[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 38 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 38

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

                            January 18, 2013

 Ms. Lee of California (for herself, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Farr, Mr. Clay, 
 Mr. Honda, Ms. Norton, Ms. Chu, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
  Mr. Cummings, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. 
  Richmond, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Speier, Mr. Grijalva, 
 Mrs. Ellmers, Mr. Carson of Indiana, Mr. Moran, Mr. Rush, Mr. Rangel, 
 Mr. Nadler, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Costa, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Bishop 
 of Georgia, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Conyers, Ms. Moore, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. 
Fattah, Mr. Israel, Mr. Watt, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. 
   Polis, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Harris, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Ms. Roybal-
  Allard, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Clarke, Ms. 
    Edwards, Ms. Waters, Mr. Cicilline, Ms. Castor of Florida, Ms. 
   Bonamici, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Peters of 
 Michigan, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Chabot, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Vargas, 
  Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Terry, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Price of 
 North Carolina, Mr. Payne, Mr. Higgins, Mr. Delaney, Mr. Fortenberry, 
Mr. Scott of Virginia, Ms. Bass, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Jeffries, Ms. Sewell 
 of Alabama, Mr. Horsford, Mr. Long, and Ms. Slaughter) 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 in 1619, a ship flying the Dutch flag stopped at Old Point Comfort in 
        the Virginia Colony with 20 Africans onboard;
Whereas the arrival of these 20 Africans to the Virginia Peninsula marked the 
        beginning of more than 200 years of captivity for Africans in the United 
        States;
Whereas President Abraham Lincoln, during the American Civil War and in 
        accordance with the war powers vested to him 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 Emancipation Proclamation, as an Executive order, legally 
        emancipated millions of slaves in the States of South Carolina, 
        Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, 
        Arkansas, and North Carolina;
Whereas for two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation became 
        official, Texas slaves were held in bondage and only after June 19, 
        1865, when Union Soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, were African-
        American slaves in that State set free;
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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