Download PRINTER`S NO. 418 THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF

PRINTER'S NO.
418
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 80
Session of
2009
INTRODUCED BY BROWN, JOHNSON, PAYTON, THOMAS, DeWEESE, PARKER,
COHEN, KORTZ, YOUNGBLOOD, SANTARSIERO, WATERS, KIRKLAND,
DRUCKER, WHEATLEY, MAHER, MILLARD, RAPP, BARRAR, QUINN,
LONGIETTI, McCALL, SCAVELLO, GINGRICH, SIPTROTH, GRUCELA,
BOYLE, McGEEHAN, DePASQUALE, MELIO, FRANKEL, FABRIZIO, PAYNE
AND REICHLEY, FEBRUARY 13, 2009
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON RULES, FEBRUARY 13, 2009
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing Frederick Douglass on the anniversary of his birth
for his leadership, courage, determination and vision as one
of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement.
WHEREAS, Frederick Douglass, whose full name was Frederick
Augustus Washington Bailey, was born into slavery on the eastern
shore of Maryland in 1818; and
WHEREAS, A childhood nickname, "little Valentine," caused Mr.
Douglass to adopt February 14 as his birthday; and
WHEREAS, During the course of Frederick Douglass' remarkable
life, he escaped from slavery, helped other slaves flee to their
freedom through the underground railroad, became internationally
renowned for his eloquence in the cause of liberty, and went on
to serve the Federal Government in several official capacities,
including president of the Freedman's Bank, and subsequently in
various national service positions, including United States
Marshal for the District of Columbia and diplomatic positions in
Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and
WHEREAS, Immediately after the Civil War began, Mr. Douglass
argued for the establishment of black troops in the Union Army;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Douglass saw the Civil War as a struggle between
freedom and slavery and eventually helped recruit black troops
for the Union Army; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Douglass' personal relationship with President
Abraham Lincoln helped persuade the President to make
emancipation a cause of the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, In 1872 Frederick Douglass, with a nomination by the
Equal Rights Party, became the first African American to be
nominated as a vice-presidential candidate in the United States;
and
WHEREAS, Frederick Douglass' lifelong struggles for liberty
and the rights of others have become an inspiring part of the
darkest chapter of American history; and
WHEREAS, Frederick Douglass was often found saying, "I would
unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong"; and
WHEREAS, Frederick Douglass served his country bravely until
his death on February 20, 1895; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives honor Frederick
Douglass for his leadership, courage, determination and vision
on the anniversary of his birth on February 14, 2009.