[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 120, 109th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8001--APR. 13, 2006
Proclamation 8001 of April 13, 2006
Thomas Jefferson Day, 2006
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Today, we celebrate the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. Few individuals
have shaped the course of human events as much as this proud son of
Virginia. His achievements are extraordinary: Governor of Virginia,
author of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, Secretary of
State, third President of the United States, and founder of the
University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson was also a scholar, author,
farmer, inventor, and architect. As President, Thomas Jefferson secured
the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, which doubled the
size of the United States and extended opportunity and prosperity to
many more Americans.
Thomas Jefferson was an eloquent and powerful champion of liberty. He
captured the American creed when he wrote in a private letter: ``I have
sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of
tyranny over the mind of man.'' And in one of the most important public
documents in history, Jefferson wrote these words: ``We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'' The Declaration
of Independence has become a cornerstone for those who love freedom and
justice.
More than eight decades later, Abraham Lincoln returned to the words and
meaning of the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln knew that in the
distant future people would look upon it and ``take courage to

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renew the battle which their fathers began--so that truth, and justice,
and mercy . . . might not be extinguished from the land.'' A century
after Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., called the Declaration of
Independence a ``promissory note to which every American was to fall
heir.''
The Declaration of Independence has become a standard by which other
nations and peoples measure their progress in the effort to advance
human freedom. Even nations that are not yet free pay homage to freedom,
and it is seen as a universal human good.
Our Nation is vastly different than it was during the days of our
founding--yet our commitment to America's founding truths remains strong
and steady. Our duty is to continue to fulfill the promise of Thomas
Jefferson's words and vision of a better life for all people. Meeting
that responsibility is the best way we can honor the memory of the man
who was an architect of the freest Nation on Earth.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
laws of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim April 13, 2006,
as Thomas Jefferson Day. I encourage all Americans to join in
celebrating Thomas Jefferson's achievements, reflecting on his words,
and learning more about this extraordinary man's influence on American
history and ideals.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of
April, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.
GEORGE W. BUSH