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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.

Clayton, John Middleton, 1796-1856 to Alexander Woodruff Buel

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01596.02 Author/Creator: Clayton, John Middleton, 1796-1856 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: April 12, 1850 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 24 cm, Width: 20.1 cm Order a Copy

Letter regarding passage of U.S. ships on the St. Lawrence river. In response to a letter from Buel, Clayton writes, "[I]t is believed the Canadian Government has recently announced its determination not to grant this privilege [of American ships passing on the St. Lawrence river to the Atlantic Ocean] to our citizens during the pending of the Canadian Reciprocity Bill which is now before Congress. The Department, however, has no official knowledge of this fact, but derives its information on the subject from the journals of the day."

Clayton, John Middleton, 1796-1856
Buel, Alexander Woodruff, 1813-1868

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