[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 182 (Tuesday, September 19, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 56771-56772]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24256]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 182 / Tuesday, September 19, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 56771]]


                Proclamation 7343 of September 17, 2000

                
Citizenship Day and Constitution Week, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                In the spring of 1787, George Washington, Benjamin 
                Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and other 
                prominent leaders gathered once again in Philadelphia 
                to offset a looming crisis in the life of our young 
                democracy. The Articles of Confederation, a blueprint 
                for government that they had hammered out in the Second 
                Continental Congress in 1777, had proved too weak and 
                ineffective to achieve a balance of power between the 
                new Federal Government and the States. Rising to this 
                fresh challenge, our founders crafted a new charter of 
                government--the United States Constitution--that has 
                proven to be a masterpiece of political philosophy.

                Wise about human nature and wary of unlimited power, 
                the authors of our Constitution created a government 
                where power resides not with one person or institution 
                but with three separate and equal branches of 
                government. It guarantees for our citizens the right 
                and responsibility to choose leaders through free 
                elections, giving Americans the means to enact 
                political change without resorting to violence, 
                insurrection, or revolution. And, with its carefully 
                crafted system of checks and balances, the Bill of 
                Rights, and its process of amendment, the Constitution 
                maintains an inspired balance between authority and 
                freedom and between the ideals of unity and individual 
                rights.

                 For more than 200 years the Constitution has provided 
                our Nation with the resilience to survive trying times 
                and the flexibility to correct past injustices. At 
                every turning point in our history, the letter and 
                spirit of the Constitution have enabled us to reaffirm 
                our union and expand the meaning of liberty. Its 
                success can be measured by the millions of people who 
                have left their homelands over the past two centuries 
                to become American citizens. Its influence can be 
                measured by the number and vigor of new democracies 
                springing up across the globe.

                In giving us the Constitution, our founders also gave 
                us a powerful example of citizenship. They were deeply 
                involved in governing our Nation and passionately 
                committed to improving our society. The rights we 
                sometimes take for granted today were secured by their 
                courage and by the blood of patriots during the 
                Revolutionary War. As we observe Citizenship Day and 
                Constitution Week, let us remember that with the many 
                gifts bestowed on us by the Constitution comes the 
                responsibility to be informed and engaged citizens; to 
                take an active role in the civic life of our 
                communities and our country; and to uphold the ideals 
                of unity and liberty that have sustained us since our 
                earliest days as a Nation.

                In commemoration of the signing of the Constitution and 
                in recognition of the importance of active, responsible 
                citizenship in preserving the Constitution's blessings 
                for our Nation, the Congress, by joint resolution of 
                February 29, 1952 (36 U.S.C. 106), designated September 
                17 as ``Citizenship Day,'' and by joint resolution of 
                August 2, 1956 (36 U.S.C. 108), requested that the 
                President proclaim the week beginning September 17 and 
                ending September 23 of each year as ``Constitution 
                Week.''

[[Page 56772]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 
                17, 2000, as Citizenship Day and September 17 through 
                September 23, 2000, as Constitution Week. I call upon 
                Federal, State, and local officials, as well as leaders 
                of civic, educational, and religious organizations, to 
                conduct meaningful ceremonies and programs in our 
                schools, houses of worship, and other community centers 
                to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of 
                the Constitution and the rights and duties of 
                citizenship. I also call on all citizens to rededicate 
                themselves to the principles of the Constitution.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 00-24256
Filed 9-18-00; 11:18 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P