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.

Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874 to William Henry Seward

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04717.21 Author/Creator: Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874 Place Written: Peterboro, New York Type: Printed letter Date: 13 March 1855 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 24.9 cm, Width: 19.2 cm Order a Copy

Smith writes to Seward, a United States Senator from New York. Praises Seward's intellectualism and philanthropic spirit. Notes that Seward's recent speech on the Fugitive Slave Act "does not, in all respects, come up to my expectation of what would fall from you on such as occasion." Questions Seward's dedication to abolition. In closing, writes "I own, that you stand, as an antislavery man, very far above most of our statesmen. But I would have you stand still farther above them."

Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874
Seward, William H. (William Henry), 1801-1872

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources