[Federal Register: March 8, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 46)]
[Presidential Documents]               
[Page 10823-10826]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08mr02-164]                         


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Part V





The President





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Proclamation 7530--Women's History Month, 2002


                        Presidential Documents 




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Title 3--
The President

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                Proclamation 7530 of March 6, 2002

 
                Women's History Month, 2002

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Women's History Month provides our country the 
                privilege of honoring the countless contributions that 
                American women have made throughout our history. These 
                contributions have enriched our culture, strengthened 
                our Nation, and furthered the Founders' vision for a 
                free and just Republic that provides opportunity and 
                safety at home and is an influence for peace around the 
                world.

                Since its beginnings, our land has been blessed by 
                noteworthy women who played defining roles in shaping 
                our Nation. Sakajawea was a Native American woman who 
                befriended the explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William 
                Clark, 150 years ago as they crossed the great 
                Northwest. She helped Lewis and Clark's expedition 
                complete the first successful overland transcontinental 
                journey. Lucretia Mott courageously wrote and spoke 
                against slavery and the lack of equal rights for women, 
                helping America recognize the inherent wrong in the 
                institutional subjugation of others and the need to 
                strive for equality, freedom, and justice for all. 
                Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America 
                awarded a medical degree, and she dedicated her 
                pioneering efforts as a physician to helping others.

                Helen Keller overcame debilitating physical 
                disabilities, showing us the power of a determined 
                human spirit. And Clara Barton developed a vision for 
                helping others through her service to the wounded 
                during the Civil War; and she realized that vision by 
                founding the American Red Cross after the war, an 
                organization that has since become renowned for its 
                effectiveness in helping those who suffer or are in 
                need. Recently, the Red Cross reached out to aid Afghan 
                women traumatized by the repressive rule of the 
                intolerant Taliban regime, which for years had 
                mercilessly oppressed Afghanistan and Afghan women in 
                particular. Today, thousands of American women are 
                furthering the cause of freedom through service in 
                government, the military, and other organizations, as 
                we seek to defeat terrorism and bring justice to those 
                responsible for the September 11 attacks.

                The history of American women is an expansive story of 
                outstanding individuals who sacrificed much and worked 
                hard in pursuit of a better world, where peace, 
                dignity, and opportunity can reign. The spirit of 
                loving determination that shaped these pursuits 
                continues to serve as an example to those who seek to 
                better our Nation. American women of strength, vision, 
                and character have long influenced our country by 
                contributing their time, efforts, and wisdom in vastly 
                diverse ways to improve and enhance our government and 
                communities, our schools and religious institutions, 
                our businesses and the military, and the arts and 
                sciences. Women also have fundamentally shaped our 
                civilization in the care and nurturing of families. 
                Today, women in contemporary America are furthering the 
                Founders' vision by working to advance freedom, 
                increase equality, and administer justice in every 
                corner of our land, through their everyday work in 
                schoolrooms, boardrooms, courtrooms, homes, and 
                communities.

                As President, I am proud to recognize the many 
                contributions American women have made to help make our 
                Nation free, strong, and a force for peace and justice 
                around the world. On this observance of Women's History

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                Month, I encourage every American to learn more about 
                these important contributions, and to celebrate their 
                noble legacies as we work to build a brighter future 
                for our Nation and for all of the world's people.

                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 2002 as Women's 
                History Month. I call upon all the people of the United 
                States to observe this month with appropriate programs, 
                ceremonies, and activities.

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

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 02-5830
Filed 3-7-02; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P