[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 22 (Thursday, February 6, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E165-E166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO UPSTATE NEW YORKERS ON THE 140TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                       EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. SHERWOOD BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 5, 2003

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 140th 
anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation celebrated on January 1, 
of this year. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the 
integral work of Central New Yorkers in the struggle to end slavery.
  During the troubled decades just before our Civil War, many citizens 
of what is now New York's 24th District joined, and led, fellow 
abolitionists across the nation to help slaves gain the freedom due to 
all Americans. Whether they offered hounded refugees a place to hide 
for the night, educated former slaves, published activist newspapers, 
or spoke out in the chambers of Congress, these men and women live on 
in the collective memory of our nation as brave champions of basic 
human rights and dignity.
  En route to Canada, houses and churches throughout Central New York 
formed some of the main lines of the Underground Railroad. One heavily 
trafficked depot in Madison County was the home of Garrett Smith, a 
philanthropist who gave much of his time, money, and energy to the 
anti-slavery cause. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to dedicate 
Smith's estate as a National Historic Landmark last spring. Thanks to 
legislation signed by our distinguished Governor of New York, George 
Pataki, in tandem with the Network to Freedom Act, passed by Congress 
and signed by the president in 1998, many other stops along the 
Underground Railroad in Upstate New York have recently been brought to 
light and preserved.
  Garrett Smith, who was born in my own hometown of Utica and lived 
most of his life in Peterboro, was elected president of the nationally 
prominent New York State Anti-Slavery Society on October 22, 1835, at 
the organization's founding convention. A dedicated group successfully 
launched the Society that day at the Peterboro Presbyterian Church 
after their meeting had been broken up by a hostile mob the previous 
day. A few streets away from the convention site in Peterboro lived 
James Caleb Jackson, the editor of several abolitionist newspapers. 
Beriah Green, another founding member of the New York Anti-Slavery 
Society, came from nearby Whitesboro where he served as president of 
the Oneida Institute, an interracial college. Green's Institute turned 
out noted abolitionists such as Jermain Loguen, a former slave lauded 
for his influential autobiography, To Set the Captives Free. Loguen was 
later chosen to act as Stationmaster of Syracuse's Underground 
Railroad. Another escaped slave who became a renowned abolitionist, 
Frederick Douglass, lived in Rochester, New York, where he published 
his newspaper, The North Star.
  William Seward, former senator of New York, governor of New York, and 
Secretary of State, remains one of the best-known abolitionists to hail 
from New York's 24th Congressional District. Born and raised in the 
area, Seward gave voice to his constituents' outcry against slavery. He 
and his wife, Frances, opened their home in Auburn, NY to fugitive 
slaves moving north along the Underground Railroad, and they became the 
personal friends of Harriet ``Moses'' Tubman, the iconic leader of the 
slave exodus to Canada. As a lawyer, Seward defended fugitive slaves in 
court. During his early career in Congress he led the anti-slavery wing 
of the Whig party.

  Many credit Seward's radical statement that Congress had to answer to 
a moral law ``higher than the Constitution'' as disqualifying him from 
running for President in 1860. When it became clear that Lincoln would 
win the ticket of the Grand Old Party, then a grand young party, Seward 
campaigned tirelessly for Lincoln, and was soon appointed Secretary of 
State under the new president. In that office, Seward played a crucial 
role in the formation of Lincoln's anti-slavery policy. He drafted the 
Emancipation Proclamation alongside the President, and the final 
document now bears his signature.
  Before the Civil War, Harriet Tubman bought a house from Seward in 
his hometown of Auburn, NY, where she continued to conduct for the 
Underground Railroad despite the $40,000 reward posted for her capture. 
After the Emancipation Proclamation, with the Promised Land a little 
closer, Ms. Tubman settled down to a quieter life in Auburn.
  Those who fought to end slavery and so extend the rights of life, 
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to truly all Americans won a 
great victory with the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, but 
the struggle did not end there. Amy Post, Martha Wright, Lucretia Mott, 
Susan B. Anthony, and other abolitionists and women's rights 
activities, many of them from Upstate New York, organized a petition 
drive to gain the signatures of hundreds of thousands of women calling 
for a constitutional amendment to end slavery. When the petition was 
first presented to the Senate in February of 1864, nearly one-fifth of 
the signatures came from New York State. By the end of 1865 the 
Thirteenth Amendment was law.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in applauding the historic legacy 
of freedom and human rights left by the good people of Upstate New 
York.
  I would like to thank Peter A. Wisbey, Executive Director of the 
William Seward House, Anne M. Derousie, a historian with the Women's 
Rights National Historical Park, Michael J. Caddy, Jr., historian, and 
Milton C. Sernett, Professor of History at Syracuse University for the 
information they provided me for this occasion. I would also like to 
insert into the Congressional Record essays about the Emancipation 
Proclamation and the abolitionist movement in New York's 24th 
Congressional District written by students from Letizia Magats' class 
at Owasco Elementary and Jacquelyn Aversa's class at Casey Park 
Elementary School in Auburn, NY.
  While reading the work of these children I was delighted to find that 
many of the students had been inspired by their history lessons to 
dream of a future America that continues to embrace the values of 
Upstate New York abolitionists, in new contexts. The hope of Auburn's 
youngest generation of thinkers reminded me of these words of Abraham 
Lincoln, spoken in 1865 at his second inaugural address, and still 
relevant today: ``With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive 
on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds.''

