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 Curators and scholars discuss historical documents from iconic treasures, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Emancipation Proclamation, to personal letters that reveal the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

Inside the Vault: The American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1839

Date: October 2, 2025
Time: 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)
Featured Document: American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1839

The American Anti-Slavery Society produced annual almanacs for nearly a decade to widely disseminate their abolitionist message. The 1839 edition contains a range of articles and illustrations alongside astronomical calculations. The writings include a call to boycott goods produced under slavery, an appeal to the northern working class to help end slavery, an article arguing that emancipated people could take care of themselves, and more.

Join us on October 2, 2025, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT) when our curators discuss the American Anti-Slavery Almanac for 1839 with a guest historian.

Submit questions for our historian.

Related Resources for Upcoming Program

Essays

“Slavery and Anti-Slavery” by David B. Davis, Yale University
“National Expansion and Reform, 1815–1860” by Joyce Appleby, UCLA
“The First Age of Reform” by Ronald G. Walters, Johns Hopkins University
“The Lion of All Occasions: The Great Black Abolitionist Frederick Douglass” (History Now 50, “Frederick Douglass at 200,” Winter 2018)
“Frederick Douglass: From Slavery to Freedom” by Steven Mintz, University of Texas at Austin

Exhibitions

Online Exhibitions

The Gilder Lehrman Institute has more than eighty online exhibitions that cover American history from the colonial era to the present day.

Historical Documents

Spotlights on Primary Sources

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

Interactives

Excerpts from American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation

Lectures

Short Takes

“Abolitionist Views: Integration vs. Colonization” by Lois E. Horton, George Mason University
“Abolitionism: A Grassroots Movement” by Lois E. Horton, George Mason University
“Slavery and the Constitution” by James O. Horton, George Washington University

Full Lectures

“Anti-Slavery Literature in the Founding Era” by James G. Basker, Barnard College
“In Hope of Liberty: Northern Free Blacks, 1700–1860” by James O. Horton, George Washington University, and Lois E. Horton, George Mason University

Future Programs

The President's dedication address at Gettysburg.

The Gettysburg Address

Our curators will discuss the language of the Gettysburg Address with Dr. Jonathan White, professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University.

November 6, 2025
7:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET (4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT)

Henry Knox to George Washington, December 17, 1775

Moving Artillery During the American Revolution

Our curators will discuss Henry Knox's epic 1775 journey bringing artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston with Dr. Phil Hamilton, Professor of History at Christopher Newport University.

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

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