Save Search Parameters
Clear All
Manuscripts (78)
SORT BY
Last Added
- Last Added
- Date Written
- A-Z
- Relevance
Jimmy Carter Condolence Letter To Widow Of Marine Killed In Failed 1980 Iranian Hostage Rescue
April 26, 1980
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1470
Add to History Board Share
Kennedy and the Arts: His Unprecedented Invitation of Scholars, Artists, Writers, and Thinkers to His Inauguration
September 8, 1961
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1444
Add to History Board Share
Abraham Lincoln's Prayer To "The Almighty" For Himself And The Nation - A Singular Letter
May 21, 1860
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 2509
Add to History Board Share
President-Elect Harding Refers to His Upcoming Term as "Imprisonment in the White House"
January 12, 1921
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1550
President-Elect Harding refers to his upcoming presidential term as "imprisonment in the White House," while expressing envy that his correspondent is going to Honolulu. Harding also informs him that the upcoming inauguration will be a very pared-down affair.
Add to History Board Share
Young John F. Kennedy Condemns Harry Truman's Reversal to Support the Partition of Palestine
April 4, 1948
Autograph Manuscript
2 pages
SMC 149
At a dinner of Jewish veterans, John F. Kennedy, then a congressman from Massachusetts, condemns Harry Truman's withdrawal of support for the partition of Palestine as "one of the most unfortunate reversals in American policy. Kennedy also called for the US to lift the arms embargo in order to give Israel a chance to protect herself in the ensuing war.
Add to History Board Share
Truman on the Recognition of the Jewish State and the "very dark" situation in Palestine
May 17, 1948
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 370
Two days into the Israeli War of Independence, Harry Truman thanks a rabbi for his offer to assist the President, and refers to the fledgling state's situation as "very dark."
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1464
Nixon sends a letter of condolence to the parents of William Schroeder, who was killed at the Kent State anti-war demonstration in May of 1970.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1272
One of Roosevelt's many jabs at Wilson, whom he labelled a coward for failing to declare war on Germany in 1915 after the sinking of the Lusitania.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter
1 page
SMC 219
Add to History Board Share
Palestine, Truman Says, is a “Matter of Considerable Disturbance” to be Determined by U.N.
February 9, 1948
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 686
Add to History Board Share
Harry Truman Writes General Hap Arnold About FDR's Death, Two and a Half Weeks Before, as "The Greatest Blow"
April 30, 1945
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 694
Two weeks after Franklin Delano Roosevelt's death, Harry Truman is still reeling from the shock and his new role with all its responsibilities.
Add to History Board Share
Two Days After Unleashing a Tempest by Firing MacArthur, President Truman Writes to a Journalist
April 13, 1951
Autograph Note Signed
1 page
SMC 699
President Truman writes to Merriman Smith, perhaps in response to something Smith had said to the President, a prediction, seemingly, about the great news of the day – Truman’s firing of MacArthur two days before – that inspired this note, with which Truman apparently forwarded “an interesting piece” he had run across in his hometown paper.
Add to History Board Share
President William McKinley Writes to the Widow of His Vice President and Dear Friend, Mrs. Hobart
March 8, 1900
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 915
In this letter, written four months after the death of his vice-president and dear friend, Garret Hobart, President McKinley thanks Mrs. Tuttle-Hobart for the gift of fruit, and for the wonderful time spent together with her and her son.
Add to History Board Share
President James Madison Tracks Down His Shipment, Seized in the Embargo, of 114 Gallons of Brandy
November 24, 1809
Autograph Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 932
Here President Madison writes to the Collector of the Port of New York, David Gelston, that a pipe of brandy (114 gallons) was sent him to him but "carried into England," resulting in the condemnation of the offending vessel. The brandy, being "neutral cargo," was saved. Now Madison asks that the brandy be sent to him in Washington.
Add to History Board Share
President James Monroe on Purchase of Florida and John Adams's Recommendation of Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse
June 15, 1821
Autograph Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 934
President Monroe writes to his Secretary of War, James Calhoun about the Purchase of Florida, and about John Adams's recommendation of Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse as medical superintendent of military facilities in New England.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
4 pages
SMC 961
President Pierce fears that if the Kansas-Nebraska Bill-which granted the States the right to decide on slavery-would not pass, Civil War would ensue.
Add to History Board Share
President Franklin Pierce Warmly Endorses the Kansas-Nebraska Act as "Demonstrably Right and Patriotic"
March 9, 1854
Autograph Letter Signed
4 pages
SMC 966
Pierce endorses the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed citizens of those states to decide if they wanted to retain slaves or not. This decision reversed the Missouri compromise of 1820 and sharply divided the nation.
