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.

Dow, John M., fl. 1835 to his brother

Order a pdf of this item here.

Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09297 Author/Creator: Dow, John M., fl. 1835 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 25 September 1835 Pagination: 4 p. : Order a Copy

To his brother in Massachusetts, describing life in Augusta, Georgia:. " there is only one way for us and that is to adopt the David Crockett system & go ahead....The south is a fine place to make money.… The southern born fellows who reside in the back country are not much above the level of natives of the forest, either in regards to dress, manners, or anything else. If any misunderstanding arrives between two individuals, the only way to settle it is, to out pistols or dirks & have a fight.... Augusta contains about 10,000 inhabitants and most of them are from the Yankee Land-so that in the city the people are not much unlike those at the north. Everything in the way of manual labor is done by the negroes--so that I live here like a Lord, having my slave to bring me water in the morning--brush my shoes--dust my clothes &c-- and at meals, to stand behind my chair to wait on me. It is as hot here as a little Hell & in our dining hall there are 6 large fans suspended over the table from the ceiling & kept in constant motion by a young negro to keep off the flies."

Citation Guidelines for Online Resources