Inside the Vault

Inside the Vault

Inside the Vault is a monthly online program that highlights unique primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. Curators and scholars discuss historical documents from iconic treasures, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Emancipation Proclamation, to personal letters that reveal the contributions of ordinary Americans.

 

*Please note that each program is recorded and sent via email the following day to all registered participants.*

 

Image: Abraham Lincoln, Emancipation Proclamation, General Orders No. 1, 1863 (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC00460)

Upcoming Program View Program Archive
Detail from Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation with focus on text "By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation"

Upcoming Program

Inside the Vault: The Olive Branch Petition

Date: July 3, 2025
Time: 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)
With: Dr. Denver Brunsman, Associate Professor of History at George Washington University 
Featured Documents: Journal of... Congress...1775 [with 4 other works on British view of Revolution] and Rejection of Olive Branch Petition by Congress; lets colonists arm vessels

“The petition of these United Colonies to the King, for the redress for great and manifest grievances, have not only been rejected, but treated with scorn and contempt.” —Charles Thomson, Secretary of the Continental Congress

In July 1775, colonists tried to avoid the American Revolution by sending a petition to King George III. Known as the Olive Branch Petition, the document declared their loyalty to the Crown while demanding redress of their grievances. The king rejected the Olive Branch Petition before even reading it, and the Continental Congress authorized the arming of vessels for war in response.

Submit questions for Dr. Brunsman

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Rejection of Olive Branch Petition by Congress; lets colonists arm vessels

Image: Rejection of Olive Branch Petition by Congress; lets colonists arm vessels (The Gilder Lehrman Institute, GLC04771)

Related Resources for Upcoming Program

Essays

History Now, the online journal of the Gilder Lehrman Institute, features essays by the nation’s leading historians. The Gilder Lehrman Institute has also published selected essays on the website elsewhere. Issues relevant to the upcoming program can be found here and a curated list of select essays is below.

Lesson Plans

Elementary School Students
Middle and High School Students

Spotlights on Primary Sources

Each Spotlight on a Primary Source highlights a document from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and provides explanatory text, a transcript, and an image of the featured document.

Future Programs

Scientists' statement on atomic bomb.

Manhattan Project Scientists Predict a Nuclear Arms Race

Our curators will discuss the declaration of concern, written by Manhattan Project scientists after the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, with Cynthia Kelly, president of the Atomic Heritage Foundation.

  • August 7, 2025
  • 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)
Register
Battle of Antietam, 1862

The Battle of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation

Our curators will discuss the Battle of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation with Dr. Edward Ayers, Tucker-Boatwright Professor of the Humanities and President Emeritus, University of Richmond.

  • September 4, 2025
  • 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)
Register

Program Archive

View the complete archive of Inside the Vault recordings, presentation slides, and related resources. Our past programs have featured documents from throughout American history and guest presentations by historians, teachers, curators, and Hamilton cast members.

View the Program Archive