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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.

Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Speech of Hon. Abraham Lincoln, delivered in Springfield, Saturday evening, July 17, 1858.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC06214.02 Author/Creator: Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) Place Written: Springfield, Illinois Type: Pamphlet Date: 17 July 1858 Pagination: 8 p. ; 24 x 15.8 cm. Order a Copy

Discusses the disadvantages faced by the Republican Party in the upcoming election. Traces the development of his attitudes toward slavery and equality, expressing his conviction that the southern slave power was engaged in a conspiracy to nationalize slavery and strip whites as well as blacks of their civil rights. States that the Kansas-Nebraska bill was the beginning of this. Urges that slavery be placed on the course of "ultimate extinction." Attacks Stephen Douglas and defends himself by stating that he supports the principles of equality put forth in the Declaration of Independence. This speech preceded his debates with Douglas. Cut close to the text at bottom of pages.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865
Douglass, Frederick, 1818-1895

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