Lincoln’s Civil War order to block Confederate ports donated to Illinois by governor and first lady

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The document in which Abraham Lincoln set in motion the Union’s military response to the launch of the U.S. Civil War is now among Illinois’ prized papers of the 16th president, thanks to a donation by the state’s governor and first lady.

The order to blockade Southern ports to prevent the Confederacy from shipping economically vital cotton or importing critical needs was signed April 19, 1861 — one week after secessionist forces fired on Fort Sumter at the entrance to Charleston harbor in South Carolina.

An anonymous collector who owned the document put it up for auction, where Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his wife, M.K. Pritzker, bought it. The Pritzkers were scheduled to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, which will house the artifact, later Tuesday.

“This document — and the museum as a whole — serves as a reminder of how far we’ve come,” the multibillionaire Democratic governor said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press in advance. “Despite our divisions and challenges, more than 150 years later, our nation perseveres.”

M.K. Pritzker said the paper is a testament to Lincoln’s “unwavering pursuit of justice” and encouraged visiting the museum to examine Illinois’ history “and the ways it’s intertwined with the history of our nation.”

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