Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 88 Part 2.djvu/1227

 88 STAT. ]

PROCLAMATION 4 3 3 7 - D E C. 3, 1974

Proclamation 4337

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2543 December 3, 1974

Bill of Rights Day Human Rights Day and Week

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation T w o h u n d r e d years ago, in September 1774, the First Continental Congress assembled in Carpenters' Hall, in Philadelphia, and set in motion a course of human events which created the United States. The system of government begun there, and the high principles on which it rests, continues today as the source of ^'itality for our society. Anticipating the bicentennial of this Nation's independence, now is

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a n excellent time to pause and consider the groundwork the delegates to Philadelphia laid for our independence. The First Continental Congress adopted a resolution asserting, among other things, the rights of the ^ American people to life, liberty, and property; to participation in the legislative councils of government; to the heritage of the common law; to trial by j u r y; and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances. This resolution foreshadowed the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. It is altogether fitting to mark the 200th anniversary of this noble beginning of the Continental Congress. Beyond that, it is imperative that all of us study and cherish the ideas and ideals which bore fruit in the great constitutional documents of our country. At the same time, we should take the opportunity, whenever possible, to strengthen the liberties which have been assured us in the Bill of Rights, ratified one hundred and eighty-three years ago this week, on December 15, 1791. America's concern with human rights is not something that ends at our borders. Benjamin Franklin wrote to a friend in 1789: " G o d grant, that not only the Love of Liberty, but a thorough Knowledge of the Rights of M a n, may pervade all the Nations of the Earth, so that a Philosopher may set his Foot anywhere on its Surface, and say, 'This is m y C o u n t r y '. " Franklin's spirit of universality has found rich modern expression in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The hnk between it and our Bill of Rights is clear. O n December 10, we celebrate the twenty-

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