[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 187 (Wednesday, December 7, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8405-S8406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              DELAWARE DAY

  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, today is Delaware Day. Something very 
important for our State and our Nation occurred on December 7, 1787. 
Senator Coons is here. I ask him to take a moment and share with our 
colleagues what that was all about. What happened then at that Golden 
Fleece Tavern?
  Mr. COONS. I thank the Senator for entering into this colloquy about 
Delaware Day. As some folks may know, if you look at the Delaware flag, 
as the Senator mentioned, there is the date, December 7, 1787. That is 
the day 30 Delawareans, elected delegates, gathered at the Golden 
Fleece Tavern in Dover and voted unanimously to make Delaware the first 
State to ratify the U.S. Constitution. That is why our State moniker 
is--
  Mr. CARPER. The First State.
  Mr. COONS. Yes, the First State.
  Mr. CARPER. The small wonder. Thirty of those guys who were there 
that day--I would like to say they were drinking hot chocolate. I am 
not sure what they were drinking at the Golden Fleece Tavern, but the 
outcome was a good one. For one whole week after that, Delaware was the 
entire United States of America. Who was next, Pennsylvania? Maybe 
Pennsylvania, maybe New Jersey. Then the rest followed and I think, for 
the most part, it turned out pretty well.
  Mr. COONS. One of the things I have always been struck by is that it 
was 11 years before that that Delaware actually, on Separation Day, on 
June 15 of 1776, acted both to declare its independence from 
Pennsylvania and its independence from the King of England, and by 
doing so acted in an incredibly risky way because, of course, had the 
Continental Congress on July 4 not chosen to ratify the Declaration of 
Independence, Delaware would have stood alone, and arguably hung alone, 
for having taken the risk of stepping out first.
  Delaware has a tradition of being first--first in declaring its 
independence and acting to secure its independence, and in ratifying 
the Constitution, which set the whole structure that ended the debate 
over the Articles of Confederation and moved toward the Federal system, 
one where we look to each other as States and look to this government 
for the provision of and the securing of our liberty through the 
balance of justice and liberty that we rely on so much. What else are 
we doing to celebrate this great day?
  Mr. CARPER. The Constitution that was ratified that day--the thing 
about it is that it is the most enduring Constitution of any nation on 
Earth, the most copied or emulated Constitution of any nation on Earth 
as well, and a living document that provides for us to change and 
update as time goes by. It is remarkable, the role we played in getting 
the ball rolling in this great country of ours.
  I want to go back to July 1776, if I can. Not far away from the 
Golden Fleece Tavern, there was a guy named Caesar Rodney, who rode his 
horse. Does the Senator want to share that story?
  Mr. COONS. That made it possible for our delegation to be represented 
in Philadelphia and for us to commit to the Declaration by breaking a 
tie between the other representatives of Delaware in the Continental 
Congress.
  Mr. CARPER. If you look at the back of the Delaware coin, you might 
say why is Paul Revere on the back of that coin? Well, that is not Paul 
Revere, that is Caesar Rodney riding the horse from Dover to 
Philadelphia. For people who are familiar with Dover Air Force Base, 
where big planes come in--the C-5s and C-17s that fly all over the 
world--as you come in on the approach, the runway heading north-
northeast to land, you are very close to flying over an old plantation 
house where a guy named John Dickinson used to live. There is a John 
Dickinson high school in Delaware, which was named after him. He was 
also a guy who was involved in the Constitutional Congress and also 
involved in the Declaration of Independence, and the penman of the 
Revolution. So if you think about it, there at the Golden Fleece 
Tavern, the Constitution was ratified. Caesar Rodney, from Dover, 
departing from not far from there, casts the tie-breaking vote for the 
Declaration of Independence, and the penman of the Revolution, growing 
up in what is now the Dickinson plantation. There is a lot of history 
there, especially for a State that doesn't have a national park.
  Mr. COONS. Although we have a senior Senator who is tireless in his 
effective advocacy of our State.
  Mr. CARPER. Maybe we can do something about that with the Senator's 
help and that of Congressman Carney, and our colleagues in the Senate 
and the House--and maybe including the Presiding Officer from North 
Carolina. In closing, believe it or not, the economic value of national 
parks is actually charged for every one of our States.
  The most visited sites in the United States among tourists from 
foreign countries are our national parks. The economic value to the 
State of North Carolina--I was told last year--from

[[Page S8406]]

their national parks was $700 million. Not bad.
  Mr. COONS. If I might, later today we are having our first Delaware 
Day reception in one of the Senate buildings. It is a way for us to 
promote and celebrate what is great about Delaware.
  One of the things I treasure most about Delaware is our unique 
political culture--a culture that focuses on consensus, on reasoned 
compromise, on bringing folks together across from what is, in some 
other places, a sharp partisan divide to find reasonable, principled 
paths forward to tackling the challenges that face our State. It is 
that consensus, commonsense approach I know my senior Senator brought 
to his two terms as Governor and has brought to the Senate. Our 
Congressman, who was on national television this morning with a 
Republican cosponsor of an initiative, has also made that a hallmark of 
his tenure. I know our Governor has as well.
  I wanted to suggest that one of the things that makes Delaware 
unique, special, valued, and first isn't just our agricultural 
products, it isn't just our great and enjoyable food products, and it 
isn't just our unique history in the beginning of our country but it is 
also how we continue to find ways to build bridges across the divide 
that so many Americans watch us in the Congress wrestling with at this 
moment and that I think, in our home State, we have managed to find a 
good path forward.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, we call this the Delaware way. As my 
colleague from Delaware knows, whenever I run into people who have been 
married a long time--50, 60, 70 years--I ask them what is the secret to 
being married so many years. They give some funny answers, but they 
also give some very pointed answers. One of the best answers I have 
heard--and I hear it over and over--as the reason why they have been 
married such a long time is because of the two Cs. I say: What are the 
two Cs? They say, ``Communicate and compromise.''
  I would suggest that is what we do pretty well in our State. It is 
not only good advice for creating an enduring marriage, but it would 
also be good advice for us in this body, in this town, to do a better 
job--both parties--at communicating and compromising. We show, I think 
every day, in our State, if we do those things, take that seriously, 
the result is pretty good. We could get a better result here if we keep 
that in mind.
  With that, I think we have said our piece. It is Delaware Day, one 
more time, and may the spirit of Delaware and the Delaware way permeate 
this place as well.
  I have enjoyed being with my friend and colleague in this colloquy.
  Mr. COONS. I thank my colleague.
  Mr. CARPER. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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