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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.

Adams, John (1735-1826) [Presidential proclamation for a national day of prayer]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02542.14 Author/Creator: Adams, John (1735-1826) Place Written: s.l. Type: Broadside Date: 23 March 1798 Pagination: 1 p. : address : free frank ; 37.7 x 32.7 cm. Order a Copy

Proclamation declaring national "day of Solemn Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer," with Timothy Pickering's free frank on verso. Adams wants Americans to pray for the protection of their country. Proclamation states that America is in a "hazardous and afflictive situation" and therefore asks all citizens to "offer their devout Addresses to the Father of Mercies." Prayer is needed because "the safety and prosperity of nations ultimately and essentially depend on the protection and the blessing of Almighty God...the national acknowledgement of this truth is not only an indispensable duty which the people owe to Him, but a duty whose natural influence is favorable to the promotion of that Morality and Piety." Features the Great Seal of the United States printed at top.

Adams, John, 1735-1826
Pickering, Timothy, 1745-1829

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