Editing Robert E. Lee (section)

===President Johnson's amnesty pardons===
[[File:Robert E Lee's Amnesty Oath 1865.gif|thumb|Oath of [[amnesty]] submitted by Lee in 1865]]

On May 29, 1865, President [[Andrew Johnson]] issued a Proclamation of [[Amnesty]] and [[Pardon]] to persons who had participated in the [[rebellion]] against the United States. There were fourteen excepted classes, though, and members of those classes had to make special application to the president. Lee sent an application to Grant and wrote to President Johnson on June 13, 1865:

{{Blockquote|Being excluded from the provisions of amnesty & pardon contained in the proclamation of the 29th Ulto; I hereby apply for the benefits, & full restoration of all rights & privileges extended to those included in its terms. I graduated at the Mil. Academy at West Point in June 1829. Resigned from the U.S. Army April '61. Was a General in the Confederate Army, & included in the surrender of the Army of N. Virginia 9 April '65.<ref name="archives.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/spring/piece-lee.html |title=General Robert E. Lee's Parole and Citizenship |publisher=United States National Archives |date=August 5, 1975 |access-date=October 15, 2010}}</ref>}}

On October 2, 1865, the same day that Lee was inaugurated as president of Washington College, he signed his Amnesty Oath, thereby complying fully with the provision of Johnson's proclamation. Lee was not pardoned, nor was his citizenship restored.<ref name="archives.gov" />

Three years later, on December 25, 1868, Johnson proclaimed a second amnesty which removed previous exceptions, such as the one that affected Lee.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-179-granting-full-pardon-and-amnesty-for-the-offense-treason-against-the|title=Proclamation 179 – Granting Full Pardon and Amnesty for the Offense of Treason Against the United States During the Late Civil War|publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=July 12, 2019}}</ref>