President’s Letter

A graduate student at the University of Delaware has discovered a previously unknown letter written by Thomas Jefferson, our nation’s third president. Amanda Daddona, who is getting a master’s degree in history, found the letter among 200 boxes of documents recently donated to the school.

The letter is dated Feb. 24, 1808, and in it Jefferson discusses the death of John Dickinson, a prominent politician from Delaware who served at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.

“The first thing I recognized was his signature,” said Daddona. “It was really, really exciting. I just sat with it for a few minutes and looked it over and savored the moment.”