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Later copy of letter written by Knox to Lafayette at GLC02437.03276. Thanks Lafayette for the kind treatment given to his brother William. Discusses the affair of Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, who had been sent to France in 1783 to purchase...

GLC02437.03275

Collection Item

Autograph letter signed

3 August 1791

Knox, William, 1756-1795

to Henry Knox

References his letters of 27 June and 19 July that he sent to Henry. Has not received any letters from Henry since the one marked 6 April. States he has not met with any success in selling Henry's lands, not even a single serious offer. Says his...

GLC02437.05099

Collection Item

Autograph letter signed

February 13, 1791

Knox, William, 1756-1795

to Henry Knox

Urges Knox to write him as soon as he can, or make Lucy Knox "overcome her natural timidity" and write him. He has heard of the General (Charles) Scott expedition in the Miami Country and of the casualties Scott suffered. Discusses in great detail...

GLC02437.04853

Collection Item

Autograph letter signed

June 16, 1786

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

to Marquis de Lafayette

Knox references Lafayette's letter from February 11, 1786. He thanks Lafayette for his kindness toward his brother, William, when he was ill. Says that William has recovered and has been with him since October 1785. Hopes the recovery is permanent...

GLC02437.03276

History Now Essay

Reconstructing the West and North

Richard White

Economics, Government and Civics

In 1865 the Radicals of the Republican Party regarded the Northern victory in the Civil War as a “golden moment” to remake the Republic. The Republicans controlled Congress, the Supreme Court, and, so they thought until Andrew Johnson...

Appears in:

55 | Examining Reconstruction Fall 2019

Essay

The Thirteen Colonies

Francis J. Bremer

Government and Civics

The thirteen colonies that joined together to become the United States of America were but a part of the first British Empire. They were the product of a broad and dramatic expansion of England that began with the establishment of ...

Essay

Postwar Politics and the Cold War

Jeremi Suri

The late summer of 1945 marked the height of American power. The country that had suffered from dust bowls, economic depression, and a devastating attack on its Pacific naval fleet in the last decade-and-a-half emerged as the dominant...

Video: Inside The Vault

Inside the Vault: Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Voting Rights

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

On May 4, 2023, our curators were joined by Dr. Andrew Robertson (The Graduate Center and Lehman College, CUNY) to discuss materials related to eighteenth- and nineteenth-century voting rights. Dr. Robertson explained how voting...

Lesson Plan

The Jungle

Literature

8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Overview The United States was transformed in the last decades of the nineteenth century by the industrial revolution. The rapid growth of cities, increase in immigration, expansion of a struggling working class, and concentration of...

History Now Essay

From The Editor

Carol Berkin

Modern headlines often carry news of scandals, crimes, corruption, and violence. When historians study this darker side of life, they hope to use the events as windows on a particular era, shedding light on its cultural and religious...

Appears in:

20 | High Crimes and Misdemeanors Summer 2009

History Now Essay

From the Editor

Carol Berkin

Teachers responsible for a class in early American history often find themselves asking: When does American history begin? What does "America" include? Is this a story only of the English colonies, or is it the story of the settlement...

Appears in:

25 | Three Worlds Meet Fall 2010

News

Get to Know the 2017 History Teachers of the Year: John-David Bowman, Arizona

This year, the Gilder Lehrman Institute recognized 52 State History Teachers of the Year for their tireless and innovative efforts to make history come alive for their students. But who are they, really? We asked these talented...

History Now Essay

From the Editor

Carol Berkin

Throughout the history of our country, being able to vote has been synonymous with enjoying a political voice. Although Americans from colonial times to the present have also expressed their views on policies, programs, and political...

Appears in:

51 | The Evolution of Voting Rights Summer 2018

Lesson Plan

Celebrating Labor Day

Government and Civics

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Essential Question To what extent have the conditions of American workers improved over the past 100 years? Background After the Civil War, the United States witnessed an accelerating movement of people westward, a rapidly increasing...

History Now Essay

Financing the Transcontinental Railroad

Maury Klein

Economics, Geography, Government and Civics

The first transcontinental railroad, built between 1864 and 1869, was the greatest construction project of its era. It involved building a line from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California, across a vast, largely unmapped territory...

Appears in:

38 | The Joining of the Rails: The Transcontinental Railroad Winter 2014

History Now Essay

Ely S. Parker (Donehogawa): Civil War Hero, Ethnologist, Political Leader

Bruce E. Johansen

After 1800, the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, like most Native American tribes, faced a long struggle against destruction of their land bases, cultures, and livelihoods. These struggles also spawned revival movements, one of...

Appears in:

59 | American Indians in Leadership Winter 2021

Collection Item

Autograph document signed

9 November 1791

Darke, William, 1736-1801

to George Washington

Written from Fort Washington, near present-day Cincinnati, Ohio. Battle report providing extensive details of the defeat of General [Arthur] St. Clair at the hands of the Miami Indians on the Northwest Frontier. Docketed by George Washington.

GLC02437.05233

News