The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History




Battle Lines: Letters from America's Wars: Featuring correspondence from more than 200 years of American conflicts, ranging from the Revolution to the war in Iraq. Freedom: A History of US: Explore images of the people and documents that have shaped the idea of freedom in this nation over the past 225 years.

Abraham Lincoln in His Own Words based on the exhibition of documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection on display at the New-York Historical Society.

Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times
Explore Lincoln's life and legacy through images, documents, and readings.
John Brown: The Abolitionist and His Legacy examines John Brown’s beliefs and actions in the context of growing national divisions over slavery in the 1850s. Explore this topic through images, documents, and an audio tour.

Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln's views on slavery and its abolition were clearly expressed in speeches and action throughout his political career. This online exhibition, based on a document booklet of the same title produced in partnership with President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home (www.lincolncottage.org) traces his evolution from antislavery advocate to emancipator through speeches, letters, and acts from the speech at Peoria in 1854 to his second inaugural address in 1865.
Lincoln, Douglas, and Their Historic Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven joint discussions between Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, and Stephen A. Douglas, a Democrat, held during the summer and fall of 1858 in Illinois. This online exhibition travels through each debate and explains the issues behind this historic contest.

This exhibition was created in conjunction with The House Divided Project at Dickinson College.
"I take up my pen": Letters from the
Civil War: This online exhibition is adapted from an exhibition of original Civil War soldiers' letters on display at the new Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park, which opened in April 2008. The letters are drawn from the Gilder Lehrman Collection (on deposit at the New-York Historical Society), which contains more than 12,000 Civil War soldiers' letters, most of them never before seen by the public.

For complete transcripts of all of the letters featured in the Gettysburg exhibition, click here.
The Manhattan Project:
This exhibition of documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection showcases the tremendous concern of the Association of Manhattan Project Scientists toward nuclear power in peacetime.
Alexander Hamilton and the Creation of the United States: Alexander Hamilton lives in our memory because he died in a lurid duel with Vice President Aaron Burr, and because we carry his face in our wallets -- on the ten dollar bill. But Hamilton's contributions were numerous. This exhibition presents a variety of original documents and images, from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and other archives, highlighting the story of his life.
The Dred Scott Decision and its Bitter Legacy: Dred Scott gave his name to what has become the most infamous Supreme Court decision in American history, yet many Americans are unaware of his story. This exhibition looks at the history of Dred Scott and his case through images and primary source documents from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and other archives.
Wilberforce, Lincoln and the Abolition of Slavery: This exhibition presents a variety of original documents, images, and other material, from the Gilder Lehrman Collection and other archives, highlighting the story of the abolition of slavery in England and America between 1787 and 1865.


Freedom Riders

Discover the story of the courageous Freedom Riders that took the civil rights struggle out of the courtroom and onto the streets in 1961.

Developed in partnership with AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, in conjunction with the PBS special, Freedom Rider, airing on May 16th. To learn more, visit, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.








The Collection