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.

Smith, Gerrit (1797-1874) Letter of Gerrit Smith to S.P. Chase, on the unconstitutionality of every part of American slavery

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04717.01 Author/Creator: Smith, Gerrit (1797-1874) Place Written: Albany, New York Type: Pamphlet Date: 1847 Pagination: 1 v. : 12 p. ; 14.4 x 9.2 cm. Order a Copy

Published by S. W. Green, Patriot Office. Letter was written at Peterboro, New York 1 November 1847. Chase recently disagreed with Smith's resolution at the National Convention of the Liberty party that slavery is unconstitutional. Argues that the Constitution "enjoins the abolition of every part of American slavery."

Smith, a politician from New York, served as a U.S. Representative from 1853-1854. He was a noted philanthropist and social reformer active in anti-slavery campaigns and women's rights. Chase was a United States Senator from Ohio 1849-1854 and 1861-1862, Governor of Ohio 1856-1860, and Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln.

Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874
Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland), 1808-1873
Green, S. W., fl. 1847

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