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For more results, go to The Collection.

4 November 1973

Enns, Paul H., (fl. 1973)

Typed letter signed

Title: to Congressman Carlos J. Moorhead

One letter from Paul H. Enns to Congressman Carlos J. Moorhead dated November 4, 1973. Paul H. Enns supports the impeachment of President Nixon. The letter is written by a pastor at Lancaster United Methodist Church.

GLC09613.02.0246

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circa 1400-1500

Unknown

Manuscript

Title: [Antiphon]

Single sheet of music. Date inferred. An antiphon is a verse usually from Scripture sung before and after a canticle or psalm as part of the liturgy.

GLC00496.124

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1493

Columbus, Christopher (1451-1506)

Pamphlet Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: Epistola Christofori Colom... de insulis Indie supra Gangem.... [exploration]

First edition, in Latin, second (corrected) issue, printed at Rome after 29 April 1493. Gothic type; 33 lines per page. Pamphlet printing letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain concerning his first voyage to America, the so-called Barcelona letter. The earliest printed Columbus letter, describing his discovery of the Caribbean islands of Juana and Hispaniola.

GLC01427

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4 May 1493

Alexander VI, Pope (1431-1503)

Broadside Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: [Demarcation bull, granting Spain possession of lands discovered by Columbus]

Broadside entitled "Copia de la bula del decreto y concession q[ue] hizo el papa / Alexandro sexto al Rey y la Reyna nuestros senores de las Indias conforme al capitu." Unique copy of second version possibly printed at Valladolio, by Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba. Title in Spanish and text in Latin.

GLC04093

circa 1500-1930

Header Record Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: [Collection of Americana from Revolution & Civil War] Decimalized

[decimalized]

GLC00496

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21 June 1540

García de Loaysa, Francisco (fl. 1540)

Letter signed

Title: to Francisco Vásquez de Coronado [in Spanish]

Written on behalf of King Charles I of Spain (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor), by the President of the Council of the Indies, Francisco García de Loaysa. Report of the Niza expedition. Authorizes Coronado's expedition to explore the heart of the North American continent.

GLC04883

1552

Casas, Bartolomé de las, (1474-1566)

Book Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: Aqui se Contiene una Disputa, o Controversia [Second Edition]

The fifth tract on the conquest of the New World and rights of the Indians. In Spanish.

GLC04220

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circa 1580

Grenville, Richard, Sir (1541?-1591)

Autograph letter signed

Title: to John Blighe

Writes to his cousin to ask him to lend him money. In 1585 Grenville sailed to Virginia with 300 settlers that he successfully disembarked on Roanoke Island (off the coast of what is now North Carolina).

GLC00496.027

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1585-1763

Kneller, Godfrey, Sir (1646-1723)

Engraving Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: [Engraving of Samuel Pepys]

Engraving that appears to be based on the painting by Sir Godfrey Kneller, created in 1689.

GLC00496.258.02

1585-1763

Wildes, John (fl. 1746)

Autograph document signed

Title: Petition to move training

GLC01450.248.04

1585-1763

Autograph document signed

Title: To Captain Nathanial Green

GLC01450.248.10

1585-1763

Unknown

Autograph document

Title: Recipe for consumption

GLC01450.600.015

n.d.

Unknown

Photograph Include in Object Type Dropdown: 

Title: William Coddington [picture]

Print of William Coddington, who was an official in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island colonies in the seventeenth century.

GLC02150.53

1585-1763

Leisler, Jacob (fl. 1698-1700)

Document signed

Title: [Legal document between Francina Staats and Jacob Leisler]

Fragment of a land inheritance document between Francina Staats and her brother Jacob Leisler. Contains Jacob Leisler's seal and signature. Francina Staats and Jacob Leisler (Jr.) were the children of Jacob Leisler, the colonial governor of New York.

