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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.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 [Presidential pardon of Benjamin Wood, who had been convicted in December 1857 in the District of Columbia of manslaughter].

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02789 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Document signed Date: 8 June 1861 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 41 cm, Width: 27 cm Order a Copy

Wood was pardoned by Lincoln because it is believed that he was insane at the time of the offense, because it was his first offense, and because the jurors at his trial and others had petitioned for his release. Countersigned by Secretary of State William Seward.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Seward, William H. (William Henry), 1801-1872

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