[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 23, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 43435-43436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-20872]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 23, 1994]


  
  43283
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Part VII





The President





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Proclamation 6715--
Women's Equality Day, 1994



Executive Order 12924--Continuation of Export Control Regulations


                        Presidential Documents 


Federal Register
Vol. 59, No. 162
Tuesday, August 23, 1994

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Title 3--
The President
                Proclamation 6715 of August 18, 1994

 
Women's Equality Day, 1994

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Seventy-four years ago, the 19th Amendment was 
                ratified, granting women the right to vote after many 
                years of painstaking struggle and hard work by 
                courageous suffragists. Empowered by the efforts of the 
                brave and pioneering women who came before them, women 
                today have secured positions as leaders in industry, 
                government, and academia. They serve as role models in 
                every aspect of our society.

                The 19th Amendment did more than secure the right to 
                vote for women. It recognized and affirmed the 
                fundamental principle upon which this great Nation was 
                founded--equality--``that all [persons] are created 
                equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with 
                certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, 
                Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'' The 
                ratification of the 19th Amendment was an important 
                step toward ensuring that the civil and political 
                rights guaranteed by the Constitution would truly be 
                the equal rights of all Americans.

                By recognizing this previously disenfranchised segment 
                of our society, the 19th Amendment became one of the 
                landmark civil rights laws in America, standing side by 
                side with the Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th, 
                14th, and 15th Amendments. This year also marks the 4th 
                anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the 
                30th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as 
                well as the 40th anniversary of Brown v. Board of 
                Education. These laws and that pivotal decision, along 
                with the 19th Amendment, have marked the history of our 
                Nation's progress in guaranteeing that every member of 
                our society is treated equally under the law.

                We observe ``Women's Equality Day'' to commemorate the 
                ratification of the 19th Amendment almost three-
                quarters of a century ago. As we do so, we also honor 
                the important contributions and achievements of women 
                in this country, and we commit ourselves anew to 
                fulfilling our obligation to promote equality for all 
                Americans.

                The famous woman suffragist, Helen H. Gardener, advised 
                the Congress in calling for passage of the 19th 
                Amendment:

                Let us either stop our pretence before the nations of 
                the earth of being a republic and having ``equality 
                before the law'' or else let us become the republic we 
                pretend to be.

                To further celebrate and commemorate the 19th Amendment 
                this year, let us not take for granted our precious 
                right to vote, and let us rededicate ourselves to 
                removing the barriers that remain in women's paths.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 1994, as Women's 
                Equality Day. I call upon the citizens of our great 
                Nation to observe this day with appropriate programs 
                and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                eighteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and nineteenth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)>

[FR Doc. 94-20872
Filed 8-19-94; 5:12 pm]
Billing code 3195-01-P