Grant hoped that Lee would petition to regain his citizenship by signing an amnesty oath and requesting a pardon: "All the people … will accept what ever he does as right and will be guided to a great extent by his example." When that idea met with opposition in the North, Grant protested: "[T]he officers and men paroled at Appomattox C. H. … can not be tried for treason… [T]he terms granted by me met with the hearty approval of the President at the time." Lee finally signed an amnesty oath when it was apparent that Grant had silenced those who would have prosecuted him.