PRINTER'S NO. 2829
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
686
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY SACCONE, COHEN, MILLARD, SCHWEYER, BOBACK, BAKER,
CALTAGIRONE, STAATS, DiGIROLAMO, SONNEY, DUSH, ROZZI, VEREB,
GREINER, ELLIS, MALONEY, PHILLIPS-HILL, WATSON, JAMES, REGAN,
MURT, COX, CUTLER, DRISCOLL, WARD, LONGIETTI, McGINNIS,
SCHREIBER, REESE, KAUFFMAN, READSHAW, MAJOR, MAHONEY AND
BIZZARRO, FEBRUARY 9, 2016
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
FEBRUARY 9, 2016
A RESOLUTION
Commemorating the birth of George Washington and honoring the
contributions he made to this nation.
WHEREAS, George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, at
Bridges Creek, Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Mary and
Augustine Washington; and
WHEREAS, Washington, who was interested in surveying and
attracted to government service, became a member of the Virginia
militia and was at the time of French expansion into the Ohio
Valley a captain of that militia; and
WHEREAS, Washington's increased interest in the affairs of
the colony led him to seek a seat in the House of Burgesses; and
WHEREAS, As tension with England increased, years later he
became a delegate to the First Continental Congress; and
WHEREAS, The Second Continental Congress, assembled in
Philadelphia in May 1775 and presided over by John Hancock,
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
elected George Washington to become the first Commander of the
Continental Army; and
WHEREAS, After his failed petition to Congress to form a
national navy, on the brink of the American Revolutionary War,
Washington commissioned six privately owned schooners, later to
be known as Washington's Secret Navy, to intercept incoming
British ships carrying much-needed supplies; and
WHEREAS, The schooners flew the Washington Cruises Flag,
sometimes referred to as the Liberty Tree Flag, which was a
white flag with an evergreen tree in the middle and the words
"An Appeal to Heaven" stitched across it; and
WHEREAS, The phrase "appeal to heaven," thought to have been
originated by John Locke, was popular prior to and during the
American Revolution because it represented to the colonists
trust in God to deliver them from the tyrannical acts of the
British government; and
WHEREAS, Washington's Secret Navy captured a British
brigantine loaded with an abundance of supplies and was so
successful that it inspired the creation of the United States
Navy as we know it today; and
WHEREAS, George Washington served as a general and commander
in chief of the colonial armies during the American Revolution;
and
WHEREAS, Because of George Washington's strategy,
Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at
Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781; and
WHEREAS, In 1787, George Washington served as the presiding
officer of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia after
being elected as a delegate to that convention; and
WHEREAS, Following the ratification of the new Constitution,
20160HR0686PN2829 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
Washington was elected the first president of the United States
by a unanimous vote of the Electoral College and served from
1789 to 1797; and
WHEREAS, George Washington spent his first term establishing
the administrative features of the executive branch, including
the President's cabinet and the departmental agencies of the
Federal Government; and
WHEREAS, The new nation quickly adopted his procedures, ideas
and knowledge regarding the running of a new government, many of
which are still followed today; and
WHEREAS, Washington was a natural leader and was instrumental
in creating a united nation out of a conglomeration of
struggling colonies and territories; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
birth of George Washington and honor the contributions he made
to this nation.
20160HR0686PN2829 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16