Pennsylvania SR 304: A Resolution celebrating the momentous and historic occasion of the United States Semiquincentennial.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1683
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 304
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY K. WARD, MAY 4, 2026
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MAY 4, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Celebrating the momentous and historic occasion of the United
States Semiquincentennial.
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania joins the rest of
the nation in celebrating the momentous 250th anniversary of the
signing of the Declaration of Independence; and
WHEREAS, Following the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765, a
series of unpopular British laws met with stiff opposition in
the colonies, fueling a bitter struggle over whether Parliament
had the right to tax colonists without the consent of the
representative colonial governments; and
WHEREAS, This struggle erupted into violence in 1770 when
British troops killed five colonists in the Boston Massacre; and
WHEREAS, Three years later, outrage over the Tea Act of 1773
prompted colonists to board an East India Company ship in Boston
Harbor and dump its cargo into the sea in the now-infamous
Boston Tea Party; and
WHEREAS, In response, Britain cracked down further with the
Coercive Acts, going so far as to revoke the colonial charter of
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Massachusetts and close the port of Boston; and
WHEREAS, Resistance to the Intolerable Acts, as they became
known, led to the formation of the First Continental Congress in
Philadelphia in 1774, which denounced "taxation without
representation," but stopped short of demanding independence
from Britain; and
WHEREAS, When the first skirmishes of the Revolutionary War
broke out in Massachusetts in April 1775, few people in the
American colonies wanted to separate from Great Britain
entirely, but as the war continued, and Britain called out
massive armed forces to enforce its will, more and more
colonists came to accept that asserting independence was the
only way forward; and
WHEREAS, On June 7, 1776, Congress, meeting in Philadelphia,
received a resolution from Richard Henry Lee urging Congress to
declare independence from Britain; and
WHEREAS, Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson, John Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston to the
"Committee of Five" on June 11, 1776, to draft a declaration of
independence for the colonies; and
WHEREAS, From June 12 through 27, 1776, Thomas Jefferson
drafted the original rough draft of the Declaration of
Independence, which was read in Congress on June 28, 1776; and
WHEREAS, From July 1 through 4, 1776, Congress debated and
revised the Declaration of Independence, and finally signed the
document on the morning of July 4, 1776, to formally sever
political ties between the 13 American colonies and Great
Britain, unite the colonies and announce their sovereignty and
gain support from foreign nations, particularly France; and
WHEREAS, The delegates from Pennsylvania who signed the
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Declaration of Independence were George Clymer, Benjamin
Franklin, Robert Morris, John Morton, George Ross, Benjamin
Rush, James Smith, George Taylor and James Wilson; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Morton broke the tie in the Pennsylvania
delegation, ensuring Pennsylvania voted for the Declaration of
Independence; and
WHEREAS, The Declaration of Independence was not intended to
be a legal framework for government, which was later done by the
Constitution of the United States, but rather a declaration of
intent to break away and a justification for doing so; and
WHEREAS, After passage of the Declaration of Independence,
copies were distributed to neighboring states, and on July 6,
the Pennsylvania Evening Post printed the first newspaper
rendition of the declaration; and
WHEREAS, The first public reading of the Declaration of
Independence occurred in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776, at noon,
when Colonel John Nixon read the document to a crowd of roughly
2,000 people in the State House Yard, which is now Independence
Square; and
WHEREAS, Two hundred fifty years later, this country unites
to celebrate the creation of our nation's founding document and
the intrepid men who rose up against the great power of Britain
to assert their independence; and
WHEREAS, From fireworks and concerts to unforgettable
gatherings across the country, the United States
Semiquincentennial Commission and America250 will spark five
days of shared moments from July 1 through 5; and
WHEREAS, On July 2, 2026, the official America250 Time
Capsule will be dedicated at Independence Hall in Philadelphia;
and
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WHEREAS, The capsule will contain items that help tell the
story of America at 250 and will be opened during America's
500th birthday year in 2276; and
WHEREAS, On July 3 and 4, residents are encouraged to
participate in the largest synchronized Fourth of July
celebration in United States history: America's B