Lincoln’s Last Speech & The Fight for the Elective Franchise (1865)

← Return to Community Chronicles

Primary Source Analysis: The 1865 Elective Franchise and the Port Royal General Orders

Archival ID: 1865_04_22_Port_Royal_NS_P2_AL

Date: April 11–22, 1865 | Region: Port Royal, S.C. / Kenosha, Wis. | Institutional Focus: Documentation of the Elective Franchise

(Exhibit A: Close-up of Lincoln’s Final Public Address — Kenosha Telegraph, April 20, 1865)

Lincoln Speech Close up

Transcription: The Elective Franchise Fragment

“[Archivist’s Note: This is a pivotal excerpt from President Lincoln’s final public speech delivered on April 11, 1865.]


“It is also satisfactory [sic] to some that the elective franchise is not given to the colored man. I would, myself, prefer that it were now conferred on the very intelligent, and on those that serve our cause as soldiers.”

(Exhibit B: General Orders No. 15 — The New South, April 22, 1865)

Lincoln Death Notice Close up

Transcription: General Orders No. 15

I. ABRAHAM LINCOLN, President of the United States, has been assassinated. The nation mourns—our affliction is deeper than can be expressed.

II. A gun will be fired every half hour, beginning at sunrise and ending at sunset, from Fort Wells, to-morrow. All flags will hang at half-mast, and all business at this Post will be suspended for the day.

III. All officers in this District will were [sic] black crape arouud [sic] the left arm above the elbow, and also upon their sword hilt for thirty days.

Archivist’s Historical Analysis

  • The Primary Evidence of Error: The word “Satisfactory” in Exhibit A is a verified printer’s error. Lincoln’s original address stated it was unsatisfactory that the franchise was withheld. This typo stands as a witness to the manual intensity and emotional exhaustion of 19th-century typesetting during a week of national mourning.
  • The Radical Call for Suffrage: The April 11, 1865 address represented the first time a sitting President publicly advocated for Black voting rights. By documenting this specifically through the lens of those who “served our cause as soldiers,” Lincoln bridged the gap between military service and full citizenship.
  • Institutional Preservation: These documents prove that the debate over the “Elective Franchise” reached the South Carolina coast immediately following the assassination. For Williamsburg County and the Pee Dee region, these artifacts represent the very beginning of a century-long struggle to realize the vision contained in these ink-stained pages.
Institutional Significance: This digital archive serves to preserve the “human hands” of history. By showcasing the errors alongside the tragedy, we document the authenticity of the struggle for Black citizenship in the American South.

Archival Citations

“President’s Speech.” The Kenosha Telegraph (Kenosha, Wis.), April 20, 1865. Library of Congress Source.

“ABRAHAM LINCOLN IS DEAD.” The New South (Port Royal, S.C.), April 22, 1865. Library of Congress Source.
Chicago Defender Charities

Institutional Partnership

Chicago Defender Charities, Inc.

Our Mahogany Heritage Institute operates under the fiscal sponsorship of Chicago Defender Charities, Inc.

ASALH Logo

National Affiliation

ASALH Institutional Member

Our Mahogany Heritage Institute is a proud Institutional Member of ASALH, dedicated to the study of African American life and history.

Your gift supports our mission.

← Return to Community Chronicles