IV

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 316

To express the sense of Congress that State and local governments and

local educational agencies are encouraged to dedicate a day of learning

to the study and understanding of the Declaration of Independence,

the United States Constitution, and the Federalist Papers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AUGUST 4, 1998

Mr. GINGRICH (for himself, Mr. ARMEY, Mr. BARR of Georgia, Mr. BARRETT

of Nebraska, Mr. BASS, Mr. BATEMAN, Mr. BLILEY, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr.

BRYANT, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. COX of California, Mr. DEAL of Georgia,

Mr. DELAY, Ms. DUNN, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. GIBBONS,

Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. HASTERT, Mr. HAYWORTH, Mr. HOBSON, Mr. KASICH, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. LINDER, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. METCALF, Mrs.

MYRICK, Mrs. NORTHUP, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. PITTS, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. REDMOND, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SMITH of Texas,

Mr. SMITH of Michigan, Mr. SOLOMON, Mr. SPENCE, Mr. STEARNS, Mr.

STUMP, Mr. TALENT, Mr. WATTS of Oklahoma, Mr. WELDON of Florida,

and Mr. WOLF) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was

referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

To express the sense of Congress that State and local governments and local educational agencies are encouraged to

dedicate a day of learning to the study and understanding of the Declaration of Independence, the United

States Constitution, and the Federalist Papers.

Whereas the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in

1776, the signing of the United States Constitution in
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1787, and the ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1789

were principal events in the history of the United States;

Whereas these documents stand as the foundation of our

form of democracy, providing at the same time the touchstone of our national identity and the vehicle for orderly

growth and change;

Whereas the Federalist Papers embody an eloquent and

forceful argument made in support of the adoption of our

republican form of government;

Whereas the success of the American experiment requires

that our Nation’s children—the future of its heritage and

participants in its governance—have a firm knowledge of

its principles and history; and

Whereas the limited nature of government is the fundamental

American concept of governance, because our system is

based on the belief that power is granted by our Creator

to the citizen who then voluntarily loans power to the

state and because, as the Declaration of Independence

states, ‘‘all men . . . are endowed by their Creator with

certain unalienable Rights’’: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that—

3 (1) State and local governments and local edu4 cational agencies are encouraged to dedicate at least

5 one day of learning to the study and understanding

6 of the significance of the Declaration of Independ7 ence, the United States Constitution, and the Fed8 eralist Papers; and
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1 (2) State and local governments and local edu2 cational agencies are encouraged to include a re3 quirement that, before receiving a certificate or di4 ploma of graduation from high school, students be

5 tested on their competency in understanding the

6 Declaration of Independence, the United States Con7 stitution, and the Federalist Papers.

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