[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 127, 113th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 9070--DEC. 13, 2013

Proclamation 9070 of December 13, 2013

Bill of Rights Day, 2013
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
When America's Founders declared our independence, they set forth an
idea that became our Nation's defining creed: ``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.'' They understood that while
these truths have always been self-evident, they have never been self-
executing. After 15 years of democratic experimentation and national
debate, the Bill of Rights came into force, touching off a long journey
to carve America's highest ideals into enduring, enforceable law.
The Bill of Rights is the foundation of American liberty, securing our
most fundamental rights--from the freedom to speak, assemble, and
practice our faith as we please to the protections that ensure justice
under the law. For almost two and a quarter centuries, these 10
Constitutional Amendments have served as a basis from which civil
society could grow and flourish. They have encouraged innovation and
defended Americans who questioned, challenged, and dared our Nation to
be greater.
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, ``I am not an advocate for frequent changes
in laws and constitutions, but laws and constitutions must go hand in
hand with the progress of the human mind.'' Our liberties opened heated
debate over the questions of citizenship and human rights, driving
progress in the American mind. We learned that our Nation, built on the
principles of freedom and equality, could not survive half-slave and
half-free. We resolved that our daughters must have the same rights, the
same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons,
and that if we are truly created equal, then the love we commit to one
another must be equal as well. Americans with disabilities tore down
legal and social barriers; disenfranchised farm-

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workers united to claim
their rights to dignity, fairness, and a living wage; civil rights
activists marched, bled, and gave their lives to bring the era of
segregation to an end. As we celebrate the anniversary of the Bill of
Rights, let us reach for a day when we all may enjoy the basic truths of
liberty and equality.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim December 15, 2013, as
Bill of Rights Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark
this observance with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
eighth.
BARACK OBAMA