153 Years Ago, Janusary 1, 1863, A Proclamation

 

 

A Transcription By the President of the United States of America:

A Proclamation.

Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:

"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."

Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:

Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth), and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.

And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.

And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.

And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN

WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.

Writing the Catherine Winter Private Investigator Series

I like the fictional characters I put in my novels ... even the bad guys. While writing, I never know what characters will pop in and want a role in the story.  The characters I create within my own mind, and who find their way onto the pages of my books, may be nothing more than a spark of creation from my own view of life, or from small pieces of others, who may have come in and out of my life, whether it be in a passing glance, a momentary speck of passion, an irritation, a voice, a song, a smile, a frown, or even a word. 

A male acquaintance once asked if my fictional characters in my Catherine Winter, Private Investigator Series, were modeled after anyone I know. My answer was, “Not really.” 

But if he would actually end up in any of my books, he won’t recognize himself.  That is, unless he notices the male character with a small dimple when he smiles, or a guy with a bit of a tease in his voice, or the tall, handsome man who wins the heart of the little kid, or the heart of a mistreated puppy. 

Don Pendleton Speaks on His Writing of His Executioner Series.

Don Pendleton, creator of The Executioner: Mack Bolan Series, and considered "the father of action/adventure," speaks in this short video about his writing of the Series.  The first book in the Series, War Against the Mafia was published in 1969, had numerous printings, domestic and foreign, and Don went on to write 37 books before franchising his characters to Halequin, and since about 900 books have been published with this Mack Bolan characters. 

Don also published the Joe Copp Private Eye Series; the Ashton Ford Psychic Detective Series; Roulette, the Search for the Sunrise Killer (with Linda Pendleton); other fiction and nonfiction books throughout his long career. He also wrote a book for aspiring writers--The Metaphysics of the Novel, The Inner Workings of a Novel and a Novelist by Don Pendleton with Linda Pendleton.  The book are in print, ebooks.  The Copp Series and Ford Series are also in audio.   

~Linda 

Don Pendleton's The Executioner Series, Books 1-3 in eBook Bundle

Don Pendleton's The Executioner Series of Novels

37 in all.  First published beginning in 1969. 

Now ebooks (1-15 and 17-38).

The first three ebooks are in a bundle, and sale priced on Monday, November 28, 2016.

War Against the Mafia:  In the jungles of Southeast Asia, no sniper was more ruthless than Mack Bolan. After twelve years in-country, with ninety-five confirmed kills, he returns home only to find that his father has gone berserk, slaughtering his family before taking his own life.  For the sake of his father, Bolan declares war on the men who drove him mad—the Mafia. 

Death Squad:  Hunted by the police, the FBI, and every mobster in America, Mack Bolan plans his next attack with the help of his Death Squad, ten soldier pals from the Vietnam battlefields.

Battle Mask:  With a bounty on his head, and every cop in Los Angeles hot on his tail, Mack Bolan, with a new look, and his own trademark cunning, infiltrates the mob syndicate. 

These first three books of Don's Executioner Series are also available in print for the first time since the late 1980s.

Published by Open Road Media and available at Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iTunes, Google, indiebooks.

~Linda 

Encouragement to Read and Write Books

 

"If you wish to be a writer, write."

–Epictetus, C. 50-120 A.D.

 

  Me and Daddy. 

My father was an avid reader, mainly mass market paperback books, although my parents did subscribe to Book of the Month Club.  Of those books I recall Kon-tiki, Payton Place, Captain and Kings, What Makes Sammy Run, A Woman Called Fancy, all of which I read as a kid, along with others.  Daddy would read every night as soon as he finished reading the newspaper.  He always had a book in his hand, whether he was watching TV, or just sitting in his upholstered platform rocker in the living room.  He was the main reason I came to appreciate books as I did.  After I was married, he would often give me a bag of paperback books, usually lots of Detectives and Westerns, Louis L'Amour, Max Brand, and a few spicy books (spicy for those days of the early 1960s).  I recall reading one of the spicy popular gems, and deciding I could write that.  So one night after putting my two young children to bed, I got out my typewriter and began to write a sexy novel.  Didn't go well.  I gave up on the second night.  So for a time that squelched by writing career.  I told my Daddy and he just smiled.  A couple of years later, I wrote a nonfiction children's science proposal and sent it off to NY.  I soon had a response and the editor wanted to see my manuscript when completed.  Well, that scared the hell of me!  I never finished the manuscript!  Soon after I did write a children's storybook but NY turned it down.  I often wish my Dad was still here to experience my writing since those days.  He passed in 1978, before I seriously got back into writing.  But I thank him for encouraging me to read!   

Did you receive encouragement from someone to read books?

~Linda 

  

Don Pendleton's first book of his internationally best selling The Executioner, Mack Bolan Series, originally published in paperback 47 years ago in 1969; and then re-issued 26 years again 1988; ebooks of the series for the first time in Dec. 2014; and now again, War Against the Mafia is in PRINT as of October 11, 2016. The next two books of the series, Death Squad, and Battle Mask, are in print now, also.

Don Pendleton is considered "the father of the Action/Adventure literary genre," a term he himself coined. Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume II (H-O) gives derivation credit for "live large" to Don Pendleton and his Executioner Series.

The print books can be purchased at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.   

 

Times do change.

Today I was thinking about newsstands, those places one could drive to for national and international newspapers, magazines, candy and cigarettes—24 hours a day.  I loved doing term papers for high school and college.  For my senior high school Civics class I choose to do a report on the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act.  Senator Taft was the eldest son of President William Howard Taft and a Supreme Court Justice. Fred A. Hartley, Jr, was House Representative from New Jersey.  The Act caused controversy and was vetoed by President Truman, but Congress overrode the veto and it became law.

So in those days, more than half a century ago, research consisted of the school library and town library.  I wanted a copy of the New York Times, and from what I recall, the Times must have done an article or was doing one in the upcoming edition, so my only chance of getting a copy of the newspaper was to go to Los Angeles (40 minutes away) to one of the several newsstands.  My fiancé and soon to be husband, drove me to buy a newspaper. I don't recall which newsstand we went to, either one in Los Angeles or in Hollywood, but it seemed like going to the big city for a "big city" newspaper. And that "big city" newspaper was thick, heavy, and huge compared to my local daily newspaper.  I recall it was evening, and the stand was on a corner and took up a good part of the city block. The photo I found here, is of World Book and News, in later years on N. Cahuenga, just off Hollywood Blvd., and after 78 years in business, it closed in 2014.    

All this for a term paper, and why I choose to report on labor law, I don't know.  I do know I received an A+ for the term paper.  Today we can easily do research online, find archives of newspapers, interviews, documents, and not have to leave our computers.  Times do change, especially over decades.  Sometimes it is good, sometimes not so good.