Add to History Board Share
James Buchanan, Ill With Dysentry Before His Inauguration, Declines Jefferson Davis's Invitation to Dine
February 20, 1857
Autograph Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 988
James Buchanan, suffering from dysentery, regrets to decline Jefferson Davis's invitation to dinner.
Add to History Board Share
The Eyewitness Account of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination by the Physician Who Treated Him at the Scene
May 28, 1865
Autograph Letter Signed
8 pages
SMC 1004
Charles Leale, a surgeon and first responder to Lincoln's shooting, gives a detailed summary of the night of the assassination to a friend.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Manuscript
30 pages
SMC 1012
The 1858 Senate report, which details the murder and rape of the Dickson family in their agricultural colony. The author, Jonathan Steinbeck was a descendent of members of the colony, and the "Outrages at Jaffa" is alluded to in his East of Eden. Herman Melville, inspired by the tragic events, wrote his epic poem Clarel.
Add to History Board Share
James K. Polk Gives Orders for a Fireproof Celebration for the Battle of Cerro Gordo in Washington
May 8, 1847
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1052
Here Polk-mindful of the dangers of unattended candles and oil lamps-gives orders not to illuminate public offices in honor of General Scott’s victory at the Battle of Cerro Gordo.
Add to History Board Share
Millard Fillmore On the Fugitive Slave and Kansas-Nebraska Acts: "You Can Not Reason With Fanaticism"
September 12, 1856
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1069
Though he detested slavery, Millard Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act, which required citizens of Northern free states to return slaves to their Southern owners. He was denounced by politicians who four years later voted for the same rule of law to apply in the Kansas-Nebraska act. Here, he wishes to expose their hypocrisy.
Add to History Board Share
Having Ascended to the Presidency Just a Week Before, Millard Fillmore Orders a New Black Hat
July 18, 1850
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1071
Eight days after President Taylor died and Millard Fillmore went from being vice president to president, the latter, taking his new role seriously, orders a new hat.
Add to History Board Share
Document Signed
1 page
SMC 1084
Abraham Lincoln's draft order for the state of New York, which sparked riots and racially-motivated violence and murders. It was the second largest civil insurrection in American history.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1090
This note from Lincoln to the Naval Secretary Gideon Welles instructs him to get a firsthand report about the infamous attempted prison break of Confederate POWs on Johnson's Island.
Add to History Board Share
Ephemera
1 page
SMC 1116
Pass to Lincoln's funeral, on Wednesday, April 19, 1865.
Add to History Board Share
Vice President-Elect Chester A. Arthur Accepts Congratulations on Winning His First and Last Election
November 10, 1880
Autograph Letter Signed
3 pages
SMC 1155
Chester A. Arthur accepts congratulations on having won his first, and last, election: that of Vice-President of the United States. Arthur would be Vice President for six months before assuming the presidency on the occasion of Garfield's assassination in 1881.
Add to History Board Share
Grover Cleveland, First President to Marry in the White House, Handwrites an Invitation to His Wedding
May 28, 1886
Autograph Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 1165
President Grover Cleveland invites his Postmaster to his wedding the following Wednesday, with a hand-written invitation.
Add to History Board Share
President Benjamin Harrison: Celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the Discovery of America
July 29, 1892
Document Signed
1 page
SMC 1173
President Harrison leads the nation in celebrating the Columbus quadricentennial by authorizing the Seal of the United States to be affixed to a document entitled "The administration of the United States Government at the beginning of the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of America."
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
3 pages
SMC 1183
Edna M. Hurry, a fifteen-year-old bookkeeper, goes into striking detail in her eyewitness account of President William McKinley's assassination.
Add to History Board Share
Secretary of Navy Long: President William McKinley, "Acute and Wise," Will Not Seek Third Term
June 11, 1901
Typed Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 1186
In this private note to his daughter, in which he discusses, amongst other things, a birthday present for his daughter, Naval Secretary John Long reveals that President William McKinley will absolutely not be seeking a third term.
