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.

Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861 to John Davis

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03569 Author/Creator: Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 4 October 1859 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 21 cm, Width: 15 cm Order a Copy

Expresses gratification for the support received in Pennsylvania, the rest of the Union, and the South for his 1860 Democratic presidential bid against Abraham Lincoln. "I am under especial [sic] obligation to you and other friends in Pennsylvania for the energy and zeal with which you have sustained me in the great struggle to maintain the principles of self government. We are sure to achieve a glorious victory just as certain as our cause is just and the people are capable of understanding and defending their rights." Marked private.

Douglas, Stephen Arnold, 1813-1861
Davis, John, 1788-1878

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