of America

A Proclamation

Since the French explorers of the Sixteenth Century, people have searched for a reliable way to sail into the heart of our continent. The opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959 made this dream a reality and opened North America's agricultural and industrial heartland to deep draft ocean vessels. The Seaway forged the final link in a waterway extending over 2,000 miles from Duluth, Minnesota to the Atlantic Ocean.

The building and operation of the St. Lawrence Seaway, considered one of man's most outstanding engineering feats, was a joint project of the United States and Canada and stands as a symbol of the valued and constructive cooperation which long has existed between the two countries. On the 25th Anniversary of the completion of the Seaway, it is appropriate that we recognize its role in promoting our economic prosperity.

In the quarter century since Queen Elizabeth and President Eisenhower joined in its dedication, more than one billion metric tons of cargo, valued at more than $200 billion, have moved along this trade and transportation route. As grain has moved from the farmlands of the United States and Canada to help feed the hungry around the world, Great Lakes cities have grown into international seaports. The second largest cargo shipped on the Seaway is iron ore, important to the industries of both countries.

I urge all Americans to join with our good neighbors in Canada in observing this Anniversary. Let us celebrate together a quarter century of partnership in the spirit of friendship and cooperation that has long marked United States-Canadian relations, and pledge our continued support of the international Seaway which links our two countries.

In recognition of the valuable contributions of the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Nation, the Congress, by House Joint Resolution 567, has designated 1984 as the ``Year of the St. Lawrence Seaway'' and June 27, 1984, as ``St. Lawrence Seaway Day,'' and authorized and requested the President to issue an appropriate proclamation.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim 1984 as the Year of the St. Lawrence Seaway and June 27, 1984, as St. Lawrence Seaway Day, and I urge all Americans to join in appropriate observances.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this eleventh day of July, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and ninth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:10 a.m., July 12, 1984]