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.

K.L.K., fl. 1866 to Charles Sumner

Order a pdf of this item here.

A high-resolution version of this object is available for registered users. LOG IN

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07202.03 Author/Creator: K.L.K., fl. 1866 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: circa 1866 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 18 cm, Width: 11.5 cm Order a Copy

A vitriolic death threat signed with initials: "Your infamous equal rights bill if passed will secure your death inside of 8 months. The spirit of 76 is not dead yet & the Land which my & our forefathers fought for shall never be compelled to submit to the motion of a petifoger, or the filthy arm of an alien Black ignoramous nor shall her [2] sons & daughters be made to bow their heads, & grovel in the earth at the command of an Alien. So beware I sware & I never sware falsely your life shall be the penalty." Signs the letter, "Yours with extreme disgust." Writes a post script stating: "Perhaps you are working for a negro son in Law we will all award you one."

K.L.K., fl. 1866
Sumner, Charles, 1811-1874

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources