[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 156 (Tuesday, November 13, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H8044-H8047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING 300TH ANNIVERSARY OF WILLIAM PENN'S CHARTER OF PRIVILEGES,
250TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERTY BELL, AND 225TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST
PUBLIC READING OF DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 254) encouraging the people
of the United States to celebrate the 300th anniversary of William
Penn's Charter of Privileges, the 250th anniversary of the Liberty
Bell, and the 225th anniversary of the first public reading of the
Declaration of Independence.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 254
Whereas William Penn was a distinguished statesman and a
principled defender of human rights and religious liberties;
Whereas in 1701, William Penn wrote Charter of Privileges,
which set a new standard for religious liberty that
profoundly impacted the Nation's history and still provides
an example for the world today;
Whereas religious freedom is still one of the most fragile
liberties, and today, millions of people around the world are
persecuted for their religious beliefs;
Whereas the year 2001 marks the 300th anniversary of the
publication of Charter of Privileges;
Whereas the Liberty Bell was designed to commemorate the
50th anniversary of Charter of Privileges and is a powerful
reminder of the Nation's commitment to freedom and justice;
Whereas the Liberty Bell became a defining symbol of the
abolitionist movement, which sought to rid the Nation of
slavery;
Whereas the year 2001 marks the 250th anniversary of the
completion of the Liberty Bell; and
Whereas the year 2001 is also the 225th anniversary of the
first public reading of the Declaration of Independence,
which contains the immortal phrase: ``We hold these truths to
be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That the Congress--
(1) encourages the people of the United States to celebrate
the 300th anniversary of William Penn's Charter of
Privileges, the 250th anniversary of the Liberty Bell, and
the 225th anniversary of the first public reading of the
Declaration of Independence; and
(2) encourages the Nation's leaders to reaffirm their
commitment to promoting human rights and religious freedom in
the Nation and around the world.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).
General Leave
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks on H. Con. Res. 254.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Concurrent Resolution
254 today, and I commend my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), for introducing this resolution and for
working so hard to bring it to the floor.
House Concurrent Resolution 254 encourages the people of the United
States to celebrate the anniversaries of three important events in the
history of Pennsylvania and indeed in our Nation's history. This
resolution also encourages our country's leaders to reaffirm our
commitment to promoting human rights and religious freedom in the
United States and around the world.
The year 2001 marks the anniversaries of three historic events which
have profoundly influenced the principles upon which this great Nation
was founded. It is the 300th anniversary of William Penn's ``Charter of
Privileges,'' the 250th anniversary of the completion of the Liberty
Bell, and 225th anniversary of the first public reading of the
Declaration of Independence.
William Penn, author of the Charter of Privileges, was a
distinguished statesman and a principled defender of human rights and
religious liberties. When William Penn wrote the Charter of Privileges
in 1701, he set a new standard for religious liberty which impacted the
Nation's history and still provides an example for the world today.
Both the concepts underlying the ``free exercise'' and the
``establishment'' clauses of the First Amendment were embodied in that
charter.
Moreover, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Penn felt so strongly about the importance
of religious liberty that he guaranteed that this provision of the
charter would remain inviolate forever because, in his words, ``the
happiness of mankind descends so much upon the enjoying of liberty of
their consciences.'' This was the only provision so guaranteed.
The Liberty Bell was designed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of
the Charter of Privileges. Later, the Liberty Bell became a defining
symbol of the abolitionist movement, which sought to rid our Nation of
slavery.
{time} 1445
And to this day, Mr. Speaker, it remains one of the most recognized
and most powerful reminders of our Nation's commitment to freedom and
justice.
The Declaration of Independence has also been one of the most potent
symbols of our commitment to liberty. Its first public reading marked
the first public utterance of a phrase that has since been revered by
Americans and freedom-loving people around the world: ``We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.''
Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to vote for this important
resolution. That vote will reaffirm our commitment to promoting human
rights and religious freedom in the Nation and around the world, and it
will encourage all Americans to reflect upon these important events.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, William Penn was a distinguished statesman and a
principled defender of human rights and religious liberty. Born on
October 14, 1644, to Anglican parents, William Penn converted to
Quakerism after hearing the famous apostle Thomas Loe. He spent much of
his time in prison for his radical
[[Page H8045]]
preaching for personal property and religious rights. In 1672, he wrote
the concessions and agreements charter for a group of Quaker colonists
who were settling in the newly acquired New Jersey. Among its
provisions were the right to trial by jury, the freedom from arbitrary
imprisonment for debt, and edict against capital punishment. Penn also
strongly urged religious freedom, writing, and I quote, ``No men hath
power or authority to rule over men's consciences in religious
matters.''