 A Collective Essay From Fifth Graders at Owasco Elementary School in 
                               Auburn, NY

       The Emancipation Proclamation was a solution to the problem 
     of slavery in the United States. President Abraham Lincoln 
     was influenced to write this document by abolitionists who 
     wanted to see the system of slavery come to an end. This new 
     Law passed during the Civil War. Many of the abolitionists 
     who influenced President Lincoln were from the area that 
     is today a part of the 24th Congressional District of New 
     York State. Several of these abolitionists were William 
     Seward, Harriet Tubman, Emily Howland, Martha Coffin 
     Wright, and Lucretia Coffin Mott.
       William Seward helped the cause of the Emancipation 
     Proclamation by persuading President Lincoln to be more 
     involved with abolishing slavery. As Lincoln's Secretary of 
     State, he helped Lincoln write it. Seward was active in his 
     belief that slavery must be abolished, he was a leader of the 
     Anti-slavery wing of the Whig party, used his home on South 
     Street in Auburn, New York, as a way station for the 
     Underground Railroad and as a publishing center for anti-
     slavery literature. He became a good friend of Harriet 
     Tubman, a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Harriet 
     Tubman, called the ``Moses of her people'', dedicated her 
     life to the belief that all people were equal and that 
     slavery was evil. As a runaway slave, she showed great 
     courage and dedication to her beliefs by leading more than 
     three hundred slaves to their freedom. Eventually Harriet 
     Tubman bought a home in Auburn, New York and used it to care 
     for the elderly and needy people. The dedication of Quakers 
     to the abolition of slavery was also important in bringing 
     about change. Emily Howland lived in Sherwood, Cayuga County, 
     New York. She was an educator who started schools in the 
     South for freed slaves and used her home as a way station for 
     the Underground Railroad. Her beliefs that all were equal saw 
     her turn to the cause of women's suffrage. She worked closely 
     with Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony in the fight for 
     equality for women.
       Lucretia Coffin Mott and her sister Martha Coffin Wright, a 
     resident of Auburn, New York, were also Quakers, who belonged 
     to the American Anti-slavery Society and formed the Female 
     Anti-Slavery Society. After the Civil War they co-founded the 
     American Equal Rights Association and the National Women's 
     Suffrage Association. They made a difference in the abolition 
     of slavery and women getting the right to vote. They were 
     courageous in the fight for civil rights for all people 
     regardless of their color or gender.
       As you can see, many citizens of Cayuga County not only 
     believed in equal rights for all people, but also actively 
     worked to bring about the change that resulted in the end of 
     slavery and giving all people their civil rights.
       (By Timothy Berry, Ashley King, Jamie Bruno, Marissa 
     Rescott, Christina Granato, S. Michael Watson, Maura Bradley, 
     Kelsey Helinski, Mary Doyle, Colleen Cregg, Olivia Perek, 
     Breanna Handley, Alaina Schoonmaker, and Connor Entenmann.)

[[Page E166]]

     
                                  ____
 Essays From Fourth Graders at Casey Park Elementary School in Auburn, 
                                   NY

       The young dreamers have a goal that one day the world will 
     be a better place for everyone in our country. The young 
     dreamers celebrate the anniversary of the Emancipation 
     Proclamation so they can continue to dream. After all, the 
     young dreamers future goals are in your hands.
       (By Sydnee Lawson, David Clark, and Brianna Hotaling.)
       The torch of freedom has passed from time to time to 
     generation to generation and it must be kept and honored as 
     it was all those years ago. It shouldn't be thrown away 
     because of dishonor and terrorism.
       (By Dominika Donch, Noah Donch, Makrina Donch, and 
     Nathaniel Donch.)
       We are fortunate to have the freedom we have. Some 
     countries do not have as much freedom as we have. Now we have 
     a lot to worry about. We are so fortunate that President 
     Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Today 
     we have the joy of freedom.
       (By Stephanie Leontovich, Tyler Van Tassell, Amber Foster, 
     Anthony Jesmer and Scott Blauvelt.)
       We believe all people are created equal and need to live in 
     unity and peace.
       (By Diamoneek Wingate, Loretta Holbert, Sarah Lowe, Tina 
     Horsford, Beth Harvey, Tony Frazier, Brandon Crawford, and 
     Andre Thomas.)
       I have a dream, that one day all people of the world, 
     Iraqis, Afghanis, Russians, and any other culture will come 
     together and act fairly to one and another. I have a dream of 
     no terrorism. I have a dream of no violence but coming out 
     and talking it over like men. I have a dream of living in a 
     society with no prejudice. I have a dream of no racism. I 
     have a dream of no fighting over religion but having peace 
     and love. I have a dream that this world will help one and 
     another of different culture and religions. I have a dream.
       (By Jared Ford.)

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