[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 90 (Friday, June 21, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S4984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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    SENATE RESOLUTION 181--RECOGNIZING THE SESQUICENTENNIAL OF WEST 
      VIRGINIA AND COMMEMORATING ITS HISTORY, PEOPLE, AND CULTURE

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. Manchin) submitted the following 
resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 181

       Whereas Alexander Spotswood, Lieutenant Governor of 
     Virginia, led a westward expedition in 1716, claiming land 
     beyond the Allegheny Mountains for King George I;
       Whereas early settlement of present-day West Virginia began 
     in the Eastern Panhandle, with development of western areas 
     to follow;
       Whereas slave abolitionist John Brown launched an ill-fated 
     raid on a United States arsenal in Harpers Ferry in 1859 and 
     was later convicted of treason, conspiracy, and murder in 
     nearby Charles Town, inflaming anti- and pro-slavery factions 
     in the North and the South;
       Whereas citizens in the region opposed the decision of 
     Virginia during the Civil War to secede from the United 
     States;
       Whereas West Virginia was admitted to the Union by Congress 
     on June 20, 1863, following a proclamation by President 
     Abraham Lincoln, making it the only State created from the 
     Civil War;
       Whereas the bold decision of those first West Virginians 
     resonates today with the words of the official State motto, 
     ``Montani Semper Liberi'', meaning ``West Virginians Are 
     Always Free'';
       Whereas West Virginia is the only state located entirely 
     within the Appalachian Mountains;
       Whereas the industries in West Virginia are wedded to its 
     land, supplying 15 percent of the coal in the United States, 
     forging steel, producing timber, and fostering a present-day 
     boom in natural gas production, and to its innovations 
     including burgeoning biometrics and automotive industries;
       Whereas the workers of West Virginia are the salt of the 
     earth and set hard work as a cornerstone of a life rich with 
     pride, especially its miners who daily travel deep 
     underground to mine the coal that keeps the United States 
     humming;
       Whereas the sense of patriotism in West Virginia runs deep 
     and true, as the State has the highest number of men and 
     women per capita serving the United States in the Armed 
     Forces and a population of veterans wholly dedicated to 
     making sure all who serve are supported;
       Whereas the communities in West Virginia exemplify the 
     phrase ``neighbor helping neighbor'';
       Whereas the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Mountain State 
     grant residents and tourists the chance to climb mountains, 
     fish streams, hunt in forests, raft rapids, and traverse 
     trails, making tourism one of the preeminent economic drivers 
     of the State;
       Whereas West Virginia is home to the longest steel arch 
     bridge in the world, the New River Gorge Bridge, which spans 
     1,815 feet over the New River Canyon, and the highest peak in 
     the State is Spruce Knob, sitting at 4,861 feet above sea 
     level;
       Whereas West Virginia has seen important inventions, 
     including the first steamboat, the first iron furnace, the 
     first electric railroad, the first glass plant, and the first 
     pottery plant;
       Whereas the heritage of West Virginia can be felt in its 
     handmade creations, from quilts and woodwork to dinnerware 
     and paintings, heard in its mountain music, from hometown 
     jamborees to fiddle-playing on front porches and songs from 
     well-worn hymnals, and enjoyed in its unique cuisine, from 
     pepperoni rolls to wild ramps and buckwheat cakes with 
     sausage;
       Whereas many icons hold their roots in West Virginia, from 
     General Thomas ``Stonewall'' Jackson to Nobel Prize-winning 
     author Pearl S. Buck, educational leader Booker T. 
     Washington, Mother's Day founder Anna Jarvis, and Brigadier 
     General Charles ``Chuck'' Yeager; and
       Whereas, during a rainy centennial celebration on the front 
     steps of the Capitol of West Virginia in Charleston on June 
     20, 1963, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed, ``The sun 
     does not always shine in West Virginia but the people always 
     do'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) observes the sesquicentennial of West Virginia; and
       (2) celebrates the remarkable heritage and contributions of 
     the people of West Virginia.

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