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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.

Pollard, Edward Albert (1831-1872) The lost cause; a new southern history of the war of the confederates

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00267.307 Author/Creator: Pollard, Edward Albert (1831-1872) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Book Date: 1866 Pagination: 1 v. : xxx, 752 p. ; 24.8 x 17.7 cm. Order a Copy

Written by Pollard, the former editor of the "Richmond Examiner," which supported the Confederacy but was hostile to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. First edition copy published by E.B. Treat & Co. in New York. Sticker at bottom of title page shows this copy to have been printed by Kelly & Piet, Printers & Importers at 174 West Baltimore Street, Baltimore. Title page says "Sold Only By Subscription." Numerous portrait illustrations throughout. Covers the entire war from Fort Sumter to Appomattox, with a Southern bias. Book is an example of how Southerners coped with defeat by re-evaluating the history of the war. Pollard coined the term "The Lost Cause" and used this evocative label to distance the white South from secession and slavery. Pollard takes Davis to task throughout the text: "The especial qualifications of a great leader in the circumstances in which Mr. Davis was placed would have been strong and active common-sense, quick apprehension, knowledge of men, and a disposition to consult the aggregate wisdom of the people, and to gather the store of judgment from every possible source of practical advice within its reach. Mr. Davis had none of these plain qualities." Envelope found inside the book. The envelope is addressed to "Col. Geo W. Hughes" at West River, Maryland. Printed return address was from "N.E. Berry" in Baltimore, Maryland. Included with envelope is a card that describes regulations for the travel of naval officers.

Pollard was captured during the Civil War while traveling to England on a ship that was considered a blockade runner and spent seven months in Union jails. Pollard was later named professor of Southern history at the University of Virginia.

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