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H. 3756

STATUS INFORMATION

House Resolution
Sponsors: Rep. Harrell
Document Path: l:\council\bills\gjk\20203sd07.doc

Introduced in the House on March 21, 2007
Adopted by the House on March 21, 2007

Summary: Virginia Charter, and the Commonwealth of Virginia

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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   3/21/2007  House   Introduced and adopted HJ-26

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

3/21/2007

TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND HONOR THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ISSUANCE OF THE FIRST VIRGINIA CHARTER OVER FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO WHICH MAY BE THOUGHT OF AS THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF AMERICA CIVILIZATION AND TO EXTEND CONGRATULATIONS AND BEST WISHES TO OUR SISTER STATE, THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, IN COMMEMORATION OF THIS HISTORIC EVENT.

Whereas, the members of the House of Representatives of South Carolina are pleased to note that on April 10, 1606, England's King James I issued the 1606 First Virginia Charter creating the Virginia Company and authorizing eight Englishmen to colonize into "that part of America commonly called Virginia"; and

Whereas, Virginia referred to a vast territory often called the Continent of Virginia and lying between thirty-four and forty-five degrees North Latitude, which today would stretch from South Carolina to Canada and include all lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast; and

Whereas, technically a patent or limited charter, the 1606 First Virginia Charter, which may be thought of as the birth certificate of American civilization, established the Virginia Company, a unique missionary, exploration, and business venture during the English Reformation; and

Whereas, the 1606 Virginia Charter stated that the Virginia Company, which existed from 1606 to 1624, promoted the spreading of Christianity overseas by "accepting of their desires to the furtherance of so noble a work... in propagating of Christian religion"; and

Whereas, the 1606 Virginia Charter extended to North America the common law principles of the Magna Carta, guaranteeing that all legal residents of Virginia "shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises and immunities... as if they had been abiding and born within this our realm of England"; and

Whereas, the first permanent settlements of English-speaking people were founded in the New World as a direct result of the 1606 Virginia Charter, including the 1607 settlement at Jamestown, the 1611 Citie of Henricus, and the 1620 settlement at Plimouth; and

Whereas, the Virginia Company, adhering to the Reformation precepts of freedom of the press, religion, and speech, initiated America's first representative legislative assembly, which convened in the Jamestown Island Church from July 31 to August 4, 1619; and

Whereas, the assembly that gathered in 1619 opened with a prayer and an oath, the equivalent of a pledge of allegiance, and enacted the founding of America's first college campus to be along the James River at the 1611 Citie of Henricus; and

Whereas, on May 17, 1959, the Virginia State Bar dedicated a plaque at Jamestown honoring that the 1606 Virginia Charter's "principles have inspired the development of our system of freedom under law, which is at once our dearest possession and proudest achievement"; and

Whereas, in 1994-1995, the Virginia General Assembly and Governor enacted legislation requiring that all public school children learn about the three Virginia Charters of 1606, 1609, and 1612, so that they may better understand the heritage of freedoms they enjoy; and

Whereas, the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina would like to add its voice to the list of those recognizing and commemorating this historic event over four hundred years ago. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives acknowledge and honor the importance of the issuance of the First Virginia Charter over four hundred years ago which may be thought of as the birth certificate of America civilization and extend congratulations and best wishes to our sister state, the Commonwealth of Virginia, in commemoration of this historic event.

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