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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.

Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903 to Frank W. Ballard

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05692 Author/Creator: Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: February 5, 1861 Pagination: 1 p. : Height: 24 cm, Width: 19 cm Order a Copy

Clay, an abolitionist, informs his friend Ballard that he was misrepresented by the New York Tribune. Discusses the possibility of New Mexico entering the Union as a free or slave state, and the Compromise of 1850. Defends himself from Horace Greeley's criticism (Greeley was editor of the Tribune). Concludes by stating, "Things look awfully gloomy-- I feel a split on the slave [line]! God save the Republic."

Clay, Cassius Marcellus, 1810-1903
Ballard, Frank W., fl. 1861
Greeley, Horace, 1811-1872

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