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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.

Thompson, John (b. 1812) The life of John Thompson, a fugitive slave; containing his history of 25 years in bondage, and his providential escape. [incomplete]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05841 Author/Creator: Thompson, John (b. 1812) Place Written: Worcester, Massachusetts Type: Book Date: 1856 Pagination: 1 v. : 143 p. ; 18.6 x 12.3 cm. Order a Copy

First edition. Incomplete copy lacking pages 99-106 in chapter 15. In the introduction, Thompson writes: "I am aware that now, when public opinion makes it no martyrdom to denounce slavery, there are multitudes of men that grow bold, and wield a powerful weapon against this great evil; and even school boys daringly denounce a system, the enormity of which they cannot appreciate, surely I thought it may be permitted to one who has worn the galling yoke of bondage, to say something of its pains, and something of that freedom which, if he should succeed in accurately defining, he can truly say he will ever admire and love."

Thompson, John, 1812-?

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