This copy of the printed program for the commencement exercises held on July 9, 1840 shows the members of the graduating class and the speeches that they were scheduled to deliver.

Richard Rush, son of Dickinson College Founder Benjamin Rush, responds to a letter from George H. Moore. Rush explains that he cannot fulfill Moore's request for notes or autographs belonging to his father, stating: "all that I had of a nature to...

Senator James Buchanan writes three letters to Edward D. Gazzam regarding political maters in Pennsylvania as well as the national level. Democrats will "leave the Whig party to themselves" because, as Buchanan explains, "this party contains...

Vice President-elect John Tyler writes Representative Henry A. Wise to discusses several political issues, including the sanctity of party pledges, the character of President-elect William Henry Harrison, and the uncertainty as to the makeup of...

Henry Baker Harnsberger, a member of the Class of 1841, receives this diploma as a member of the Union Philosophical Society in 1841.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney writes J. Mason Campbell to defend a decision he made as Acting Secretary of War (June - August 1831) during President Andrew Jackson's administration. "When I acted as Secretary of War, I was [also...

Senator James Buchanan (Class of 1809) writes to Colonel C. W. Gooch, thanking the latter for procuring four James River and Kanawha Bonds on his behalf. Buchanan also extolls Virginia Senator William Henry Roane, calling him an "honest,...

Wilson Lee Spottswood prepared this oration, entitled “Deficiency of Literature," for the commencement ceremonies held July 8, 1841. Authoring an original speech was among the graduation requirements for Dickinson College seniors at that time....

Henry Baker Harnsberger receives his Bachelor of Arts Diploma from Dickinson College on July 8, 1841.

Joseph Clubine Rhodes (Class of 1838) receives his Master of Arts Diploma from Dickinson College on July 8, 1841.

Senator James Buchanan writes to Stimpson Harvey Woodward, an entrepreneur in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, regarding Whigs politics and the Bank of the United States. Buchanan, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, claims that "the truth is the Whig party...

Charles Stinson (Class of 1845) writes to his father about his trip to Carlisle and starting classes at Dickinson. After meeting with President John Durbin, Stinson notes that the "conclusion is... that I am wholly unprepared to enter" as a...