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.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806 to John Sullivan

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03765 Author/Creator: Knox, Henry, 1750-1806 Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: January 19, 1788 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; Height: 32.7 cm, Width: 20 cm Order a Copy

Knox transmits a letter from the Marquis de Lafayette delivered to Knox by the Count de [Moustier], a French Minister. He informs Sullivan, Governor of New Hampshire, that Lafayette wrote the letter "on the supposition of your being in this City and President of Congress." Discusses ratification of the Constitution: "The fact however is that the present system called the confederation has run down... something must be done speedily, or we shall soon be involved in all the horrors of anarchy, and separate state interests..." Notes that if Massachusetts and New Hampshire reject the Constitution, "we shall have to encounter a boisterous and uncertain Ocean of events."

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Sullivan, John, 1740-1795
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834
Moustier, Elenor François-Élie, marquis de, 1751-1817

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources