Proclamation 6537

by Bill Clinton

{{center|By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

As we celebrate Women's History Month, we reflect on the American women who throughout history have proudly served in shaping the spirit of our Nation.

Women like Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Sojourner Truth embraced the struggle for human freedom, dignity, and justice. They opposed slavery and inequality at critical moments in history. Their courageous leadership helped pave the way for future generations who would strive to secure equal rights for women.

We are inspired by women like Jane Addams, the first female Nobel prize winner, who at the turn of the century founded Chicago's Hull House to help newly arrived immigrants adapt to a foreign culture. We admire women such as Belva Lockwood, who became the first woman admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in 1879. And we cannot forget the long struggle of women like Frances Perkins, whose work to protect the health and safety of America's workers culminated in her service as Secretary of Labor, the Nation's first woman Cabinet officer.

These courageous and pioneering women worked tirelessly to achieve new opportunities for all. Today, empowered by this great legacy, American women serve in every aspect of American life, from social services to space exploration. The opportunities for American women are growing, and their efforts as mothers and volunteers, corporate executives and senators, police officers and administrators, construction workers and cab drivers, and teachers and scientists enrich all of us and make our country great. Women continue to strengthen our Nation's social fabric as leaders in the home, the community, the workplace, and the government.

The challenges facing women in the next century are many. Families are increasingly called upon to care for their grown children and elderly relatives. Many women are compelled to support families as single parents. The social stresses of our era demand the incredible resourcefulness, devotion, and energy of millions of women. Through their endeavors, women are producing a heightened national consciousness and more responsive public policies that meet the needs of our people.

As we honor the courageous legacy of our Nation's women, we celebrate the diversity of their backgrounds, their talents, and their contributions, which breathe life into our democracy and sustain our prosperity.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 1993 as Women's History Month. I invite all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and seventeenth.

William J. Clinton