[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H3244]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MEANING OF INDEPENDENCE DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, a quick web search on the 
meaning of Independence Day will give you the dictionary definition: A 
day celebrating the anniversary of national independence.
  For a nation built upon the foundations of freedom, such as the 
United States of America, there is much more to the meaning of 
Independence Day than can be described in a dictionary.
  For Americans, Independence Day is about the people who have lived 
and died in the defense of freedom. Crispus Attucks, who was killed by 
British troops in the Boston Massacre, has long been honored as an 
American hero and the first casualty of the Revolutionary War. Mr. 
Attucks has proved to be the first in a long legacy of American heroes.
  Each and every generation of Americans has had their share of men and 
women willing to pursue a more perfect realization of that most basic 
of human rights, freedom.
  Freedom against tyranny was the primary motive during the 
Revolutionary War for our first President, George Washington, alongside 
the Founding Fathers, who designed the government for our new Nation 
and the troops who fought for its right to exist.
  The great efforts of President Abraham Lincoln during the most trying 
time in our Nation's history, the Civil War, led armies of brave 
soldiers who fought not only for the reunification of the country but 
also the freedom of people held in slavery.
  This noble fight was taken up not only by soldiers but by civilians 
who worked in support of those in combat, such as Clara Barton, Army 
nurse and founder of the American National Red Cross.
  Hundreds of thousands of young men lost their lives during the Second 
World War fighting fascism in Europe and around the world. Presidents 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman, alongside generals 
including Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur, provided the leadership 
and strategy necessary to allow our soldiers to gain victory and 
preserve freedom.
  As a nation, we have believed in and fought for freedom for so long 
that it can easily be taken for granted. This is a trap that we must be 
extra vigilant not to fall into. As President Reagan aptly stated, 
freedom ``is not passed to our children in the bloodstream.''
  Pursuing freedom for over 200 years has been the result of a 
conscious choice, in each era, by every generation. We must continue to 
make that choice in this era and in this generation.
  Mr. Speaker, you may have noticed that in my examples from the 
Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Second World War, I named politicians 
who served our soldiers and citizens. Make no mistake, it is the 
soldiers and the citizens of our Nation who do the work to preserve 
freedom. Therefore, it is the solemn duty of those of us who work in 
government to lead and represent the people so that they can continue 
to live in freedom.
  I urge each and every government official, and especially my fellow 
Members of Congress, to make the choice to pursue freedom, as so many 
generations have before us. In this way, we honor the lives of past 
heroes such as Crispus Attucks and ensure freedom will be defended by 
future generations.
  Mr. Speaker, that is the meaning of Independence Day that could never 
fit in a dictionary.

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