Women's History Month, 2009

Proclamation 8351 of March 3, 2009

Women's History Month, 2009

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

With passion and courage, women have taught us that
when we band together to advocate for our highest
ideals, we can advance our common well-being and
strengthen the fabric of our Nation. Each year during
Women's History Month, we remember and celebrate women
from all walks of life who have shaped this great
Nation. This year, in accordance with the theme,
``Women Taking the Lead to Save our Planet,'' we pay
particular tribute to the efforts of women in
preserving and protecting the environment for present
and future generations.

Ellen Swallow Richards is known to have been the first
woman in the United States to be accepted at a
scientific school. She graduated from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in 1873 and went on to become a
prominent chemist. In 1887, she conducted a survey of
water quality in Massachusetts. This study, the first
of its kind in America, led to the Nation's first state
water-quality standards.

Women have also taken the lead throughout our history
in preserving our natural environment. In 1900, Maria
Sanford led the Minnesota Federation of Women's Groups
in their efforts to protect forestland near the
Mississippi River, which eventually became the Chippewa
National Forest, the first Congressionally mandated
national forest. Marjory Stoneman Douglas dedicated her
life to protecting and restoring the Florida
Everglades. Her book, The Everglades: Rivers of Grass,
published in 1947, led to the preservation of the
Everglades as a National Park. She was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993.

Rachel Carson brought even greater attention to the
environment by exposing the dangers of certain
pesticides to the environment and to human health. Her
landmark 1962 book, Silent Spring, was fiercely
criticized for its unconventional perspective. As early
as 1963, however, President Kennedy acknowledged its
importance and appointed a panel to investigate the
book's findings. Silent Spring has emerged as a seminal
work in environmental studies. Carson was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 1980.

Grace Thorpe, another leading environmental advocate,
also connected environmental protection with human
well-being by emphasizing the vulnerability of certain
populations to environmental hazards. In 1992, she
launched a successful campaign to organize Native
Americans to oppose the storage of nuclear waste on
their reservations, which she said contradicted Native
American principles of stewardship of the earth. She
also proposed that America invest in alternative energy
sources such as hydroelectricity, solar power, and wind
power.

These women helped protect our environment and our
people while challenging the status quo and breaking
social barriers. Their achievements inspired
generations of American women and men not only to save
our planet, but also to overcome obstacles and pursue
their interests and talents. They join a long and proud
history of American women leaders, and this month we
honor the contributions of all women to our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim March 2009 as Women's
History Month. I call upon all our citizens to observe
this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and
activities that honor the history, accomplishments, and
contributions of American women.

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