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PRINTER'S NO. 3741
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 579
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY BOROWICZ, HAMM, KUZMA, PICKETT, REICHARD, KRUPA,
BANTA, KAUFFMAN, WALSH, RAPP, ZIMMERMAN AND CIRESI,
JUNE 22, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM, RECREATION AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT, JUNE 30, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Designating a day of commemoration of America's 250th birthday
in celebration of her guiding foundational principles.
WHEREAS, Celebrating 250 years since America's founding, this
legislature acknowledges and remembers the guiding and
foundational principles and truths that have established and
given birth to America's freedom and success as a nation; and
WHEREAS, The Preamble to the Declaration of Independence,
including the meaning behind and purpose of the quote, "We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness," acknowledged and enshrined into our nation's
founding document the foundational truth that inalienable rights
come from God, the Creator; and
WHEREAS, The core political beliefs of the founding fathers
included, without limitation:
(1) Ordered liberty.
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(2) Equality.
(3) Natural rights, including, without limitation,
defense of self, community and nation.
(4) Freedom of speech and press.
(5) The free exercise of religion;
and
WHEREAS, The founding fathers recognized historical events
and texts, including the Ten Commandments, the Mosaic Law, the
New Testament and the experiences of the ancient Hebrews, Greeks
and Romans, the English Common Law, the Magna Carta and the
English Bill of Rights, as a basis for American law and public
policy; and
WHEREAS, America was established as a Constitutional
Republic, establishing separation of powers and federalism under
a written constitution, thereby avoiding the fatal tendencies of
a democracy; and
WHEREAS, In moments of hardships and success, America's
people have historically turned to God, the giver of their
rights, to give thanks and seek protection and guidance; and
WHEREAS, At Cape Henry Landing in Jamestown, Virginia, in
1607, Reverend Robert Hunt and the original Jamestown settlers
erected a cross and had a prayer ceremony dedicating the new
land to the Lord in what is considered the first English
Christian worship service in America; and
WHEREAS, The Pilgrims' sail bore "God With Us," reflecting
their Bible-based beliefs, which is depicted in the United
States Capitol's Rotunda Painting, where they gathered around an
open Bible, inspiring principles such as republican government,
religious liberty and equality that characterize America; and
WHEREAS, The Pilgrims hosted the first Thanksgiving
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celebration in America to give thanks to God for bringing them
through the winter in 1621, establishing a national practice
upheld today; and
WHEREAS, The First Great Awakening, from 1730-1770, led by
leaders, including George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards and
Samuel Copper, helped provide the foundation upon which American
Independence was later erected; and
WHEREAS, In the first-ever Congress in 1774, at the
recommendation of Samuel Adams, the Reverend Jacob Duche was
asked to open the body in prayer, reading from the scriptures;
and
WHEREAS, Since America's founding, government-issued calls to
prayer have been integral to public proceedings, including 15
Continental Congress calls for fasting, humiliation, prayer and
thanksgiving, a practice continued by presidents, governors and
legislatures; and
WHEREAS, On September 12, 1782, the first American Bible,
known as the "Aitken Bible" or the "Bible of the Revolution,"
was officially approved by the Congress of the United States as
the publication of the first complete English-language Bible
printed in America; and
WHEREAS, The first American Bible is commemorated now in our
250th year as "The Day of the Bible" in America; and
WHEREAS, On April 30, 1789, President George Washington's
inauguration, arranged by 14 clergy, included religious
activities, Bible-based oath, prayers and worship services, with
one-third of his Inaugural Address reflecting God's providential
role, a tradition continued by subsequent presidents; and
WHEREAS, Beginning in 1800, weekly church services were held
in the United States Capitol building, where Thomas Jefferson
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faithfully attended services throughout the eight years of his
presidency, and other presidents, Senators and Congressmen
likewise went to church at the United States Capitol; and
WHEREAS, The Second Great Awakening in the early 19th
century, led by figures such as Harry Hoosier, Lemuel Haynes,
Andrew Bryan, Francis Asbury and Charles Finney, inspired
reforms, including abolition, temperance and women's rights; and
WHEREAS, President Abraham Lincoln's call for a day of
humiliation, fasting and prayer on March 30, 1863, focused on
correcting the spiritual condition of the American people in the
midst of the nation tearing itself apart in the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, President Lincoln called on the American people to
examine their own relationship with God and His scriptures and
conform their lives to that standard; and
WHEREAS, On February 12, 1865, Reverend Henry Highland
Garnet, the first Black American to speak in Congress,
celebrated the 13th Amendment's passage, enacted two weeks
earlier to abolish slavery; and
WHEREAS, From 1774 to the present, the government has
produced military Bibles and more than 67 versions of the Bible,
and Armed Forces prayer books have been officially distributed
to soldiers, sailors and airmen as a source of spiritual
strength and encouragement, including in every conflict from the
American War for Independence to the War on Terror; and
WHEREAS, During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt
announced the active invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6,
1944, and led the American people in a six-minute prayer for the
success of the operation and the safety of the troops who, at
that very moment, were landing under fire; and
WHEREAS, Dwight Eisenhower started the national prayer
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breakfast and added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance,
added "In God We Trust" to all currency, made "In God We Trust"
the national motto and facilitated the addition of a prayer room
in the United States Capitol; and
WHEREAS, In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., jailed in
Birmingham, Alabama, for defying a policy banning unpermitted
gatherings, penned his Letter From a Birmingham Jail, defending
nonviolent action against injustice, with historical precedents
from church leaders, reinforcing the moral and religious duty to
confront wrong; and
WHEREAS, From 1967 through 1972, the Apollo Space Program
took a total of 1,029 Bibles to the moon, of which 101 landed on
its surface; and
WHEREAS, America's history from the past 250 years has been
marked by the prevalence of faith and divine Providence, and her
history affirms a clear and firm reliance on God and the Bible;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate a day
in commemoration of America's 250th birthday in celebration of
her guiding foundational principles; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives reaffirm its
commitment to the principles upheld in the Declaration of
Independence, including that we "are endowed by the Creator with
certain unalienable Rights," and that it is "with a firm
reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually
pledge to each other our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred
Honor" in preservation of America and her next 250 years.
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