Penn is more famously known, however, as the founder of Pennsylvania.
He designed the city of Philadelphia as a rectangular gridiron with a
center square that divided the city into four quadrants. Penn planned
for the city's principal public buildings, the meeting house, school,
and statehouse. His conception of Philadelphia has been characterized
as one of the earliest attempts at utopian city planning and
represented the most extensively preplanned American city at that time.
I must confess, Mr. Speaker, that every time I visit Philadelphia, I am
always amazed at the ideas and concepts that Penn had even at that
time.
Penn's Charter of Privileges, which was Pennsylvania's original
constitution, speaks of valuable rights and freedoms. In the charter,
Penn ensured that no citizen would be discriminated against because of
his or her faith, nor would any citizen be denied a role in civil
government because of the expression of his or her faith. Penn
recognized the role of religion in public life and affirmed its
importance.
In 1751, 50 years after Penn wrote the Charter of Privileges, the
Pennsylvania General Assembly commissioned a bell for the statehouse to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the charter. The bell was rung to
call the citizens of Philadelphia to the first public reading of the
Declaration of Independence and became known as the Liberty Bell as
abolitionists adopted it as a symbol of their cause.
H. Con. Res. 254 encourages the people of the United States to
celebrate the 300th anniversary of William Penn's Charter of
Privileges, the 250th anniversary of the Liberty Bell and the 225th
anniversary of the first public reading of the Declaration of
Independence.
Given Penn's profound impact on religious liberty and this Nation's
history, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution, as we
shall always remember the words: ``We hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable rights.''
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to yield 5 minutes to
the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), the author of this
resolution.
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 254 and to
celebrate our American legacy of religious liberty, to honor the 300th
anniversary of Penn's Charter of Privileges, Pennsylvania's first
constitution, the 250th anniversary of the Liberty Bell, and the 225th
anniversary of the first public reading of the Declaration of
Independence.
Mr. Speaker, the events of September 11 serve as a powerful reminder
that religious faith is deeply embedded in the hearts of many
Americans. In times of chaos and uncertainty, many Americans turn to
religious faith to reestablish priorities and to gather strength for
the days ahead.
Our Founding Fathers knew that our American experiment would only
succeed if men and women acted in good faith. Our American way of life
is based on the belief that people will do what is right instead of
what is easy or convenient. But the Founders also believed that that
would happen only for as long as we had faith in God. And so they
encouraged religious expression.
William Penn was born in England on October 24, 1644, the son of a
wealthy English admiral. He grew up in a time of tremendous tension
between England, France and Spain and the New World. He assumed that he
would become a soldier, and he did. But in 1681, after the death of his
father, Penn was granted a tract of land from King Charles II that
later became known as Pennsylvania. Penn called Pennsylvania a holy
experiment, a place where religious freedom and religious faith would
be celebrated. Penn believed that religious faith contributed to good
government. Penn's beliefs about the role of religion in public life
were clearly demonstrated in his Charter of Privileges in 1701.
As a result of Penn's emphasis on religious liberty, Pennsylvania,
and particularly Philadelphia, became a haven for those who had been
persecuted for their faith. In fact, Philadelphia was one of the only
places in the English-speaking world where Roman Catholics could
legally worship. A plaque on St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in
Center City Philadelphia reads:
``In 1734, the provincial council of Philadelphia, defending the
liberty of worship granted by William Penn to this colony, successfully
withstood the demand of the governor of the province that this church
be outlawed and such liberty suppressed.
``Thus was established permanently in our Nation the principle of
religious freedom, which was later embodied into the Constitution of
the United States of America.''
Mr. Speaker, Americans of all faiths are indebted to William Penn's
vision of religious pluralism. These days we seem to want to say that
it does not matter what a person believes as long as he or she does not
believe it very strongly. Well, Mr. Speaker, deep-seated religious
faith and a commitment to moral absolutes served as the bedrock of the
founding of our Nation. The abolitionist movement, the civil rights
movement and the women's suffrage movement all have their roots in
religious faith and convictions. Those brave men and women fought
diligently to ensure justice in our Nation. Those men and women were
not merely invested in religious rhetoric. They earnestly believed that
through their work, they were being faithful to God and His precepts.
