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Significant partly-printed DS as president, two pages on two adjoining sheets, 10.75 x 16.5, June 21, 1865. President Johnson grants a pardon to a former Confederate soldier, in part: "Whereas, John W. Reid, of Clay County, Missouri, by taking part in the late rebellion against the Government of the United States, has made himself liable to heavy pains and penalties; And whereas, the circumstances of his case render him a proper object of Executive clemency; Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Andrew Johnson…in consideration of these premises, divers other good and sufficient reasons me thereunto moving, do hereby grant to the said John W. Reid, a full pardon and amnesty for all offences by him committed, arising from participation, direct or implied, in the said rebellion…this pardon to begin and take effect from the day on which the said John W. Reid shall take the oath prescribed in the Proclamation of the President, dated May 29th, 1865, and to be void and of no effect if the said John W. Reid shall hereafter, at any time, acquire any property whatever in slaves, or make use of slave labor." Neatly signed at the conclusion in ink by President Andrew Johnson and countersigned by Acting Secretary of State William Hunter. The embossed white paper seal affixed at the conclusion remains fully intact. In very good to fine condition, with light toning and creasing, and archival reinforcement to the back of the horizontal fold.
This significant document dates to just two months after Andrew Johnson took office upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; Secretary of State William H. Seward, who had been attacked as part of the assassination conspiracy, was still recuperating, with William Hunter acting in his stead. The recipient of the pardon, John William Reid (1821–1881), was a politician, lawyer, and staunch pro-slavery advocate active during the 'Bleeding Kansas' conflict and the Civil War. In 1856, as a 'Border Ruffian,' he took part in the violent sacking of Lawrence and later led a force that overran John Brown’s men in Osawatomie, burning much of the town. Elected to Congress in 1861, Reid resigned within a year to support the Confederacy. During the Civil War, he volunteered in the Confederate States Army as an aide to former Missouri Governor and Confederate General Sterling Price, and also served as a commissioner adjusting claims against the Confederate Government.
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