[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 65181-65183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22907]



[[Page 65179]]

Vol. 85

Wednesday,

No. 199

October 14, 2020

Part III





The President





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Proclamation 10096--Birthday of Founding Father Caesar Rodney



Proclamation 10097--Leif Erikson Day, 2020
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  Federal Register / Vol. 85 , No. 199 / Wednesday, October 14, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 10096 of October 6, 2020

                
Birthday of Founding Father Caesar Rodney

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Today is the 292nd birthday of Founding Father Caesar 
                Rodney. Rodney was a soldier, a sheriff, a justice on 
                the Delaware Supreme Court, a delegate from Delaware to 
                the Continental Congress, a Brigadier General in the 
                Continental Army, and a signer of the Declaration of 
                Independence. He is an American legend.

                Rodney rode into American history when, despite 
                suffering from cancer and asthma, he traveled 80 miles 
                overnight from Dover to Philadelphia through a raging 
                thunderstorm in time to cast Delaware's deciding vote 
                for independence on July 2, 1776. His heroic act helped 
                ensure that the Declaration of Independence would be 
                passed unanimously. Upon entering Independence Hall, 
                Rodney is said to have uttered these words: ``As I 
                believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible 
                and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my 
                own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for 
                independence.''

                Rodney was not just a Founding Father, he was a fighter 
                for American freedom, serving under the command of 
                General George Washington at Trenton during the 
                Revolution. Washington bestowed his ``sincerest 
                thanks'' for Rodney's service, commending his character 
                as deserving of the ``highest honor'' and describing 
                his devotion to the American cause as ``the most 
                distinguished.''

                After the Revolution, Rodney continued to fight through 
                cancer and serve the State of Delaware as Speaker of 
                the Upper House of its General Assembly. As the years 
                went by, Rodney's cancer grew worse. Finally, he became 
                so weak that he could not travel to participate in the 
                legislative session. But Rodney's presence was so 
                significant and his statesmanship was so revered by his 
                fellow colleagues that they would not proceed without 
                him and voted to meet at Rodney's own home so that he 
                could still lead them from his bed.

                For more than two centuries, Delaware honored the 
                patriotism and sacrifice of Caesar Rodney. In 1934, 
                Delaware donated a statue of Caesar Rodney holding the 
                Declaration of Independence to the United States 
                Capitol. In 1976, the State issued a postage stamp 
                commemorating Caesar Rodney to celebrate the 
                bicentennial, and the Delaware Bicentennial Commission 
                published an entire history of Rodney's life, 
                proclaiming him ``Delaware's hero for all times and all 
                seasons,'' ``the patron saint of his native state,'' 
                and ``Delaware's principal hero of the American 
                Revolutionary War.'' The 1999 State Quarter of Delaware 
                bears Caesar Rodney's image. At the University of 
                Delaware, students live in Caesar Rodney Residence 
                Hall. Boy Scouts in Delaware travel the historic Caesar 
                Rodney Trail. Each year, Delaware residents participate 
                in the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon and 5K. In Camden, 
                both the High School and School District are named 
                after Caesar Rodney, and one can drive down Caesar 
                Rodney Avenue.

                Even the Federal Government has taken action to 
                preserve the memory of Caesar Rodney and honor the 
                history of Rodney's ride for independence. In 2013, 
                President Obama designated the First State National 
                Monument in Delaware, which protected as an object of 
                ``historic interest'' the very

[[Page 65182]]

                assembly room where Caesar Rodney introduced a bill to 
                prohibit the importation of slaves into Delaware and 
                where Rodney presided as Speaker when the Delaware 
                Assembly declared independence from the British Crown 
                in 1776. At the First State National Monument, park 
                officials tell the story of Caesar Rodney's 18-hour 
                ride through severe storms to vote for the Declaration 
                of Independence.

                But today, the memory and remarkable history of Caesar 
                Rodney's midnight ride is at risk of being erased 
                forever. In the center of downtown Wilmington, Delaware 
                is Rodney Square, named after Caesar Rodney. Until 
                recently, a majestic equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney 
                riding to Philadelphia had stood there for nearly a 
                century. In 2011, Rodney Square and the Caesar Rodney 
                Equestrian Statue were placed on the National Register 
                of Historic Places after the State of Delaware 
                nominated them for the honor. The nomination notes 
                that, at the time of its design, the Caesar Rodney 
                Equestrian Statue was ``considered by many sculptors to 
                be one of the most beautiful equestrian statues in the 
                world.'' But, on June 12, 2020, the Caesar Rodney 
                Equestrian Statue was removed as part of an ongoing, 
                radical purge of America's founding generation.

                The empty pedestal in Rodney Square in Wilmington is 
                the end result of an extreme anti-American historical 
                revisionism propagated by organizations like the New 
                York Times and its 1619 Project, critical race 
                theorists on college campuses, cancel culture adherents 
                in corporate boardrooms, and flag-burning mobs on city 
                streets who seek to reframe our Nation's history around 
                the idea that the United States is not an exceptional 
                country but an evil one. Caesar Rodney is an early 
                casualty of these reckless ``re-education'' attempts 
                that, if allowed to progress, will erase the names of 
                every one of the heroes of 1776 from American memory 
                and blot out their noble legacy from the history books. 
                The students of Howard Zinn and the 1619 Project have 
                already pledged to remove the Jefferson Memorial and 
                the Washington Monument next. If Caesar Rodney cannot 
                be defended, then there is no principle by which the 
                other signers of the Declaration can be shielded from 
                similar eradication.

                Radicals will continue their efforts to tear down our 
                Founding Fathers until Americans demand that it stop 
                and demand that the truth of American history be once 
                again taught in our schools. That is why, on 
                Constitution Day, I announced the creation of a new 
                national commission to promote patriotic education. The 
                ``1776 Commission'' will champion efforts to teach the 
                truth about America's heroic founding and make plans to 
                honor the 250th anniversary of the American founding.

                At the White House Conference on American History, I 
                also announced that a statue of Caesar Rodney would be 
                added to the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast 
                outdoor park that will feature the statues of the 
                greatest Americans who have ever lived. As I said this 
                past Constitution Day, ``America will give this 
                Founding Father, this very brave man, who was so 
                horribly treated, the place of honor he deserves.''

                Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of a patriot 
                who rode as hard and as fast as he could to pledge his 
                life, his fortune, and his sacred honor to the cause of 
                American Independence and American Freedom. On Caesar 
                Rodney's 292nd birthday, I proclaim that his name will 
                never be forgotten or removed from the record of 
                history and his heroic ride for independence will be 
                honored, preserved, and remembered for centuries to 
                come.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim October 7, 2020, as 
                the 292nd Anniversary of the birth of Caesar Rodney. I 
                invite the people of the United States to observe the 
                day in schools and churches and customary places of 
                meeting with appropriate ceremonies in commemoration of 
                the birth of Caesar Rodney.

[[Page 65183]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2020-22907
Filed 10-13-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P