Legacy of American Liberty

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGUIRE. Mr. Speaker, imagine riding 40 miles through dark Virginia woods to save the American Revolution.

In June 1781, militia Captain Jack Jouett did just that, galloping from Louisa County in the Fifth District to Monticello, also in the Fifth District, to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson of an impending British capture. Jouett's warning saved Jefferson and the general assembly in Charlottesville, preserving our young Nation's leadership.

These heroes are deeply tied to Virginia's historic Fifth Congressional District, which still includes Albemarle and Louisa County today.

In 1789, the Fifth District hosted a legendary race: James Madison, the father of the Constitution, campaigned against his friend and neighbor, James Monroe, the Revolutionary War veteran who was the father of the Monroe Doctrine. Madison won, becoming Virginia Fifth District's very first Representative.

From Jack Jouett's courage to the vision of three Presidents, the legacy of American liberty was forged right here in Virginia's Fifth Congressional District. A Remarkable Founding Story

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Mr. McGUIRE. Mr. Speaker, Virginia's Fifth can tell one remarkable founding story through four names.

Thomas Jefferson gave the Nation its words in the Declaration of Independence and served as Virginia's wartime Governor and our third President. He left this district with Monticello and the University of Virginia.

James Madison gave those words structure, helping shape the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Though Montpelier now sits just outside today's Fifth, his work still lives in Charlottesville through the university he helped build and lead.

James Monroe was a soldier, diplomat, Governor, and the fifth President. He gave us the Monroe Doctrine, and he carried that work forward from his Albemarle home, Highland.

Jack Jouett rode through the night from Louisa to Charlottesville to warn Jefferson and save Virginia's leadership from capture.

Together, these Virginians helped write, defend, and steady the American experiment. It Began With Thomas Jefferson

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Mr. McGUIRE. Mr. Speaker, Virginia's Fifth Congressional District began with Thomas Jefferson. He gave independence its voice as the principal author of the Declaration, then helped secure liberty again through the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the founding of the University of Virginia.

Beside him stood James Madison, Jefferson's close collaborator and the Nation's constitutional architect. Known as the father of the Constitution, Madison helped win ratification through the Federalist Papers and then steered the Bill of Rights through Congress.

James Monroe carried that Virginia legacy from soldier to statesman. A Continental Army veteran, he later helped to negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, presided over the Era of Good Feelings, and gave American diplomacy a landmark win in the Monroe Doctrine.

Connecting them all is militia Captain Jack Jouett, whose overnight warning in 1781 helped Jefferson and Virginia leaders escape British capture, protecting the cause these Founders were still building.

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