Those interested in the Revolutionary War can stop by the Main Library to observe letters from former President George Washington and other historical documents.
The library is holding an exhibit titled “History Through the Eyes of Congress: Soldiers of the Revolutionary War,” which will be displayed until Feb. 28.
The exhibit showcases material from the journals of the Continental Congress, American State Papers, letters of delegates to Congress and others on the fourth floor of the library’s west wing.
“We started the exhibit to promote our government document collection,” library assistant Becky Fox said.
Fox said the display shows just a portion of MSU’s extensive library historical archive, which students can use for research.
“Students can get a better understanding of the Continental Army and Congress. They can get more out of it than their high school history class,” Fox said of the display.
Among the items on display are letters from Washington.
“To be able to read the words that he actually wrote and learn his thoughts when he was general of the army gives me goosebumps,” said Laura Dickson, a U.S. document librarian.
Dickson and Fox, who assembled the display, agreed that Washington’s letters are the most powerful.
“Reading his letters made me wonder how we ever won the war; ‘Our situation is truly distressing,’” said Fox, quoting Washington. “He had so much trouble maintaining the army and keeping them on the field.”
The MSU libraries have served as a depository for U.S. documents since 1904. Fox calculated that the nationwide archive system has about 2.6 million documents.
Students in the library Thursday had mixed opinions on the exhibition.
Heather Nelson, a music education senior, said the display is a good idea but will be hard for students to discover.
“Most college students are pretty busy,” Nelson said. “Unless the display is eye-catching they won’t use it.”
James Madison freshman Julia Fry said students use the library for studying, rather than observing.
“(But) for those who are interested, the display can be useful,” she said.
To access more information on the display, go to the Web site at www.lib.msu.edu/foxre/revsoldispl.html.
