[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 4092-4093]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE PILGRIMS LANDING AT PLYMOUTH ROCK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 12, 2003

  Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a resolution 
which recognizes December 21, 1620, the date when the pilgrims landed 
at Plymouth Rock.
  The Pilgrims were Dutch and English citizens who sought to escape the 
religious persecution and economic problems of their time by 
immigrating to the New World. Their voyage was one of discovery and an 
enduring quest for freedom that began by boarding the Mayflower. After 
a difficult journey across the Atlantic, the pilgrims arrived prepared 
to create a new society modeled on freedom. The many months of hardship 
and deprivation was rewarded with their arrival at the New World. When 
land was sighted on November 9, 1620, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower 
Compact, which ensured the equality of every person. This pact laid the 
foundation and moral framework for the future United States of America.
  When the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock, they faced harsh 
conditions. It was too cold to plant crops and many died due to 
exposure, disease and starvation. It was not until the spring when the 
Pilgrims and Native Americans came together as a community teaching 
each other survival skills and agriculture that life gradually 
improved.
  During the War of Independence, residents of Plymouth, Massachusetts 
began celebrating the historic landing at Plymouth Rock. It began as a 
feast that the descendents of the original pilgrims celebrated and 
eventually grew into a town festival. The festival continued through 
the years until President Abraham Lincoln started celebrating it in the 
White House during the Civil War.
  In 1941, Congress passed a Joint resolution that ``Thanksgiving'' 
should fall on the fourth Thursday in November but not until now has 
Congress had the opportunity to commend the actual date the Pilgrims 
landed.
  Please join me in commemorating the first of many steps that crafted 
this great nation. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this 
resolution.

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