On Wednesday, February 8, 1865, the United States House of Representatives passed a joint resolution declaring that the southern states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas were not entitled, given the current state of rebellion, to representation in the electoral college which would formally certify the winner of the November 1864 presidential election. Abraham Lincoln dutifully signed the joint resolution but refused to express an opinion on the disenfranchising of the southern states, even while disclaiming any right personally to interfere in the actual counting of electoral votes. The president knew of alleged voting irregularities in some states but clearly expected to prevail in the formal, electoral count when Congress finally certified the outcome of the November election.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.