[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 122 (Wednesday, July 19, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S4083]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. VAN HOLLEN (for himself and Mr. Cardin):
  S. 1582. A bill to establish the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial 
Commission; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to join my colleague and 
friend, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, in introducing legislation 
that would establish a Bicentennial Commission to honor Frederick 
Douglass in 2018. Douglass was an extraordinary individual who was 
enslaved at birth in Talbot County, Maryland.
  At a young age, Douglass learned to read and write. In 1838 he 
escaped from Maryland and moved to New York. Then, in 1845, he 
published his first autobiography called ``The Narrative of the Life of 
Frederick Douglass: an American Slave''.
  He later escaped to Great Britain to avoid being tracked down and 
returned to slavery in Maryland. Ultimately, British Quakers paid for 
his freedom, which enabled him to return to United States, settling in 
Baltimore, Maryland in 1847. Frederick Douglass continued to be a 
strong Abolitionist who campaigned against slavery and in favor of the 
right to vote throughout the East and Mid-West. In 1850 he oversaw the 
Underground-Railroad in Rochester, New York.
  As a Freeman he was able to hold significant positions within the 
Government. He served as an Advisor to President Lincoln. He was 
appointed to serve as the District of Columbia Legislative Council, the 
United States Marshall and the Recorder of Deeds. He subsequently 
became the Ambassador to Haiti from 1889 to 1891.
  Despite his extensive travel, Douglass made four trips back to Talbot 
County, Maryland. He reconciled with Captain Thomas Auld who had 
enslaved him in the past. He made a pilgrimage to Tappers Corner in 
search of his grandmother's cabin and his birthplace. As an 
entrepreneur, he invested in several enterprises, especially those that 
would benefit the African-American community. These included low-income 
housing developments in his old neighborhood in Fells Point (named 
Douglass Place) and at Highland Beach, a summer resort community 
outside of Annapolis popular with African Americans outside of 
Annapolis.
  Two hundred years after Douglass' birth is a fitting time to reflect 
upon his work and achievements and pay tribute to a man who fought for 
his freedom and justice for all. He stated: ``We have to do with the 
past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future.''
  In that spirit, it will be important to honor this man and explore 
how his legacy can help guide the future of our Country. As Douglass 
stated, ``The life of the Nation is secure only while the Nation is 
honest, truthful and virtuous''.

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