1840-1859

    Entries drawn from collection & document descriptions

Letter from John Gibson to Mr. Johnson
March 17, 1853

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice John B. Gibson writes to Mr. Johnson about changing the laws of Pennsylvania.

Location: I-AsbellY-2004-3

Subject: Legal Affairs, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Thomas Fitzgerald
March 28, 1853

James Buchanan declines to put in a "kind word" for a colleague seeking employment in Philadelphia.  “Amid the very numerous friends there to whom I am under political obligations,” Buchanan asks “how am I to select a few of them & refuse to recommend the remainder?” Transcript included.

Location: I-Friends-2012-4

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Robert Tyler
April 4, 1853

James Buchanan (Class of 1809) writes to Robert Tyler about his nomination as President and discusses one of the delegates at the Pennsylvania State Convention, a Franklin K. Curran of Marietta. Robert is the son of President John Tyler. Transcript included.

Location: I-AsbellY-2002-21

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letters from Jacob Bomberger to Eli Slifer
1853-1863

Jacob C. Bomberger writes thirteen letters to Eli Slifer, Pennsylvania State Treasurer and later Secretary of the Commonwealth during the Civil War, regarding various financial transactions, politics issues, local and federal elections, Pennsylvania bank business, and other local news....

Letter from James Buchanan to W. Welsh
June 30, 1853

James Buchanan, who is preparing to take the position as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom, writes to W. H. Welsh, regarding the "present difficulties in the way of appointing a Secretary of Legation to London." Buchanan declares that should a Pennsylvanian be appointed, Welsh...

Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F13

Subject: International Affairs, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from Franklin Pierce to William Marcy
July 5, 1853

President Franklin Pierce authorizes Secretary of State William L. Marcy to "affix the Seal of the United States to the envelope of a letter addressed to Her Majesty Queen Victoria," which contains James Buchanan's credentials as the new Minister to the United Kingdom.

Location: I-SpahrB-1956-4

Subject: International Affairs, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Peter Washington
July 6, 1853

Pennsylvania politician James Buchanan (Class of 1803) writes to Peter G. Washington about political appointments and state elections. Buchanan discusses Washington's prospects of getting a clerkship as well as the possibility of appointments for Carlton B. Cotter, W. Lightner, and W. [Cantisce...

Location: I-AsbellY-2002-31

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Joseph R. Ingersoll
July 13, 1853

James Buchanan writes to Joseph R. Ingersoll regarding President Franklin Pierce's trip to Crystal Palace in New York City and Buchanan's plans to travel to London as the new United States Minister to the United Kingdom. Transcript included.

Location: MC 1998.10, B3, F13

Subject: International Affairs, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

"National Days," by Albert Ritchie
July 14, 1853

Albert Ritchie prepared this oration, entitled “National Days," for the commencement ceremonies held July 14, 1853. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1853-R598n

Subject: International Affairs, Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

"The American Citizen," by James E. Clawson
July 14, 1853

James E. Clawson prepared this oration, entitled “The American Citizen," for the commencement ceremonies held July 14, 1853. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1853-C617a

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

"The Bastile- Sixty Four Years Ago," by James M. Shearer
July 14, 1853

James M. Shearer prepared this oration, entitled “The Bastile-Sixty Four Years Ago," for the commencement ceremonies held July 14, 1853. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time. Transcript included.

Location: Orations-1853-S539b

Subject: International Affairs, Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government

Format: Speeches and Sermons

Time Period: 1840-1859

1853 Commencement Program
July 14, 1853

This copy of the printed program for the commencement exercises held on July 14, 1853 shows the members of the graduating class and the speeches that they were scheduled to deliver.

Location: Dickinsoniana Programs

Subject: Dickinson College Events

Format: Memorabilia and Ephemera

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from Harriet Lane to Lily Macalester
July 14, 1853

Harriet Lane writes Lily Macalester with gossip about mutual acquaintances and discusses Wheatland. Lane lives with her uncle, James Buchanan, in Pennsylvania. Transcript included.

