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.

Knox, Henry (1750-1806) to Egbert Benson

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.03766 Author/Creator: Knox, Henry (1750-1806) Place Written: New York, New York Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 20 January 1788 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 32.6 x 20.1 cm. Order a Copy

Knox reports on the proceedings of the Massachusetts Constitutional ratification convention. Notes that there are "150 decidedly for the constitution, about 120 decidedly against it- and about 50 or 60 who appear to determine to hear all that can be said on both sides and then vote as they shall think right, Mr S Adams is in this class.- on the whole it is highly probable that the Constitution will be adopted." Expects the decision to be made about the Constitution in less than a fortnight. Location inferred.

Benson was a member of the Continental Congress in 1784, 1787 and 1788, and a member of the New York State constitutional convention in 1788 that ratified the Federal Constitution.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806
Benson, Egbert, 1746-1833
Adams, Samuel, 1722-1803

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