[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 195 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 54029]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-27272]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 195 / Thursday, October 8, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 54029]]


                Proclamation 7133 of October 5, 1998

                
German-American Day, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                From the time our republic was born, German Americans 
                have enriched our national life and culture. Many, 
                seeking religious freedom, first settled in and around 
                Philadelphia more than 300 years ago; and to this day, 
                one of the largest neighborhoods in that city is called 
                Germantown. Throughout the colonial period, more 
                Germans arrived on these shores and made their homes 
                throughout the Thirteen Colonies. Today, almost a 
                quarter of the American people can trace their roots 
                back to Germany.

                German Americans have had an important and lasting 
                impact not only on the growth of our Nation, but also 
                on the formation of many of our deepest values. As 
                skilled and industrious farmers, German Americans have 
                shared their love for the land and a strong sense of 
                family and community. With a deep respect for education 
                and the arts, they have broadened the cultural life of 
                the communities in which they live. And, from their 
                earliest days in this country, Germans and German 
                Americans have revered freedom, as epitomized by the 
                service of General Friedrich von Steuben during 
                America's struggle for independence and by the 
                dedication of the entirely German American Provost 
                Corps which, under the command of Major Bartholomew von 
                Heer, served as General Washington's personal guard 
                unit during the Revolutionary War.

                All of us can take pride in the accomplishments of 
                German Americans--as soldiers and statesmen, scientists 
                and musicians, artisans and educators. It is fitting 
                that we set aside this special day to remember and 
                celebrate how much German Americans have done to 
                preserve our ideals, enrich our culture, and strengthen 
                our democracy.

                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 the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, October 6, 
                1998, as German-American Day. I encourage all Americans 
                to recognize and celebrate the many gifts that millions 
                of people of German descent have brought to this Nation 
                and that have enriched the lives of our citizens.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-27272
Filed 10-7-98; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P