[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 41 (Monday, October 14, 1996)]
[Page 1974]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6931--German-American Day, 1996

October 5, 1996

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Germans were among the first settlers of the United States. They, 
like other immigrants to our country, came to America seeking a better 
life for themselves and their families. In building this better life, 
they have immeasurably enriched the lives of their fellow Americans.
    From the beginning of the colonial period and throughout the history 
of our republic, German Americans have contributed their intellect, 
wealth, and culture to building, defending, and improving American life. 
Organized settlement in America by Germans began as early as 1683, with 
the arrival of German Mennonites in Pennsylvania at the invitation of 
William Penn. Pennsylvania soon became the center and stronghold of 
German settlement throughout colonial times as small, vigorous 
communities spread to Maryland and the other colonies. Today, robust 
German-American communities can be found throughout the United States.
    The strength of character and personal honor so important in the 
German cultural tradition have also found their way into the core values 
of American society. More U.S. citizens can claim German heritage than 
that of any other national group. And every successive generation of 
German Americans seems to produce new heroes and heroines who earn the 
admiration of a grateful world.
    For example, Carl Schurz served as a Union General in the Civil War 
and later rose to become a distinguished American statesman, both as 
Senator from Missouri and as Secretary of the Interior. Johann Peter 
Zenger, the publisher of New York Weekly Journal in the early 18th 
century, was an early and vigorous champion of the free press in 
America. And German-born Albert Einstein made monumental and historic 
contributions to our understanding of the universe.
    Our culture has also benefited abundantly from German-American 
women. Anna Ottendorfer was a talented newspaper publisher and 
philanthropist. The four Klumpke sisters enriched American life with 
their contributions to art, medicine, music, and astronomy, while 
Lillian Blauvelt and Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler enhanced American music.
    America has welcomed Germans in search of civic freedoms, and their 
idealism has reinforced what was best in their new country. German-
American men and women have contributed immensely to the fabric of our 
Nation, and it is appropriate that we pause to honor their important 
role in building our country.
    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 Sunday, 
October 6, 1996, as German-American Day. I encourage Americans 
everywhere to recognize and celebrate the contributions that millions of 
people of German ancestry have made to our Nation's liberty, democracy, 
and prosperity.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of 
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., October 9, 
1996]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
10.