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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.

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852 to James Robb

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00539 Author/Creator: Clay, Henry, 1777-1852 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Letter signed Date: December 31, 1851 Pagination: 3 p. : Height: 25 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Henry Clay comments on the current perilous state of the Republic, and praises Senator Solomon W. Downs for his help in passing the Compromise of 1850. He asks James Robb to help make sure that the Louisiana legislature re-elects Downs as a senator. Clay worries that the election of another man may lead to increasing sectionalism and instability in Congress. The letter is written six months before Clay's death.

Clay, Henry, 1777-1852
Robb, James, 1801-1881
Downs, Solomon Weathersbee, 1801-1854

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