[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 36 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 36
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 27, 2003
Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Encouraging the people of the United States to honor and celebrate the
140th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and commending
Abraham Lincoln's efforts to end slavery.
Whereas Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, issued a
proclamation on September 22, 1862, declaring that on the first day of
January, 1863, ``all persons held as slaves within any State or
designated part of a State the people whereof shall then be in rebellion
against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever
free'';
Whereas the proclamation declared ``all persons held slaves within the insurgent
States''--with the exception of Tennessee, southern Louisiana, and parts
of Virginia, then within Union lines--``are free'';
Whereas, for two and half years, Texas slaves were held in bondage after the
Emancipation Proclamation became official and only after Major General
Gordon Granger and his soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19,
1865, were African-American slaves in that State set free;
Whereas slavery was a horrendous practice and trade in human trafficking that
continued until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United
States Constitution ending slavery on December 18, 1865;
Whereas the Emancipation Proclamation is historically significant and history is
regarded as a means of understanding the past and solving the challenges
of the future;
Whereas one hundred and forty years after President Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation, African Americans have integrated into various levels of
society; and
Whereas commemorating the 140th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation
highlights and reflects the suffering and progress of the faith and
strength of character shown by slaves and their descendants as an
example for all people of the United States, regardless of background,
religion, or race: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) recognizes the historical significance of the 140th
anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation as an important
period in the Nation's history; and
(2) encourages its celebration in accordance with the
spirit, strength, and legacy of freedom, justice, and equality
for all people of America and to provide an opportunity for all
people of the United States to learn more about the past and to
better understand the experiences that have shaped the Nation.
Passed the House of Representatives February 26, 2003.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.