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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.

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868 to Harriet Buchanan

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09367 Author/Creator: Buchanan, James, 1791-1868 Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 11 April 1831 Pagination: 2 p. Order a Copy

The only U.S. president who never married, to his sister Harriet: "When you have determined (as I trust you will not) never to marry I shall cheerfully provide you a comfortable home. It would afford me great pleasure & promote my own comfort & happiness to have you for a house keeper. Still I think you ought to marry, should a favorable opportunity offer. There is nothing very desirable in the situation of an old maid; still it is less comfortless than that of an unhappy wife."

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