[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 86 (Monday, May 4, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26589-26590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09644]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 85 , No. 86 / Monday, May 4, 2020 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 26589]]


                Proclamation 10018 of April 29, 2020

                
Law Day, U.S.A., 2020

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                More than 230 years ago, the Founding Fathers of our 
                Nation crafted a revolutionary and unique form of 
                Government rooted in the rule of law. Today, we 
                continue to enjoy liberty, justice, and equality under 
                the law as set forth and preserved in our Constitution. 
                On Law Day, we celebrate the distinctive framework of 
                our system of Government, which secures individual 
                liberties and protects against arbitrary exercise of 
                government power so that all citizens have the right 
                and the freedom to pursue their American Dream.

                In arguing for the ratification of our Constitution, 
                James Madison wisely recognized that in a government 
                ``administered by men over men, the great difficulty 
                lies in this: you must first enable the government to 
                control the governed; and in the next place oblige it 
                to control itself.'' The Framers understood the 
                inherent dangers of consolidated government power and 
                that, in order for our Republic to survive, the power 
                to make, execute, and interpret laws could not be 
                vested in one individual or one institution. They knew 
                that ``ambition must be made to counteract ambition,'' 
                and accordingly devised an arrangement whereby separate 
                and coequal branches share the power of the Federal 
                Government, each limiting and checking the prerogatives 
                of the others. They also created a system of enumerated 
                powers for the Federal Government, reserving all other 
                powers to the States. In doing so, the Framers limited 
                the powers of the Federal Government and preserved a 
                place of prominence for State and local lawmaking, 
                which they rightly believed to be more responsive to 
                the unique needs of each community.

                This year also marks both the 150th anniversary of the 
                ratification of the 15th Amendment, which prohibited 
                denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or 
                previous condition of servitude, and the 100th 
                anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, 
                which prohibited denial of the right to vote based on 
                sex. The women and men who fought to win a voice for 
                people of color and women in the electoral process 
                strengthened our Union and helped the country better 
                fulfill the founding promise of our Nation--that the 
                power to enact and enforce laws be truly derived ``from 
                the consent of the governed.'' As we mark these 
                milestones, we pay tribute to the courageous spirit of 
                the trailblazers who made this achievement possible, 
                and take inspiration from their righteous struggle as 
                we continue working to root out and destroy injustice.

                We know that our Republic can continue to shine as a 
                beacon of liberty only if Americans diligently defend 
                our Constitution and ensure that its limits are 
                strongly enforced. My Administration has sought to 
                simplify and streamline America's statutory and 
                regulatory code, checking encroachments by government 
                on individual liberty and unleashing the spirit of 
                genius and innovation that has made America the freest 
                and most prosperous country in the world. Furthermore, 
                one of my top priorities as President has been to 
                nominate and appoint judges who are faithful to the 
                proper role of the judiciary--to interpret the law, not 
                to make it. In all of these efforts, we aim to ensure 
                that the Government can continue to perform

[[Page 26590]]

                its fundamental responsibility to the American people, 
                articulated in the Preamble of the Constitution, to 
                ``secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our 
                posterity.''

                On this Law Day, I urge all Americans to honor our 
                shared inheritance of respect for the principles of the 
                rule of law, limited government, and individual 
                liberty. Let us rededicate ourselves to remaining ever 
                vigilant in defending our rights secured by the 
                Constitution so that our experiment in self-government 
                continues in perpetuity.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, in accordance with Public Law 
                87-20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2020, as 
                Law Day, U.S.A. I urge all Americans, including 
                government officials, to observe this day by reflecting 
                upon the importance of the rule of law in our Nation 
                and displaying the flag of the United States in support 
                of this national observance; and I especially urge the 
                legal profession, the press, and the radio, television, 
                and media industries to promote and to participate in 
                the observance of this day.

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

[FR Doc. 2020-09644
Filed 5-1-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P