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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.

Constitutional Convention, 1787 Constitution [printing of first draft] [Committee of Detail]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00819.01 Author/Creator: Constitutional Convention, 1787 Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Document signed Date: 06 August 1787 Pagination: 7 leaves Height: 39.5 cm, Width: 25.2 cm Order a Copy PDF Download(s): PDF of images and transcript

Report of the Committee of Detail, the first draft of the Constitution, signed by Pierce Butler with his annotations. The leaves are printed recto only. Uncut and unbound, sealed in Plexiglas string mat. "We the People of the States of New-Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode-Island...." Some words written in another hand. Dated at top "May [th]e 30th 1787" Printed by Dunlap and Claypoole.

Butler, Pierce, 1744-1822

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