of America

A Proclamation

Women's Equality Day is celebrated each year on August 26 because it was on that day in 1920 that the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote, became part of our Constitution. This was an accomplishment of great practical and symbolic importance, since it recognized women as full participants in our democratic system of self-government.

The adoption of the 19th Amendment was a tremendous victory for the ideals of democracy, but its consequences have not been confined to our political system. In every field of endeavor, women have made notable contributions to our national life. Their achievements have shown that America's women are a tremendous human resource for our Nation -- an inexhaustible reserve of talent, imagination, and ambition.

Today, women have an unparalleled degree of opportunity to decide what they want to achieve in their lives. Whether they devote themselves to raising families or to pursuing careers, their contributions to America are leaving an indelible mark on our Nation's life. In the years ahead, their accomplishments will continue to shape profoundly our Nation's destiny.

Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim August 26, 1985, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon all Americans to mark this occasion with appropriate observances.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third day of August, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and tenth.

Ronald Reagan

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:31 a.m., August 23, 1985]