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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.

Smith, Gerrit (1797-1874) Compensated emancipation: a speech by Gerrit Smith, in the National Compensation Convention, held in Cleveland, Ohio, August 25, 26 and 27, 1857.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC04717.28 Author/Creator: Smith, Gerrit (1797-1874) Place Written: Cleveland, Ohio Type: Printed document Date: 27 August 1857 Pagination: 3 p. ; 30.2 x 19.8 cm. Order a Copy

Smith declares, "We are here for the purpose of making a public and formal, and, as we hope, an impressive confession, that the North ought to share with the South in the temporary losses that will result from the abolition of Slavery. Indeed, such are our relations to the South in the matter of Slavery, that, on the score of simple honesty, we are bound to share in these losses."

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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