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Lincoln Signed Draft Call Days After Gettysburg On day He Said “all men are created equal” Foreshadowing Famous Address
Lincoln Signed Draft Call Days After Gettysburg On day He Said “all men are created equal” Foreshadowing Famous Address
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Lincoln Signed Draft Call Days After Gettysburg On day He Said “all men are created equal” Foreshadowing Famous Address

Abraham Lincoln Draft Document Signed. One partially printed page with integral blank, 7.75" x 9.75", Washington, July 7, 1863. Museum quality framed with gorgeous black and white photograph, absolutely Pristine. After two years of fighting, volunteer enlistments into the Union army were dwindling. On March 3, 1863, the first conscription act, the Enrollment Act of 1863, made all men between the ages of twenty and forty-five liable for military service. The enlistment of draftees would officially begin on August 19, 1863. This example is a new discovery off the market for many, many decades. Lincoln's signature is bold and very bright. Aside from some light toning at the edges, this is in fine condition.

Signed 4 days after the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln is calling for an additional number of men to be conscripted for service, reading, in full:

"I Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America, and Commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy thereof, having taken into consideration the number of volunteers and militia furnished by and from the several States, including the State of New York, and the period of service of said volunteers and militia since the commencement of the present rebellion, in order to equalize the numbers amongst the Districts of the said States, and having considered and allowed for the number already furnished as aforesaid, and the time of their service aforesaid, do hereby assign four thousand eight hundred and ninety-two as the first proportional part of the quota of troops to be furnished by the 8th District of the State of New York under this, the first call made by me on the State of New York, under the act approved March 3, 1863, entitled 'An Act for Enrolling and calling out the National Forces and or other purposes,' and, in pursuance of the act aforesaid, I order that a draft be made in the said 8th District of the State of New York for the number of men herein assigned to said District, and Fifty Per Cent. In Addition." 

It was this act of Congress, that when enforced in the city of New York, through the drawing of numbers for the draft, on July 13, 1863, days after the signing of the above document, led to three days of rioting and civil unrest involving approximately 50,000 people, and causing untold damage to the city. The unrest stemmed from the practice of "substituting", where anyone with $300 could avoid service, thus excluding the wealthy from duty. The draft call brought these class resentments to the surface in a most dramatic fashion, culminating in the deaths of over one hundred civilians. Troops had to be rushed from Gettysburg to quell the violence.

The remainder of the month passed without incident, but displeasure with the upcoming draft was growing in New York. In August 1863, Major General A. Dix began to fear that riots would break out again. He requested 10,000 federal troops and suggested the propriety of calling out the state militia. The situation was so critical that President Lincoln signed a proclamation to be used by Dix "in case of any necessity arising from the employment of military force to overcome unlawful combinations against the authority of the General Government in executing the Act of Congress to enroll and call out the National force." On August 19, the draft was resumed in New York. It lasted ten days with no problems.

In July &, to a crowd President Abraham Lincoln made the below informal remarks a few days after two important Union victories. Earlier that day he received General Grant's dispatch announcing the capture of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Later on, he appeared dejected during a Cabinet meeting because General Meade failed to pursue Lee after the battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln's audience this evening was a crowd outside the White House, accompanied by a band. Unknowingly, they all got a foretaste of the Gettysburg Address, which was to be delivered four months later in southern Pennsylvania.
Washington, D.C.
July 7, 1863
Fellow-citizens:
I am very glad indeed to see you to-night, and yet I will not say I thank you for this call, but I do most sincerely thank Almighty God for the occasion on which you have called. How long ago is it -- eighty odd years -- since on the Fourth of July for the first time in the history of the world a nation by its representatives, assembled and declared as a self-evident truth that "all men are created equal." That was the birthday of the United States of America. Since then the Fourth of July has had several peculiar recognitions. The two most distinguished men in the framing and support of the Declaration were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams -- the one having penned it and the other sustained it the most forcibly in debate -- the only two of the fifty-five who sustained it being elected President of the United States. Precisely fifty years after they put their hands to the paper it pleased Almighty God to take both from the stage of action. This was indeed an extraordinary and remarkable event in our history. Another President, five years after, was called from this stage of existence on the same day and month of the year; and now, on this last Fourth of July just passed, when we have a gigantic Rebellion, at the bottom of which is an effort to overthrow the principle that all men are created equal, we have the surrender of a most powerful position and army on that very day, and not only so, but in a succession of battles in Pennsylvania, near to us, through three days, so rapidly fought that they might be called one great battle on the 1st, 2d, and 3d of the month of July; and on the 4th the cohorts of those who opposed the declaration that all men are created equal, "turned tail" and ran. Gentlemen, this is a glorious theme, and the occasion for a speech, but I am not prepared to make one worthy of the occasion. I would like to speak in terms of praise due to the many brave officers and soldiers who have fought in the cause of the war. There are trying occasions, not only in success, but for the want of success. I dislike to mention the name of one single officer, lest I might do wrong to those I might forget. Recent events bring up glorious names, and particularly prominent ones, but these I will not mention. Having said this much, I will now take the music."

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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