Add to History Board Share
President William McKinley Orders Seal Affixed to His Proclamation on the Death of Vice President Hobart
November 21, 1899
Document Signed
1 page
SMC 1187
Death warrant of Vice President Garret Hobart, signed by his dear friend, President William McKinley.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
4 pages
SMC 1204
The election of Rutherford B. Hayes hung, precariously, on disputed returns from four states -- chief among them, Louisiana. Here, long after the fact, Hayes reviews with one of his chief lieutenants, John Sherman, what happened there, and why.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 1255
Before departing Panama, Theodore Roosevelt writes to Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero who, as the first President of Panama, received Roosevelt when he visited the Canal Zone in November, 1906. Roosevelt and Amador had worked together on creating the Panama Canal, and here Roosevelt thanks Amador for his thoughtful gifts.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 251
Roosevelt, who has just become President due to McKinley's assassination looks forward at what must be done, rather than being "morbid."
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 252
Autographed quotation of famous "square deal" with accompanying letter to Richard Lee Fern. The square deal was Roosevelt's call for equal opportunities for every man and woman in the United States. Equality politically, socially, and in "matters industrial."
Add to History Board Share
Secretary of War William H. Taft Reports That San Francisco is Almost Destroyed in the Earthquake
April 18, 1906
Typed Letter Signed
3 pages
SMC 261
Secretary of War Taft writes this missive primarily about the administration of the Philippines, and expresses concern for Associate Justice to the Supreme Court of the Philippines, James Francis Smith, whom he knew to be in San Francisco during the earthquake. The scale of the damage was as yet unclear, and Taft reports that the city was almost destroyed, and since telegraph wires are down, "we are in the dark."
Add to History Board Share
Letter From Gettysburg Battlefield, July 4th, 1863: Union Soldier Hopes "This Battle Will End the War"
July 4, 1863
Autograph Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 299
Writing to his mother on the fourth of July, Private Strouss tells his her that he is alive, unharmed, and although unsure who has won, he hopes that "this Battle will end the war" so that he may return home.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 302
Ben-Gurion claims that as long as the USA and the USSR fight the Cold War by proxy in the Middle East - by arming Arab countries - there will be no peace in the region, and Israel will have to continuously fight for its survival.
Add to History Board Share
President Harry Truman Defends Atomic Bombing of Japan as "the Only Language" a "Beast" Can Understand
August 11, 1945
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 367
Harry Truman defends his use of the atomic bomb, reasoning that the only language the Japanese understand is that of extreme force.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
3 pages
SMC 399
President Andrew Jackson invites a friend to the most famous cheese tasting in American history. On Washington's birthday, March 3, 1837, the President opened the White House for the American public to consume a cheese wheel, four feet in diameter, and weighing 1400 lbs. It took citizens of all walks of life approximately two hours to consume the block of cheddar.
Add to History Board Share
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address Transcript & With Malice Toward None Quote in Autograph
March 4, 1865
Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 401
Lincoln writes and autographs the famous "with malice towards none" paragraph from his second inaugural address.
Add to History Board Share
Harry Truman Looks at the Potsdam Conference 12 Years Later: An Astonishing Appraisal of What Went Wrong
April 8, 1957
Autograph Letter Signed
8 pages
SMC 429
Knowing that his papers would be released for reporters to examine his version of the Potsdam Conference twelve years prior, Harry Truman paints a revisionist history of what happened and what went wrong.
Add to History Board Share
George Washington Dreads Assuming the Presidency: He Feels as if He's Being Led to His Execution
April 1, 1789
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 433
Draft of George Washington's letter to Major General Henry Knox, in which, thirty days before his inauguration, Washington compares assuming the presidency to being lead to his execution. He insists he doesn't have the political skill, ability, or even the inclination to lead. He fears, terribly, that he risks his good name in assuming the presidency.
Add to History Board Share
Theodore Roosevelt Inscribes Photo of His 1905 Inaugural Address With His Keystone "Square Deal" Credo
May 19, 1905
Signed Photograph
1 page
SMC 466
Theodore Roosevelt famously argued for each man not to be treated in accordance with his wealth but for his value as a person--otherwise known as a "square deal." Roosevelt emphasized this in his 1905 inaugural address, of which this is a photo with his inscription of the square deal.
Add to History Board Share
Contemporary Copy of Chase's Letter to Abraham Lincoln in Support of General Hunter's Emancipation Order
May 16, 1862
Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 501
Salomon P. Chase, President Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, was the most ardent abolitionist in Lincoln's cabinet. Here, he praises General Hunter's declaration of emancipation of all slaves in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Add to History Board Share
Harry Truman Letter Written as Vice-President But Signed as President with "Terrible Responsibilities"
April 12, 1945
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 585
A letter from Harry Truman written as Vice President, then amended by hand as President, mentioning the "terrible responsibilities" that are now his. Truman had started this letter in the morning, as vice president, but by the evening, had ascended the presidency, following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's death that day.
