,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #aajd  ,,in ,,the ,,house    
,,of ,,representatives  ,september #aa1 
#bjbj,ms4 ,norton submitted the         
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on ,oversight and    
,reform  ,,resolution  ,recognizing the 
historic abolitionist events surrounding
 the ,pearl1 and honoring its legacy in 
,american history4  ,whereas1 on ,april 
#af1 #ahdh1 #gg slaves attempted to flee
 the ,district of ,columbia and         
,alexandria1 ,virginia1 on the ,pearl1 a
 schooner waiting for them in the       
,potomac ,river2 ,whereas1 on ,april    
#ad1 #ahdh1 three ,white men brought the
 ship to the ,district of ,columbia1 and
 ,daniel ,drayton1 the captain and owner
 of the ,pearl1 chartered the schooner  
for #ajj and arranged for the slaves'   
travel2 ,whereas the escape was         
initiated by free ,blacks ,paul         
,jennings1 who had been a slave of      
,president ,james ,madison1 and ,paul   
,edmonson2 ,whereas ,william ,chaplin1 a

 ,white abolitionist1 assisted in       
connecting the slaves with ,drayton2    
,whereas abolitionist ,gerrit ,smith of 
,new ,york financed the escape2 ,whereas
 #gg slaves1 including men1 women1 and  
children1 sailed on the ,pearl down the 
,potomac ,river and then into           
,chesapeake ,bay in pursuit of freedom2 
,whereas1 on ,april #ag1 #ahdh1 numerous
 slaveholders in the ,district of       
,columbia1 realizing their slaves had   
disappeared1 sent a posse of #ce men to 
seek the ,pearl2 ,whereas the posse met 
the ,pearl near ,point ,lookout1        
,maryland1 and took the slaves and the  
ship back to the ,district of ,columbia2
 ,whereas slavery supporters formed a   
mob and lashed out at both the ,white   
abolitionists involved in the escape as 
well as free ,blacks in the ,district of
 ,columbia in the ,washington ,riot of  
#ahdh2 ,whereas the owners of the       
escaped slaves sold the escapees to     
slave traders who took them to ,new     
,orleans1 ,louisiana2 ,whereas two of   

the escapees were purchased and freed in
 an effort led by ,henry ,ward          
,beecher's ,plymouth ,congregational    
,church of ,brooklyn1 ,new ,york2       
,whereas ,drayton and two of the other  
ship workers were arrested for helping  
in the escape and were represented in   
court by ,congressman ,horace ,mann2    
,whereas two of the men1 including      
,drayton1 after serving four years in   
prison1 were released after being       
granted a pardon from ,president        
,millard ,fillmore1 based on a          
recommendation from ,senator ,charles   
,sumner2 and ,whereas the escape is said
 to be the single largest known slave   
escape in ,american history and to have 
inspired ,harriet ,beecher ,stowe in her
 writing the novel ,uncle ,tom's ,cabin3
 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,house
 of ,representatives honors the legacy  
of those furthering freedom involved in 
the ,pearl incident and recognizes their
 importance to the history of the       
,district of ,columbia and throughout   

the country4