Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes to his granddaughter, Phoebe K. Campbell, about the summer weather as well as reports and comments on various family news. Family members mentioned include Phoebe's aunt Maria and Mr. Allison, her siblings Alice and Taney, her father, her...

The Dickinson College catalog for the 1856-1857 academic year. Through the years, the annual catalog was variously titled "The Bulletin," "Catalogue and Register," "Course Catalog," and similar variants. The catalog typically includes the list of courses offered, requirements for enrollment,...

Hiram Walbridge writes President James Buchanan to introduce Robert Gamble and recommend him for a political appointment. Walbridge notes that “Gamble is a sound reliable democrat” who “has held responsible public trusts in the City of New York.”

United States Attorney General Jeremiah Sullivan Black provides legal advice to President James Buchanan on whether the Chief Executive can remit part of the sentence of a convict. "I have examined and found that the universal practice of all your predecessors sanctioned by the courts has been...

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Robert Cooper Grier (Class of 1812) writes to his brother, Nelson Grier, and discusses a picnic as well as a trip to the mountains.

This copy of the printed program for the commencement exercises held on July 9, 1857 shows the members of the graduating class and the speeches that they were scheduled to deliver.

Conway Phelps Wing receives his Honorary Doctor of Sacred Theology Diploma from Dickinson College on July 9, 1857.

Treasury Secretary Howell Cobb writes to David Tompkins and accepts his election to the James Buchanan Literary Association of New Haven, Connecticut.

Horatio Collins King's diary during the fall of his senior year at Dickinson College. King is a member of the class of 1858. Transcript included.

President James Buchanan writes former President Franklin Pierce and encloses "the first copy of the message which has been delivered to any person." The "message" that Buchanan refers to is likely his first State of the Union, which was published on December 8, 1857. Transcript included.

Rufus Choate, a former US Senator from Massachusetts, writes President James Buchanan (Class of 1809) to request the appointment of Edward Riddle as a naval agent in Boston, Massachusetts. "Mr Riddle [is] eminently well suited to perform the duties of the place in question," as Choate explains....

William Bigler writes to A. Boyd Hamilton and discusses President James Buchanan and several national political issues, including slavery, the Dred Scott decision, and the Lecompton Convention in Kansas. "I should sacrifice much before I would be found in the ranks of those who attempt to...