Newspaper from Apr. 23, 1865

Patriotic Club of Mexico

  • Full Title

    Patriotic Club of Mexico

  • Description

    On April 23, 1865, the Patriotic Club of Mexico called a special meeting of it's members in the mining town of Virginia City, Nevada. Latinos across the West who had supported Lincoln and the Union cause were shocked, and they gathered to reflect on the assassination and it's international impact. Meetings were often organized around "juntas patrioticas", patriotic assemblies of Latinos formed in the aftermath of the 1862 French invasion of Mexico. This is an excerpt from a speech given by Rafael H. Gonzalez, a member of the club, who shares his lament for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and uncertainty about the nation's future.

  • Transcription

    Mr. Gonzalez requested the floor and said:
    Gentlemen: An unexpected event has come to fill with grief the hearts of every son of America. Abraham Lincoln has become a victim of assassination! On the night of April 14, he was assassinated by the hand of the villainous John Wilkes Booth. May the curse of all the Americas fall on this Cain for this evil of taking from the world this great citizen, the Northern Star, and the guardian angel of all the Americas. To dare call tyrants, all the accomplices of this assassination, of a man who sacrificed his existence for the liberty of 4 million human beings. Do you call this tyranny? Sons of America! The parricidal hand of an assassin has taken Abraham Lincoln, that immortal man of America who freed the miserable slaves. That great man had the glory, before he expired, to see the surrender of Richmond, capital of the Rebel states, and Lee, general of those forces.

    Mexicans! Let us cry for the loss of this virtuous citizen, martyr for the liberty of America. Let us cry because he has become the victim of an assassin. His teachings engraved upon the hearts of the people shall never disappear, and his name shall eternally live in history alongside Washington and Franklin. Now succeeded by Andrew Johnson as president, and this first magistrate that will direct the destiny of this country, we hope he follows the same path with his administration that his predecessor, and with the help of Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, and other members of the Republican party, mobilize the movement they uphold, and soon they will realize the peace the people desire.

  • Rights

    TY - NEWS N1 - Provider: NewsBank/Readex, Database: America's Historical Newspapers, SQN: 11ED162540E86FE8 TI - Club Patriotico Mejicano De Virginia City, Estado De Nevada PY - 1865/04/28 JF - Voz del Nuevo Mundo JA - El Nuevo Mundo SP - 1 CP - San Francisco, California ER -

  • Tags

  • Cite this Item

    Club Patriotico Mejicano. "Patriotic Club of Mexico". Voz del Nuevo Mundo. Remembering Lincoln. Web. Accessed March 28, 2024. https://rememberinglincoln.fords.org/node/1086