Proclamation Declaring The Insurrection At An End, 1866
An Introductory Note
President Johnson's proclamation of May 10, 1865, marked the actual close of
hostilities; that of April 2, 1866, declared the insurrection at an end in all the States
save Texas; and this of Aug. 20, 1866, gave notice of the resumption of civil government
in the States which had seceded.
Whereas, by proclamations of the 15th and 19th of April, 1861, the President of the
United States in virtue of the power vested in him by the Constitution and the laws,
declared that the laws of the United States were 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 of the law; and
Whereas, by another proclamation made on the 16th day of August, in the same year, in
pursuance of an act of Congress approved July 13, 1861, the inhabitants of the States of
Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas,
Arkansas, Mississippi, and Florida (except the inhabitants of the State of Virginia lying
west of the Alleghany Mountains, and except also the inhabitants of such other parts of
that State and the other States before named as might maintain a loyal adhesion to the
Union and Constitution or might be from time to time occupied and controlled by forces of
the United States engaged in the dispersion of the insurgents) were declared to be in a
state of insurrection against the United States; and
Whereas, by another proclamation of the 1st of July, 1862, issued in pursuance of an
act of Congress approved June 7, in the same year, the insurrection was declared to be
still existing in the States aforesaid, with the exception of certain specified countries
in the State of Virginia; and
Whereas, by another proclamation made on the second day of April, 1863, in pursuance of
an act of Congress of July 13, 1861, the exceptions named in the proclamation of August
16, 1861, were revoked and the inhabitants of the States of Georgia, South Carolina, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Florida, and
Virginia (except the forty-eight counties of Virginia designated as West Virginia and the
ports of New Orleans, Key West, Port Royal, and Beaufort, in North Carolina) were declared
to be still in a state of insurrection against the United States; and
Whereas, by another proclamation, of the 15th day of September, 1863, made in pursuance
of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1863, the rebellion was declared to be still
existing and the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus was in certain specified cases
suspended throughout the United States, said suspension to continue throughout the
duration of the rebellion or until said proclamation should, by a subsequent one to be
issued by the President of the United States, be modified or revoked; and
Whereas, the House of Representatives on the 22nd day of July, 1861, adopted a
resolution in the following words, namely:
Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, That the
present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the
Southern States now in revolt against the constitutional Government, and in arms around
the capitol; that in this national emergency, Congress, banishing all feelings of mere
passion or resentment, will recollect only its duty to the whole country; that this war is
not waged upon our part in any spirit of oppression, nor for any purpose of conquest or
subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established
institutions of those States; but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the
Constitution, and to preserve the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the
several States, unimpaired; and that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war
ought to cease; and
Whereas, the Senate of the United States on the 25th day of July, 1861, adopted a
resolution in the words following, to wit:
Resolved, That the present deplorable civil war has been forced upon the country by the
disunionists of the Southern States now in revolt against the constitutional Government
and in arms around the capitol; that in this national emergency Congress, banishing all
feelings of mere passion or resentment, will recollect only its own duty to the whole
country; that this war is not prosecuted upon our part in any spirit of oppression, nor
for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, nor purpose of overthrowing or interfering
with the rights or established institutions of those States; but to defend and maintain
the supremacy of the Constitution and all laws made in pursuance thereof and to preserve
the Union, with all the dignity, equality, and rights of the several States unimpaired;
that as soon as these objects are accomplished the war ought to cease; and
Whereas, these resolutions though not joint or concurrent in form, are substantially
identical, and as such have hitherto been and yet are regarded as having expressed the
sense of Congress upon the subject to which they relate; and
Whereas, the President of the United States by proclamation of the 13th of June, 1865,
declared that the insurrection in the State of Tennessee had been suppressed, and that the
authority of the United States therein was undisputed, and such United States officers as
had been duly commissioned were in the undisturbed exercise of their official functions;
and
Whereas, the President of the United States by further proclamation, issued on the 2nd
day of April, 1866, did promulgate and declare that there no longer existed any armed
resistance of misguided citizens or others to the authority of the United States in any or
in all the States before mentioned, excepting only the State of Texas, and did further
promulgate and declare that the laws could be sustained and enforced in the several States
