HR0917 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0917 LRB101 21962 MST 72972 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Thaddeus Kosciuszko was a Polish-Lithuanian military engineer, statesman, and military leader who became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and the United States; he built Fortress West Point, which he suggested be used as the United States Military Academy, and devised the winning strategy for the Battle of Saratoga, which was the turning point of the American Revolution; and

WHEREAS, Thaddeus Kosciuszko fought to free the white indentured peasants of Europe; he stood up for the rights of enslaved Africans, Native Americans, Jews, women, and many others; and

WHEREAS, Thaddeus Kosciuszko set aside his salary from the American Revolution with instructions that it be used to purchase and free slaves and that money be left to provide for their education and for the purchase of land, cattle, and farming tools for them so they could support themselves in our free country; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Army has 10 bases named after confederate officers, such as Braxton Bragg, who were traitors and declared war on the United States; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the U.S. Government to rename Fort Bragg as Fort Kosciuszko in honor of Thaddeus Kosciuszko; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President of the United States, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, the U.S. Speaker of the House, the U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader, all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation, and the Kosciuszko Foundation.