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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.

Witherspoon, John (1723-1794) to James Madison

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00496.255 Author/Creator: Witherspoon, John (1723-1794) Place Written: New Jersey Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1 October 1787 Pagination: 1 p. ; 22.7 x 18.2 cm. Order a Copy

This document has been endowed in honor of Lawson Wright by the Wright Family.

The recipient is James Madison, who was awarded this degree in 1787. Madison's name is faded. Witherspoon informs the recipient, a College of New Jersey [Princeton] alumni, that he has been awarded the Degree of Doctor of Laws. Written from "Tusculum near Princeton," Witherspoon's home.

Witherspoon was born in Scotland, where he received a Doctorate of Divinity. He emigrated to the United States in 1768, where he became President of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton), and later served on the Continental Congress. James Madison received a Doctor of Laws honoris causa in 1787 from the College of New Jersey. Madison was also a Princeton alumni, and a friend of Witherspoon, however, the recipient's name appears to be too faded to determine if this letter was written to Madison.

Witherspoon, John, 1723-1794
Madison, James, 1751-1836

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