Abraham Lincoln, Proclamation [Draft], April 15, 1861
By the President of the United States
A proclamation
To the People of the United States of America.
Whereas the laws of the United States have been, for some time past, and at the present and now, are opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, in the states of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the Marshals by law, therefore, I, as Abraham Lincoln President of the United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have thought fit to call out forth, and hereby do call out forth the militia of the several states, of the Union, to the aggregate number of seventyfive thousand, in order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed. The details, for this object, will be made known immediately communicated to the State authorities, through the War Department.
I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union and the perpetuity of popular government; and to redress its injurious [in]sults, and injuries wrongs, already too long endured.
I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places and property, which have been seized from the government; Union; and, in every event, the utmost care will be observed, consistly with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation; any destruction of, or interference with, property, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens, in any part of the country--
And I hereby command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to disperse, and retire peaceably to their respective abodes, within twenty days from this date--
Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution, I do hereby convene both Houses of Congress,-- Senators and Representatives are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective chambers, at 12. o,clock, noon, on Thursday the fourth day of July, A. D. 1861 next, then and there to consider, and determine, such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety, and interest, may seem to demand.
By the President of the United States
A Proclamation
Whereas &c
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 15th day of April in the year of our Lord ... and of the Indepencence of the United States the
By the President
Sec State.
April 15, 1861: President Lincoln Calls Congress into Emergency Session
