[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 199 (Friday, October 13, 2000)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 60833-60834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26539]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 199 / Friday, October 13, 2000 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 60833]]


                Proclamation 7360 of October 10, 2000

                
Eleanor Roosevelt Day, 2000

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the most influential 
                figures of the 20th century, and her life spanned some 
                of the most dramatic and challenging events in modern 
                history. Steadfast in her commitment to America, 
                democracy, and a world that honored human rights, she 
                told Americans across the Nation, ``We are on trial to 
                show what democracy means.'' Through the Great 
                Depression, two world wars, the Holocaust, the creation 
                of the United Nations, the Cold War, and the civil 
                rights movement, her singular integrity and clear moral 
                vision helped forge a better life for people around the 
                world.

                Eleanor Roosevelt was our longest-serving First Lady, 
                and her dedicated efforts as a political leader, 
                humanitarian, social activist, and journalist have made 
                her an icon to millions. During the 12 years of 
                Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Administration, she 
                traveled tirelessly around the country, listening to 
                the American people's problems, concerns, joys, and 
                fears. She saw firsthand the ravages that poverty, 
                greed, ignorance, and bigotry wreaked on the lives of 
                ordinary Americans. She advocated strongly for our 
                Nation's disadvantaged--urging an end to child labor, 
                pushing for the establishment of a minimum wage, 
                speaking out for workers' rights, confronting racial 
                discrimination in New Deal programs, and encouraging 
                greater power and independence for women in the 
                workplace.

                But perhaps her greatest achievement would come in the 
                years after her husband's death. A delegate to the 
                General Assembly of the newly created United Nations 
                from 1945 to 1951, Eleanor Roosevelt was elected 
                Chairperson of the U.N.'s Human Rights Commission in 
                1946. She played a pivotal role in drafting the 
                Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and its final 
                language vividly reflects her humanitarian ideals and 
                uncompromising commitment to the inherent worth of 
                every human being. The first article of the 
                Declaration, ``All human beings are born free and equal 
                in dignity and rights,'' set the standard by which all 
                future human rights charters would be judged.

                Whether working for the United Nations, the NAACP, the 
                Girl Scouts, the Presidential Commission on the Status 
                of Women, or the National Conference of Christians and 
                Jews, Eleanor Roosevelt devoted her boundless energy to 
                creating a world defined by respect for and dedication 
                to democratic values. She was a woman ahead of her 
                time, and her achievements transcend her generation. As 
                we seek to chart a steady course for America, 
                democracy, and human rights in this new century, we 
                need only look to her values, character, and 
                accomplishments to provide us with an unfailing moral 
                compass.

                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 October 11, 2000, the 
                anniversary of her birthday, as Eleanor Roosevelt Day. 
                I call upon government officials, educators, labor 
                leaders, employers, diplomats, human rights activists, 
                and citizens of the United States to observe this day 
                with appropriate programs and activities.

[[Page 60834]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                tenth day of October, 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. 00-26539
Filed 10-12-00; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P