Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Message of the President to the Second Session Thirty-eighth Congress, Part IV, Appendix to diplomatic correspondence of 1865; the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, late president of the United States of America, and the attempted assassination of William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and Frederick W. Seward, Assistant Secretary, on the evening of the 14th of April, 1865; expressions of condolence and sympathy inspired by these events

Young Men’s Christian Association of New York

New York, undated

Resolutions of the Young Men’s Christian Association of New York.

Whereas God, in His providence, has removed from this earth Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States, a man simple and childlike, truthful in intercourse, earnest in purpose, meek in spirit, pure in heart, illustrious in deeds, and Christian in all his ways; and whereas God has likewise permitted to be stricken down our chief counsellor of state—

Resolved, That we bow to His high purpose in perfect faith, knowing that our Heavenly Father doeth all things well, and that we mourn for the good man who has gone before as children mourn for their father, and that we offer our fervent prayers for the recovery of our Secretary of State.

Resolved, That we recognize in these assaults the familiar hand of that system of assassination which for eighty years has embittered the councils of our country, stricken down senators in Congress, repressed free speech, bought and sold and whipped the laboring class, starved to death prisoners of war, and deluged a nation in blood; and that we will never rest till that sum of all villanies is extirpated in the land.

Resolved, That we humble ourselves in contrition for the assent by us given, in times past, to this system of sin, and devoutly promise for the future a more perfect conformity to that freedom wherewith Christ has made us free.

Resolved, That in the succession to the presidency of the late Vice-President, a man of the people, who has suffered deeply by this rebellion, we see the hand of a just God, and we offer our prayers that the Ruler of nations will give him grace, wisdom, and firmness of purpose to fulfil aright the duties of his exalted office.

Resolved, That when we reflect that this act, by which a nation is thrown into mourning and a government threatened with confusion, was affected through the instrumentality of young men, we profoundly feel the necessity for a more united and earnest effort on the part of our associations to care for the morals and habits of the young men of America.

CHARLES E. WHITEHEAD,

Corresponding Secretary.