HR0474 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, One of the greatest crises in the history of the United States, the Civil War, almost tore the nation apart; the leaders of the United States decided, upon the conclusion of the war, to use the life and memory of Abraham Lincoln, who had just been assassinated, as a symbol of national unity and mutual forgiveness; and

WHEREAS, Instead of using the President's death to look for conspiracies and take revenge upon the fallen Confederacy, the fallen President's administration organized a funeral train that would follow a modified version of the pathway taken by the then President-elect on his way to Washington; and

WHEREAS, The train's route from Washington to Springfield, Illinois, traveled through both a former slave state (Maryland) and 6 "free states" as a symbol of the reunification of the country; and

WHEREAS, To enable as many Americans as possible to pay tribute to Lincoln's memory, the funeral train's route was modified to make stops in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Chicago; Lincoln's funeral train became one of the first exercises of ceremonial mass participation in modern world history, with reporters seeing more than 1 million mourners line the train tracks; tens of thousands attended casket viewings held at principal railroad junctions along the route; and

WHEREAS, Lincoln's funeral train, and his return to Springfield, Illinois, are powerful symbols of the desire of all Americans for peace, reconciliation, and searching for sources of common inspiration to resolve our social, political, and economic differences; and

WHEREAS, Support for the memory of Abraham Lincoln, and for the ceremonies used to return him publicly to his hometown in central Illinois, are a powerful way for Americans to fight back against the bitterness and resentment generated by today's press and politics; and

WHEREAS, By minting a Lincoln Sesquicentennial Coin, we can continue the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and pay tribute to this great man and his efforts to keep our nation together; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee to study and make a recommendation to the United States Secretary of the Treasury on the production of a Lincoln Sesquicentennial Coin; and be it further

RESOLVED, That such a coin should be minted for circulation in April and May of 2015 in memory of President Abraham Lincoln and the reunification of the United States as symbolized by his funeral train to Springfield, Illinois and the subsequent re-enactment of his burial on the 150th anniversary of the original event on May 4, 2015; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the members of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, United States Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew, the members of Illinois delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk.