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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.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03587.04 Author/Creator: Unknown Place Written: Vera Cruz, Mexico Type: Autograph endorsement Date: 9 October 1853 Pagination: 4 p. ; 26.5 x 21 cm. Order a Copy

Confidential endorsement has original author's name struck. Discusses the sin of writing letters on a Sunday and includes a funny anecdote. Writes about a possible lapse in the U.S.-Mexican treaty regarding the taxing of items left behind by American servicemen. Mentions the coinage Mexico has received from Americans living in that country and its prohibited circulation. Discusses rendering it valueless, then imposing a duty on coins carried out of the country. Discusses his knowledge of what conspires within the President's Palace and mentions the Mexicans' plan to trade with the United States. Knows for certain that Santa Anna refuses to trade with him or any American citizen, even if the terms and conditions suited all parties. Endorsement reports the order to export American gold and adds that "it now only remains to arrange the matter of the segars" in reply to author's request for the tobacco product.

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