Proclamation 2547—"I Am An American" Day, 1942

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Whereas Public Resolution No. 67, approved May 3, 1940 (54 Stat. 178), provides in part:

"That the third Sunday in May each year be, and hereby is, set aside as Citizenship Day and that the President of the United States is hereby authorized and requested to issue annually a proclamation setting aside that day as a public occasion for the recognition of all who, by coming of age or naturalization, have attained the status of citizenship, and the day shall be designated as ‘I Am An American Day.'

"That the civil and educational authorities of States, counties, cities, and towns be, and they are hereby, urged to make plans for the proper observance of this day and for the full Instruction of future citizens in their responsibilities and opportunities as citizens of the United States and of the States and localities In which they reside"; and

Whereas it is even more essential in time of war than in time of peace that a people should fully understand the form and genius of their Government and the responsibilities of citizenship:

Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Sunday, May 17, 1942, as "I Am An American" Day; I urge that the day be set aside as a public occasion for the recognition of all our citizens who have attained their majority or who have been naturalized during the past year; and I call upon Federal, State, and local officials and patriotic, civic, and educational organizations to take part on that day in exercises designed to impress upon all our citizens, both native-born and naturalized, the duties and opportunities of citizenship and its special responsibilities in a nation at war.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington , this 7th day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-sixth.

FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

By the President:
SUMNER WELLES
Acting Secretary of State.