[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 803 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 803

Recognizing National Emancipation Day, marking the 150th anniversary of 
 the end of slavery in areas of rebellion, and the significance of the 
  Emancipation Proclamation in the struggle for the equal rights and 
            freedoms afforded to all United States citizens.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 21, 2012

Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. Norton, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, 
Mr. Rangel, Mr. Rush, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Johnson 
  of Georgia, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Moore, Ms. Richardson, Mr. 
Gonzalez, Mrs. Christensen, Ms. Chu, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, 
Mr. Filner, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Fattah, Mr. Israel, Mr. Watt, 
    Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Farr, Mr. Polis, Mr. 
Grijalva, Mr. Dingell, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Harris, Mr. Al Green of Texas, 
Ms. Roybal-Allard, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Ellison, 
    Mr. Cohen, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Edwards, and Ms. Waters) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                            on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing National Emancipation Day, marking the 150th anniversary of 
 the end of slavery in areas of rebellion, and the significance of the 
  Emancipation Proclamation in the struggle for the equal rights and 
            freedoms afforded to all United States citizens.

Whereas the enslavement of Africans in the American colonies began in 1619, when 
        20 Africans were brought to the Virginia colony at Jamestown, marking 
        the beginning of more than 200 years of captivity for Africans in 
        America;
Whereas, on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War and in accordance 
        with the war powers vested to him, President Abraham Lincoln issued the 
        Emancipation Proclamation as an executive order, legally emancipating 
        millions of slaves in the States of South Carolina, Mississippi, 
        Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, and 
        North Carolina;
Whereas, on December 6, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States 
        Constitution, which reads ``Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, 
        except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly 
        convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to 
        their jurisdiction'', was adopted and effectively outlawed slavery in 
        the United States;
Whereas the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation was a significant 
        precursor to the adoption of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth 
        Amendments to the United States Constitution, also known as the 
        Reconstruction Amendments, adopted between 1865 and 1870, as well as the 
        Civil Rights Act of 1964, the National Voting Rights Act of 1965, and 
        the Fair Housing Act of 1968 among others; and
Whereas slaves and their descendants in the United States have contributed 
        significantly to the foundation, growth, diversity, and leadership of 
        the United States: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives recognizes National 
Emancipation Day, marking the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the 
end of slavery in areas of rebellion, and the significance of the 
Emancipation Proclamation in the struggle for the equal rights and 
freedoms afforded to all United States citizens.
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