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Primary sourcePainting14 October 1865

President Andrew Johnson Pardoning Rebels at the White House

Stanley Fox · 14 October 1865

An 1865 Harper's Weekly engraving showing Andrew Johnson signing pardons for former Confederates at the White House.

This engraving shows Johnson personally signing pardons for ex-Confederates, a defining act of his Reconstruction policy.

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Black and white engraving of a crowded room in the White House with bookshelves and a hanging lamp. A seated man at a central desk signs papers while many men in dark suits and beards stand around him and wait.
Stanley Fox, President Andrew Johnson Pardoning Rebels at the White House, Harper's Weekly, 1865.

About this source

What it is

This engraving by Stanley Fox was published in Harper's Weekly on 14 October 1865. It shows President Andrew Johnson seated at a desk in the White House, signing pardon papers while a crowd of men wait around him.

Why it matters

Pardoning former Confederates was a central and controversial part of Johnson's Reconstruction policy after the Civil War. This image documents a real practice of his administration and shows how contemporary newspapers portrayed his leniency toward the South.

Look closer

  • What does the crowded room and the many waiting men tell you about how common these pardon requests were?
  • Why might Harper's Weekly have chosen to depict this scene?
  • What does this image not show about the people affected by the Civil War?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Andrew Johnson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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