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Skriven 2006-04-13 23:34:14 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0604138) for Thu, 2006 Apr 13
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Thomas Jefferson Day, 2006
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 13, 2006

Thomas Jefferson Day, 2006
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America




Today, we celebrate the birthday of Thomas Jefferson. Few individuals have
shaped the course of human events as much as this proud son of Virginia.
His achievements are extraordinary: Governor of Virginia, author of the
Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, Secretary of State, third
President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson was also a scholar, author, farmer, inventor, and
architect. As President, Thomas Jefferson secured the purchase of the
Louisiana Territory from France, which doubled the size of the United
States and extended opportunity and prosperity to many more Americans.

Thomas Jefferson was an eloquent and powerful champion of liberty. He
captured the American creed when he wrote in a private letter: "I have
sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny
over the mind of man." And in one of the most important public documents in
history, Jefferson wrote these words: "We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence has
become a cornerstone for those who love freedom and justice.

More than eight decades later, Abraham Lincoln returned to the words and
meaning of the Declaration of Independence. Lincoln knew that in the
distant future people would look upon it and "take courage to renew the
battle which their fathers began so that truth, and justice, and mercy . .
. might not be extinguished from the land." A century after Lincoln, Martin
Luther King, Jr., called the Declaration of Independence a "promissory note
to which every American was to fall heir."

The Declaration of Independence has become a standard by which other
nations and peoples measure their progress in the effort to advance human
freedom. Even nations that are not yet free pay homage to freedom, and it
is seen as a universal human good.

Our Nation is vastly different than it was during the days of our founding
-- yet our commitment to America's founding truths remains strong and
steady. Our duty is to continue to fulfill the promise of Thomas
Jefferson's words and vision of a better life for all people. Meeting that
responsibility is the best way we can honor the memory of the man who was
an architect of the freest Nation on Earth.

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 of America, do hereby proclaim April 13, 2006, as
Thomas Jefferson Day. I encourage all Americans to join in celebrating
Thomas Jefferson's achievements, reflecting on his words, and learning more
about this extraordinary man's influence on American history and ideals.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of
April, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of
the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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