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) Gerrit Smith's reply to the colored citizens of Albany.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04717.17 Author/Creator: Smith, Gerrit (1797-1874) Place Written: Peterboro, New York Type: Printed document Date: 13 March 1846 Pagination: 3 p. ; 32 x 20.3 cm. Order a Copy

Smith writes: "Would, gentlemen, that the following mottos, which antislavery Conventions, in different parts of the State, are cordially adopting, were engraven on every heart: 'No slaveholder for civil office; and no person, who thinks a slaveholder fit for it.' 'No man for civil office, but a republican; and no slaveholder, and no person, who thinks a slaveholder fit for civil office, is a republican.' "

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.

Smith, Gerrit, 1797-1874

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