GLC02468.15

1585-1763

Allen Goerge

Autograph document signed

Title: Estate Inventory

Assets of Charles Allen (small edit where a word is added)

GLC02924.064

1585-1763

Allen Goerge

Autograph document signed

Title: Estate Inventory

Assets of Charles Allen (no edit)

GLC02924.065

1585-1763

Unknown

Autograph letter

Title: Extracts from deeds

GLC02924.072

1585-1763

Pope Seth

Autograph letter

Title: Land Grant

GLC02924.073

1585-1763

Unknown

Manuscript document

Title: "three things are to be helped in conscience fraud, accident, . . .

. . . things of confidence." Fragment of a larger document. Explains what constitutes an accident.

GLC03107.01338

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1585-1763

Livingston, Robert

Manuscript document signed

Title: to Arent Bratt re: case against John Barnard

The document outlines Christopher Estrat's complaint against John Barnard, who allegedly agreed to lease a piece of land to Jan Baptist and Estrat for 7 years, but then ran Estrat off of it before the lease expired. Estratt is therefore suing Barnard for damages. Livingston's description of the case is then followed by a note from Barnard to Arent Bratt, in which Barnard asks Bratt to attend his case at the Court of Common Pleas.

GLC03107.01822

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1585-1763

Davenport, Thomas

Manuscript document

Title: Account of Peeter Van Brugh & Johannes Cuyler

Van Brugh and Cuyler purchased shroud and some other materials.

GLC03107.01823

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1585-1763

Wessells, Dirk

Manuscript document

Title: "Dirk Wessells Esq: Mayor of the Citty of Albany to the Sherriffe . . .

Constables and other his Majes. officers greting show yee that wee the said Mayor have Lyncenced and" P.1 ends incomplete. P.2 contains an account. Docketed on verso.

GLC03107.01824

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1585-1763

Livingston, Philip

Manuscript document

Title: "a Lyst of Rents due to the estate of father Livingston"

GLC03107.01825

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1585-1763

Johnston, John

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Robert Livingston re: remedies for Livingston's illness [fragment]

Johnston prescribes some remedies to cure Livingston's maladies.

GLC03107.01826

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1585-1763

Unknown

Manuscript document

Title: "Reasons offer to the arbitrators why they ought not to allow . . .

of Jacob Harwoods sham sale of Robt. Livingstons Tallys of 1670." P.1 of the document outlines how Harwood's actions anulled any legitimate sale. P.2 is an account of how Robert Livingston came into possession of a part of the estate of Coll. Dongan. Docketed on verso.

GLC03107.01829

For more results, go to The Collection.

For more results, go to History Now.

Lincoln, Civil Liberties, and the Constitution

Video

Government and Civics

Parks and Politics: A Look at Federal Land

Video

Geography, Government and Civics

The Changing Face of the Supreme Court in American History

Video

Government and Civics

The Supreme Court and Religious Freedom

Video

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The Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Cold War

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Government and Civics, World History

No Party Now: Politics in the Civil War North

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The Impact of the New Deal

Video

Economics, Government and Civics

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

FDR’s Personal History and Influences

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In Pursuit of Equity: Women, Men, and the Quest for Economic Citizenship in 20th-Century America

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Economics, Government and Civics

The Emancipation Proclamation

Video

Government and Civics

5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13+

Two American Revolutions

Video

Government and Civics

The Costs of the American Revolution

Video

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5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13+

The Aftermath of the French and Indian War

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Government and Civics

The Hemingses of Monticello

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Government and Civics

Non-Violent Methods of Protest

Video

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7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13+

Origins of the Civil Rights Movement

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Government and Civics

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Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy

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Government and Civics

7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13+

FDR’s First 100 Days . . . and Obama’s

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American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson

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Government and Civics

9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13+

A Voyage Long and Strange

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World History

9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13+

Morgan: American Financier

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

Lincoln in Latin America

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Government and Civics, World History

Reform Cities: Chicago, Osaka, and Moscow

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Europeans and the New World, 1400–1530

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Calling the Constitutional Convention

Video

Government and Civics

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

For more results, go to History Now.

