Columbus Day, 1998

Proclamation 7136 of October 9, 1998

Columbus Day, 1998

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Today our Nation stands on the threshold of a new
millennium, an uncharted time of great challenge and
opportunity. To fulfill the promise of this new era, we
must be adventurous, willing to leave known shores, and
eager to embrace change. To find inspiration for this
momentous journey, we need only look to the example of
Christopher Columbus, who helped usher in a similar Age
of Discovery more than 500 years ago.

A skilled and experienced seaman, Columbus pushed back
the boundaries of the known world and charted a safe
course across the ocean to a new continent. He was a
master at reading and using the winds and discovered
the best westward and eastward passages between Europe
and North America. As Daniel Boorstin wrote in The
Discoverers, ``. . . a sailing vessel today, after all
that has been learned in the last five centuries, could
not do better than follow Columbus' route.'' Explorers,
adventurers, and traders from many nations would follow
his lead across the Atlantic, as would millions of
immigrants in the centuries following his voyages.
Although both a dreamer and a visionary, Columbus--a
son of Italy whose enterprise was funded by the Spanish
crown--could never have foreseen the multicultural,
multiracial Nation that would ultimately emerge in the
New World he helped to discover.

As we enter a new era, let us embrace Columbus' spirit
of discovery and embrace as well the great diversity of
cultures, religions, and ethnic traditions that we
enjoy because so many have followed his course to this
great land.

In tribute to Columbus' many achievements, the
Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934 (48
Stat. 657), and an Act of June 28, 1968 (82 Stat. 250),
has requested the President to proclaim the second
Monday in October of each year as ``Columbus Day.''

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim October
12, 1998, as Columbus Day. I call upon the people of
the United States to observe this day with appropriate
ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag
of the United States be displayed on all public
buildings on the appointed day in honor of Christopher
Columbus.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
ninth day of October, 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.