Our Collection

At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849 [Presidential authority to the Secretaty of State to affix the seal to the pardon of David Babe, alias William Brown].

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00173.02 Author/Creator: Polk, James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Document signed Date: 22 May 1846 Pagination: 1 p. ; 24 x 19 cm Order a Copy

Babe had been convicted of murder on the high seas in December 1843.

Polk, James Knox, 1795-1849
Babe, David, fl.1846

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources