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.

Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790) to Samuel Adams, et al. re: British policy & the potential loss of the colonies

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC07651 Author/Creator: Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790) Place Written: London Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 15 May 1771 Pagination: 1 p. 31.5 x 17.5 cm Order a Copy

"History shows that by these Steps great Empires have crumbled heretofore; and the late Transactions we have so much Cause to complain of, show that we are in the same Train, and that without a greater Share of Prudence and Wisdom than we seem on both Sides to be possessed of, we shall probably come to the Same Conclusion" Includes only last page of original letter, along with a collateral transcript of the remainder.

Signer of the U.S. Constitution.

Franklin, Benjamin, 1706-1790
Adams, Samuel, 1722-1803

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