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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.

United States. Congress. House. Slavery in the District of Columbia.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00267.091 Author/Creator: United States. Congress. House. Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Pamphlet Date: 8 February 1836 Pagination: 24 p. ; 24 x 17 cm. Order a Copy

24th Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives document no. 691. States that Congress cannot interfere with slavery in the district of Columbia or any other states in the Confederacy. Instead, Congress formed a select committee to deal with any issues in relation to the subject. Henry L. Pinckney was one of the committee members and the law became known as the "Pinckney Gag." Printed by Blair & Rives, printers. Partially uncut.

Pinckney's Rule, along with subsequent "gag rules" passed in 1838 and 1840, banned the printing, discussion and even the mere mention of antislavery sentiment in the House of Representatives.

Pinckney, Henry Laurens, 1794-1863

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