Presidential Documents

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Presidential Documents 13641

Proclamation 7411 of March 1, 2001

Women’s History Month, 2001

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

In 1845, journalist and author Margaret Fuller laid out her hope for the

future of this Nation’s women: ‘‘We would have every arbitrary barrier

thrown down. We would have every path laid open to women as freely

as to men. If you ask me what offices they may fill, I reply—any, I do

not care what case you put; let them be sea captains, if you will.’’

More than 150 years later, we are closer than ever to realizing Margaret

Fuller’s dream. Women account for nearly half of all workers. Today, women

are ‘‘captains’’ of their own destinies, and they will continue to help shape

our Nation’s future. Women hold 74 seats in the United States Congress,

more than at any time in our country’s history, and women own more

than 9 million businesses employing more than 27.5 million workers.

Through their tireless service on a daily basis, the women of our Nation

have woven the fabric of families and communities. They contribute immeasurably through faith-based and community organizations.

Our Nation’s women could not be where they are—nor could our country

be where it is—without the strength and courage, wisdom and persistence

of those who preceded them. America has been blessed with women like

Harriet Beecher Stowe, Susan B. Anthony, and Jane Addams, all of whom

refused to accept oppression as inevitable. Female political leaders including

Margaret Chase Smith and Eleanor Roosevelt forever changed the face of

American government. Women have played a vital role in educating our

Nation: Mary Lyon, Dorothea Dix, Elizabeth Blackwell, and Mary McLeod

Bethune all fought history and stereotypes to become scholars in their own

right and pass their knowledge to subsequent generations. Similarly, female

authors such as Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, Pearl Buck, and Zora

Neale Hurston represent only a small sample of the many women who

have contributed to the American literary canon.

Our Nation boasts a rich history of women whose heroic achievements

speak to the sense of excellence, potential, and patriotism shared by all

Americans. Anna Warner Bailey’s and Clara Barton’s courage in war has

inspired generations of men and women called upon to fight for America.

The fortitude of spirit displayed by Helen Keller, Amelia Earhart, and Wilma

Rudolph has made them role models both here and abroad. Finally, from

the sacrifice of mothers and grandmothers to the dedication of successful

women in business, government, and charitable work, the legacy of women

in America gives all young people in this country the impetus to dream

without limits.

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 2001 as ‘‘Women’s

History Month.’’ I call upon all the people of the United States to observe

this month with appropriate ceremonies and activities and to remember

their contributions throughout the year.

13642 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2001 / Presidential Documents

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of

March, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence

of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-fifth.

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