Philadelphia's famous Liberty Bell was commissioned to honor the 50th
anniversary of Penn's Charter of Privileges. The inscription on the
Liberty Bell is a quotation from the Bible, the book of Leviticus:
``Proclaim liberty through all the land to the inhabitants thereof.''
And so, Mr. Speaker, we should not be embarrassed to speak about the
religious faith of our forefathers or to speak about our own religious
faith. There is nothing to be gained by rewriting history and editing
out God or by emptying religious quotations or symbols of their
original meaning. There is nothing to be gained from suppressing
religious faith in public life.
But there is everything to be gained from working to maintain the
kind of pluralistic spirit of William Penn. This spirit allows
individuals to hold deep religious convictions, to defend those
convictions, and even express those beliefs.
Mr. Speaker, we are all proud of our Nation's history. We recognize
that religious bigotry is fundamentally un-American. Recently, I was
deeply disturbed to learn that two Americans who own a diner in
Ephrata, Pennsylvania, were singled out for discrimination because of
their religious faith and ethnic background. They are Muslims and
Egyptian Americans. These two men, owners of a local restaurant, were
the subject of groundless rumors and speculation simply because one of
them has Osma as his first name.
Religious bigotry is contrary to the spirit of the Declaration of
Independence. In this country, we believe all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The
role of government is to allow the free expression of religion, not to
hinder it. We tamper with religious freedom at our peril.
Mr. Speaker, over the past 2 months, many Americans have been faced
with a type of uncertainty that they never thought possible. Yet this
fear has caused them to reflect on what it means to be an American.
I urge my colleagues to support the freedoms that made our country
great. Support H. Con. Res. 254.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance
of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 5 minutes to the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).
(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding time.
[[Page H8046]]
I rise in strong support of the religious liberty resolution, H. Con.
Res. 254, celebrating the 300th anniversary of William Penn's Charter
of Privileges and other historic items.
Mr. Speaker, three centuries ago, the Pennsylvania Charter of
Privileges was enacted. You may be wondering why a son of Indiana is
standing before you to recognize an event that took place in
Pennsylvania. Very simply, the liberties we enjoy in the Hoosier State,
I believe, were cultivated by this document, the Charter of Privileges
from the Keystone State; and I rise in proud support of them.
Called the most famous of all colonial constitutions, the Charter of
Privileges proved to be a major breakthrough in the history of
government. This is because the charter had at its very core a liberty-
of-conscience clause that granted religious liberty to the inhabitants
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. What is more, the charter's
author, William Penn, ensured that this liberty clause, quote, ``shall
be kept and remain without alteration, inviolable forever.'' Other
provisions of the charter could be changed by the will of the people,
but not the liberty-of-conscience clause.
Mr. Speaker, this marked an enormously important advance in American
liberties, one which should be celebrated as we do so today. As a
result of this commitment to religious liberty, Pennsylvania, and
especially the city of Philadelphia, became a haven for all religions.
Historian Paul Johnson noted that Philadelphia in the 18th century was
a bustling center of activity for people of every religious faith. Not
coincidentally, Philadelphia also became the home to our Nation's very
first independent African American denomination, the African Methodist
Episcopal Church.
Mr. Speaker, today in any number of cities and towns across this
great land of liberty, you will find dozens of religious denominations
represented, even many sharing a street corner or even a building. I
would offer that in 1701, such a scene would not likely have been
repeated anywhere in the world except in colonial America, perhaps
outside of Philadelphia, which was aptly named the City of Brotherly
Love. And it was all a result of Pennsylvania's visionary Charter of
Liberties.
For it is religious liberty, the freedom to worship the Creator after
the dictates of one's own conscience, that provides the firm foundation
for all liberties. Thus Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men were
created equal and endowed by their Creator with unalienable and
inviolable rights.
Mr. Speaker, I submit to you that it is religious liberty which gave
birth to this Nation, to our unquenchable thirst for freedom, our
unparalleled pursuit of innovation, our unyielding love for
representative government, our unabashed sense of a higher national
purpose, and our unprecedented tolerance of our fellow man. Each of
these symbols that we celebrate today stands in broad opposition to the
trends in the world that move in the opposite direction of tolerance.
