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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.

Cameron, Simon, 1799-1889 to Ulysses Mercur

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01232 Author/Creator: Cameron, Simon, 1799-1889 Place Written: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Type: Autograph letter signed Date: May 22, 1866 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; Height: 20.5 cm, Width: 13.2 cm Order a Copy

Cameron responds to a letter from Mercur, a United States Representative from Pennsylvania. He denies recommending W. Clark for political appointment. Referring to the debate regarding reconstruction between Congress and President Andrew Johnson, he states "the contest now, between congress & the President in my mind, is very far above all personal considerations. Congress must be sustained or the rebels, who have been murdering our kindred will control and destroy the Government."

Cameron, Simon, 1799-1889
Mercur, Ulysses, 1818-1887
Clark, W., fl. 1866
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875

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