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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.

Jackson, Henry (1747-1809) to Henry Knox

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02437.10220 Author/Creator: Jackson, Henry (1747-1809) Place Written: Boston, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 28 June 1789 Pagination: 4 p. : docket ; 37.9 x 24.5 cm. Order a Copy

Discusses unrest and states that "nothing would quiet the People, and a revolution would certainly take place on the patent..." States that Thomas, Brown, and others wish "to be treated exactly as the State treats these Settlers - by giving them 100 acres of Land they paying five dollars for it... If you will comply with their terms, they will ensure it to you forever - if not, War - War is the Word - they are both artfull fellows and I believe damd Rascals." Goes on to discuss the health of the President and near completion of the Revenue Bill. Watermarked "L Paine" and with a hunting horn inside a crest with "G R" underneath.

The patent most likely refers to the Waldo Patent, a letters patent also known as the Muscongus Patent or the Lincolnshire Patent. It was an area of land 36 miles square in what is now the U.S. state of Maine. General Samuel Waldo was proprietor of the Waldo Patent and a relation of Knox on his wife's side. He is said to have gone to Europe to recruit German immigrants to settle on his 579,000 acres of land in Maine.

Jackson, Henry, 1747-1809
Knox, Henry, 1750-1806

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