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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.

Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806-1869 to Thurman Fessenden, John Underwood, and Samuel Tisdale

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01465 Author/Creator: Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806-1869 Place Written: Portland, Maine Type: Autograph letter signed Date: December 12, 1840 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 24.5 cm, Width: 20.2 cm Order a Copy

Fessenden, Maine Senator-Elect, thanks members of the New England Society of the City of New York for an invitation to attend the Society's anniversary on December 22, 1840. Declines the invitation, which commemorated the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Offers these sentiments on the anniversary: "The spirit of the Pilgrims- Trust in God, and unwavering constancy of purpose. With that spirit our Country's liberties were won. Without it they cannot be preserved."

Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806-1869
Fessenden, Thurman, fl. 1840
Underwood, John, fl. 1840
Tisdale, Samuel, fl. 1840

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