[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18467]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            AMERICAN HISTORY

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                        HON. SUE WILKINS MYRICK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 2008

  Mrs. MYRICK. Madam Speaker, when the first rays of daylight broke on 
the Lexington Green on April 19, 1775, ``the shot heard round the 
world'' was fired as British soldiers and American patriots clashed and 
sparked the war for American independence. A month later, on May 20, 
1775, delegates of the citizens of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, 
adopted their declaration of independence that ``Resolved, That we the 
citizens of Mecklenburg County, do hereby dissolve the political bands 
which have connected us to the Mother Country, and hereby absolve 
ourselves from all allegiance to the British Crown, and abjure all 
political connection, contract, or association, with that Nation, who 
have wantonly trampled on our rights and liberties and inhumanly shed 
the innocent blood of American patriots at Lexington.''
  Delegates to the Second Continental Congress declared American 
independence on July 4, 1776, by stating that ``these colonies are, and 
of Right ought to be Free and Independent States'' and in support of 
that declaration mutually pledged to each other their lives, their 
fortunes, and their sacred honor. General George Washington led an army 
of American patriots through the American Revolution. This army lacked 
everything but courage, shouldered every burden and adversity, and 
persevered for 8 long years to secure blessings of liberty for 
themselves and their posterity.
  The liberty of our Nation was supported by the largesse of France's 
King Louis XVI and Spain's King Carlos III and secured by the daring of 
Europe's elite military officers, including La Fayette, Rochambeau, von 
Steuben, Pulaski, Galvez, and others.
  The surrender of British forces under the command of General Lord 
John Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown on October 19, 1781, to the 
allied forces under the command of General George Washington and 
General Comte de Rochambeau set the stage for peace initiatives abroad. 
As such, Congress appointed Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay 
to represent the United States and David Hartley was appointed by Great 
Britain's King George III to negotiate terms for peace.
  On September 3, 1783, the peace commissioners of the United States 
and Great Britain signed a Treaty of Peace in Paris which recognized 
American independence and boundaries and declared the intention of both 
parties to ``forget all past misunderstandings and differences'' and 
``secure to both perpetual peace and harmony.'' Great Britain also 
signed treaties of peace in Paris on September 3, 1783, with France and 
Spain and provisionally with the Netherlands to bring a cessation of 
hostilities between the nations.
  Therefore, I call upon Congress and the American public to recognize 
the 225th Anniversary of the Treaty of Paris that took place on 
September 3, 2008. We should remember and honor the men that served in 
the revolution; American, French, and Spanish. And we should recognize 
the enduring friendship between the United States and its first 
allies--France and Spain.
  We should also recognize that it is the 225th anniversary of 
relations between the United States and Great Britain. While we fought 
many battles against each other in America's early years, we have 
fought side by side in far greater battles since those times. The 
Treaty of Paris 225th anniversary should therefore reaffirm the value 
of the deep friendship that has developed between America and Great 
Britain since that time.
  History teaches us to hope. So let us recognize this date and hope 
that in the next 225 years America is stronger and more prosperous than 
it is now, and that its friendships with Spain, France, and Great 
Britain are as strong as they are today.

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