[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 9 (Monday, March 8, 1999)]
[Pages 335-336]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7170--Women's History Month, 1999

March 1, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    A little more than a century ago, an editorial in the Pittsburgh 
Dispatch opposing women's suffrage and criticizing women in the work 
force so infuriated a young reader that she wrote a letter in protest. 
Her articulate response prompted the newspaper's editor to offer her a 
job, and thus Elizabeth Cochrane--later known as Nellie Bly--began her 
career in journalism. A pioneer of investigative reporting, she exposed 
the brutal conditions in the care of the mentally ill, reported on poor 
working conditions in factories, and wrote of the indignities suffered 
by women in prison. This year, as we reflect on America's past in 
preparation for our celebration of the new millennium, we recognize that 
the talent, energy, intellect, and determination of countless women like 
Nellie Bly have shaped our destiny and enriched our society since our 
earliest days as a Nation.
    From the women who organized the East India Company tea boycotts 
before the Boston Tea Party to Deborah Sampson, who fought as a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War; from Angelina and Sarah Grimke, who spoke out 
against slavery to Harriet Tubman, who risked her life as a conductor on 
the Underground Railroad; from suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt to 
sharecropper Fannie Lou Hamer, who faced violence and endured 
intimidation to become a leader of the Civil Rights movement; from 
environmentalist Rachel Carson, who changed our way of looking at the 
world, to physicist Chien-Shiung Wu, who changed our way of looking at 
the universe, women's history is truly America's history. That is why I 
was pleased to establish in July of last year the President's Commission 
on the Celebration of Women in American History, whose recommendations 
will help us to better understand and rejoice to appreciate the role and 
accomplishments of women.
    During Women's History Month, we honor the generations of women who 
have served our Nation as doctors and scientists, teachers and factory 
workers, soldiers and secretaries, athletes and mothers. We honor the 
women who have worked the land, cared for children and the elderly, 
nurtured families and businesses, served in charitable organizations and 
public office. And we remember the good friends we have so recently 
lost--women such as Bella Abzug, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and Florence 
Griffith-Joyner--whose achievements and example continue to light our 
lives.
    But we must do more than remember. We must build on the legacy of 
the millions of women, whether renowned or anonymous, who have 
contributed so much to the strength and character of our Nation. We must 
ensure that women have equal access to the education and opportunities 
they need to excel. We must guarantee that women receive equal pay in 
the workplace. We must promote policies and programs--including 
affordable, high-quality child care--that enable working women to 
succeed both on the job and in their homes. And we must work to ensure 
that women have the comfort of knowing they can retire in security. 
Women who have gone before us accomplished so

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much, often in the face of hardship and discrimination; we can only 
imagine what women will accomplish in the future if we break down the 
remaining barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential.
    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 March 
1999 as Women's History Month. I encourage all Americans to observe this 
month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities, and to 
remember throughout the year the many heroic women whose many and varied 
contributions have enriched our lives.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of 
March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, 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, 11:21 a.m., March 2, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on March 
3.