[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 281 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 281
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 13, 2008
Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Celebrating the birth of Abraham Lincoln and recognizing the prominence
the Declaration of Independence played in the development of Abraham
Lincoln's beliefs.
Whereas Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was born of
humble roots on February 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln rose to political prominence as an attorney with a
reputation for fairness, honesty, and a belief that all men are created
equal and
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln was elected and served with distinction in 1832 as a
captain of an Illinois militia company during the Black Hawk War;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1834 from
Sangamon County and was successively reelected until 1840;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln revered the Declaration of Independence, forming the
motivating moral and natural law principle for his opposition to the
spread of slavery to new States entering the Union and to his belief in
slavery's ultimate demise;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1846 to serve in the United States House
of Representatives, ably representing central Illinois;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln re-entered political life as a reaction to the passage
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 which he opposed;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln expounded on his views of natural rights during the
series of Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 declaring in Charleston,
Illinois that natural rights were ``... enumerated in the Declaration of
Independence, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness''
and these views brought Lincoln into national prominence;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln, through a legacy of courage, character, and patriotism,
was elected to office as the 16th President of the United States on
November 6, 1860;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln believed the Declaration of Independence to be the
anchor of American republicanism, stating on February 22, 1861, during
an address in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Independence Hall that, ``I
have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the
sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence ... I have often
inquired of myself, what great principle or idea it was that kept this
Confederacy so long together. It was not the mere matter of separation
of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment in the
Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people
of this country, but, I hope, to the world, for all future time. It was
that which gave promise that in due time the weight would be lofted from
the shoulders of men'';
Whereas, upon taking office and being thrust into the throes of the Civil War,
President Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing
all slaves in southern States that seceded from the Union on January 1,
1863;
Whereas, on November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln dedicated the battlefield at
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with the Gettysburg address, which would later
be known as his greatest speech, that harkened back to the promises of
the Declaration of Independence in the first sentence: ``Four score and
seven years ago, our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new
nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal'';
Whereas Abraham Lincoln was reelected to the Presidency on November 8, 1864, by
55 percent of the popular vote;
Whereas Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country, dying six
weeks into his second term on April 15, 1865;
Whereas the year 2009 will be the Bicentennial anniversary of the birth of
Abraham Lincoln, and the United States will observe 2 years of
commemorations beginning February 12, 2008; and
Whereas all Americans could benefit from studying the life of Abraham Lincoln as
a model of achieving the American Dream through honest, integrity,
loyalty, and a lifetime of education: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That the United States Congress--
(1) requests that the President issue a proclamation each
year recognizing the anniversary of the birth of President
Abraham Lincoln and calling upon the people of the United
States to observe such anniversary with appropriate ceremonies
and activities; and
(2) encourages State and local governments and local
educational agencies to devote sufficient time to study and
appreciate the reverence and respect Abraham Lincoln had for
the significance and importance of the Declaration of
Independence in the development of American history,
jurisprudence, and the spread of freedom around the world.
Passed the House of Representatives February 12, 2008.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.