[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 198 (Thursday, October 10, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 53295-53296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26226]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 198 / Thursday, October 10, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 53295]]


                Proclamation 6931 of October 5, 1996

                
German-American Day, 1996

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Germans were among the first settlers of the United 
                States. They, like other immigrants to our country, 
                came to America seeking a better life for themselves 
                and their families. In building this better life, they 
                have immeasurably enriched the lives of their fellow 
                Americans.

                From the beginning of the colonial period and 
                throughout the history of our republic, German 
                Americans have contributed their intellect, wealth, and 
                culture to building, defending, and improving American 
                life. Organized settlement in America by Germans began 
                as early as 1683, with the arrival of German Mennonites 
                in Pennsylvania at the invitation of William Penn. 
                Pennsylvania soon became the center and stronghold of 
                German settlement throughout colonial times as small, 
                vigorous communities spread to Maryland and the other 
                colonies. Today, robust German-American communities can 
                be found throughout the United States.

                The strength of character and personal honor so 
                important in the German cultural tradition have also 
                found their way into the core values of American 
                society. More U.S. citizens can claim German heritage 
                than that of any other national group. And every 
                successive generation of German Americans seems to 
                produce new heroes and heroines who earn the admiration 
                of a grateful world.

                For example, Carl Schurz served as a Union General in 
                the Civil War and later rose to become a distinguished 
                American statesman, both as Senator from Missouri and 
                as Secretary of the Interior. Johann Peter Zenger, the 
                publisher of New York Weekly Journal in the early 18th 
                century, was an early and vigorous champion of the free 
                press in America. And German-born Albert Einstein made 
                monumental and historic contributions to our 
                understanding of the universe.

                Our culture has also benefited abundantly from German-
                American women. Anna Ottendorfer was a talented 
                newspaper publisher and philanthropist. The four 
                Klumpke sisters enriched American life with their 
                contributions to art, medicine, music, and astronomy, 
                while Lillian Blauvelt and Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler 
                enhanced American music.

                America has welcomed Germans in search of civic 
                freedoms, and their idealism has reinforced what was 
                best in their new country. German-American men and 
                women have contributed immensely to the fabric of our 
                Nation, and it is appropriate that we pause to honor 
                their important role in building our country.

                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 Sunday, October 6, 1996, as 
                German-American Day. I encourage Americans everywhere 
                to recognize and celebrate the contributions that 
                millions of people of German ancestry have made to our 
                Nation's liberty, democracy, and prosperity.

[[Page 53296]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen 
                hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
                first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 96-26226
Filed 10-9-96; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P