he twenty-four documents and images presented here offer a succinct and dramatic introduction to the historical riches of the Gilder Lehrman Collection. This virtual tour of Collection highlights, from the years before the Revolution to the early twentieth century, includes letters by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, key documents in the demise of slavery, and more. Additional highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection can be viewed in this section and on the featured document page. For additional information about the Collection, please contact the curatorial staff. The struggle for American independence from British rule. Establishing a new nation. An era of political democratization and reform. The sectional conflicts and controversies that ignited the Civil War. A war to preserve the Union becomes a war to end slavery. A crucial test of a divided nation. Wrestling with the challenges of economic depression and world war. The U.S. becomes a world power and an industrial giant.