Civil War gold hoax facts for kids

The Civil War Gold Hoax, also known as the Bogus Proclamation of 1864, was a trick played in 1864 during the American Civil War. Two American journalists, Joseph Howard Jr. and Francis Mallison, from the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, tried to cause a financial panic. They hoped to make a lot of money from it.

Howard and Mallison bought gold. Then, they tried to spread a fake announcement from President Abraham Lincoln. This fake announcement said there would be a national day of prayer and that 400,000 more men would be drafted into the Union army. The journalists hoped people would think the war was going badly. They believed this would make people stop trusting the Union's money (called greenbacks) and buy gold instead. This would make the price of gold go up a lot. Once the gold price was high, the journalists planned to sell their gold and make a huge profit before anyone found out the announcement was fake.

President Lincoln and his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, thought the fake announcement was a real secret that had been leaked. They ordered two newspapers to be closed and many reporters and telegraph workers arrested. Military leaders in New York City quickly found out the announcement was a trick. They arrested Howard and Mallison within a few days. The reporters and telegraph workers were soon let go. Howard stayed in jail until August, and Mallison until September. Later, Lincoln actually released a real announcement similar to the fake one. His real announcement asked for 500,000 new volunteers for the Union army.

How the Hoax Happened

On the evening of May 17, 1864, a young helper of Howard and Mallison delivered fake news reports. These reports announced the false proclamation to several newspapers in New York City. They delivered the news late at night. This was so the night editors would be eager to print it as a breaking story for the next day. They would have little time to check if it was true.

The delivery boy missed dropping off the notice at the New York Tribune. Because of this, editors at The New York Times and New York Daily News became suspicious. They decided not to publish it. The New York Herald first printed the fake news. But when its editor realized the Times and Tribune had not published it, they also became suspicious. They pulled the fake announcement from their pages. They even destroyed thousands of copies that had the fake document.

Because of this, only two newspapers, the Journal of Commerce and the New York World, printed the fake announcement. It appeared in their morning papers on May 18, 1864.

The Hoax is Discovered

On the morning of May 18, editors at the Journal and World realized no other papers had printed the president's announcement. They knew they had been tricked and started to recall their newspapers. General John Dix soon found out the trick was about money. That afternoon, Secretary of State William Seward announced that the proclamation was fake.

Howard and Mallison were arrested on May 21. Howard stayed in prison until August 23. President Lincoln ordered his release after a friend of Howard's family, Henry Ward Beecher, asked him to. Mallison stayed in jail for another month. Lincoln ordered him released on September 20. This happened after Mallison wrote to Lincoln, saying he was very sorry for his foolish actions.

Lincoln's Reaction

After the fake announcement was published on May 18, President Lincoln's government reacted very strongly. The president ordered General Dix to arrest Manton Marble and William Prime. These were the editors of the World and Journal newspapers. He also ordered federal troops to take over their newspaper offices.

Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton also ordered the arrest of the New York staff of the Independent Telegraph Company. They closed the company offices in Baltimore, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia. The Washington company offices were also closed and searched. The superintendent was questioned and put in prison. The next day, Edwin Stanton also had several journalists in Washington arrested. These included Henry Villard, Adams Sherman Hill, and Horace White.

Marble and Prime were released on May 21. Their newspapers started publishing again on May 23. The telegraph office closings were also canceled after a few days. The telegraph staff and the Washington reporters were also released.

Why Lincoln Reacted So Strongly

The reason Lincoln's government reacted so harshly was that Lincoln and Stanton believed the fake announcement was a major security leak. By chance, at the same time Howard and Mallison were making their fake announcement for 400,000 new soldiers, Lincoln was actually planning a real announcement. His real announcement would also ask for hundreds of thousands of new soldiers.

When Lincoln heard about the fake announcement, he and some of his advisors thought it was suspiciously similar to the real one they were considering. They thought someone had leaked the information to newspapers that criticized Lincoln. The World and Journal were known for criticizing Lincoln.

So, the many arrests of journalists, telegraph operators, and newspaper publishers were an attempt to find out who had leaked the President's real announcement. They were all released once Lincoln and his advisors were sure there had been no such leak. Lincoln eventually released his real announcement asking for 500,000 new volunteers for the army on July 18.