[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 130, 114th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9554 of December 14, 2016

Bill of Rights Day, 2016

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

After much debate and deliberation among the Framers, the first 10
Amendments to our Constitution were written to reflect a compromise
between preserving the rights of individual citizens and supporting a
strong and secure Federal Government. Since its ratification on December
15, 1791, the Bill of Rights has enshrined many of our most fundamental
liberties and unalienable rights--including the freedoms of speech,
worship, and assembly; the rights to trial by jury and due process, and
the protections from unreasonable search and seizure and cruel and
unusual punishment. For 225 years, the Bill of Rights has shaped our
Nation and protected our citizens, and today, in honor of all those who
have worked to secure these freedoms, we strive to continue forming a
more perfect Union guided by an enduring belief in these highest ideals.
As it was originally created, the Bill of Rights safeguarded personal
liberties and ensured equal justice under the law for many--but not for
all. In the centuries that followed its ratification, courageous
Americans agitated and sacrificed to extend these rights to more people,
moving us closer to ensuring opportunity and equality are not limited by
one's race, sex, or circumstances. The desire and capacity to forge our
own destinies have propelled us forward at every turn in history. The
same principles that drove patriots to choose revolution over tyranny, a
country to cast off the stains of slavery, women to reach for the
ballot, and workers to organize for their rights still remind us that
our freedom is intertwined with the freedom of others. If we are to
ensure the sacred ideals embodied in the Bill of Rights are afforded to
everyone, each generation must do what those who came before them

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have done and recommit to holding fast to our values and protecting
these freedoms.
Two and a quarter centuries later, these 10 Constitutional Amendments
remain a symbol of one of our Nation's first successful steps in our
journey to uphold the rights of all citizens. On Bill of Rights Day, we
celebrate the long arc of progress that transformed our Nation from a
fledgling and fragile democracy to one in which civil rights are the
birthright of all Americans. This progress was never inevitable, and as
long as people remain willing to fight for justice, we can work to swing
open more doors of opportunity and carry forward a vision of liberty and
equality for generations to come.
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, 2016, 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 fourteenth day of
December, in the year of our Lord two thousand sixteen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
BARACK OBAMA