April 10, 1987
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
In 1912, the Territory of Arizona became the forty-eighth State to join the Union. The formation of the continental United States, ``the lower forty-eight,'' was now complete. At the time, the long trail of American pioneering across the continent seemed complete as well. But in the three-quarters of a century since then, the people of Arizona have shown again and again that they have never lost the tenacity and pioneer spirit that gained them statehood. Our Nation is much the better thereby.
Arizona has always presented challenges and frontiers to those who would settle there -- Indians, missionaries, colonists, and pioneers alike. Today's Arizonans pioneer in high technology, medical research, space programs, astronomy, and many more fields of endeavor, and Americans continue to find opportunity in this beautiful State.
That beauty, from the Grand Canyon in the north to the Saguaro National Monument in the south, will forever epitomize the scenic majesty of the American West. Because the pioneer spirit of the people of Arizona continues to epitomize the American spirit, it is most fitting that every American celebrate the 75th anniversary of Arizona statehood.
The Congress, by Public Law, 100 - 10, has designated 1987 as ``Arizona Diamond Jubilee Year'' and authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of the 75th anniversary of Arizona statehood.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim 1987 as Arizona Diamond Jubilee Year and call upon the people of the United States and the Federal, State, and local governments to commemorate the jubilee with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and eleventh.
Ronald Reagan
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:05 p.m., April 13, 1987]