Being prevailed upon to accept a second term, the necessity of the address was interrupted. Near the close of his eight years in office, and determined to retire upon its expiration, he on May 15, 1796, submitted the original address to his confidential friend, Alexander Hamilton, for suggestions. Hamilton returned the original to Washington, having made a copy, which he recast, after several conferences with John Jay; the redressed copy was later despatched to Washington, who completed the address as presented in the text.

Sparks, in his “Life of Washington," referring to the farewell address, remarks: “He had no pride in authorship; his object always was to effect the purpose in hand, and for that he occasionally invoked assistance to ensure a plain and clear exposition of his thoughts and intentions."

The address was published to the people, September 19, 1796; nearly six months before his term of office expired, and nearly two months prior to election day, a formal notice to all parties of his determination to retire.

The original address as published is in the possession of the New York Public Library (Astor, Lenox, and Tilden foundations), having been purchased by Mr. James Lenox (the founder of the Lenox Library) for $2000 at an auction sale in Philadelphia by the administrators of the estate of Mr. David C. Claypoole, proprietor and editor of the Daily Advertiser, in which Philadelphia paper it was published September 19, 1796.

The address is preserved in a dark leather framed case, under lock and key, through the bevelled glass front of which the valuable document is exposed so as to show uppermost the opening and closing pages; the latter or left-hand sheet — page 32 — exhibiting date and the signature reading :

United States

19th September (1796

Go Washington

:

The entire address is in the handwriting of Washington, rather sparsely written upon thirty-two pages of quarto letter paper, sewed together as a book (each sheet is nine inches long by seven inches wide), the centre edge carrying three perforations through which is inserted pale blue ribbon with the ends tied in a knot. Each letter sheet carries on its upper righthand corner the page number in a pen-marked circle; on the lower corner dropped below the line appears the commencing word of the next page, or sheet.

There are many alterations, erasures of paragraphs, lines struck out and interlinings. The tenth, eleventh, and sixteenth pages are almost expunged, save only a few lines; one-half of the thirty-first page is all effaced.

The written address is composed of 1086 lines and 174 erased lines.

Mr. Claypoole was consulted by Washington relative to its publication, and immediately accepted; after proofs were presented to Washington, revised, and returned, Mr. Claypoole in handing back the manuscript asked if he could retain it, which request was granted; thus Mr. Claypoole became the owner of the national relic. It always remained in his possession until the purchase by Mr. Lenox.

A tracing of the autograph of Washington, from the last page of the original manuscript of his "Farewell Address." 1

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, Placquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James, Ascension, Assumption, Terre Bonne, Lafourche, Ste. Marie. 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 Anne 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.

1 By courtesy of Mr. Victor H. Paltsits, Assistant Librarian, Lenox Library, New York.

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-defense; and 1 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 name and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

L. S.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

1 By Proclamation of President Lincoln, January 1, 1863. The other States, by proclamation, accepting the 13th Amendment. (Passed February 1, 1865. Declared December 18, 1865.)

The original draft is on four pages of foolscap paper, and was subsequently presented by President Lincoln to the managers of the Sanitary Fair in Chicago, who sold it for the benefit of the soldiers, a Mr. J. B. Bryan of Chicago buying it for $3000.

The entire proclamation is in the handwriting of the President except the last two paragraphs, "In witness whereof," etc., which were written in by his Private Secretary, John G. Nicolay. The signature exhibits a tremulous hand incident to the reception of visitors for two or three hours, it being New Year's Day, the callers making their appearance just before the finish of the proclamation, and each caller shaking hands with the President.

The pen and holder used was given to Senator Sumner, and by him presented to the late George Livermore of Boston, Massachusetts. It is now (1903) owned by the Press Club of New York City. It was a common cedar holder, and a steel pen known as the "Washington."

The preliminary proclamation referred to was written in June, 1862, and read to Lincoln's Cabinet for criticism or remarks as to its features or

details. Secretary Seward suggested it be held until some substantial advantage was gained in the field, as at the time there had been so many reverses, it might be considered a cry of despair. The suggestion was accepted and the Proclamation held until after the battle of Antietam (September 17-19). The preliminary Proclamation issued September 22, 1862.

PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY.

It accompanied the President's message to the 38th Congress, with the hope of weakening the moral as well as the material strength of the Confederates.

