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.

Livingston, Robert, 1718-1775 Memorial to John Earl of Dunmore Captain General & Governor in Chief of New York

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03107.03250 Author/Creator: Livingston, Robert, 1718-1775 Place Written: s.l. Type: Manuscript Date: 1770/12/17 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 31.4 cm, Width: 18.8 cm Order a Copy

Robert Livingston [(1718-1775)] explains that as a member of New York's Supreme Court, he is entitled to sit in the General Assembly and vote on issues of great significance. However, he explains that Mr. Colden denied him this privelege, which is a great outrage as "a vote of the House could not have the Validity of a Law nor the officers of the Crown be excluded without the concurrence of the other Branches of the Legislature." Robert therefore petitions the Governor to correct this wrong, and compel the General Assembly to seat representatives from different legislative offices.

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources