Our Collection

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.

Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) to Major John J. Key re: later note, enclosing ALS

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00496.045.02 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Place Written: [Executive Mansion] Type: Autograph note signed Date: 27 December 1862 Pagination: 1 p. ; 20 x 19 cm. Order a Copy

3/4 sheet as one panel lost. "The within, as appears, was written some time ago. On full consideration, I can not find sufficient ground to change the conclusion therein arrived at./A. Lincoln/Dec. 27. 1862

Basler, Roy P. The Collected Works Of Abraham Lincoln. (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), Vol. VI 1862 - 1863,
p. 20

Notes: Basler 5: 508-509. See also GLC# 228, Lincoln's letter to Key dated 1862 Sept. 26, quoting Key's disloyal remarks, describing their meeting and ordering the his dismissal.

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