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.

Stanton, Edwin McMasters (1814-1869) to James Buchanan

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC02735 Author/Creator: Stanton, Edwin McMasters (1814-1869) Place Written: Washington, D.C. Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 5 March 1860 Pagination: 2 p. : docket ; 25.5 x 20.6 cm. Order a Copy

Writes to President Buchanan to forward an enclosed letter [not present] from Reverend William D. Howard, a Presbyterian clergyman from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Howard's letter recommends his son, Robert R. Howard, for the position of District Attorney in Nebraska territory. Declares, "He read law under my direction, is a very industrious worthy young gentleman, of more than ordinary ability, a good lawyer and sound democrat, and would be an excellent appointment to the District Attorneyship." Note in pen on verso in different handwriting listing date, authorship of Stanton's letter, and a brief summary of its contents.

Edwin McMasters Stanton (1814-1869), a lawyer from Ohio, was Attorney General under President James Buchanan (1860-1861). He also served as Secretary of War (1862-1868). He briefly lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
Stanton, Edwin M. (Edwin McMasters), 1814-1869

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