Proclamation 4256—Bill of Rights Day, Human Rights Day and Week

Among the principles undergirding our Declaration of Independence in 1776 was the fundamental conviction that all men are endowed with certain inalienable rights and that the purpose of instituting governments is to secure these rights. The first Congress acted quickly to secure the basic rights of the American people by proposing ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States. These amendments, our Bill of Rights, came into effect one hundred eighty-two years ago, on December 15, 1791, and have served ever since as guiding ideals of our democracy. Each generation of Americans has contributed in its own way to realizing the promise of the Bill of Rights, ensuring its responsiveness to the increasingly complex conditions of American society.

The continuing vitality of that promise depends upon our own steadfast dedication to the principles upon which this Republic was founded. Now, in this decade of our Bicentennial, it is especially appropriate for us to commemorate the anniversary of the adoption of the Bill of Rights and to recall with pride the efforts of our predecessors to make its ideals a true guarantee of the rights of all Americans.

It is fitting that we take note at the same time of the progress made by the world community in its recognition of the rights of all members of the human family. This week marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, to proclaim standards of freedom and equality common to all nations and all peoples. Though widely separated by time and authorship, the Bill of Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights share a common commitment to the ideals of equality, dignity, and individual worth.

Our actions as Americans to strengthen the Bill of Rights are inseparable from our commitment to the ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The strength and success of our efforts to advance these goals here at home will have a positive impact on the cause of human rights throughout the world.

Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 10, 1973, as Human Rights Day and December 15, 1973, as Bill of Rights Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe the week beginning December 10, 1973, as Human Rights Week. Let us make this observance a time for reaffirming the high principles of the Bill of Rights and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and for making them a living reality in the daily lives of every American. For each of us, through our own example, can do a great deal to strengthen the cause of liberty and justice for all.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of December, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred seventy-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-eighth.

RICHARD NIXON