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Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, That our Senators in Congress be instructed, and our Representatives requested, to use
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all proper means for the enactment of a bankrupt law, which shall be general in its
operations, for the relief of all honest debtors, and the detection of fraudulent
ones, embracing all classes of our citizens, and including all companies and corporate
bodies whatsoever, except those institutions in which a State shall be a principal
stockholder, and to the extent of the State stock therein.
1Wickliffe Kitchell introduced the resolution in the House of Representatives on February 9, 1841. The House tabled the resolution and a proposed amendment by
a vote of 44 yeas to 35 nays, with Abraham Lincoln voting yea.
Journal of the House of Representatives, of the Twelfth General Assembly of the State
of Illinois, At Their Second Session (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1840), 352-53.
Printed Transcription, 2 page(s), Journal of the House of Representatives, of the Twelfth General Assembly of the State of Illinois, At Their Second Session (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1840), 352-53