THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

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.