Law Day, U.S.A., 2009

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Part V

The President

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Proclamation 8367--Law Day, U.S.A., 2009

Proclamation 8368--Loyalty Day, 2009

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 8367 of April 30, 2009

Law Day, U.S.A., 2009

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In 1958, President Eisenhower established Law Day as
``a day of national dedication to the principles of
government under law.'' Each year on Law Day, we
celebrate our commitment to the rule of law. That great
commitment is enshrined in the Declaration of
Independence and the United States Constitution, and
has been reaffirmed by the words and deeds of great
Americans throughout our Nation's history.

This year we celebrate the bicentennial of the birth
of one such American, President Abraham Lincoln.
Lincoln rose from humble beginnings to guide our Nation
through the most turbulent period in its history. His
dedication to the rule of law and to equality under the
law, and his refusal to retreat from the greatest moral
challenge ever to confront us, gave us the Emancipation
Proclamation and the preservation of our Union. His
dedication also gave us the Gettysburg Address, with
its resolution that ``government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth.'' Indeed, Lincoln was one of the greatest
Presidents and one of the greatest lawyers, in our
Nation's history.

Lincoln's lasting legacy is his vision of the ``more
perfect Union'' promised in our Constitution's
preamble. According to Lincoln, ``The legitimate object
of government is to do for a community of people
whatever they need to have done, but cannot do at all,
or cannot do so well for themselves, in their separate
and individual capacities.'' This vision of a true
United States of America, bound together by a
recognition of the common good, guided our country
through its darkest hour and helped it re-emerge as a
beacon of freedom and equality under law.

On this Law Day, I encourage Americans to reflect on
this legacy. By continuing a national conversation on
the principles for which Lincoln stood, and by
highlighting the attributes of this great American, we
can help ensure that the legacy of our sixteenth
President endures and that the United States remains
dedicated to the principles of government under law.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, in accordance with Public Law
87-20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2009, as
Law Day, U.S.A. I call upon the people of the United
States to acknowledge the importance of our Nation's
legal and judicial systems with appropriate ceremonies
and activities, and to display the flag of the United
States in support of this national observance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirtieth day of April, 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.