WHEREAS, in and by the Constitution of the United States, it is provided that the President shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment;" and whereas a rebellion now exists whereby the loyal State governments of several States have for a long time been subverted, and many persons have committed and are now guilty of treason against the United States; and, whereas with reference to said rebellion and treason, laws have been enacted by Congress declaring forfeitures and confiscation of property and liberation of slaves, all upon terms and conditions therein stated; and also declaring that the President was thereby authorized at any time thereafter, by proclamation, to extend to persons who may have participated in the existing rebellion, in any State or part thereof, pardon and amnesty, with such exceptions and at such times and on such conditions as he may deem expedient for the public welfare; and whereas the congressional declaration for limited and conditional pardon accords with well-established judicial exposition of the pardoning power; and whereas, with reference to said rebellion, the President of the United States has issued several proclamations with provisions in regard to the liberation of slaves; and whereas it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said rebellion to resume their allegiance to the United States, and to reinaugurate loyal State governments within and for their respective States: Therefore,

I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly or by implication, participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereinafter excepted, that a full pardon is hereby granted to them and each of them, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, and in property cases where rights of third parties shall have intervened, and upon the condition that every such person shall take and subscribe an oath, and thenceforward keep and maintain such oath inviolate; and which oath shall be registered for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit: "I. do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Union of States thereunder; and that I will in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by Congress, or by decision of the Supreme Court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the Supreme Court. So help me God." The persons excepted from the benefits of the foregoing provisions are, all who are, or shall have been, civil or diplomatic officers or agents of the so-called confederate government; all who have left judicial stations under the United States to aid the rebellion; all who are, or shall have been, military or naval officers of said so-called confederate government, above the rank of colonel in the army, or of lieutenant in the navy; all who left seats in the United States Congress to aid the rebellion; all who resigned commissions in the Army or Navy of the United States, and afterwards aided the rebellion; and all who have engaged in any way in treating colored persons, or white persons in charge of such, otherwise than lawfully as prisoners of war, and which persons may have been found in the United States Service as soldiers, seamen, or in any other capacity.

And I do further proclaim, declare and make known, that whenever, in any of the States of Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina, a number of persons, not less than one-tenth in number of the votes cast in such State at the presidential election of the year of our Lord 1860, each having taken the oath aforesaid, and not having since violated it, and being a qualified voter by the election law of the State existing immediately before the so-called Act of Secession, and excluding all others shall re-establish a State government which shall be republican, and in nowise contravening said oath, such shall be recognized as the true government of the State, and the State shall receive thereunder the benefits of the constitutional provision which declares that the United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a republican

form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and, on application of the Legislature, or the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened), against domestic violence.

And I do further proclaim, declare and make known that any provision which may be adopted by such State government in relation to the freed people of such State, which shall recognize and declare their permanent freedom, provide for their education, and which may yet be consistent, as a temporary arrangement, with their present condition as a laboring, landless and homeless class, will not be objected to by the National Executive. And it is suggested as not improper, that, in constructing a loyal State government in any State, the name of the State, the boundary, the subdivisions, the constitution, and the general code of laws, as before the rebellion, be maintained, subject only to the modifications made necessary by the conditions herein before stated, and such others, if any, not contravening said conditions, and which may be deemed expedient by those framing the new State government.

To avoid misunderstanding, it may be proper to say that this proclamation so far as it relates to State governments, has no reference to States wherein loyal State governments have all the while been maintained, and for the same reason, it may be proper to further say that whether members sent to Congress from any State shall be admitted to seats, constitutionally rests exclusively with the respective Houses, and not to any extent with the Executive. And still further, that this proclamation is intended to present the people of the States wherein the national authority has been suspended, and loyal State governments have been subverted, a mode in and by which the national authority and loyal State governments may be re-established within said States, or in any of them; and, while the mode presented is the best the Executive can suggest, with his present impressions, it must not be understood that no other possible mode would be acceptable.

Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, the 8th day of December, A.D. 1863, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-eighth.

By the President:

WM. H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

Amnesty Proclamation.

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Terms by which the people of the States that had been in rebellion might receive full amnesty and pardon, and be re-invested with the rights to exercise the functions of citizenship.

WHEREAS, The President of the United States on the 8th day of December, 1863, did, with the object of suppressing the existing rebellion, to induce all persons to lay down their arms, to return to their loyalty, and to restore the authority of the States, issue proclamations offering amnesty and pardon to certain persons who had directly or by implication engaged in said rebellion; and

WHEREAS, Many persons who had so engaged in the late rebellion have, since the issuance of said proclamation, failed or neglected to take the benefits offered thereby; and

WHEREAS, Many persons who have been justly deprived of all claim to amnesty and pardon thereunder, by reason of their participation directly or by implication in said rebelfion, and continued in hostility to the Government of the United States since the date of said proclamation, now desire to apply for and obtain amnesty and pardon:

To the end, therefore, that the authority of the Government of the United States may be restored, and that peace, and order, and freedom may be established, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do proclaim and declare, that I hereby grant to all persons who have directly or indirectly participated in the existing rebellion, except as hereafter excepted, amnesty and pardon, with restoration of all rights of property, except as to slaves, except in cases where legal proceedings under the laws of the United States, providing for the confiscation of property of persons engaged in rebellion, have been instituted, but on the condition, nevertheless, that every such person shall take and subscribe to the following oath, which shall be registered, for permanent preservation, and shall be of the tenor and effect following, to wit:

"I do solemnly swear or affirm in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth support, protect, and faithfully defend the Constitution of the United States, and will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God."

The following classes of persons are excepted from the benefits of this proclamation.

1. All who are or have been pretended diplomatic officers, or otherwise domestic or foreign agents of the pretended Confederate States.

2. All who left judicial stations under the United States to aid in the rebellion.