[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 38 (Monday, September 20, 2004)]
[Page 2032]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7817--Citizenship Day and Constitution Week, 2004

 September 17, 2004

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    Two hundred and seventeen years ago this week, delegates to the 
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia signed one of the most 
enduring documents in history: the Constitution of the United States. 
Our Constitution is the foundation of our liberty and has guaranteed the 
rights of our people through a history of tremendous change and 
progress.
    Today, we marvel at the wisdom of the Framers who toiled through a 
long summer of learned and contentious debates. Their work produced a 
document that upholds high ideals, while answering the most practical 
questions of governance. The charter they crafted--with its separate 
branches of Government, enumerated powers, checks and balances, and 
later the specific protections provided by our Bill of Rights--guides 
our Nation and inspires others around the world.
    During Constitution Week, our Nation reflects on the significance of 
our Constitution and gives thanks for the blessings of liberty that this 
document helps to secure. We honor the men and women who have supported 
and defended it throughout our history, at times with their lives. On 
Citizenship Day, we reaffirm our commitment to freedom, to ensuring that 
our history endures, and to instilling in America's next generation the 
values that make our country great.
    In remembrance of the signing of the Constitution and in recognition 
of the Americans who strive to uphold the duties and responsibilities of 
citizenship, the Congress, by joint resolution of February 29, 1952 (36 
U.S.C. 106, as amended), designated September 17 as ``Citizenship Day,'' 
and by joint resolution of August 2, 1956 (36 U.S.C. 108, as amended), 
requested that the President proclaim the week beginning September 17 
and ending September 23 of each year as ``Constitution Week.''
     Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States 
of America, do hereby proclaim September 17, 2004, as Citizenship Day, 
and September 17 through September 23, 2004, as Constitution Week. I 
encourage Federal, State, and local officials, as well as leaders of 
civic, social, and educational organizations, to conduct ceremonies and 
programs that celebrate our Constitution and reaffirm our rights and 
obligations as citizens of our great Nation.
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth 
day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand four, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
ninth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11 a.m., September 20, 
2004]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on 
September 21.