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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Presidential libraries serve a vital purpose by |
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advancing knowledge of individuals who helped to shape this nation; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Combining the functions of archives, museums, and |
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academic institutions, presidential libraries house artifacts and |
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documents while offering a public place for the study and |
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discussion of a president's policies and place in history; Sam |
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Houston, the first and third president of the Republic of Texas, is |
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an especially apt subject for such a library; and |
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WHEREAS, A veteran of the War of 1812, Sam Houston served in |
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Tennessee as attorney general of the District of Nashville, as |
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major general of the state militia, as United States |
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representative, and ultimately, as governor; after settling in |
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Texas, he was a signatory to the Texas Declaration of Independence; |
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he led the army of Texas as major general and defeated the Mexican |
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army in the Battle of San Jacinto; this hero of independence was |
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elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas in 1836, and |
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he represented San Augustine in the Congress of the Republic of |
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Texas before serving a second term as president; from 1846 to 1859, |
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he was a United States senator, and he won election as governor of |
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Texas in 1859; and |
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WHEREAS, The campus of Sam Houston State University in |
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Huntsville is already home to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, |
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which has many of the attributes of a successful presidential |
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library, including exhibition and conference space, a theater, and |
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a collection of some 12,000 Houston artifacts, such as manuscripts, |
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books, and furnishings related to his life and times, and two of |
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Houston's homes are located on the grounds; the development of a |
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presidential library with dedicated research space would attract |
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further donations of academic papers and other important materials |
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regarding Mr. Houston; and |
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WHEREAS, Establishing a presidential library for Sam Houston |
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at Sam Houston State University, whose motto is "The Measure of a |
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Life Is Its Service," would greatly enhance scholarly knowledge and |
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heighten public awareness of his enormous contributions to the |
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founding of the Republic of Texas and of the Lone Star State; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby express support for the creation of the Sam Houston Republic |
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of Texas Presidential Library at Sam Houston State University. |