HR1002

LRB096 21483 GRL 38127 r





  
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HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
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    WHEREAS, For almost a century, the written history of the 
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State of Illinois was formed under the French flag; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, French monetary grants, ships, officers, men, 
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arms, and supplies ensured the success of the American 
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Revolution; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Marquis de Lafayette, a French army officer, 
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outfitted, crewed, and supplied a French ship he named Victory 
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at his own expense; he then sailed the vessel to South Carolina 
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in support of the American Revolution, arriving in June of 
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1777; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, After arriving in the colonies,  Marquis de 
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Lafayette was appointed to serve as an aide to General George 
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Washington; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Marquis de Lafayette was appointed as a major 
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general  of American militia troops by General Washington; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Marquis de Lafayette was wounded by British musket 
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fire while fighting alongside General Washington during the 
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Battle of Brandywine in 1777; and
  
 
 


 






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    WHEREAS, This gallant French officer became a war hero in 
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both France and the newly-formed United States; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Of all the leading heroes of the American 
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Revolution, Marquis de Lafayette's name ranks fourth in the 
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most common geographical site names in the United States, after 
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George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson; 
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and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Following the birth of his first-born son on 
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Christmas Eve of 1779, Marquis de Lafayette named the child 
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George Washington Lafayette in honor of his friend and 
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brother-in-arms; and
 
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    WHEREAS, Marquis de Lafayette revisited the United States 
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and the State of Illinois at the invitation of President James 
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Monroe in 1824; during his visit, he was offered citizenship by 
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numerous U.S. states; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, Marquis de Lafayette was the author of the French 
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Declaration of the Rights of Man, a document based upon the 
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Declaration of Independence; he was also the man who ordered 
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the destruction of the hated French Bastille during the French 
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Revolution; and
  
 
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    WHEREAS, In honor of Marquis de Lafayette, U.S. soldiers 
 


 






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during World War I created the battle cry, "Lafayette, we are 
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here"; therefore, be it
  
 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
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designate June 7 of every year as a fete a jour day in honor of 
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Marquis de Lafayette and his courageous efforts to help our 
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nation gain independence.