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Article: Proclamation 7162 - Religious Freedom Day, 1999.(Week Ending Friday, January 15, 1999)(January 14, 1999)(Transcript)
- Article from:
- Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
- Article date:
- January 18, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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January 14, 1999
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
On Religious Freedom Day we commemorate a landmark achievement in the history of our Nation: the adoption in 1786 by the Virginia legislature of a religious freedom statute. This historic legislation, drafted by Thomas Jefferson and co-sponsored by James Madison, was designed to prevent religious discrimination and to protect Virginians from pressure to join or support any church. It served as the model for the First Amendment of our Constitution, the guarantee of freedom of religion that has beckoned so many people fleeing persecution to seek sanctuary in this ...