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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.

Forsyth, John (1780-1841) to William S. Holabird

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05636.17 Author/Creator: Forsyth, John (1780-1841) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Letter signed Date: 23 September 1839 Pagination: 1 p. ; 25.5 x 20.3 cm. Order a Copy

Forsyth states: "It is necessary to a just decision on the various points presenting themselves for the President's consideration in the case of the Spanish Schooner 'Amistad,' that the Department should be furnished, with a copy of the ships' papers, together with a transcript of the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry held by the District Judge, on board that vessel, to which you refer in your letter of the 5th instant, and on which the Blacks were imprisoned for the alleged murder of the Captain and Mate..."

Forsyth was Secretary of State 1834-1841. Holabird was District Attorney for the State of Connecticut during the Amistad trial.

Forsyth, John, 1780-1841
Holabird, William S., 1794-1855
Judson, Andrew Thompson, 1784-1853

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