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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.

Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland) (1808-1873) Speech written by Chase for Andrew Johnson after Lincoln's assassination

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07686 Author/Creator: Chase, Salmon P. (Salmon Portland) (1808-1873) Place Written: [Washington, D.C.] Type: Autograph manuscript Date: [1865/04/15] Pagination: 1 p. + docket 20.6 x 13.3 cm Order a Copy

"Oppressed by their sorrow and profoundly conscious how much I shall need the support and faith of my countrymen, I have take the Oath prescribed by the Constitution, and have entered upon the duties of the great office so suddenly, and so sadly made vacant."

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