THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY

[Rootilda]

A new crisis strikes on May 18, 1864. At 3:30 a.m., a messenger pretending to be from the Associated Press news service delivers a forged presidential proclamation to a number of New York City newspapers. The proclamation calls for 400,000 more troops through either voluntary enlistment or a new draft. It makes the Union Army seem desperate. Most newspapers check on the validity of the proclamation and don’t print it. But two newspapers, the World and the Journal of Commerce, print the fake proclamation in their morning editions. Both of these newspapers have a history of criticizing the Lincoln administration and were blamed by Republicans (Lincoln’s party) for starting the 1863 Draft Riots by publishing anti-war editorials.

Government and military officials are alarmed by this fake proclamation, fearing it could provoke unrest. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton orders an Army general to shut down both newspapers and arrest their editors. President Lincoln signs off on the action.

https://newseumed.org/tools/critical-deb...newspapers