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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.

Washington, George, 1732-1799 to James Madison

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07699 Author/Creator: Washington, George, 1732-1799 Place Written: Mount Vernon, Virginia Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1786/11/18 Pagination: 4 p. : Height: 23.1 cm, Width: 18.4 cm Order a Copy

Responds favorably to the work done at the Annapolis Convention and since. Explains why he cannot attend the Constitutional Convention. He was re-elected president of the Society of Cincinnati, whose meeting coincides with the convention. Although he declined that position because of his desire to retire from public life, attending the Constitutional Convention would be considered a snub to the former officers of the Continental Army. Expresses his happiness in hearing Madison would chair the Virginia delegation to the Constitutional Convention.

Washington, George, 1732-1799
Madison, James, 1751-1836

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