III 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 181 

Recognizing the sesquicentennial of West Virginia and commemorating its 

history, people, and culture. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 21, 2013 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. MANCHIN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the sesquicentennial of West Virginia and 

commemorating its history, people, and culture. 

Whereas Alexander Spotswood, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, led a westward expedition in 1716, claiming land 

beyond the Allegheny Mountains for King George I; 

Whereas early settlement of present-day West Virginia began 

in the Eastern Panhandle, with development of western 

areas to follow; 

Whereas slave abolitionist John Brown launched an ill-fated 

raid on a United States arsenal in Harpers Ferry in 

1859 and was later convicted of treason, conspiracy, and 

murder in nearby Charles Town, inflaming anti- and proslavery factions in the North and the South; 


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•SRES 181 ATS 

Whereas citizens in the region opposed the decision of Virginia during the Civil War to secede from the United 

States; 

Whereas West Virginia was admitted to the Union by Congress on June 20, 1863, following a proclamation by 

President Abraham Lincoln, making it the only State created from the Civil War; 

Whereas the bold decision of those first West Virginians resonates today with the words of the official State motto, 

‘‘Montani Semper Liberi’’, meaning ‘‘West Virginians 

Are Always Free’’; 

Whereas West Virginia is the only state located entirely within the Appalachian Mountains; 

Whereas the industries in West Virginia are wedded to its 

land, supplying 15 percent of the coal in the United 

States, forging steel, producing timber, and fostering a 

present-day boom in natural gas production, and to its 

innovations including burgeoning biometrics and automotive industries; 

Whereas the workers of West Virginia are the salt of the 

earth and set hard work as a cornerstone of a life rich 

with pride, especially its miners who daily travel deep underground to mine the coal that keeps the United States 

humming; 

Whereas the sense of patriotism in West Virginia runs deep 

and true, as the State has the highest number of men 

and women per capita serving the United States in the 

Armed Forces and a population of veterans wholly dedicated to making sure all who serve are supported; 

Whereas the communities in West Virginia exemplify the 

phrase ‘‘neighbor helping neighbor’’; 


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Whereas the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Mountain State 

grant residents and tourists the chance to climb mountains, fish streams, hunt in forests, raft rapids, and traverse trails, making tourism one of the preeminent economic drivers of the State; 

Whereas West Virginia is home to the longest steel arch 

bridge in the world, the New River Gorge Bridge, which 

spans 1,815 feet over the New River Canyon, and the 

highest peak in the State is Spruce Knob, sitting at 

4,861 feet above sea level; 

Whereas West Virginia has seen important inventions, including the first steamboat, the first iron furnace, the first 

electric railroad, the first glass plant, and the first pottery plant; 

Whereas the heritage of West Virginia can be felt in its handmade creations, from quilts and woodwork to dinnerware 

and paintings, heard in its mountain music, from hometown jamborees to fiddle-playing on front porches and 

songs from well-worn hymnals, and enjoyed in its unique 

cuisine, from pepperoni rolls to wild ramps and buckwheat cakes with sausage; 

Whereas many icons hold their roots in West Virginia, from 

General Thomas ‘‘Stonewall’’ Jackson to Nobel Prizewinning author Pearl S. Buck, educational leader Booker 

T. Washington, Mother’s Day founder Anna Jarvis, and 

Brigadier General Charles ‘‘Chuck’’ Yeager; and 

Whereas, during a rainy centennial celebration on the front 

steps of the Capitol of West Virginia in Charleston on 

June 20, 1963, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed, 

‘‘The sun does not always shine in West Virginia but the 

people always do’’: Now, therefore, be it 


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1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) observes the sesquicentennial of West Vir3 ginia; and 

4 (2) celebrates the remarkable heritage and con5 tributions of the people of West Virginia. 

Æ 


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