Historical Letter: Abraham Lincoln Papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916: Jacob Bowker to Abraham Lincoln, Friday, January 22, 1864 (Question Regarding Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction)

Abraham Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan & the Wade Davis Bill He Vetoed

Historical Letter: Abraham Lincoln Papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833-1916: Jacob Bowker to Abraham Lincoln, Friday, January 22, 1864 (Question Regarding Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction)

01/22/1864

Historical Letter

The Library of Congress presents an 1864 historical letter, written by Jacob Bowker to Abraham Lincoln, that poses questions to Lincoln regarding his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction--which pardons those who participated in the rebellion of the Confederacy upon their oath of allegiance to the Union and also declares that the following states could be readmitted to the Union as long as 10 percent of their population swore allegiance: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Bowker asks if Lincoln intended for the proclamation to apply to those citizens who had already sworn allegiance to the Union at a past congressional election.

View Source Here

Library of Congress

Rights Statement: Project Reconstruction curates links to primary and secondary sources from a wide variety of digital newspapers, museums, libraries, universities, historical societies and other governmental and nongovernmental websites. Use of said content is solely at your own risk. Consult each source’s original publisher for all rights and terms of use associated with their content.

Insensitive Language/Images: Some sources may include insensitive language or images that were created just before, during or after the Reconstruction Era. We try our best to include advisory “notes” in the description section of each source to inform site visitors about potentially insensitive material.

Fairness & Accuracy Statement: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that seems inaccurate or doesn't look right, please contact us.