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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.

Seward, William Henry (1801-1872) [Fifteenth Amendment resolution]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00788.01 Author/Creator: Seward, William Henry (1801-1872) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Printed document signed Date: 27 February 1869 Pagination: 2 p. : seal : ribbon; 25.6 x 20.5 cm. Order a Copy PDF Download(s): PDF copy (image only)

Reconstruction amendment passed to combat southern opposition to federal policies toward freed slaves. Printed certificate sealed and signed, attached to printed resolution with a purple ribbon and red State Department seal. With printed circular letter.

Seward was the U.S. Secretary of State. Schuyler Colfax, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and B.F. Wade, President of the Senate pro tempore, as well as Edward McPherson, clerk of the House of Representatives, and George C. Gorham, Secretary of the Senate, all signed the document.

Seward, William H. (William Henry), 1801-1872
Colfax, Schuyler, 1823-1885
Wade, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1800-1878
McPherson, Edward, 1830-1895
Gorham, George Congdon, 1832-1909

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