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.

Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845 to Samuel Smith

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03188 Author/Creator: Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Letter signed Date: 14 June 1830 Pagination: 2 p. : address : docket : free frank Height: 31.7 cm, Width: 19.8 cm Order a Copy

Jackson thanks Smith for supporting his veto of the Maysville Road bill. Jackson says that while his veto may have opposed internal improvements, it was for the greater good of the Government. In a statement to Congress explaining his reasons for the veto Jackson argued that using federal money for a purely local project was wrong, no matter how desirable internal improvements were. Jackson also had a political motivation to veto the bill, since the road was set to be built in Kentucky, the home state of his chief rival Henry Clay.

Jackson, Andrew, 1767-1845
Smith, Samuel, 1752-1839

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources