Manuscript DS as president, one page both sides, 10.75 x 16.5, June 19, 1862. President Lincoln issues a pardon. In part: “Whereas, at the December Term, A.D., 1857…Isaac Lambert was convicted on two indictments for Larceny and was sentenced to imprisonment in the Penitentiary for the term of three years under each conviction;—And whereas, the said Isaac Lambert has served over three-fourths of his double term of six years, in a patient, penitent, and exemplary manner;—And whereas, it appears that the family…are in a destitute condition, and that his labor is necessary for their support…I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States of America,…grant unto him, the said Isaac Lambert, a full and unconditional pardon.” Boldly signed at the conclusion by President Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward. The white paper seal affixed to the upper left remains fully intact. Repaired separations to intersecting folds, one vertical fold passing through a single letter of the signature, and scattered toning, otherwise fine condition.
Lincoln’s pardon came after receiving several petitions sent on Lambert’s behalf, including a recommendation for his pardon endorsed by two of the convicting jurors in his trial of 1857. On the same day he signed this pardon, Lincoln also signed a historic bill that prohibited slavery in all current and future Federal territories, a key piece of legislation on the road to emancipation. With this act, Lincoln and Congress repudiated the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision of five years earlier which held that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in US territories. At the same time, Lincoln was beginning to craft the Emancipation Proclamation and would issue it just over six months later on January 1, 1863. A highly desirable example signed at an important moment in the abolition of slavery. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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