[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 47 (Monday, November 29, 1999)]
[Page 2424]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7255--Thanksgiving Day, 1999

November 20, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Well over three and a half centuries ago, strengthened by faith and 
bound by a common desire for liberty, a small band of Pilgrims sought 
out a place in the New World where they could worship according to their 
own beliefs. Surviving their first harsh winter in Massachusetts and 
grateful to a merciful God for a sustaining harvest, the men and women 
of Plymouth Colony set aside three days as a time to give thanks for the 
bounty of their fields, the fruits of their labor, the chance to live in 
peace with their Native American neighbors, and the blessing of a land 
where they could live and worship freely.
    We have come far on our American journey since that early 
Thanksgiving. In the intervening years, we have lived through times of 
war and peace, years of poverty and plenty, and seasons of social and 
political upheaval that have shaped and forever changed our national 
character and experience. As we gather around our Thanksgiving tables 
again this year, it is a fitting time to reflect on how the events of 
our rich history have affected those we care about and those who came 
before us. As we acknowledge the past, we do so knowing that the 
individual blessings for which we give thanks may have changed, but our 
gratitude to God and our commitment to our fellow Americans remain 
constant.
    Today we count among out national blessings a time of unprecedented 
prosperity, with an expanding economy, record low rates of poverty and 
unemployment among our people, and the limitless opportunities to 
improve the quality of life that new technologies present to us. We can 
give thanks today that for the first time in history, more than half the 
world's people live under governments of their own choosing. And we 
remain grateful for the peace and freedom America continues to enjoy 
thanks to the courage and patriotism of our men and women in uniform.
    But the spirit of Thanksgiving requires more than just an 
acknowledgment of our blessings; it calls upon us to reach out and share 
those blessings with others. We must strive to fulfill the promise of 
the extraordinary era in which we live and enter the new century with a 
commitment to widen the circle of opportunity, break down the prejudices 
that alienate us from one another, and build an America of understanding 
and inclusion, strong in our diversity, responsible in our freedom, and 
generous in sharing our bounty with those in need.
    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 Thursday, 
November 25, 1999, as a National Day of Thanksgiving. I encourage all 
the people of the United States to assemble in their homes, places of 
worship, or community centers to share the spirit of fellowship and 
prayer and to reinforce the ties of family and community; to express 
heartfelt thanks to God for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us; 
and to reach out in true gratitude and friendship to our brothers and 
sisters in the larger family of humankind.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day 
of November, 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-fourth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:43 a.m., November 22, 
1999]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
November 23.