before mentioned, except Texas, by the proper civil authorities, State or Federal, and
that the people of the said States, except Texas, are well and loyally disposed, and have
conformed or will conform, in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of
the amendment to the Constitution of the United States, prohibiting slavery within the
jurisdiction of the United States;
And did further declare, in the same proclamation that it is the manifest determination
of the American people that no State, of its own will, has a right or power to go out of,
or separate itself from, or be separated from the American Union; and that, therefore,
each State ought to remain and constitute an integral part of the United States;
And did further declare, in the same last-mentioned proclamation, that the several
aforementioned States, excepting Texas, had in the manner aforesaid given satisfactory
evidence that they acquiesce in this sovereign and important resolution of national unity;
and
Whereas, the President of the United States in the same proclamation did further
declare, that it is believed to be a fundamental principle of government that the people
who have revolted and who have been overcome and subdued, must be dealt with so as to
induce them voluntarily to become friends, or else they must be held by absolute military
power or devastated so as to prevent them from ever again doing harm as enemies, which
last-named policy is abhorrent to humanity and to freedom; and
Whereas, the President did, in the same proclamation further declare, that the
Constitution of the United States provides for constituent communities only as States, and
not as Territories dependencies, provinces, or protectorates;
And further, that such constituent States must necessarily be, and by the Constitution
and laws of the United States are, made equals and placed upon a like footing as to
political rights immunities, dignity, and power with the several States with which they
are united;
And did further declare, that the observance of political equality, as a principle of
right and justice, is well calculated to encourage the people of the before-named States,
except Texas, to become more and more constant and persevering in their new allegiance;
and
Whereas, the President did further declare, that standing armies, military occupation,
martial law, military tribunals, and the suppression of the writ of habeas corpus are in
times of peace dangerous to public liberty, incompatible with the individual right of the
citizen, contrary to the genius and spirit of our free institutions, and exhaustive of the
national resources, and ought not, therefore, to be sanctioned or allowed except in cases
of actual necessity for repelling invasion and suppressing insurrection or rebellion;
And the President did further, in the same proclamation, declare that the policy of the
Government of the United States from the beginning of the insurrection to its overthrow
and final suppression had been conducted in conformity with the principles in the
last-named proclamation recited; and
Whereas, the President, in the said proclamation, of the 13th of June, 1865, upon the
grounds therein stated and herein before recited, did then and thereby proclaim and
declare that the insurrection which heretofore existed in the several States before named,
except in Texas, was at an end, and was therefore to be so regarded; and
Whereas, subsequently to the said 2nd day of April, 1866, the insurrection in the State
of Texas has been completely and everywhere suppressed and ended, and the authority of the
United States has been successfully and completely established in the said State of Texas
and now remains therein unassisted and undisputed, and such of the proper United States
officers as have been duly commissioned within the limits of the said State are now in the
undisturbed exercise of their official functions; and
Whereas, the laws can now be sustained and enforced in the said State of Texas by the
proper civil authority, State or Federal, and the people of the said State of Texas, like
the people of the other States before named, are well and loyally disposed and have
conformed or will conform in their legislation to the condition of affairs growing out of
the amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting slavery within the
limits and jurisdiction of the United States; and
Whereas, all the reasons and conclusions set forth in regard to the several States
therein especially named now apply equally and in all respects to the State of Texas, as
well as to the other States which have been involved in the insurrection; and
Whereas, adequate provision has been made by military orders to enforce the execution
of the acts of Congress, aid the civil authorities, and secure obedience to the
Constitution and laws of the United States within the State of Texas, if a resort to
military force for such purpose should at any time be necessary:
Now therefore, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim
and declare that the insurrection which heretofore existed in the State of Texas is at an
end, and is to be henceforth so regarded in that State as in the other States before
named, in which the said insurrection was proclaimed to be at an end, by the aforesaid
proclamation of the 2nd of April, 1866.
And I do further proclaim, that the said insurrection is at an end, and that peace,
order, and tranquility, and civil authority now exist in and throughout the whole United
States of America.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United
States to be affixed.
[Seal.] Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of August, A.D. 1866, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the ninety first.
Andrew Johnson.
By the President: William H. Seward, Secretary of State .
