History Resources

Inside the Vault: Lincoln’s Refusal to Pardon Nathaniel Gordon

by Gilder Lehrman Institute Staff

“It becomes my painful duty to admonish the prisoner that, relinquishing all expectation of pardon by Human Authority, he refer himself alone to the mercy of the Common God and Father of all men.”

—Abraham Lincoln, February 4, 1862

Nathaniel Gordon was the only man in US history to be executed for participating in the slave trade. He was convicted in November 1861 and sentenced to be executed in February 1862. He appealed to President Abraham Lincoln for a pardon but was denied. On February 1, 2024, our curators were joined by Dr. Jonathan White (Christopher Newport University) to discuss Lincoln’s refusal of Gordon’s request, which stands out among the papers of Abraham Lincoln, a man renowned for his mercy and willingness to pardon. 

View slides from the presentation here.

FEATURED DOCUMENTS

USE THE TIMESTAMPS BELOW TO JUMP TO THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO VIEW

1:57–2:38: Today’s documents
2:39–6:03: The background of the slave trade
6:04–7:46: The Webster-Ashburton Treaty
7:47–11:04: Nathaniel Gordon’s arrest
11:05–12:29: Gordon’s arrival in New York City
12:30–13:10: Lincoln and the slave trade
13:11–14:29: The trial
14:30–16:20: Petitions for pardon
16:21–19:18: The Respite of Execution
19:19–22:48: Gordon’s Execution
22:49–30:15: Using historical newspapers
30:16–34:40: Lincoln and the presidential pardon
34:41–36:49: Possible Civil War motivations
36:50–39:57: Lincoln and Mary Todd
39:58–46:38: The Emancipation Proclamation
46:39–50:26: Monrovia
50:27–51:06: Gordon and the Fifth Amendment
51:07–54:00: Aftermath of the execution

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