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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 Gilbert M. de Lafayette re: transition in Louisiana Purchase territory

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07560.01 Author/Creator: Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 Place Written: Washington, District of Columbia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1804/03/30 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 25.3 cm, Width: 20.4 cm Order a Copy

"I had rather have your single person there than an army of ten thousand men for the purpose of securing the tranquility & preservation of the country."

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier, marquis de, 1757-1834

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