Congress
The room where it happened: Congressmembers celebrate America250 in Philly’s Congress Hall
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle hosted a bipartisan group of lawmakers inside the historic building where the country began for a ceremonial meeting Thursday
U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle speaks at the lectern during a ceremonial gathering of members of Congress at Congress Hall in Philadelphia. Seated behind him is U.S. Rep Glenn Thompson, the chair of the session. Harrison Cann
On the eve of the nation’s semiquincentennial, 37 members of Congress celebrated the nation’s founding in the rooms where it happened.
Philadelphia U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle had long sought to take Congress on a field trip back to Independence Hall to commemorate his hometown’s role in the nation’s founding. And on Thursday, his two-year effort to bring Congress back to where it met from 1790 to 1800 culminated in a history lesson rather than a formal joint session of Congress.
While July 4 gets most of the fanfare, Boyle said July 2 deserves more attention as the day the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence from Great Britain in 1776.
“I said moments ago, ‘Welcome,’ but I could have said ‘Welcome back.’” Boyle said Thursday, noting the lengthy effort to get the event in “literally the room where it all began … It was 250 years ago on this day, July 2, that our predecessors of Congress voted for independence and voted to create the United States of America.”
And while it wasn’t a formal congressional meeting, it was no easy feat getting lawmakers together outside the Capitol and assembled at one of the country’s most historic sites. Boyle had introduced legislation last February to authorize a joint session of Congress, a bill that received bipartisan support from Alabama U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt and others serving on the America250 semiquincentennial commission – but the resolution never advanced, leaving the event to go on as an unofficial celebration.
“The promise of this country had to be fought for by generations of Americans who refused to accept that liberty and equality belong only to some. That struggle is not separable from the American story,” Boyle added. “What makes us exceptional is that for 250 years, Americans have kept fighting to bring this nation ever-closer to its founding ideals … It is my solemn wish that we, members of Congress, rededicate ourselves to the great work of this country and the noble purpose of our independence.”
Lawmakers, including fellow commonwealth representatives Madeleine Dean, Dwight Evans, Chrissy Houlahan, Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie, Mary Gay Scanlon and Glenn “GT” Thompson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Gov. Josh Shapiro and several other members of the semiquincentennial commission, met inside Congress Hall Thursday afternoon for the historical ceremony.
“The origins of our republic are traced back to Pennsylvania. The pursuit of freedom began right here in Philadelphia,” Thompson, who chaired the event, said. “It is a profound honor to gather here today with other members of the Pennsylvania delegation and representatives from across the country in the great hope of democracy.”
Thompson told City & State he was “thrilled” to preside over the event and be where the founders debated and signed the Declaration of Independence.
“It’s not perfect; it’s perfecting,” Thompson said of the American experiment. “But at the core and the center, we should be proud to be Americans.”
Several members delivered remarks before having a ceremonial signing to commemorate the semiquincentennial congressional event. The last time members of Congress met at Independence Hall in modern times was 50 years ago, in 1987, when they commemorated the 200th anniversary of the “Great Compromise” – the agreement that established the legislative branch as having two chambers.
Finding compromise – a rare occurrence in Washington, D.C., these days – was one of the driving forces behind Boyle’s efforts to bring Congress back to Philly.
“(That’s) why I wanted to bring lawmakers and my colleagues in Congress back to where it all began 250 years ago, because we do live in very partisan times,” Boyle told City & State, paraphrasing President Gerald Ford’s remarks during the bicentennial 50 years ago. “The fact that we can openly and honestly ask ourselves this question and grapple with that worry (about our nation’s future) is proof that these institutions have held that we are a free and open society that can celebrate its glorious past.”