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.

Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790) to John Franklin, William Hooker Smith, and John Jenkins

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04686 Author/Creator: Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Letter signed Date: 12 June 1786 Pagination: 2 p. ; 31.5 x 19.5 cm. Order a Copy

Franklin, writing as president of the Pennsylvania Council, discusses the strife in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, land that was claimed by both Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Acknowledges the "affliction" of the Yankee settlers, describes the testimony heard by the Council, and offers safe passage for an agent. The Connecticut settlers were later given clear title to the land, but John Franklin was imprisoned for treason. The conflict arose under the Articles of Confederation and helped justify support of a new Constitution.

Signer of the U.S. Constitution.
Franklin, Smith, and Jenkins were representatives of the Connecticut settlers. Franklin was a signer of the Constitution.

Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790
Smith, William Hooker, 1725-1815
Franklin, John, 1749-1831
Jenkins, John, 1751-1827

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