[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 56 (Friday, March 30, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION CELEBRATING THE 500TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST 
                      USE OF THE NAME ``AMERICA''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 29, 2007

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
resolution celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first use of the 
name ``America.'' I am pleased to be introducing this resolution with 
my good friend from New York, Representative Carolyn Maloney.
  Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci was born in 1454 and traveled 
across the Atlantic Ocean 4 times between 1497 and 1504. During his 
second voyage to the Western Hemisphere in 1499, he realized the land 
initially discovered by Christopher Columbus was not India, but in fact 
a whole new continent.
  Eight years later, on April 25, 1507, cartographer Martin 
Waldseemuller, a member of the research group Gymnasium Vosagense in 
Saint-Die', France, published the book Cosmographiae Introductio. The 
book was accompanied by a map he designed naming the new continent 
``America'' after Amerigo Vespucci. Incidentally, the only remaining 
copy of this map is housed in the Library of Congress.
  Naming the new continent after Vespucci was a unique and high honor, 
especially since he was still alive at the time. But Waldseemuller 
described this decision in the book by writing: ``I see no reason why 
anyone should justly object to calling this part. . . America, after 
Amerigo [Vespucci], its discoverer, a man of great ability.''
  On April 25, 2007, we will mark the 500th anniversary of the first 
appearance of the word ``America'' on a map on a continent bordered by 
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As such, it is fitting that the House 
take time to honor Amerigio Vespucci, Martin Waldseemuller, and the 
contributions of so many others who have made us who we are.
  In the 21st century, the term ``America'' means much more than just a 
continent or a country. It is an ideal, a system of values which 
dedicates itself to ingenuity and greatness. The ability of which 
Waldseemuller wrote of Vespucci embodies the American spirit and the 
role which we play in the world. Indeed, we have the ability to make 
this world a better place for all.
  It is my sincere hope that my colleagues will support this effort and 
join me and Representative Maloney in honoring these two great 
individuals, the history of our great country and the continent on 
which it is located. I ask for the support of my colleagues and the 
swift consideration of this resolution to ensure that the House marks 
this celebration before the 500th anniversary.

                          ____________________