Women's Equality Day, 1994

Proclamation 6715 of August 18, 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.

(Presidential Sig.)>