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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 William S. Cardell

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03785 Author/Creator: Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 Place Written: Monticello, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: January 27, 1821 Pagination: 1 p. : address : docket : free frank Height: 24.4 cm, Width: 20.9 cm Order a Copy

Jefferson asks Cardell to thank the American Academy of Language & Belles Lettres for giving him an honorary membership. Comments on the role of language in the advancement of science, making references to England and France, and contends that language should not be static.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
Cardell, William Samuel, 1780-1828

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