Women's History Month, 1999

Proclamation 7170 of March 1, 1999

Women's History Month, 1999

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

A little more than a century ago, an editorial in the
Pittsburgh Dispatch opposing women's suffrage and
criticizing women in the work force so infuriated a
young reader that she wrote a letter in protest. Her
articulate response prompted the newspaper's editor to
offer her a job, and thus Elizabeth Cochrane--later
known as Nellie Bly--began her career in journalism. A
pioneer of investigative reporting, she exposed the
brutal conditions in the care of the mentally ill,
reported on poor working conditions in factories, and
wrote of the indignities suffered by women in prison.
This year, as we reflect on America's past in
preparation for our celebration of the new millennium,
we recognize that the talent, energy, intellect, and
determination of countless women like Nellie Bly have
shaped our destiny and enriched our society since our
earliest days as a Nation.

From the women who organized the East India Company tea
boycotts before the Boston Tea Party to Deborah
Sampson, who fought as a soldier in the Revolutionary
War; from Angelina and Sarah Grimke, who spoke out
against slavery to Harriet Tubman, who risked her life
as a conductor on the Underground Railroad; from
suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt to sharecropper Fannie
Lou Hamer, who faced violence and endured intimidation
to become a leader of the Civil Rights movement; from
environmentalist Rachel Carson, who changed our way of
looking at the world, to physicist Chien-Shiung Wu, who
changed our way of looking at the universe, women's
history is truly America's history. That is why I was
pleased to establish in July of last year the
President's Commission on the Celebration of Women in
American History, whose recommendations will help us to
better understand and rejoice to appreciate the role
and accomplishments of women.

During Women's History Month, we honor the generations
of women who have served our Nation as doctors and
scientists, teachers and factory workers, soldiers and
secretaries, athletes and mothers. We honor the women
who have worked the land, cared for children and the
elderly, nurtured families and businesses, served in
charitable organizations and public office. And we
remember the good friends we have so recently lost--
women such as Bella Abzug, Marjory Stoneman Douglas,
and Florence Griffith-Joyner--whose achievements and
example continue to light our lives.

But we must do more than remember. We must build on the
legacy of the millions of women, whether renowned or
anonymous, who have contributed so much to the strength
and character of our Nation. We must ensure that women
have equal access to the education and opportunities
they need to excel. We must guarantee that women
receive equal pay in the workplace. We must promote
policies and programs--including affordable, high-
quality child care--that enable working women to
succeed both on the job and in their homes. And we must
work to ensure that women have the comfort of knowing
they can retire in security. Women who have gone before
us accomplished so much, often in the face of hardship
and discrimination; we can only imagine what women will
accomplish in the future if we break down the remaining
barriers that prevent them from reaching their full
potential.

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 March 1999 as Women's
History Month. I encourage all Americans to observe
this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities, and to remember throughout the year the
many heroic women whose many and varied contributions
have enriched our lives.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
first day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-nine, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
third.