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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.

[Arkansas handout supporting the Confederacy]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02967 Author/Creator: Place Written: s.l. Type: Document Date: circa 1861 Pagination: 1 badge Height: 11.7 cm, Width: 7.7 cm Order a Copy

Possibly a secession handout created in Arkansas. Consists of a color print of a man climbing a flagpole displaying a United States flag; the motto "We have nailed our colors to the mast," evoking a nautical term signifying defiance; the state seal of Arkansas, with the original state motto "Regnant Populi" ("The People Rule)." The eleven stars on the flag suggest this may post-date Tennessee's July 2, 1861 admission to the Confederacy, but pre-date the admission of Missouri and Kentucky at the end of the year.

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