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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Proud members of the Republican Party of Texas are |
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celebrating the organization's 150th anniversary in 2017; and |
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WHEREAS, The Republican Party of Texas was founded at the |
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Harris County Courthouse on the Fourth of July, 1867, 13 years after |
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the national party was established and 7 years after the election of |
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the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln; former governor |
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Elisha M. Pease served as chair of that initial state convention, |
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and Colonel John L. Haynes, commander of the U.S. Army's First |
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Texas Cavalry, became the executive committee chair; the party's |
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membership in its early years was largely made up of former slaves, |
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German American immigrants, and Texans who had opposed secession |
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during the Civil War; and |
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WHEREAS, Notable early Texas Republicans included Edmund |
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J. Davis, the state's first Republican governor, Morgan |
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C. Hamilton, a Republican senator, George T. Ruby, an African |
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American state senator from Galveston, and Norris Wright Cuney, a |
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prominent African American leader and a member of the Republican |
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National Committee from 1886 to 1896; and |
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WHEREAS, The party gained strength in the Lone Star State in |
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the 20th century when Dwight Eisenhower carried Texas in the 1952 |
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presidential election, and its fortunes were boosted again in 1961 |
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when John Tower was elected to replace Lyndon Johnson in the |
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U.S. Senate; a new era began in 1978, when William P. Clements took |
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office as the first Republican governor since Reconstruction, and |
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from the 1980s to the present, Texas has been represented in the |
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U.S. Congress by a series of accomplished Republican leaders, |
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including Senators Phil Gramm, Kay Bailey Hutchison, John Cornyn, |
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and Ted Cruz, as well as numerous members of the U.S. House of |
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Representatives; Republicans have taken on an increasingly |
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prominent role in state and local government as well; the party has |
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held the governor's office since 1994, with George W. Bush, Rick |
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Perry, and Greg Abbott serving as chief executive, and Republicans |
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have swept the other statewide offices in five consecutive |
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elections and have held a majority in the Texas Senate since 1997 |
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and in the Texas House of Representatives since 2003; and |
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WHEREAS, Thanks to the tireless service and exemplary |
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leadership of countless men and women, the Republican Party |
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continues to carry forth its core goals, including limited |
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government, political and economic freedom, and strong national |
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security, and its members may indeed take great pride in their |
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invaluable contributions to our state and nation; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commemorate the |
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sesquicentennial of the Republican Party of Texas; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the Republican Party of Texas as an expression of high |
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regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |