[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 86 (Monday, May 4, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 26589-26590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09644]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 85 , No. 86 / Monday, May 4, 2020 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 26589]]
Proclamation 10018 of April 29, 2020
Law Day, U.S.A., 2020
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
More than 230 years ago, the Founding Fathers of our
Nation crafted a revolutionary and unique form of
Government rooted in the rule of law. Today, we
continue to enjoy liberty, justice, and equality under
the law as set forth and preserved in our Constitution.
On Law Day, we celebrate the distinctive framework of
our system of Government, which secures individual
liberties and protects against arbitrary exercise of
government power so that all citizens have the right
and the freedom to pursue their American Dream.
In arguing for the ratification of our Constitution,
James Madison wisely recognized that in a government
``administered by men over men, the great difficulty
lies in this: you must first enable the government to
control the governed; and in the next place oblige it
to control itself.'' The Framers understood the
inherent dangers of consolidated government power and
that, in order for our Republic to survive, the power
to make, execute, and interpret laws could not be
vested in one individual or one institution. They knew
that ``ambition must be made to counteract ambition,''
and accordingly devised an arrangement whereby separate
and coequal branches share the power of the Federal
Government, each limiting and checking the prerogatives
of the others. They also created a system of enumerated
powers for the Federal Government, reserving all other
powers to the States. In doing so, the Framers limited
the powers of the Federal Government and preserved a
place of prominence for State and local lawmaking,
which they rightly believed to be more responsive to
the unique needs of each community.
This year also marks both the 150th anniversary of the
ratification of the 15th Amendment, which prohibited
denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or
previous condition of servitude, and the 100th
anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment,
which prohibited denial of the right to vote based on
sex. The women and men who fought to win a voice for
people of color and women in the electoral process
strengthened our Union and helped the country better
fulfill the founding promise of our Nation--that the
power to enact and enforce laws be truly derived ``from
the consent of the governed.'' As we mark these
milestones, we pay tribute to the courageous spirit of
the trailblazers who made this achievement possible,
and take inspiration from their righteous struggle as
we continue working to root out and destroy injustice.
We know that our Republic can continue to shine as a
beacon of liberty only if Americans diligently defend
our Constitution and ensure that its limits are
strongly enforced. My Administration has sought to
simplify and streamline America's statutory and
regulatory code, checking encroachments by government
on individual liberty and unleashing the spirit of
genius and innovation that has made America the freest
and most prosperous country in the world. Furthermore,
one of my top priorities as President has been to
nominate and appoint judges who are faithful to the
proper role of the judiciary--to interpret the law, not
to make it. In all of these efforts, we aim to ensure
that the Government can continue to perform
[[Page 26590]]
its fundamental responsibility to the American people,
articulated in the Preamble of the Constitution, to
``secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our
posterity.''
On this Law Day, I urge all Americans to honor our
shared inheritance of respect for the principles of the
rule of law, limited government, and individual
liberty. Let us rededicate ourselves to remaining ever
vigilant in defending our rights secured by the
Constitution so that our experiment in self-government
continues in perpetuity.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, in accordance with Public Law
87-20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2020, as
Law Day, U.S.A. I urge all Americans, including
government officials, to observe this day by reflecting
upon the importance of the rule of law in our Nation
and displaying the flag of the United States in support
of this national observance; and I especially urge the
legal profession, the press, and the radio, television,
and media industries to promote and to participate in
the observance of this day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and forty-fourth.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2020-09644
Filed 5-1-20; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P