[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 182 (Thursday, September 19, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 76709-76710]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21565]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 182 / Thursday, September 19, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

___________________________________________________________________

Title 3--
The President

[[Page 76709]]

                Proclamation 10812 of September 16, 2024

                
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, and 
                Constitution Week, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                It has been said that, when he was leaving the 
                Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked 
                whether the Founding Fathers had given America a 
                monarchy or a republic, and he replied: ``A republic, 
                if you can keep it.'' The Founders put the power to 
                decide our Nation's future in the hands of ``We the 
                People.'' On Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, and 
                during Constitution Week, we recommit to preserving our 
                republic, perfecting our Union, and ensuring our 
                democracy survives and thrives.

                Our Constitution established that our Nation would be a 
                democracy, meaning the rule of the people--not of 
                monarchs, the monied, or the mighty. It gave us the 
                separation of powers and checks and balances so that we 
                would be a country that respects the institutions that 
                govern a free society. And it remains the bulwark to 
                prevent the abuse of power and ensures that ``We the 
                People'' move forward together under the law. We are 
                all responsible for maintaining our democracy--not only 
                by adhering to the Constitution but also by our 
                character and the habits of our hearts and minds. All 
                of us must join the march to perfect our Union by 
                protecting and expanding our rights with each 
                successive generation.

                I believe America is at an inflection point, one of 
                those rare moments in history when the decisions we 
                make now will determine the fate of our Nation and the 
                world for decades to come. That is why we must continue 
                to protect the rights guaranteed by our Constitution 
                and the values that make our Nation who we are. We must 
                protect the right to vote--it is the threshold of 
                democracy: with it, anything is possible, and without 
                it, nothing is. Vice President Harris and I continue to 
                call on the Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act 
                and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to 
                expand voting rights and prevent voter suppression. We 
                will continue to work to protect women's reproductive 
                freedoms and their constitutional right to choose. We 
                continue to call on the Congress to restore the 
                protections of Roe v. Wade in Federal law once and for 
                all. And we will continue to preserve and strengthen 
                our democracy and will never walk away from the values 
                that have made us the greatest Nation in the history of 
                the world: freedom and liberty.

                Today, we also celebrate the rights and 
                responsibilities of citizenship. From those who were 
                born in this country to our naturalized citizens, 
                America remains a great country because we are a good 
                people. We are a Nation of promise and possibilities, 
                of dreamers and doers, and of ordinary Americans doing 
                extraordinary things. May we welcome our Nation's 
                newest citizens, whose stories embody the hope of the 
                American Dream and whose contributions strengthen our 
                country.

                On Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, and during 
                Constitution Week, we recognize that the power to build 
                a freer, more prosperous, and more just future lies in 
                the hands of the American people. And we recommit to 
                fulfilling the sacred tasks of our time--to ensure 
                democracy prevails and to preserve our constitutional 
                protections for generations to come.

[[Page 76710]]

                To honor the timeless principles enshrined in our 
                Constitution, the Congress has, by joint resolution of 
                February 29, 1952 (36 U.S.C. 106), designated September 
                17 as ``Constitution Day and Citizenship Day'' and 
                authorized the President to issue a proclamation 
                calling on United States officials to display the flag 
                of the United States on all Government buildings on 
                that day. By joint resolution of August 2, 1956 (36 
                U.S.C. 108), the Congress further requested that the 
                President proclaim the week beginning September 17 and 
                ending September 23 of each year as ``Constitution 
                Week.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 September 17, 
                2024, as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, and 
                September 17 through September 23 as Constitution Week. 
                On this day and during this week, we celebrate our 
                Constitution and the rights of citizenship that we 
                enjoy together as the proud people of this Nation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                ninth.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-21565
Filed 9-18-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P