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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.

Bourne, Sylvanus, 1761-1817 to [Henry Knox]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.10212 Author/Creator: Bourne, Sylvanus, 1761-1817 Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 13 April 1788 Pagination: 3 p. : docket ; Height: 37.7 cm, Width: 22.8 cm Order a Copy

Expresses concern about the ratification of the Constitution and what it might mean for his future career. Describes his "native Ambition of serving [his] Country in Some...capacity..." Asks for help in obtaining a government position and mentions prior experience in commerce and goes on to state that "the establishment of which on proper principles view as one of the great leading Steps to our future national greatness..." States that he has applied for a consulship in Spain. Watermarked "C Taylor" and with a hunting horn in a crest with "GR" underneath.

Bourne, Sylvanus, 1761-1817
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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