On May 9, 1865, President Andrew Johnson formally declared that resistance in the South by arms had ended. This decree is the one which has historically been accepted as the definitive end of the American Civil War, following four years of bitter and bloody conflict which had reshaped the United States.
Although the principal Confederate armies, the premier among them General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, already were in surrender, scattered fighting and residual uncertainty lingered. Johnson’s proclamation guaranteed that an exhausted nation could accept that organized opposition of the Confederates no longer threatened the Union.
Johnson made the statement after observing that the rebellion itself had been “virtually suppressed” and that federal control was being reasserted throughout the Southern states. In addition to announcing the end of the war in the field, the statement paved the way for Reconstruction, the challenging task of rebuilding the South and reshaping America.
The Civil War resulted in over 600,000 deaths and ended the slave system, introducing a new, though volatile, age of American democracy. Johnson’s proclamation initiated the healing of the country, though great social and political divides persisted.
Less publicized than battlefield surrenders, the May 9 proclamation marked an historic moment. It formally declared the Union victory and the demise of the Confederacy, giving shape to an unstable nation famished for peace.
