[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 41 (Monday, October 12, 1998)]
[Pages 1980-1981]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7133--German-American Day, 1998

October 5, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    From the time our republic was born, German Americans have enriched 
our national life and culture. Many, seeking religious freedom, first 
settled in and around Philadelphia more than 300 years ago; and to this 
day, one of the largest neighborhoods in that city is called Germantown. 
Throughout the colonial period, more Germans arrived on these shores and 
made their homes throughout the Thirteen Colonies. Today, almost a 
quarter of the American people can trace their roots back to Germany.
    German Americans have had an important and lasting impact not only 
on the growth of our Nation, but also on the formation of many of our 
deepest values. As skilled and industrious farmers, German Americans 
have shared their love for the land and a strong sense of family and 
community. With a deep respect for education and the arts, they have 
broadened the cultural life of the communities in which they live. And, 
from their earliest days in this country, Germans and German Americans 
have revered freedom, as epitomized by the service of General Friedrich 
von Steuben during America's struggle for independence and by the 
dedication of the entirely German American Provost Corps which, under 
the command of Major Bartholomew von Heer, served as General 
Washington's personal guard unit during the Revolutionary War.
    All of us can take pride in the accomplishments of German 
Americans--as soldiers and statesmen, scientists and musicians, artisans 
and educators. It is fitting that we set aside this special day to 
remember and celebrate how much German Americans have done to preserve 
our ideals, enrich our culture, and strengthen our democracy.
    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 the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim 
Tuesday, October 6, 1998, as German-American Day. I encourage all 
Americans to recognize and celebrate the many gifts that millions of 
people of German descent have brought to this Nation and that have 
enriched the lives of our citizens.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of 
October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., October 7, 
1998]

[[Page 1981]]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on October 
8.