Add to History Board Share
Alfred Dreyfus Reviews Case Against Him, Proclaims His Innocence, and Demands Another Trial
December 26, 1900
Autograph Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 617
Alfred Dreyfus respectfully demands a retrial for his trumped-up treason charge from the French prime minister, and vows to prove his innocence till his dying day.
Add to History Board Share
Harry Truman Tells How He Learned He Became the President: FDR's Death, He Says, Was a Complete Surprise
October 18, 1963
Typed Letter Signed
2 pages
SMC 684
In this letter to Louis Reed (an administrative assistant to a West Virginia senator), Harry Truman reassures him that at the time they met, Truman had no idea that Roosevelt had died, and that he'd be ascending the presidency. It was as much of a surprise to Truman as to anyone else.
Add to History Board Share
A Historic Memo: Harry Truman Salutes Dean Acheson's Crucial Role in Going to War With Korea
July 19, 1950
Autograph Note Signed
2 pages
SMC 685
President Harry Truman commends Dean Acheson as Secretary of State for superbly handling events leading up to the Korean War.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1278
Theodore Roosevelt resented Woodrow Wilson's weak position on German naval aggression. Here, he unequivocally states that had Wilson shown some strong leadership and stood up to Germany, over 1000 civilians would not have lost their lives at sea.
Add to History Board Share
Woodrow Wilson Lobbies for Ratification of the Treaty of Versailles - A Matter of Gravest Consequence
July 19, 1919
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1313
This letter is an example of Woodrow Wilson's attempt to court Republican senators to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, of which he was one of the chief negotiators; Congress refused to ratify it.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
3 pages
SMC 1373
After forgiving his old and dear friend many missteps, Franklin Roosevelt finally fires Harry Woodring as Secretary of War.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1401
President Truman, who was about to deploy the Truman Doctrine in Greece in order to fight the first proxy Cold War against a communist takeover of that country, expresses reservations about appointing a Greek-American to oversee the distribution of funds to anti-communist factions in Greece.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1447
President John F. Kennedy founded the Peace Corps in 1961. This letter from him wishes the Peace Corps volunteer good luck on the upcoming entrance exams.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Manuscript
20 pages
SMC 1449
Add to History Board Share
Lyndon B. Johnson Writes to the Parents of Astronaut Gus Grissom, Killed in the Apollo I Fire
January 31, 1967
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1459
President Johnson loved the Space Program; loved the astronauts; loved awarding Gus Grissom NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, for being the first American to fly into space twice. Burying Grissom, and his comrades, was a bitter responsibility – which he followed, still, with personal letters of condolence.
Add to History Board Share
Six Months After His Resignation, a Rare Richard Nixon Comment on Watergate: He Took One for the Team
February 3, 1975
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1463
Nixon implies that his resignation of the presidency was done in part to ensure the political survival of associates and supporters.
Add to History Board Share
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 131
President Lyndon B. Johnson's letter of condolence to the parents of Roger B. Chaffee, an astronaut who died in the Apollo I fire.
Add to History Board Share
Signed Photograph
1 page
SMC 1471
Autograph quote from Ronald Reagan on a photo of him in front of the Berlin Wall near the Brandenburg gate. The famous "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1475
Governor Reagan responds to a man who sharply condemns his unwillingness to prevent the execution of a man convicted for killing a policeman. Despite the combative nature of the man's letter (also transcribed here), Reagan willingly engages the man in discussing the function and protocol of the judicial system in the context of capital punishment.
Add to History Board Share
Newly Sworn-in Theodore Roosevelt Reacts with Foreboding: a Heavy and Painful Task Has Fallen Upon Him
September 14, 1901
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1541
Grief-stricken over the death of President William McKinley just hours before, newly sworn-in Theodore Roosevelt describes the task before him as both "heavy" and "painful."
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Quotation Signed
1 page
SMC 1551
Lincoln writes and autographs the famous "both sides deprecated war" passage from his second inaugural address.
Add to History Board Share
Mark Twain Says He Cannot Deliver a "Light and Nonsensical Speech" While President Garfield is Dying
August 23, 1881
Autograph Letter Signed
4 pages
SMC 1693
Mark Twain explains he cannot deliver a "light & nonsensical speech" while fatally wounded President Garfield is dying. Signed as Samuel Clemens.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1738
This letter, written by David Rice Atchison, debunks the long-held erroneous idea that he acted as President of the United States for the 31 hours between the end of Polk's term and the beginning of Taylor's.
