Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 102 Part 5.djvu/1061

 PROCLAMATION 5867—SEPT. 28, 1988

102 STAT. 5067

forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." The Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which the Congress reenacted in 1789, similarly stated, "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of learning shall forever be encouraged." The Founders realized that we must guard freedom of religion with eternal vigilance against tyranny and bigotry. Washington emphasized this in a letter to Moses Seixas of the Hebrew Congregation of Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1790. Our first President noted Americans' "liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship" and said that it was not "by the indulgence of one class of people that another enjoyed the exercise, of their inherent natural rights." Rather, "happily the Government of the United States,... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance...." President Washington proudly called this pohcy "enlarged and liberal" and "worthy of imitation." Through the years, Americans of goodwill have echoed these sentiments, seeking freedom, brotherhood, justice, and reconciliation. We will always do so if we continue to revere the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom. The Congress, by House Joint Resolution 518, has designated the week of September 25, 1988, as "Religious Freedom Week." NOW, THEREFORE, I, RONALD REAGAN, 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 the week beginning September 25, 1988, as Religious Freedom Week. I urge the people of the United States to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirteenth. RONALD REAGAN

Proclamation 5867 of September 28, 1988

National Sewing Month, 1988 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Americans are naturally proud of their practical genius; their love and mastery of domestic crafts, handed down from generation to generation, are among our prime national virtues. Throughout American history, one such craft has been the art of sewing. National Sewing Month, 1988, celebrates the American tradition of sewing in the home and salutes the estimated 90 million citizens who partake of its challenges and rewards. Home sewing is an enjoyable and productive pastime that serves a variety of useful purposes. For instance, it inspires people to pursue

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