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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.

Smith, Samuel F. to J. Wiley Edmands

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05508.230.01 Author/Creator: Smith, Samuel F. Place Written: Newton Center, Massachusetts Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 29 January 1864 Pagination: 2 p. + env. 20.7 x 12.5 cm Order a Copy

Smith writes to Edmands to provide the words for "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (GLC05505.230.02). Smith comments that the song's chief merit is the occasion and circumstances in which it was produced, referring to providing momentary joy during the suffering of the Civil War.

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