Our Collection

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.

The Lincoln catechism wherein the eccentricities & beauties of despotism are fully set forth. A Guide to the Presidential Election of 1864.

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC08632 Author/Creator: Place Written: New York, New York Type: Pamphlet Date: 1864 Pagination: 46 p. ; 18.9 x 12.5 cm. Order a Copy

A vitriolic racist attack on Lincoln in the form of a mock catechism. A list of sarcastic questions and answers which accuse Lincoln of tyranny and the Republicans of destroying the Constitution. Title page proclaims the pamphlet is "A guide to the presidential election of 1864." Questions and answers include "By Whom hath the Constitution been made obsolete? By Abraham Africanus the First." and "What is a President? A genral agent for negroes." States the first commandment of the Republicans is "Thou shalt have no other God but the negro." Includes comments about miscegenation and freed slaves. Printed by J. F. Feeks.

Lincoln, Abraham, 1809-1865

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