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.

Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) to Dr. Benjamin Rush

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09038 Author/Creator: Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826) Place Written: s.l. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 March 1813 Pagination: 3 p. Order a Copy

Describes continued correspondence with John Adams, "with the commonplace topics of politics, we do not meddle. When there are so many others on which we agree why should we introduce the only one on which we differ?" Lauds the naval triumphs of the U.S.S. Constitution; and discusses at length veterinary and human medicine. "Man can tell his physician the seat of his pain, it's nature, history, and sometimes its cause, and can follow his directions for the curative process. but the poor dumb horse cannot signify where his pain is..." On Adams he writes, "a navy has always been his hobby horse. A little further time will show whether his ideas have been premature..."

Rush, Benjamin, 1746-1813
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
Adams, John, 1735-1826

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