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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.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 to John Dev[ereux] DeLacy re: inland navigation, defending Chesapeake Bay

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03084 Author/Creator: Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 Place Written: Charlottesville, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1813/07/23 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 23 cm, Width: 17 cm Order a Copy

Incomplete. Lined verso. The third line up from the end lacks the line "power. There is a proposition now pending in Congress for an amendment" supplied by the polygraph copy at the Library of Congress. De Lacy came from Charleston, S.C. Most of Jefferson's letter concerns the possibility of stationing warships at Lynnhaven ("Lynhaven") Bay at the mouth of the Chesapeake. Jefferson says that he suggested a canal between Lynhaven River to East River, to allow communication between the Chesapeake and its inner waters near Norfolk. (President Madison rejected the suggestion.) Jefferson concludes that the canal (which was not built) could only be made as a military work, not for navigation. Written in Monticello

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
Madison, James, 1751-1836

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