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Significant partly-printed DS as president, one page, 8 x 10, August 22, 1870. President Grant directs the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to “my Proclamation of Neutrality in the war between France and the North German Confederation.” Signed crisply at the conclusion by U. S. Grant. In very good to fine condition, with light creasing and toning. Accompanied by a printed four-page booklet of Grant’s proclamation—“Franco-Prussian War–Neutrality.” On the date of this document, President Grant proclaimed America’s position of neutrality toward the ongoing Franco-Prussian War between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia, which lasted from July 19, 1870, to January 28, 1871.
America’s decision to stay neutral was an obvious choice. The U.S. held historical ties with France, dating back to the American Revolution, and the country sought good relations with Prussia, which was emerging as a powerful German state. Moreover, the U.S. Civil War had ended just a few years earlier, and the country was still undergoing Reconstruction. The government prioritized rebuilding the South, dealing with economic recovery, and continued westward expansion, not the loss of more American life and resources.
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