Showing results 76 - 100

"Document of the Month" - February 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Scholar’s Blog - Brooks D. Simpson

MARCH 9, 1864—ULYSSES S. GRANT IS COMMISSIONED AS LIEUTENANT-GENERAL On March 8, 1864, Ulysses S. Grant and his eldest son, Fred, arrived at Washington, DC. It was the general’s first visit to Washington since 1852, when he had been a young officer. What happened next is fairly well known. The front desk clerk at Willard’s Hotel did not recognize his distinguished guest and assigned him a small room before realizing that the hero of Vicksburg and Chattanooga was standing before him. After struggling to eat a meal at the hotel restaurant as excited onlookers buzzed around him, Grant made his

"Document of the Month" - March 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

Fighting discrimination during World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt’s "four basic rights," 1944

In this newly received donation to the Gilder Lehrman Collection, Eleanor Roosevelt responds to a correspondent who was apparently worried about the desegregation of restrooms and forced social interaction between the races in the government’s movement toward racial equality in some spheres. Mrs. Roosevelt enumerates the "four basic rights which I believe every citizen in a democracy must enjoy. These are the right for equal education, the right to work for equal pay according to ability, the right to justice under the law, the right to participate in the making of the laws by use of the

The Pierce Butler Papers from the US Constitutional Convention

This archive of twenty-six documents was compiled by Pierce Butler when he served as one of South Carolina’s delegates to the US Constitutional Convention in 1787. It includes the printed first and second drafts of the Constitution; two small notebooks of proceedings; contemporary copies of the Virginia (or Randolph) Plan favoring larger states in Congress, the New Jersey (or Patterson) Plan favoring smaller states, Hamilton’s plan for a bicameral legislature and permanent executive, and Franklin’s compromise—all of which were used by Butler during the debates. These documents provide a

Civil War soldiers: Thomas Burpee and his sons

<p>The Gilder Lehrman Collection has more than 10,000 letters written by soldiers during the American Civil War, and when you read dozens or even hundreds of letters by the same person, it is very much like reality television. You become involved in the drama of their lives&mdash;the war, relationships, finances, and losses. You are with <a href="https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collections/treasures-from-the-collection/... Tillotson when he learns his four-year-old daughter Lucy died during an epidemic</a> that also threatened his other children. And you can &rsquo;t

The cost of living in New York City in 1787

The Henry Knox Papers in the Gilder Lehrman Collection contain more than 10,000 documents dating from 1750 to 1820. The bulk of the archive chronicles the American Revolution and early founding era. The depth and complexity of the Knox Papers have made it a favorite with the curatorial staff. One particularly interesting document from this archive is the Knox family’s living expenses in New York and when Henry served as secretary of war under the Articles of Confederation. It includes all the budget basics that we have today: rent, taxes, transportation, clothes, heat, school cost, household

Photographs of the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor

A good primary source will give you a sense of immediacy and awe that makes history come alive and leaves you with a deeper understanding of an event. It is one of the key elements we look for when adding materials to the Gilder Lehrman Collection. When we first learned of these photographs taken during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor and in its immediate aftermath, we knew they would be a good fit in our Collection, and when they arrived, the staff was struck by the power of the images. We knew the statistics. Over 2,400 Americans were killed and an additional 1,178 were wounded in just

Ulysses S. Grant at West Point, 1839

<p>The Gilder Lehrman Collection includes a letter and a painting by Ulysses S. Grant when he was a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. These unique items reveal Grant as the equivalent of a modern-day college student.</p><p>On September 22, 1839, Cadet Grant wrote this letter to his cousin, McKinstrey Griffith, between the first-year summer encampment ended and the beginning of the academic year. In it, the seventeen-year-old reveals his uncensored first impressions of West Point, his sense of humor, and a bit of a mid-western drawl. It is

"Document of the Month" - April 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - May 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - June 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - July 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - August 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - September 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - October 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free!

