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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.

Washington, Booker T. (1856-1915) [To the editor of the Independent]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04466.01 Author/Creator: Washington, Booker T. (1856-1915) Place Written: Tuskegee, Alabama Type: Typed letter signed Date: 3 February 1909 Pagination: 1 p. ; 27.8 x 21.3 cm. Order a Copy

Washington, founder and principal of the Tuskegee Institute, expresses appreciation for any reference made within the Independent regarding an upcoming meeting of the Tuskegee Negro Conference, held at the Tuskegee Institute. Does not note the name of the editor. Written on Tuskegee Institute stationery.

According to an address he gave several weeks later, on 23 February 1909, at Carnegie Hall, Washington felt that his experiences at the Conference "convinced [him] that in meeting and solving these practical problems of daily life, that the Negro is succeeding, and the best type of white people in the South are helping him to succeed."

Washington, Booker T., 1856-1915

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