[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 119 (Monday, August 3, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8700-S8701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY IN THE 
                             BRITISH EMPIRE

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed 
to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 236, submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 236) Commemorating the 175th 
     anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the British Empire 
     on August 1, 1834.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution be 
agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any 
statements be printed in the Record.

[[Page S8701]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 236) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 236

       Whereas the United States and the United Kingdom have 
     become beacons of freedom and democracy around the world;
       Whereas the history of the people of Africa is inextricably 
     tied to the histories of the United States and the United 
     Kingdom;
       Whereas, for centuries, millions of people from Africa and 
     their descendants were enslaved in the United States and the 
     territories of the British Empire;
       Whereas the slave trade spanned many regions of the world, 
     including Africa, the Caribbean, the United States, and 
     territories of the British Empire;
       Whereas the people of Africa forced into slavery were 
     dehumanized, humiliated, abused, and often separated from 
     their families to be sold;
       Whereas the institution of slavery, predicated upon racist 
     beliefs, infected and corrupted the social fabrics of the 
     United States and the United Kingdom;
       Whereas the Underground Railroad embodied courage, 
     hospitality, and fortitude, and served as an impetus for the 
     abolition of slavery;
       Whereas the Underground Railroad provided a means of escape 
     from slavery by incorporating a network of abolitionists, 
     secret routes, and safe houses throughout the United States 
     and the territories of the British Empire;
       Whereas the efforts of Harriet Tubman and like-minded 
     abolitionists in the Underground Railroad helped tens of 
     thousands of slaves escape to freedom during the early 19th 
     century;
       Whereas Harriet Tubman demonstrated her fearless devotion 
     to liberty during her service as a conductor on the 
     Underground Railroad and was responsible for leading fugitive 
     slaves through the countryside to safe houses;
       Whereas Harriet Tubman became known as ``Moses'' among 
     slaves and abolitionists because her estimated 19 trips in 
     the decade following her emancipation in 1849 to States that 
     permitted slavery led to the liberation of approximately 300 
     slaves;
       Whereas the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 jeopardized the 
     safety of escaped slaves in the United States;
       Whereas the establishment of Underground Railroad safe 
     houses in Canada, a territory of the British Empire, provided 
     a safe haven for escaped slaves;
       Whereas the abolition of slavery in the British Empire on 
     August 1, 1834, established a chief terminal for the 
     Underground Railroad and laid the foundation for the eventual 
     abolition of slavery in the United States;
       Whereas the Salem Chapel British Methodist Episcopal Church 
     in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, served as an important 
     center of abolitionist activity and served as the final 
     destination for many escaped slaves;
       Whereas many freed slaves became members of Salem Chapel 
     British Methodist Episcopal Church and settled in the 
     community; and
       Whereas the abolition of slavery in the British Empire 
     influenced the United States by setting the precedent that 
     the dehumanizing practice of slavery would not, and could 
     not, be tolerated if a Nation is to conform with the 
     fundamental tenets of democracy and equality for all people: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the fundamental importance of the abolition 
     of slavery in the British Empire in the history of the United 
     States and Canada; and
       (2) celebrates the 175th anniversary of the abolition of 
     slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834.

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