Birthday of Founding Father Caesar Rodney
| Published date | 14 October 2020 |
| Citation | 85 FR 65181 |
| Record Number | 2020-22907 |
| Section | Presidential Documents |
| Court | Executive Office Of The President |
Federal Register, Volume 85 Issue 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 199 (Wednesday, October 14, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 65181-65183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22907]
[[Page 65179]]
Vol. 85
Wednesday,
No. 199
October 14, 2020
Part III
The President
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Proclamation 10096--Birthday of Founding Father Caesar Rodney
Proclamation 10097--Leif Erikson Day, 2020
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 85 , No. 199 / Wednesday, October 14, 2020 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 65181]]
Proclamation 10096 of October 6, 2020
Birthday of Founding Father Caesar Rodney
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Today is the 292nd birthday of Founding Father Caesar
Rodney. Rodney was a soldier, a sheriff, a justice on
the Delaware Supreme Court, a delegate from Delaware to
the Continental Congress, a Brigadier General in the
Continental Army, and a signer of the Declaration of
Independence. He is an American legend.
Rodney rode into American history when, despite
suffering from cancer and asthma, he traveled 80 miles
overnight from Dover to Philadelphia through a raging
thunderstorm in time to cast Delaware's deciding vote
for independence on July 2, 1776. His heroic act helped
ensure that the Declaration of Independence would be
passed unanimously. Upon entering Independence Hall,
Rodney is said to have uttered these words: ``As I
believe the voice of my constituents and all sensible
and honest men is in favor of independence, and as my
own judgment concurs with them, I give my vote for
independence.''
Rodney was not just a Founding Father, he was a fighter
for American freedom, serving under the command of
General George Washington at Trenton during the
Revolution. Washington bestowed his ``sincerest
thanks'' for Rodney's service, commending his character
as deserving of the ``highest honor'' and describing
his devotion to the American cause as ``the most
distinguished.''
After the Revolution, Rodney continued to fight through
cancer and serve the State of Delaware as Speaker of
the Upper House of its General Assembly. As the years
went by, Rodney's cancer grew worse. Finally, he became
so weak that he could not travel to participate in the
legislative session. But Rodney's presence was so
significant and his statesmanship was so revered by his
fellow colleagues that they would not proceed without
him and voted to meet at Rodney's own home so that he
could still lead them from his bed.
For more than two centuries, Delaware honored the
patriotism and sacrifice of Caesar Rodney. In 1934,
Delaware donated a statue of Caesar Rodney holding the
Declaration of Independence to the United States
Capitol. In 1976, the State issued a postage stamp
commemorating Caesar Rodney to celebrate the
bicentennial, and the Delaware Bicentennial Commission
published an entire history of Rodney's life,
proclaiming him ``Delaware's hero for all times and all
seasons,'' ``the patron saint of his native state,''
and ``Delaware's principal hero of the American
Revolutionary War.'' The 1999 State Quarter of Delaware
bears Caesar Rodney's image. At the University of
Delaware, students live in Caesar Rodney Residence
Hall. Boy Scouts in Delaware travel the historic Caesar
Rodney Trail. Each year, Delaware residents participate
in the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon and 5K. In Camden,
both the High School and School District are named
after Caesar Rodney, and one can drive down Caesar
Rodney Avenue.
Even the Federal Government has taken action to
preserve the memory of Caesar Rodney and honor the
history of Rodney's ride for independence. In 2013,
President Obama designated the First State National
Monument in Delaware, which protected as an object of
``historic interest'' the very
[[Page 65182]]
assembly room where Caesar Rodney introduced a bill to
prohibit the importation of slaves into Delaware and
where Rodney presided as Speaker when the Delaware
Assembly declared independence from the British Crown
in 1776. At the First State National Monument, park
officials tell the story of Caesar Rodney's 18-hour
ride through severe storms to vote for the Declaration
of Independence.
But today, the memory and remarkable history of Caesar
Rodney's midnight ride is at risk of being erased
forever. In the center of downtown Wilmington, Delaware
is Rodney Square, named after Caesar Rodney. Until
recently, a majestic equestrian statue of Caesar Rodney
riding to Philadelphia had stood there for nearly a
century. In 2011, Rodney Square and the Caesar Rodney
Equestrian Statue were placed on the National Register
of Historic Places after the State of Delaware
nominated them for the honor. The nomination notes
that, at the time of its design, the Caesar Rodney
Equestrian Statue was ``considered by many sculptors to
be one of the most beautiful equestrian statues in the
world.'' But, on June 12, 2020, the Caesar Rodney
Equestrian Statue was removed as part of an ongoing,
radical purge of America's founding generation.
The empty pedestal in Rodney Square in Wilmington is
the end result of an extreme anti-American historical
revisionism propagated by organizations like the New
York Times and its 1619 Project, critical race
theorists on college campuses, cancel culture adherents
in corporate boardrooms, and flag-burning mobs on city
streets who seek to reframe our Nation's history around
the idea that the United States is not an exceptional
country but an evil one. Caesar Rodney is an early
casualty of these reckless ``re-education'' attempts
that, if allowed to progress, will erase the names of
every one of the heroes of 1776 from American memory
and blot out their noble legacy from the history books.
The students of Howard Zinn and the 1619 Project have
already pledged to remove the Jefferson Memorial and
the Washington Monument next. If Caesar Rodney cannot
be defended, then there is no principle by which the
other signers of the Declaration can be shielded from
similar eradication.
Radicals will continue their efforts to tear down our
Founding Fathers until Americans demand that it stop
and demand that the truth of American history be once
again taught in our schools. That is why, on
Constitution Day, I announced the creation of a new
national commission to promote patriotic education. The
``1776 Commission'' will champion efforts to teach the
truth about America's heroic founding and make plans to
honor the 250th anniversary of the American founding.
At the White House Conference on American History, I
also announced that a statue of Caesar Rodney would be
added to the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast
outdoor park that will feature the statues of the
greatest Americans who have ever lived. As I said this
past Constitution Day, ``America will give this
Founding Father, this very brave man, who was so
horribly treated, the place of honor he deserves.''
Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of a patriot
who rode as hard and as fast as he could to pledge his
life, his fortune, and his sacred honor to the cause of
American Independence and American Freedom. On Caesar
Rodney's 292nd birthday, I proclaim that his name will
never be forgotten or removed from the record of
history and his heroic ride for independence will be
honored, preserved, and remembered for centuries to
come.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim October 7, 2020, as
the 292nd Anniversary of the birth of Caesar Rodney. I
invite the people of the United States to observe the
day in schools and churches and customary places of
meeting with appropriate ceremonies in commemoration of
the birth of Caesar Rodney.
[[Page 65183]]
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2020-22907
Filed 10-13-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P
