III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 281 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2008 

Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Celebrating the birth of Abraham Lincoln and recognizing 

the prominence the Declaration of Independence played 

in the development of Abraham Lincoln’s beliefs. 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United 

States, was born of humble roots on February 12, 1809, 

in Hardin County, Kentucky; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln rose to political prominence as an 

attorney with a reputation for fairness, honesty, and a 

belief that all men are created equal and 


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that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 

unalienable rights; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln was elected and served with distinction in 1832 as a captain of an Illinois militia company during the Black Hawk War; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln was elected to the Illinois legislature in 1834 from Sangamon County and was successively reelected until 1840; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln revered the Declaration of Independence, forming the motivating moral and natural law 

principle for his opposition to the spread of slavery to 

new States entering the Union and to his belief in slavery’s ultimate demise; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1846 to serve in 

the United States House of Representatives, ably representing central Illinois; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln re-entered political life as a reaction to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 

which he opposed; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln expounded on his views of natural 

rights during the series of Lincoln-Douglas debates in 

1858 declaring in Charleston, Illinois that natural rights 

were ‘‘. . . enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’’ and these views brought Lincoln into national 

prominence; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln, through a legacy of courage, 

character, and patriotism, was elected to office as the 

16th President of the United States on November 6, 

1860; 


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Whereas Abraham Lincoln believed the Declaration of Independence to be the anchor of American republicanism, 

stating on February 22, 1861, during an address in 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Independence Hall that, ‘‘I 

have never had a feeling politically that did not spring 

from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence . . . I have often inquired of myself, what great 

principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so 

long together. It was not the mere matter of separation 

of the Colonies from the motherland; but that sentiment 

in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, 

not alone to the people of this country, but, I hope, to 

the world, for all future time. It was that which gave 

promise that in due time the weight would be lofted from 

the shoulders of men’’; 

Whereas, upon taking office and being thrust into the throes 

of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln wrote the 

Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in southern 

States that seceded from the Union on January 1, 1863; 

Whereas, on November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln dedicated 

the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with the Gettysburg address, which would later be known as his 

greatest speech, that harkened back to the promises of 

the Declaration of Independence in the first sentence: 

‘‘Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought 

forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are 

created equal’’; 

Whereas Abraham Lincoln was reelected to the Presidency on 

November 8, 1864, by 55 percent of the popular vote; 


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Whereas Abraham Lincoln gave the ultimate sacrifice for his 

country, dying six weeks into his second term on April 

15, 1865; 

Whereas the year 2009 will be the Bicentennial anniversary 

of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, and the United States 

will observe 2 years of commemorations beginning February 12, 2008; and 

Whereas all Americans could benefit from studying the life of 

Abraham Lincoln as a model of achieving the American 

Dream through honest, integrity, loyalty, and a lifetime 

of education: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That the United States Congress— 

3 (1) requests that the President issue a procla4 mation each year recognizing the anniversary of the 

5 birth of President Abraham Lincoln and calling 

6 upon the people of the United States to observe such 

7 anniversary with appropriate ceremonies and activi8 ties; and 

9 (2) encourages State and local governments and 

10 local educational agencies to devote sufficient time to 

11 study and appreciate the reverence and respect 

12 Abraham Lincoln had for the significance and im13 portance of the Declaration of Independence in the 


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1 development of American history, jurisprudence, and 

2 the spread of freedom around the world. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 12, 

2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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