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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.

Adams, John, 1735-1826 To: Charles F. Adams.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07947 Author/Creator: Adams, John, 1735-1826 Place Written: Quincy, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1814/11/18 Pagination: 2 p. : Height: 24.8 cm, Width: 19.6 cm Order a Copy

"You have reason to exult, that you are a 'freeborn American' and I wish you may never be ashamed to boast of it. In all cases remember, that birth, without wisdom, is reproach and disgrace."

Adams, John, 1735-1826
Adams, Charles Francis, 1807-1886

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