[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 23, 1999)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 66093-66094]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30720]



[[Page 66091]]

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Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 7255--Thanksgiving Day, 1999
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 225 / Tuesday, November 23, 1999 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 66093]]

                Proclamation 7255 of November 20, 1999

                
Thanksgiving Day, 1999

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Well over three and a half centuries ago, strengthened 
                by faith and bound by a common desire for liberty, a 
                small band of Pilgrims sought out a place in the New 
                World where they could worship according to their own 
                beliefs. Surviving their first harsh winter in 
                Massachusetts and grateful to a merciful God for a 
                sustaining harvest, the men and women of Plymouth 
                Colony set aside three days as a time to give thanks 
                for the bounty of their fields, the fruits of their 
                labor, the chance to live in peace with their Native 
                American neighbors, and the blessings of a land where 
                they could live and worship freely.

                We have come far on our American journey since that 
                early Thanksgiving. In the intervening years, we have 
                lived through times of war and peace, years of poverty 
                and plenty, and seasons of social and political 
                upheaval that have shaped and forever changed our 
                national character and experience. As we gather around 
                our Thanksgiving tables again this year, it is a 
                fitting time to reflect on how the events of our rich 
                history have affected those we care about and those who 
                came before us. As we acknowledge the past, we do so 
                knowing that the individual blessings for which we give 
                thanks may have changed, but our gratitude to God and 
                our commitment to our fellow Americans remain constant.

                Today we count among our national blessings a time of 
                unprecedented prosperity, with an expanding economy, 
                record low rates of poverty and unemployment among our 
                people, and the limitless opportunities to improve the 
                quality of life that new technologies present to us. We 
                can give thanks today that for the first time in 
                history, more than half the world's people live under 
                governments of their own choosing. And we remain 
                grateful for the peace and freedom America continues to 
                enjoy thanks to the courage and patriotism of our men 
                and women in uniform.

                But the spirit of Thanksgiving requires more than just 
                an acknowledgement of our blessings; it calls upon us 
                to reach out and share those blessings with others. We 
                must strive to fulfill the promise of the extraordinary 
                era in which we live and enter the new century with a 
                commitment to widen the circle of opportunity, break 
                down the prejudices that alienate us from one another, 
                and build an America of understanding and inclusion, 
                strong in our diversity, responsible in our freedom, 
                and generous in sharing our bounty with those in need.

                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 Thursday, November 25, 1999, 
                as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all the 
                people of the United States to assemble in their homes, 
                places of worship, or community centers to share the 
                spirit of fellowship and prayer and to reinforce the 
                ties of family and community; to express heartfelt 
                thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed 
                upon us; and to reach out in true gratitude and 
                friendship to our brothers and sisters in the larger 
                family of humankind.

[[Page 66094]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 99-30720
Filed 11-22-99; 11:43 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P