A collection of letters and documents pertaining to the American Revolution, or to personages who figured in it. Among the persons represented in the collection are John Adams, Edmund Burke, Aaron Burr, Lord Cornwallis, Benjamin Franklin, Nathanael Greene, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones, Marquis de Lafayette, Henry Brockholst Livingston, Robert Morris, William Pitt, Benjamin Rush, Baron von Steuben, and George Washington. The largest group of manuscripts in the collection is the sixteen letters of Henry Laurens, the South Carolina planter, and his son, John Laurens, among which is a magnificent "manumission letter" written by Henry Laurens to his son on 14 August 1776, barely a month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For the text of this letter see: A LETTER FROM HENRY LAURENS TO HIS SON JOHN LAURENS, AUGUST 14, 1776.

A collection of letters and documents pertaining to the American Revolution, or to personages who figured in it. Among the persons represented in the collection are John Adams, Edmund Burke, Aaron Burr, Lord Cornwallis, Benjamin Franklin, Nathanael Greene, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones, Marquis de Lafayette, Henry Brockholst Livingston, Robert Morris, William Pitt, Benjamin Rush, Baron von Steuben, and George Washington. The largest group of manuscripts in the collection is the sixteen letters of Henry Laurens, the South Carolina planter, and his son, John Laurens, among which is a magnificent "manumission letter" written by Henry Laurens to his son on 14 August 1776, barely a month after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For the text of this letter see: A LETTER FROM HENRY LAURENS TO HIS SON JOHN LAURENS, AUGUST 14, 1776.

Letters written to Gouverneur Morris from many of his contemporaries including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, John Paul Jones, Nathaniel Greene, Philip Schuyler, Robert Morris, George Plater, William Short, William T. Franklin, and Thomas Pinckney. Letters from Gouverneur Morris to George Washington, John Jay, Lafayette, Philip Schuyler, Nathaniel Greene, and others. Personal correspondence from Madame Foucault, John Parish, and others. Manuscripts and documents relating to events in which Morris was a participant or interested party such as the Genet Affair and the "Lost Million" Affair; diplomatic correspondence with French ministers of foreign affairs, 1792-1794, and miscellaneous articles and reports by Morris, many on public finance and economics.

Letters, manuscripts, documents, and letterbooks of Jay and of many members of his family. The letters touch on every aspect of American life and government of the period, and contain correspondence from such prominent individuals as John Adams, George Clinton, James Duane, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Rufus King, John Paul Jones, Marquis de Lafayette, Robert B. Livingston, William Livingston, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris, Edmund Randolph, Philip Schuyler, and George Washington. There are approximately 500 letters from Jay, primarily drafts of correspondence to the persons listed above, as well as his correspondence as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, 1784-1789. The manuscripts and documents include many reports, commissions, and diplomas, as well as a draft copy of THE FEDERALIST Number 5 and Jay's oath of office as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court; also included are manumission documents, and a group of documents from Trinity Church, where his father was a vestryman from 1715 to 1785. The collection includes copies of Jay's letter book as Secretary of State, 10 Oct. 1788-25 Dec. 1792, and of four letters from John Armstrong, 19 June-27 Dec. 1810; and a copy of the pair of silverplated candlesticks from the Treaty of Paris, 3 Sept. 1783, reproduced by the Smithsonian Institution.

Office records for the publication project, and photocopies and microfilm copies of Jay letters and related documents.

Correspondence, manuscripts of poems, and manuscripts of lectures by Benjamin. The correspondence consists of original letters of Benjamin, typescript and photostatic copies of Benjamin letters in other libraries, and letters to Benjamin from some of his literary contemporaries including Paul Hamilton Hayne, Willis Gaylord Clark, John Lothrop Motley, and Fitz-Greene Halleck. Many of the letters relate to Park Benjamin's lecture tours. There are other family letters and many documents relating to the Benjamin family,and two letterbooks of John Lothrop Motley. Also, a large amount of genealogical material of the Benjamin family, and its related families from the 16th century to the present day. There are also financial records, monographs, clippings, and photographs.