top generals and politicos. But Johnson retaliates in this 7 September Proclamation. The bar is moved back up to exclude from the amnesty only those former officers with ranks of brigadier and naval captain or above. The only new group added is those involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln. The rich planters, junior officers, former officeholders, were all off the hook. Johnson makes it clear that he is out to exclude the top leaders of the Confederacy "and no others." The President declared political war with the radicals with this Proclamation, and they eagerly joined the battle.