Bill > SJR135

This resolution commemorates the 250th anniversary of the British withdrawal from Boston on Saint Patrick's Day in 1776, a significant early victory for the Patriots in the Revolutionary War, and acknowledges the crucial role of Irish Americans in the fight for independence. It highlights the contributions of figures like General John Sullivan, whose parents were Irish immigrants, and eight Irish American signatories of the Declaration of Independence, some of whom were born in Ireland, including Thomas McKean who led the Continental Congress. The resolution also recognizes the printing of the Declaration of Independence by John Dunlap, an emigrant from Northern Ireland, and the first international publication in Ireland, as well as Stephen Moylan, George Washington's Irish American aide-de-camp, who first wrote "United States of America." Furthermore, it references a British report from 1784 suggesting that Irish emigrants formed a major part of the American Army and that their valor was instrumental in winning the war, underscoring the deep connection between Irish defiance and the founding of the United States.

https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/proposals/reg/sen/joint_resolution/sjr135