[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 87 (Friday, June 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1246]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CREATING A COMMISSION FOR THE SESQUICENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION OF THE 
                               CIVIL WAR

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RICHARD H. BAKER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 12, 2003

  Mr. BAKER. Mr. Speaker, in 1996, Congress designated the United 
States Civil War Center (USCWC) at Louisiana State University (LSU) and 
the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College as the co-facilitators of 
the Sesquicentennial, or 150th, Commemoration of the Civil War in 2011-
2015. Legislation establishing the Sesquicentennial Commission was to 
be introduced in Congress in 2003. Today I rise to offer this 
aforementioned legislation.
  The American Civil War (1861-1865) was one of the most violent times 
in the history of the United States, touching not only every state and 
territory, but claiming more than 600,000 lives, bringing freedom to 
over 4 million black slaves and destroying property valued at $5 
billion. The ripple effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction remain 
today as our nation continues to wrestle with its legacy of race 
relations and federal, state and civil rights.
  In 1993, the USCWC was created as a department of the LSU College of 
Arts and Sciences under founding director David Madden. In 2000, the 
USCWC became a department of LSU Libraries' Special Collections. The 
mission of the USCWC is to promote the study of the American Civil War 
from the perspectives of all professions, occupations, and academic 
disciplines in order to facilitate a deeper, more thorough 
understanding of one of the most important events in our nation's 
history. This mission is fulfilled through a variety of projects, 
including an official web site featuring over 9000 links to Civil War-
related sites, the Michael Shaara Award for Civil War Fiction, Civil 
War Book Review, the Michael Lehman Williamson Collection of Civil War 
Books for Young People, the David Madden Collection of Civil War 
Fiction, and the Sesquicentennial Commemoration of the Civil War.
  Mr. Speaker, I fully support the objectives and services the USCWC 
provides. What is more, I am pleased to introduce legislation today 
that will include the USCWC in the creation of the commission to 
provide grants and other assistance to institutions nationwide to 
conduct interdisciplinary Civil War commemorative activities between 
the years 2011 to 2015. The commission will include members of the U.S. 
Senate and House of Representatives, directors of the Library of 
Congress and National Archives, and academics in history, anthropology, 
sociology, political science, art history and law. I believe this 
commission will provide the direction and resources needed for proper 
Sesquicentennial Commemorations of the Civil War throughout this 
nation.

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