[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 32 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E334]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           CELEBRATION OF THE 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARLINGTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 12, 2001

  Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 
200th anniversary of Arlington's founding. This historical celebration 
commemorates what President George Washington, patriot George Mason, 
and other Virginians began when they donated land to the Federal 
Government to establish the new Nation's Capital. Arlington County has 
had a colorful and illustrious past and holds the promise of an even 
greater future. Few other counties are as intricately linked to as many 
historic events of national significance as Arlington. From the first 
recorded encounter between Captain John Smith and the Nocostin Indians 
at present day Roosevelt Island; to prominent local residents who were 
integral in the fight for independence and our early history as a new 
republic; to Arlington's role as a staging ground for Union forces 
during the Civil War; to becoming home for the bureaucracy created 
during the New Deal; to the country's role today as a national model 
for smart growth and commitment to community and civic pride, Arlington 
stands as a model for the rest of the Nation.
  As colorful and glorious as the past has been, we can look forward to 
an even brighter future. Today's celebration not only acknowledges the 
enormous contributions Arlington has made to our democracy but also 
provides us with an opportunity to highlight the long overdue and 
comprehensive story of that same legacy.
  Arlington House is known for being situated on land that once 
belonged to the commander of the Continental Army, but it was also home 
of the Confederacy's most famous general. It was perhaps the Capital's, 
and therefore the Nation's, most visible reminder of the South's most 
``peculiar institution.'' A plantation fueled by slave labor, Arlington 
House stood within view of those who debated the Missouri Compromise 
and constructed the Dred Scott decision. It was also the site where the 
Federal Government established one of the first Freedman's Village 
providing social services, education, and vocational training to former 
slaves whose later influence and success still touch us today.
  I want to compliment the collective wisdom of the Arlington County 
Board and the Bicentennial Task Force for their decision to use this 
celebration as an occasion for launching efforts to help restore 
Arlington House and reopen the slave quarters. The two surviving 
quarters, which have been closed and boarded up for years, will now be 
reopened and include interpretative displays of the Freedman's Village 
and its important impact on Arlington.
  From this point forward, the Nation will know that the ground where 
Robert E. Lee stood was also the land upon which Harriet Tubman and 
Sojourner Truth tread. It is a gift I am pleased to support and hope to 
expand upon with my colleagues in Congress, as we attempt to procure 
additional Federal resources. Arlington should be proud of its great 
past, but because of its commitment to recognize and celebrate the 
contributions of all its residents, we will surely experience an even 
greater future.

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