"Document of the Month" - November 2014

If you don’t see the full story below, click here (PDF) or click here (Google Docs) to read it—free! 

A letter from a slave to his mother, 1859

Sometimes documents leave us with more questions than answers. That is definitely true for this letter of October 8, 1859, from an unidentified man to his mother—both of whom appear to be slaves! The author refers twice to having a master: "There is a young lady here that I am very much taken with and I think that my Master will buy her and take her out with us." "I went to Mrs. Bailys expecting to meet My old Master as he said he would be there . . ." We really wanted to try to track this down, so we started by compiling a list of names and places mentioned in the letter: Widow Baily,

Portraits of Jane and Franklin Pierce

These miniature portraits of Jane and Franklin Pierce, attributed to artist Moses B. Russell, were painted shortly after the couple was married in 1834. Measuring only 4 ¼ inches tall by 3 ½ inches wide, the paintings have gilt-metal frames and are set in a fitted leather case.They were meant to be carried.   Franklin Pierce was elected the 14th president of the United States in 1852. On January 6, 1853, the president-elect, his wife, and their 11-year-old son, Benjamin, were traveling from New Hampshire to Washington DC when their train derailed and toppled down an embankment. Although Mr

A Civil War soldier’s sketchbook

Between battles, marches, and military exercises, Civil War soldiers spent their free time in camp playing music, writing and reading letters, and, for those with the skill, sketching scenes from the day. This unknown soldier’s sketchbook from 1863, "A Few Scenes in the life of A ‘SOJER’ in the Mass 44th," recounts the adventures of a soldier named "Gorge," or "George." We do not know if George is a fictional character or loosely autobiographical. The sketchbook follows the movements of the 44th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in New Bern, North Carolina. The cartoon sketches satirize the

The diary of a sailor on the eve of Pearl Harbor

In the fall of 1941 Thomas Barwiss Hagstoz Askin Jr. was on board USS Memphis counting down the days until his enlistment in the United States Navy ended. He recorded his experience in a diary he entitled "Memorys and Incidents of My Last 60 (?) Days in the United States Navy." Askin had joined the Navy in March 1938, at the age of 17, and was set to be discharged on October 13, 1941, one day before his 21st birthday. Unfortunately, his ship was at sea at the time. His disappointment and dejection when he realized he would not be going home was palpable in his diary entry on October 14, 1941

The manumission of Frederick Douglass

After his escape from slavery in 1838, Frederick Douglass became a well-known orator and abolitionist. In 1845, he wrote an autobiography that increased his influence, but also increased the chances that he would be captured and returned to slavery. Seeking refuge, Douglass went on a speaking tour of Ireland and England to remove himself from immediate danger. In 1846, Anna and Henry Richardson and other English supporters gathered funds and made arrangements to purchase Douglass’s freedom.  On October 6, 1846, Hugh Auld agreed to "take 150 £ sterling for the manumassion [sic] of my slave

Woodrow Wilson Suffers Stroke, 1919

When World War I ended, President Woodrow Wilson attended the Paris Peace Conference, where the Allied nations met to write the Treaty of Versailles. In September 1919, President Woodrow Wilson embarked on a speaking tour of US cities to gain support for the treaty and the League of Nations, which Americans were reluctant to join.  Traveling with the President was Dr. Cary Grayson, Wilson’s personal physician and friend. Grayson kept a diary of the trip and included notes on Wilson’s health. On September 26, on a train bound for Wichita, Kansas, Grayson was woken up to attend to Wilson:

Paul Revere’s 1770 Print of British Troops Landing in Boston

Explore in depth Paul Revere’s 1770 print "Brittish Ships of War Landing Their Troops, 1768" and check out Paul Revere’s related propaganda print of the Boston Massacre.

The War of 1812 in the West: On This Day, October 5

  View the full Battle of the Thames document and read an essay on the Battle for Baltimore during the War of 1812.  

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Showing results 76 - 100

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