[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 86 (Wednesday, May 3, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 25827-25828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-11142]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 3, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 25827]]


                Proclamation 7300 of April 29, 2000

                
 Loyalty Day, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In the Declaration of Independence and in the 
                Constitution, our Nation's founders first articulated 
                the enduring ideals that have sustained our democracy--
                freedom, self-determination, justice, and equality. 
                Each year we set aside this special day to reaffirm our 
                allegiance to those ideals and to our beloved country.

                The power and promise of our country's principles moved 
                men and women throughout the American colonies to 
                declare their allegiance to a new country and a new 
                form of government that respected the rights of the 
                individual. Throughout the decades, millions of 
                immigrants drawn to America's freedom proved their 
                loyalty to their adopted Nation in the words of the 
                oath of citizenship and in their daily lives--working 
                hard, striving to build a better future for their 
                families and communities, serving in our Armed Forces, 
                upholding our laws, and participating in our democracy.

                Other Americans have showed their loyalty by 
                courageously challenging our Nation to live up to its 
                ideals. We owe a profound debt to the heroes and 
                visionaries who opposed slavery, reformed labor 
                practices, won the right to vote for women, marched for 
                civil rights, and spoke out with conscience and 
                conviction whenever we have failed to uphold the 
                highest standards of freedom and justice.

                We find perhaps the strongest and most moving evidence 
                of loyalty to America in the service and sacrifice of 
                our men and women in uniform. From the War of 
                Independence to today's peacekeeping missions around 
                the world, generations of Americans have shown their 
                allegiance by defending our Nation against tyrants and 
                terrorists, protecting our national interests wherever 
                they are threatened, and promoting our values across 
                the globe.

                On this first Loyalty Day of the 21st century, all 
                Americans should give thanks that we live in a Nation 
                that inspires such fidelity. And we should remember 
                with pride the loyal patriots who have gone before us, 
                whose character and efforts built America, preserved it 
                in times of peril, and gave life to our founders' 
                dreams.

                Recognizing the importance of loyalty to the continued 
                strength of our country and success of our democracy, 
                the Congress, by Public Law 85-529, has designated May 
                1 of each year as ``Loyalty Day.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 
                2000, as Loyalty Day. I urge all Americans to recall 
                the valor and selflessness of all those who made this 
                Nation worthy of our love and loyalty and to express 
                our own loyalty through appropriate patriotic programs, 
                ceremonies, and activities. I also call upon Government 
                officials to display the flag of the United States in 
                support of this national observance.

[[Page 25828]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-11142
Filed 5-2-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P