LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Apr Books, Manuscripts & Autographs #658  / 

25546

Franklin D. Roosevelt Signed Pardon Prohibition

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:200.00 USD Estimated At:800.00 - 1,500.00 USD
Franklin D. Roosevelt Signed Pardon Prohibition
<B>Franklin D. Roosevelt Partly Printed Pardon</B></I> Signed <I>"Franklin D. Roosevelt"</B></I> as President and <I>"Francis Biddle"</B></I> as Acting Attorney General, two pages, 9" x 13.5", front and verso. Washington, August 28, 1941. J.W. Horning had pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to violation of the National Prohibition Act and, on October 29, 1929, and was sentenced to pay a fine of $250.00. Because of his inability to pay the fine, he was committed to the Chatham County Jail in Savannah and was released on November 27, 1929 "<I>having complied with the conditions as prescribed by Section 1042, Revised Statutes of the United States; and Whereas it has been made to appear to me that the said J.W. Horning, since his discharge from imprisonment, has been conducting himself in a law-abiding manner. Now, therefore, be it known, that I, Franklin D. Roosevelt…do hereby grant unto the said J.W. Horning a full and unconditional pardon for the purpose of restoring his civil rights…</B></I>" The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratified 1919, effective 1920) prohibited the manufacture, sale, transport, import, or export of alcoholic beverages. The National Prohibition Act, commonly called the Volstead Act for Rep. Andrew Volstead who introduced it, was passed in 1919 to enforce the 18th Amendment. Among its provisions were penalties for violation of the amendment. In 1932, presidential candidate Roosevelt had promise to work for the repeal of prohibition and on December 5, 1933, nine months after his inauguration, the 21st Amendment, repealing the 18th Amendment, became part of the U.S. Constitution. Even though the word "Acting" is stamped before his title, Francis Biddle had become Attorney General on August 26, 1941, just two days before signing this pardon, succeeding Robert Jackson who had been appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Biddle later served as the primary U.S. judge at the Nuremberg Trials after World War II. Minor soiling with surface creases and three horizontal folds. Excellent 2" embossed red Department of Justice seal affixed to the left of Roosevelt's bold signature. Overall, in very good condition. This pardon of a violator of the Volstead Act is especially desirable for collectors of Prohibition-era items as well as presidential documents.<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Flat Material, Small (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot