[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 23, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: X94-70823]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: August 23, 1994]
Women's Equality Day, 1994
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Seventy-four years ago, the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting
women the right to vote after many years of painstaking struggle
and hard work by courageous suffragists. Empowered by the efforts
of the brave and pioneering women who came before them, women
today have secured positions as leaders in industry, government,
and academia. They serve as role models in every aspect of our
society.
The 19th Amendment did more than secure the right to vote for
women. It recognized and affirmed the fundamental principle upon
which this great Nation was founded--equality--``that all
[persons] are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.'' The ratification of
the 19th Amendment was an important step toward ensuring that the
civil and political rights guaranteed by the Constitution would
truly be the equal rights of all Americans.
By recognizing this previously disenfranchised segment of our
society, the 19th Amendment became one of the landmark civil
rights laws in America, standing side by side with the
Emancipation Proclamation, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments. This year also marks the 4th anniversary of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, the 30th anniversary of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as the 40th anniversary of
Brown v. Board of Education. These laws and that pivotal
decision, along with the 19th Amendment, have marked the history
of our Nation's progress in guaranteeing that every member of our
society is treated equally under the law.
We observe ``Women's Equality Day'' to commemorate the
ratification of the 19th Amendment almost three-quarters of a
century ago. As we do so, we also honor the important
contributions and achievements of women in this country, and we
commit ourselves anew to fulfilling our obligation to promote
equality for all Americans.
The famous woman suffragist, Helen H. Gardener, advised the
Congress in calling for passage of the 19th Amendment:
Let us either stop our pretence before the nations of the
earth of being a republic and having ``equality before
the law'' or else let us become the republic we pretend
to be.
To further celebrate and commemorate the 19th Amendment this
year, let us not take for granted our precious right to vote, and
let us rededicate ourselves to removing the barriers that remain
in women's paths.
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
August 26, 1994, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the
citizens of our great Nation to observe this day with appropriate
programs and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth
day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and
ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of
America the two hundred and nineteenth.
