Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
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TheGilder Lehrman Institute of American Historywas founded inNew York Cityby businessmen-philanthropistsRichard GilderandLewis E. Lehrmanin 1994 to promote the study and interest inAmerican history.[1]
The Institute serves teachers, students, scholars, and the general public. Its activities include the following:
- creating history-centered schools;
- organizing seminars and programs foreducators;
- producing print and electronic publications and traveling exhibitions;
- sponsoring lectures by eminenthistorians;
- administering a History Teacher of the Year Award in every state through its partnership with Preserve America;
- awarding theGilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize,Frederick Douglass Book Prize,George Washington Prize,and theGilder Lehrman Prize for Military History;
- offering fellowships for scholars to work in the Gilder Lehrman Collection and other archives.
Website
[edit]The institute maintains a website to offer educational material for teachers, students, historians, and the public, and to provide up-to-the-minute information about the institute's programs and activities. The website offers learning modules on major topics in American history, podcasts from noted historians discussing their work, online exhibitions of primary source documents, and information about the institute's programs.
Journal
[edit]The institute publishes a quarterly online history journal,History Now,featuring articles by historians, teacher lesson plans, interactive activities, and advice from the archivist.
The Gilder Lehrman Collection
[edit]The collection contains more than 60,000 documents on deposit at theNew-York Historical Societydetailing thepoliticalandsocial historyof the United States. The collection's holdings include manuscript letters, diaries, maps, photographs, printed books and pamphlets, ranging from 1493 through modern times. It is particularly rich with materials in theRevolutionary,Antebellum,Civil WarandReconstructionperiods.
Highlights of the collection include signed copies of theEmancipation Proclamation,theThirteenth Amendment,a rare printed copy of the first draft of theConstitution,and thousands of unpublished Civil War soldiers' letters. Letters written byGeorge Washington,Thomas Jefferson,Abraham Lincoln,Frederick Douglasset al. vividly record the issues and events of their day. The writings of such notable women asLucy Knox,Mercy Otis Warren,andCatharine Macaulaydiscuss a variety of military, political, and social issues.
The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition
[edit]The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition was established atYale University.[2]
Prizes
[edit]In 1990 the $50,000Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prizewas established by the institute andGettysburg College.[3]
In 1999 the $25,000Frederick Douglass Book Prizewas established by the institute.[4]
In 2005 the $50,000George Washington Book Prizewas established by the institute,Washington College,and George Washington's Mount Vernon.[5]
References
[edit]- ^Monte-Sano, Chauncey (1 March 2009)."The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History".Journal of American History.doi:10.2307/27694720.JSTOR27694720.Retrieved2022-09-21.
- ^"Welcome - The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition".Archived fromthe originalon 2006-06-20.
- ^"Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize - The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History".31 October 2011.
- ^"Frederick Douglass Book Prize - The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History".4 February 2012.
- ^"George Washington Prize - The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History".4 February 2012.