Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 103 Part 3.djvu/1009

 PROCLAMATION 6010—AUG. 15, 1989 103 STAT. 3077 NOW, THEREFORE, I. GEORGE BUSH, President of.&e United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of September 3 throiigh Sep- tember 9, 1989, as National Wilderness Week. I call upon all Ameri- / cans to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF. I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty- nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth. GEORGE BUSH Prodamation 6010 of August 15, 1989 Women's Equality Day, 1989 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation On August 26, 1989, we will commemorate the 69th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The adoption of that amendment secured for women an equal voice in our representa- tive system by guaranteeing their right to vote. Its ratification in 1920 marked a watershed in American history by ensuring that women, equally with men, could enjoy fully the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. The active role of women diuing World War I was one important factor in gathering the force of public opinion behind the women's suf- frage movement. Women already had the vote in some States, but dimng the war, as they became essential workers in many industries, women gained increasing voice and statiu-e throughout the country. Thus, after years of hard work and persistent lobbying by women's rights groups, the Congress passed the 19th Amendment in June 1919. It was finally ratified by the Tennessee legislature on August 18, 1920, and proclaimed as part of our Constitution on August 26. By seciuing for women the right to vote—and allowing them full par- ticipation in the political life of our country—the 19th Amendment af- firmed the principles upon which our Nation was founded. In essence, it called us to remain faithful to the vision of our Founders, who had pledged their lives and fortimes to defending the belief "that all men 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 a poignant reminder that the civil and political rights enshrined in our Constitution are the birthright of all. By recognizing previously disenfranchised members of our society, the 19th Amendment took a place among other great landmarks in Ameri- can history, such as President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. These legal milestones, and others that have since followed, such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act, have marked our Nation's progress in ensuring that all members of our socie- ty have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

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