Location: I-Friends-2001-5

Subject: Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letters from Charles Collins to Harriet Collins (Jul. - Aug. 1853)
July - August 1853

Dickinson College President Charles Collins writes five letters to his wife, Harriet Collins, while on a trip. Collins describes his travel experience as well as the various meetings he attended. Collins explains that "contrary to expectation when I first came, I have enjoyed myself very much"...

Letters from James Buchanan to Mr. Lane and James L. Reynolds
1853-1854

James Buchanan writes to Mr. Lane and James L. Reynolds regarding paying bills, political appointments, and Buchanan's political future. "I shall not be a candidate for the Presidency, & would not wish to become President" because, as Buchanan explains, "it has lost its charm." Transcript...

Letter from James Buchanan to Gerard Hallock
August 11, 1853

President James Buchanan writes to Gerard Hallock regarding the Presidential Election of 1860 and whether to remove the editor of a "leading Democratic" newspaper for not supporting his administration's policies. "This organ... maintains political doctrines in violation of the Constitution of...

Location: MC 1998.10, B4, F3

Subject: Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letters from James Buchanan to James L. Reynolds
1853-1856

James Buchanan writes eight letters from London to James L. Reynolds on a number of different subjects, including life as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom, the Vienna Conference, the Crimean War, the Nebraska Bill, and the 1856 Presidential election. Transcripts included.

Letter from Roger B. Taney to Franklin Pierce
August 29, 1853

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney writes President Franklin Pierce and recommends Lieutenant Colonel Taylor’s son, Francis H. Taylor, for an appointment “to the office of military storekeeper in Oregon.” Justice Taney argues that Francis is “well qualified for the appointment… and would...

Location: I-SpahrB-1948-1

Subject: Military Affairs and Conflict, Politics and Government

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Christopher L. Ward
September 20, 1853

James Buchanan writes to Christopher L. Ward and describes life in London as the new United States Minister to the United Kingdom and discusses the possibility of a conflict between Russia and Turkey in the Crimean. Buchanan also mentions his introduction to Queen Victoria. "The manners of the...

Letter from James Buchanan to George Plitt
November 1, 1853

James Buchanan describes his experience working and living in London as United States Minister to the United Kingdom and comments on the latest political news from the United States. George Plitt is a Pennsylvania attorney. Transcript included.

Journal of Tiphen W. Allen
November 1853 - August 1854

Tiphen Walsingham Allen, from Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, records his thoughts and activities from November 1853 to August 1854 as a student at Dickinson College. Allen is a member of the Class of 1854. Transcript included.

"Rev. Charles Nisbet, D. D., First President of Dickinson College," by Charles Collins
December 1853

Rev. Charles Collins, the eleventh president of Dickinson College, writes this short biography of Rev. Charles Nisbet, the first president of the College, in 1853.

Charles Collins, "Rev. Charles Nisbet, D. D., First President of Dickinson College," The Ladies Repository 13, no....

Letter from Harriet Lane to Mrs. Christopher L. Ward
December 30, 1853

Harriet Lane writes to her friend Mrs. Christopher L. Ward in December 1853. Transcript included.

Location: MC 1998.10, B4, F16

Subject: Personal and Family Life

Format: Letters/Correspondence

Time Period: 1840-1859

Letter from James Buchanan to Lily Macalester
January 20, 1854

James Buchanan writes to Lily Macalester and describes his life in London as the United States Minister to the United Kingdom. "I should be far happier in retirement at Wheatland than amidst the gaiety of London," as Buchanan notes. Transcript included.

Letter from Harriet Lane to Lily Macalester
May 4, 1854

Harriet Lane writes to Lily Macalester and discusses her voyage to London.  She will be presented to Queen Victoria later that week.  In addition, Lane notes that she attended the opera with a Mr. Peabody and sat in a box opposite of the Queen. Lane is living with her uncle, James Buchanan, who...

Pages

Subscribe to 1840-1859