Women's Equality Day, 2008

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Part III

The President

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Proclamation 8278--Women's Equality Day, 2008

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8278 of August 22, 2008

Women's Equality Day, 2008

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

With vision and determination, American women have
helped build our great Nation. On Women's Equality Day,
we remember the dedication of women who overcame many
obstacles in order to secure the right to vote.

The struggle for women's rights is a story of strong
women willing to take the lead and pave the way toward
equal voting rights for all American citizens. In 1848,
a group of determined women came together in Seneca
Falls, New York, to proclaim that ``all men and women
are created equal,'' and demand suffrage. On August 26,
1920, their voices were finally heard, and the 19th
Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed women the
right to vote.

As we look back on the journey to women gaining
suffrage, we remember the sacrifices of people like
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. More than
160 years after the Seneca Falls Convention, we
celebrate the spirit, leadership, and hard work of
those pioneering women. We also recognize the women who
continue in this tradition by acting as role models in
their communities, helping raise the next generation of
Americans, leading in their professions, and serving in
the Armed Forces protecting our country. These women
are continuing on the path set by those who came before
them, so that all Americans can realize the great
promise of our Nation.

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 August 26, 2008, as Women's
Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United
States to celebrate the achievements of women and
observe this day with appropriate programs and
activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-second day of August, in the year of our Lord
two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
third.