Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this week people all across our Nation are engaging in the oldest known observance of the ending of slavery-- ``Juneteenth Independence Day.'' Although passage of the 13th Amendment, in January 1863, legally abolished slavery, many African Americans remained in servitude due to the delayed dissemination of this news across the country. It was in June of 1865, that the Union soldiers landed in Galveston, TX, with the news that the war had ended and that slavery finally had come to an end in the United States. This was 2\1/2\ years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued on January 1, 1863, and months after the conclusion of the Civil War. This week and specifically on June 19, when slaves in the Southwest finally learned of the end of slavery, the descendants of slaves have observed this anniversary of emancipation as a remembrance of one of the most tragic periods of our Nation's history. The suffering, degradation and brutality of slavery cannot be repaired, but the memory can serve to ensure that no such inhumanity is ever perpetrated again on American soil. Today, I am very pleased that the Senate has unanimously adopted a resolution, S. Res. 496, recognizing the historical significance of Juneteenth Independence Day to the Nation.…”