[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 68 (Thursday, May 8, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S5973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 135--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT CONGRESS 
    SHOULD PROVIDE ADEQUATE FUNDING TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE 
               FREDERICK DOUGLASS NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

  Mr. FRIST (for himself and Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Talent) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources:

                              S. Res. 135

       Whereas Frederick Douglass freed himself from slavery and, 
     through decades of tireless efforts, helped to free millions 
     more;
       Whereas as a major stationmaster on the Underground 
     Railroad, Frederick Douglass directly helped hundreds on 
     their way to freedom through his adopted home city of 
     Rochester, New York;
       Whereas Frederick Douglass learned to write and do 
     arithmetic on his own initiative;
       Whereas as a publisher of the North Star and Frederick 
     Douglass' Paper, Frederick Douglass brought news of the 
     antislavery movement to thousands of people;
       Whereas Frederick Douglass helped recruit African-American 
     troops for the Union Army and his personal relationship with 
     Abraham Lincoln helped to persuade the President to make 
     emancipation a cause of the Civil War;
       Whereas in 1872, Frederick Douglass moved to Washington, 
     D.C., where he initially served as publisher of the New 
     National Era, intending to carry forward the work of 
     elevating the position of African Americans in the post-
     emancipation period; and
       Whereas Frederick Douglass also served briefly as President 
     of the Freedmen's National Bank and subsequently in various 
     national service positions, including United States Marshal 
     for the District of Columbia and diplomatic positions in 
     Haiti and the Dominican Republic: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that Congress 
     should provide adequate funding to protect the integrity of 
     the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.

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