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When did President Andrew Johnson formally declare an end to the Civil War today in 1866?

August 20th

President_Andrew_JohnsonAugust 20, 1866 — President Andrew Johnson formally declared an end to the Civil War today. Although bloodshed ended over a year before, there had never been a formal declaration of peace and reunification in the country before today.

So Johnson signed Proclamation, which declared that “Peace, Order, Tranquillity, and Civil Authority Now Exists in and Throughout the Whole of the United States of America.”

Back in April, Johnson declared peace with all of the Confederate states — with the exception of Texas. The signing of the proclamation formally ended the rift saying: … that the insurrection which heretofore existed in the State of Texas is at an end and is to be henceforth so regarded in that State as in the other States before named in which the said insurrection was proclaimed to be at an end by the aforesaid proclamation of the 2d day of April, 1866.

Words of Wisdom

Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many and varied interests.

— Andrew Johnson, the 17th US President (1865 to 1869). He vice president at the time of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

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