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.

Washington, George (1732-1799) to Mary Katherine Goddard

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01747 Author/Creator: Washington, George (1732-1799) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Letter signed Date: 6 January 1790 Pagination: 1 p. ; 32 x 20 cm. Order a Copy PDF Download(s): Download PDF

Washington responds to a previous letter from Goddard, who requested his intervention in her replacement as postmaster of Baltimore, Maryland. Replies that "the Resolutions and Ordinances establishing the Post-Office under the former Congress, and which have been recognized by the present Government, giving power to the Post-Master General to appoint his own Deputies, and making him accountable for their conduct, is an insufferable objection to my taking any part in this matter."
See GLC09756 for materials sent to George Washington by Mary Katherine Goddard.

Mary Katherine Goddard was born into a family of printers in Rhode Island. She went on to become the first female postmaster of the United States and is noted for be the first person to include the names of all the signers on the a printed edition of the Declaration of Independence.

Goddard, Mary Katherine, 1736-1816
Washington, George, 1732-1799

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