[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        REMEMBERING FOUNDING FATHERS WHO FOUGHT AGAINST SLAVERY

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, on this day in history, February 6, 1865, 136 
years ago, the 13th amendment went into effect, ending 246 years of 
slavery in America. Slavery was introduced into America in 1619 by the 
Dutch and subsequently encouraged in the Colonies by the British Crown. 
In fact, it was not until after the Declaration of Independence was 
signed that it became possible to abolish slavery, and half of the 
States promptly did it at that time.
  Significantly, the major opposition to slavery in America was led by 
religious groups like the Quakers, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, 
and Methodists, and was joined by many of the religious Founding 
Fathers, including signers of the Declaration like Benjamin Rush, John 
Witherspoon, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and John Adams, as well as the 
signers of the Constitution like Rufus King, John Dickinson, James 
Wilson, and William Livingston.
  While much attention today is often paid to Founding Fathers who 
owned slaves, nearly nothing is said of the many who opposed slavery. 
Therefore, it is worth remembering that the work of so many of our 
Founding Fathers to end slavery finally came to maturity when the 13th 
amendment was adopted, 136 years ago.

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