Add to History Board Share
President Franklin Pierce Appoints the First United States Consul to Serve in Jerusalem
October 20, 1856
Document Signed
1 page
SMC 1741
President Franklin Pierce appoints Boston physician John Warren Gorham as the first United States Consul at Jerusalem on October 20, 1856.
Add to History Board Share
First Lady Edith Roosevelt, Two Weeks After McKinley's Death: "Life Does Not Seem Very Simple Just Now"
September 27, 1901
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1778
Two weeks after President McKinley's death and Theodore Roosevelt's assumption of the presidency, First Lady Edith Roosevelt thanks a friend in Boston for her warm wishes, and confides in her that "Life does not seem very simple just now."
Add to History Board Share
Leon Czolgosz's Incredibly Rare Confession to the Assassination of President William McKinley
September 6, 1901
Document Signed
2 pages
SMC 1813
Czolgosz's twice-signed confession to assassinating President McKinley, stemming from anarchist convictions.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1895
Just five days after Zola published “J’accuse!” in the French newspaper L’Aurore, Pissarro writes to say that he wishes his name added to “the protestation against the awful judgment of the court-martial” to be published, apparently, in that crusading paper.
Add to History Board Share
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 1928
President William Henry Harrison's secretary, Henry Harrison, writes to his father, Benjamin Harrison, to inform him of the impending death of the President.
Add to History Board Share
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, On Hearing that McKinley Has Been Shot, Wires For News
September, 1901
Autograph Telegram Signed
2 pages
SMC 1939
On the back of a railway timetable, Roosevelt writes the wire instructing the head of the facility in which McKinley was taken after being shot to keep Roosevelt appraised of the president's condition. On the other side of the page, a historian wrote Roosevelt's reaction to the news of McKinley's shooting, as well as his reaction to being told McKinley would survive.
Add to History Board Share
Grover Cleveland, Recovering From Secret Cancer Surgery, Reports He is "Getting to be Quite a Drunkard"
December 17, 1893
Autograph Letter Signed
6 pages
SMC 1970
Recovering from his secret cancer surgery aboard a yacht a few months prior, Grover Cleveland reports to his physician and dear friend that he is having "a couple of drinks of whiskey a day, with very good results; and I smoke a cigar every day too."
Add to History Board Share
On His First Day in Office, "Jack" Kennedy Thanks His Predecessor, Eisenhower, for a Smooth Transition
January 21, 1961
Typed Letter Signed
1 page
SMC 2051
Masking his true feelings about his predecessor, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, and twenty-eight years Eisenhower's junior, thanks him for a smooth transition of power.
Add to History Board Share
Signed Photograph
1 page
SMC 2076
The iconic photograph of Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office hours after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated; inscribed to Cecil Stoughton, the photographer.
Add to History Board Share
A Last Thing Signed: John F. Kennedy Autographs a Dallas Newspaper on the Morning of His Murder There
November 22, 1963
Ephemera
1 page
SMC 2168
An edition of The Dallas Morning News signed by President John F. Kennedy on the morning of his assassination. Kennedy was shot at 12:30, making it very likely that this was the last thing he ever signed.
Add to History Board Share
"Kennedy Slain on Dallas Street" - The Dallas Morning News November 23, 1963 Edition
November 23, 1963
Ephemera
1 page
SMC 2356
Newspaper from the morning after Kennedy's Assassination. Kennedy had signed the same newspaper on the very day of his assassination.
Add to History Board Share
Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Ball , 1861: Invitation Printed By, and Naming as a Ball Manager, Adolphus S. Solomons
March 4, 1861
Ephemera
1 page
SMC 2367
Rare invitation to Abraham Lincoln's inaugural ball, prominently featuring the name of the Jewish manager and printer of the invitation, Adolphus S. Solomons, twice.
Add to History Board Share
Lincoln Assassination Eyewitness Recalls Running to Fetch Dr. Liebermann Who Attended Lincoln's Deathbed
April 24, 1865
Autograph Letter Signed
8 pages
SMC 2388
Samuel Koontz ran to fetch the Russian-born Jewish Dr. Charles Henry Liebermann, who lived a scant two blocks from Ford's Theatre. The news that Liebermann was the first "important" doctor to attend Lincoln - discounting the gaggle of doctors (seven in all) from Ford's theatre - is significant. He was the first to treat him, owing to the distance between his house and the theatre.
Add to History Board Share
More Results