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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.

Van Ness, John Peter, 1770-1846 to Joseph B. Varnum

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03845.19 Author/Creator: Van Ness, John Peter, 1770-1846 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Letter signed Date: 11 August 1814 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 25.5 x 21 cm. Order a Copy

Written as Congressman, Van Ness informs Varnum of the vacancy of Secretary of the Senate because of the death of Mr. Otis. Recommends Major Thomas C. McKenney to the position. Van Ness is acquainted with McKenney's political and personal principles and believes them to be sound. "... I am but doing justice to him, as well as to myself, to recommend him to your warmest and most favorable consideration."

Varnum, Joseph B. (Joseph Bradley), 1751-1821
Van Ness, John Peter, 1770-1846

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