    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 134, 116th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    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

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    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 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

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    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.
    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.
    DONALD J. TRUMP