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Citizen Day, for the recognition, observance, and commemoration of American citizenship," approved May 3, 1940 (54 Stat. 178), is hereby repealed.

SAM RAYBURN,

Speaker of the House of Representatives.
ALBEN W. BARKLEY,

Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.

Approved February 29, 1952.

HARRY S. TRUMAN.

The President has each year issued a proclamation under this resolution calling upon the people of this Nation to rededicate themselves to the principles of good citizenship. And only in name and timing does Citizenship Day replace the former "I Am An American Day." All the traditional objectives, principles, and activities have been carried forward under the Citizenship Day observances, with additional emphasis being placed upon the significance of United States citizenship and the reciprocal rights and duties flowing therefrom.

THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CITIZENSHIP

The annual celebration of a day for recognition of the significance of citizenship has become a part of our national life. Deepening awareness of the meaning of citizenship, its responsibilities as well as its rights, has stimulated a closely related movement—one that might even be regarded as an expansion of the idea of a citizenship-recognition day-the holding of an Annual National Conference on Citizenship.

Beginning in 1946, such conferences have been held annually coincident with the celebration of "I Am An American Day" or Citizenship Day. The purposes of the National Conference on Citizenship are:

To support and strengthen the efforts of the people in maintaining the blessings of freedom and justice and in protecting and perpetuating the principles and ideals upon which this Nation is founded;

To develop a more thorough knowledge of citizenship rights and responsibilities;

To inspire a deeper devotion to citizenship obligations;

To encourage even more effective participation in citizenship activities and to promote a spirit of cooperation on the part of all citizens.

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The first conference was a milestone in democratic relations. People from diverse groups sat down together to counsel with each other on how best to translate the heritage of American citizenship into dynamic reality. The delegates urged national solidarity to meet the challenge of the future. While they recognized that differences among individuals are a part of democracy, they stressed again and again the necessity for resolving these differences when they become disruptive to the unity of the whole. On this high plane, the pattern was set for later conferences.

The Conference is unique in that it brings together the most comprehensive cross-section of organizations and agencies to be found in any single National meeting. Over 1,000 delegates representing hundreds of various organizations and agencies took part in the Eleventh Annual Conference in 1956.

Since 1946, more than 1,200 organizations and agencies have participated. Through their memberships and activities these touch nearly every wholesome aspect of our life and reach most of our 167 million population.

Included are all levels of government-national, State and local; schools, colleges and universities; major religious faiths; professional associations; veterans' and related organizations; labor, business, industry and finance; farm and civic groups; and youth organizations.

Previously the National Conference on Citizenship was sponsored by the United States Department of Justice and the National Education Association. On August 13, 1953, the President signed a bill passed unanimously by Congress which granted a Federal Charter to the Conference, as a result of which it has become an independent agency; the United States Department of Justice and the National Education Association have therefore relinquished their part in its administration.

In recent years the Nation's Capital has had Citizenship Day observances on the Washington Monument grounds. Delegates of the Conference, together with many others, have witnessed fitting tributes paid to our first President and to other signers of the Constitution in impressive wreath-laying ceremonies participated in by representatives of the thirteen original States.

Thus, in a few short years these inspiring assemblies of citizens, having at heart the future of our country and the world, have offered convincing proof that a National Conference on Citizenship is more than a noble idea—it is now a reality.

T

Chapter 2

SIGNIFICANCE OF CITIZENSHIP

O BE A CITIZEN of the United States is to claim membership in the richest, the most powerful nation in the history of the world. Better still, it is to be a part of the greatest national force on earth dedicated to a belief in the dignity of the individual and to furthering realization of the concept of human liberty.1

The story of this country is the story of you and me, your neighbors and mine, their parents and ours. It is the narrative of what our ancestors endured, accomplished, and received. It is also the record of how we of the present generation are dealing with the heritage of American democracy, of how we are accepting its rights and privileges and discharging its duties and responsibilities.

'GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR. Excerpt from "I Am an American Day" 1948

message.

to man.

"I am an American! In that birthright is found the most precious heritage known For there are embodied within it as rights, inviolate and inalienable, equality of opportunity, equality of justice, and equality of dignity. They permit men to rise from lowly birth to high station, from subordination to leadership, and infuse in the hearts and minds of all so endowed a spirituality which generates those great human forces essential to material progress-courage, energy, and initiative. On this day set apart, it is for us to rededicate our devotion to the great moral values drawn from that heritage and welded into the concept of Americanism, which both patterns and buttresses our free way of life."

Atlanta Journal. Excerpt from Editorial, May 27, 1945.

"American citizenship today, for the newcomers as for those who have enjoyed its privileges in the past, is more than an opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is a tremendous responsibility, too, obligating the individual to work for restoration of justice and peace to a broken world. If it is to be done, the old citizen, as well as the new, must reaffirm his faith in the fundamentals of American citizenship, and remain deeply conscious of the necessity for their preservation."

Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. Excerpt from editorial, May 16, 1948.

"In the darkness that has settled over so much of the world and which shadows the existence of men in places where individual liberty still struggles to live, the United States of America has become the source of hope and aid to the millions of oppressed who once knew freedom and the hated enemy of the overlords of darkness who would destroy it wherever they can ***To say 'I am an American' also must be a vow that one is willing to fight to keep alive the whole meaning of that proud statement. Otherwise the world's greatest title is undeserved."

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