Mr. Speaker, I simply could not let this moment pass without
connecting the dots between this great event in American history and
those we also celebrate, the commemoration of the Liberty Bell, the
public reading of the Declaration, without reflecting on what we see in
tragedies unfolding when religious liberties are forsaken around the
globe. In Sudan, slavery and brutality arise out of religious
persecution. Tens upon hundreds of thousands are on the brink of death
because the Sudanese Government fails to recognize the liberty of
conscience that was established in Pennsylvania on our shores 300 years
ago. And in Afghanistan, a great religion has been twisted by some into
one that supports persecution and violence and murder rather than
freedom and transcendence, one that uses terrorism to stifle the voices
of religious liberty.
{time} 1500
The very shaving of the beards that is happening in the capital of
Kabul today is in many ways driven by the same sentiment that emerged
in the Charter of Privileges some 300 years ago.
I urge all of my colleagues to support the religious liberty
resolution. I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania
(Mr. Pitts), for his visionary commitment to religious liberty and for
his own testimony of faith. Let us today reaffirm our commitment three
centuries strong on this continent to the freedom of religion and
continue to be that shining city on a hill that gives hope to all of
the nations.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, but I would say
as I yield back the balance of my time that sometimes people ask me why
this type of resolution is on the floor, and they are wondering what it
really means.
I often will say to them, if you forget where you come from, then it
is hard to understand how you got to where you are, and you really
would never understand where you need to be going. So it is important
that we look back and reflect upon the history and development of our
Nation and continue to acknowledge and revere those things which have
made America what it is today.
Madam Speaker, I congratulate the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas).
Mr. GEKAS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me
time.
Madam Speaker, to the Members, I want to say that I have a peculiar
and unique interest in William Penn, in that after completion of junior
high school, the high school I entered was aptly named for these
proceedings, William Penn High School. It was then that I first learned
of the life and work and significance of William Penn.
As a 14 year old, a wide new world of American history opened for me
in the name of William Penn. Our school periodical was named The
Founder; the yearbook was named The Sylvania, so ``Pennsylvania.'' The
founder of Pennsylvania and his woods, Penn's Woods, were always firmly
ensconced in my educated mind at that point as very significant in
American history.
Also I learned in my personal study of William Penn that ours was the
only State, I say egotistically, that was named after its founder. The
other States, for instance, Washington, the State of Washington was
named after George Washington many years after he was President of the
United States; Maryland was named after the Queen of Charles I; the
Virginias were named honoring Queen Elizabeth; the Carolinas were named
after King Charles; Georgia was named after King George; Louisiana was
named after King Louis; New York was named after the Duke of York; and
Delaware was named after the first Governor of Virginia, Lord de la
Warr. All the rest of the States were named after Indian tribes or
Indian phrases or Indian words, thus forming the blend that we are so
proud of in our country. But Pennsylvania was the only one which
honored its founder.
Those principles which have been so well enunciated on both sides of
the aisle in commemoration of the day which we seek to honor in this
resolution aptly have put forth the real rectitude of having this
resolution.
One other little anecdote: The 4th of July, 1776, Declaration of
Independence did not reach the capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg,
until 10 days after the declaration, around July 10th, 11th, 12th or
14th. When it reached there, the founder of Harrisburg, John Harris,
convened the entire town to come before him on River Front in
Harrisburg, at a mansion which still stands, to read the Declaration of
Independence as it was transmitted to him from Philadelphia. Thus, the
founder of Harrisburg, who always revered the founder of Pennsylvania,
helped found the principles of our country by spreading the word of the
Declaration of Independence.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Madam Speaker, I speak as a former resident of the State of
Pennsylvania. When Cuban refugees first started coming over to the
United States, there were no jobs in Miami, Florida. The Federal
Government had a refugee resettlement program, and we were fortunate
enough to be resettled in a town in Pennsylvania called York. My
brother and I were very much in love with
[[Page H8047]]
York, Pennsylvania. It was our first taste of snow. Coming from Havana,
we did not get too much of that.
On the weekends, when we could put together the little pennies we
had, I remember taking weekend trips with my parents, where we got to
see the many historic sites that Pennsylvania had to offer. For me,
Pennsylvania will always be just like this wonderful city, and New York
also, symbolic images of the freedom and democracy and the liberty that
we enjoy so much in our country, and we sometimes take for granted.
I again commend the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.
Pitts) for introducing this important proclamation and for working hard
to ensure its passage. In light the challenges facing our Nation today,
Madam Speaker, it is certainly appropriate in this time for Congress to
reaffirm our commitment to religious liberty and human rights, and it
is certainly an appropriate time for all of us as Americans to reflect
upon the principles underlying each of these three important historical
symbols of our democracy.
Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to support this resolution.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Biggert). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con.
Res. 254.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was
agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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