Women's History Month, 2001

Proclamation 7411 of March 1, 2001

Women's History Month, 2001

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In 1845, journalist and author Margaret Fuller laid out
her hope for the future of this Nation's women: ``We
would have every arbitrary barrier thrown down. We
would have every path laid open to women as freely as
to men. If you ask me what offices they may fill, I
reply--any, I do not care what case you put; let them
be sea captains, if you will.''

More than 150 years later, we are closer than ever to
realizing Margaret Fuller's dream. Women account for
nearly half of all workers. Today, women are
``captains'' of their own destinies, and they will
continue to help shape our Nation's future. Women hold
74 seats in the United States Congress, more than at
any time in our country's history, and women own more
than 9 million businesses employing more than 27.5
million workers. Through their tireless service on a
daily basis, the women of our Nation have woven the
fabric of families and communities. They contribute
immeasurably through faith-based and community
organizations.

Our Nation's women could not be where they are--nor
could our country be where it is--without the strength
and courage, wisdom and persistence of those who
preceded them. America has been blessed with women like
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Susan B. Anthony, and Jane
Addams, all of whom refused to accept oppression as
inevitable. Female political leaders including Margaret
Chase Smith and Eleanor Roosevelt forever changed the
face of American government. Women have played a vital
role in educating our Nation: Mary Lyon, Dorothea Dix,
Elizabeth Blackwell, and Mary McLeod Bethune all fought
history and stereotypes to become scholars in their own
right and pass their knowledge to subsequent
generations. Similarly, female authors such as Anne
Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, Pearl Buck, and Zora Neale
Hurston represent only a small sample of the many women
who have contributed to the American literary canon.

Our Nation boasts a rich history of women whose heroic
achievements speak to the sense of excellence,
potential, and patriotism shared by all Americans. Anna
Warner Bailey's and Clara Barton's courage in war has
inspired generations of men and women called upon to
fight for America. The fortitude of spirit displayed by
Helen Keller, Amelia Earhart, and Wilma Rudolph has
made them role models both here and abroad. Finally,
from the sacrifice of mothers and grandmothers to the
dedication of successful women in business, government,
and charitable work, the legacy of women in America
gives all young people in this country the impetus to
dream without limits.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, 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 2001 as ``Women's
History Month.'' I call upon all the people of the
United States to observe this month with appropriate
ceremonies and activities and to remember their
contributions throughout the year.

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

(Presidential Sig.)B