HR0150 LRB099 08873 MST 29045 r
1		HOUSE RESOLUTION
2		WHEREAS, The United States of America, for nearly 250 years
3		following the colonization of Jamestown, Virginia, was built in
4		large part from the work of an estimated 500,000 men and women
5		of African origin brought to the new country, forced into labor
6		and deprived of their liberty; and
7		WHEREAS, The importation of these men and women into the
8		United States continued until Congress outlawed the slave trade
9		in March 1807, after which time slavery instead came to rely on
10		those already enslaved and their descendants; and
11		WHEREAS, By 1860, the United States slave population had
12		grown to number almost 4 million, accounting for more than 12%
13		of the country's entire population; and
14		WHEREAS, Slavery, which President Abraham Lincoln called a
15		"monstrous injustice", imposed harsh and inhumane conditions
16		on slaves who were unable to escape, running directly counter
17		to the American ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
18		happiness expressed in the Declaration of Independence; and
19		WHEREAS, The national debate over slavery, which had begun
20		with the United States Constitutional Convention and continued
21		as new territory was added, included divisive decisions such as

HR0150 - 2 - LRB099 08873 MST 29045 r
1		the Missouri Compromise in 1820 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act in
2		1854; it came to a head with the 1860 presidential election of
3		Abraham Lincoln, who opposed expanding slavery into new
4		territories; and
5		WHEREAS, Within 3 months of President Lincoln's election, 7
6		southern states seceded from the Union, forming the Confederate
7		States of America and setting the country on a course for civil
8		war; following the first shot of the Civil War upon the federal
9		outpost of Fort Sumter off the coast of Charleston, South
10		Carolina on April 12, 1861, 4 more southern states and border
11		states seceded from the Union and joined the Confederate States
12		of America; and
13		WHEREAS, In the midst of the Civil War on January 1, 1863,
14		President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,
15		granting freedom to all slaves in areas of the Confederacy not
16		already under Union control, which enabled Union soldiers to
17		enforce emancipation as they advanced into the Confederacy,
18		freeing many American slaves; and
19		WHEREAS, A number of freed slaves, whether by means of
20		emancipation or by means of escape, immediately enlisted in the
21		Union Army to continue fighting for the freedom of all slaves;
22		and

HR0150 - 3 - LRB099 08873 MST 29045 r
1		WHEREAS, On January 11, 1864, United States Senator John B.
2		Henderson of Missouri submitted a joint resolution for a
3		constitutional amendment abolishing slavery, with the U.S.
4		Senate passing the resolution on April 8, 1864 and the U.S.
5		House of Representatives passing it on January 31, 1865; and
6		WHEREAS, Illinois was the first state to ratify the
7		Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution on
8		February 1, 1865; and
9		WHEREAS, With Georgia's ratification on December 6, 1865,
10		the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified by three-fourths of the
11		states, and on December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H.
12		Seward proclaimed it to be valid as a part of the Constitution;
13		and
14		WHEREAS, As the New York World stated on December 19, 1865,
15		"The proclamation of Secretary Seward, published yesterday,
16		making the official declaration required by law that the
17		Constitutional amendment had been ratified by the requisite
18		three fourths of the States, takes out of politics, and
19		consigns to history, an institution incongruous with justice,
20		and repugnant to the human sentiments fostered by Christian
21		civilization"; and
22		WHEREAS, The Thirteenth Amendment freed all remaining

HR0150 - 4 - LRB099 08873 MST 29045 r
1		slaves within the United States, which by that time numbered at
2		least 40,000; and
3		WHEREAS, Though the fight for civil rights had only just
4		begun, the Thirteenth Amendment marked an important turning
5		point in American history and in recognizing the equality of
6		all; therefore, be it
7		RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
8		NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
9		recognize the 150th anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment on
10		December 6, 2015; and be it further
11		RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois honors all individuals
12		involved in the fight against slavery, especially those who
13		gave their lives in support of the enduring legacy of freedom
14		enshrined in the Thirteenth Amendment.