00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 9                                                                    
01 Honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and                                    
02 celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America.                                                         
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the Declaration of Independence was signed in Philadelphia,                                             
05 Pennsylvania, on July 4, 1776, a date that is recognized as the birthday of the United States of                        
06 America; and                                                                                                            
07 WHEREAS the 56 patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence are John                                           
08 Adams, Samuel Adams, Josiah Bartlett, Carter Braxton, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Samuel                             
09 Chase, Abraham Clark, George Clymer, William Ellery, William Floyd, Benjamin Franklin,                                  
10 Elbridge Gerry, Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, John Hancock, Benjamin Harrison, John Hart,                                
11 Joseph Hewes, Thomas Heyward, Jr., William Hooper, Stephen Hopkins, Francis Hopkinson,                                  
12 Samuel Huntington, Thomas Jefferson, Francis Lightfoot Lee, Richard Henry Lee, Francis                                  
13 Lewis, Philip Livingston, Thomas Lynch, Jr., Thomas McKean, Arthur Middleton, Lewis                                     
14 Morris, Robert Morris, John Morton, Thomas Nelson, Jr., William Paca, Robert Treat Paine,                               
15 John Penn, George Read, Ceasar Rodney, George Ross, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Edward                                           
16 Rutledge, Roger Sherman, James Smith, Richard Stockton, Thomas Stone, George Taylor,                                    

01 Matthew Thornton, George Walton, William Whipple, William Williams, James Wilson, John                                  
02 Witherspoon, Oliver Wolcott, and George Wythe; and                                                                      
03 WHEREAS the Declaration of Independence outlines the founding principles of the                                       
04 United States of America by declaring "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men                            
05 are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that                         
06 among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"; and                                                        
07       WHEREAS signing the Declaration of Independence was a critical part of the                                      
08 Revolutionary War, which ended when the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783,                                
09 and granted the United States of America independence from Great Britain; and                                           
10 WHEREAS over the past 250 years there have been many efforts to expand the rights                                     
11 of all citizens to uphold that self-evident truth, including ending slavery, expanding voting                           
12 rights to women and citizens of all races, expanding civil rights for all citizens, pursuing equal                      
13 rights by ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment, continuing efforts to respect and                                       
14 acknowledge the Indigenous communities who, for thousands of years, have stewarded the                                  
15 land that comprises the United States, and much more; and                                                               
16 WHEREAS July 4, 2026, will be the 250th anniversary of the signing of the                                             
17 Declaration of Independence;                                                                                            
18 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature honors the 250th anniversary of                                      
19 the Declaration of Independence and the 250th birthday of the United States of America and                              
20 encourages residents of the state to celebrate this milestone.