[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