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PRINTER'S NO. 2054
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
401
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY FONTANA, PHILLIPS-HILL, FARNESE, MARTIN, ARGALL,
STREET, J. WARD, BROWNE, DINNIMAN AND COSTA, OCTOBER 2, 2020
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, OCTOBER 2, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the month of October 2020 as "Italian-American
Heritage Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Italian Americans have contributed to a great number
of aspects of our everyday life in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus has been
credited with accidentally stumbling upon the Americas on one of
his journeys, resulting in centuries of explorations on the
American continent; and
WHEREAS, Shortly after Christopher Columbus journeyed to
America, the terms "America" and "Americas" were derived from
the Italian merchant, explorer and navigator, Amerigo Vespucci;
and
WHEREAS, Italian Filippo Mazzei, a promoter of liberty,
became a close friend of Thomas Jefferson and published a
pamphlet containing the phrase "All men are by nature equally
free and independent"; and
WHEREAS, It was not until the 1820s that Italian immigrants
began moving to the United States in sizable numbers; and
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WHEREAS, These immigrants provided labor for American
factories and mines and assisted in building roads, dams and
other infrastructure that fueled a booming industrial economy;
and
WHEREAS, As Italian Americans began settling in our nation's
major cities, they often faced religious and ethnic
discrimination, which occasionally led to brutal violence; and
WHEREAS, For this reason, Italian Americans started
celebrating the life and accomplishments of Christopher Columbus
as a way for persons of Italian descent to be accepted by
mainstream American society; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, more than 500,000 Italian
Americans served in the United States military; and
WHEREAS, Currently, there are more than 26 million Americans
of Italian heritage in the United States, making them America's
seventh largest ethnic group; and
WHEREAS, Of the 26 million Italian Americans, more than 1.4
million reside in this Commonwealth; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the month of October 2020
as "Italian-American Heritage Month" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the Senate celebrate the contributions and
achievements of Italian Americans in this Commonwealth.
20200SR0401PN2054 - 2 -
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