Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 5.djvu/1040

 112 STAT. 3798 PROCLAMATION 7123—SEPT. 16, 1998 many contributions to the life of our Nation. Most important, these schools continue to champion the cause of equal access to education. With a notable past, a dynamic present, and a promising future, America's HBCUs are helping to prepare our Nation's young people for the challenges and opportunities of the new millennium. 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 September 20 through September 26, 1998, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. I call upon the people of the United States, including government officials, educators, and administrators, to observe this week with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities honoring America's Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their graduates. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-third. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 7123 of September 16, 1998 Citizenship Day and Constitution Week, 1998 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation Two hundred eleven years ago, on September 17, 1787, our Nation's Founders signed the Constitution that established our system of government. This extraordinary document, the product of passionate debate and grudging compromise, was crafted by a handful of individuals in the late 18th century; yet it has safely charted America's course through more than two centuries of enormous change and growth and has served as the model for democratic governments around the globe. The United States Constitution has endiu«d in large part because of its remarkable fairness and flexibility. It created an inspired balance of powers and responsibilities among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government and among the Federal Government, the States, and individual citizens. It also provided for a system of amendment that allows our democracy to correct past errors and omissions and to respond to new challenges. As we mark this anniversary of the signing of the Constitution, we celebrate the effort, the dedication, and the wisdom of our Founders and the blessings of liberty that resulted from their labors. We also celebrate those who have struggled to move America closer to fulfilling the first and fundamental purpose expressed in the Constitution: ",.. to form a more perfect Union." Among these heroes were the thousands who fought and died diuing the Civil War to keep our Nation united and to banish slavery from our land. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution is the fruit of their sacrifice: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude... shall exist within the United States." The courageous women and men who met at Seneca Falls, New York,

