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The month of May brings with it many things. Each year, children dance around Maypoles in an ancient celebration of the arrival of spring. This year, we hope we’ll be celebrating the reopening of American businesses.
Many Americans recall that the first of this month marks May Day, one of the most important dates on the communist calendar. Fewer recall that the first of this month also marks Law Day, a day officially designated for Americans to celebrate our Constitution and reaffirm our dedication to the rule of law.
In 1958, President Eisenhower issued a proclamation establishing Law Day to co-opt communist celebrations and highlight the fundamental distinction between government based upon force and government based upon law. He was concerned about the threat to liberty posed by the hard despotism of communism. Today, in addition to the ever-present threat of tyranny, we must also be concerned about the threat posed to liberty by the soft despotism of the administrative state and its steadily increasing overreach.
To learn more about Law Day, you can access President Eisenhower’s proclamation at: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-3221-law-day-1958.
Every President since Eisenhower has issued an annual Law Day proclamation. You can access President Trump’s proclamation for 2020 at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-law-day-u-s-2020/.
From President Trump’s April 29, 2020, Proclamation on Law Day U.S.A., 2020:
I urge all Americans, including government officials, to observe this day by reflecting upon the importance of the rule of law in our Nation and displaying the flag of the United States in support of this national observance; and I especially urge the legal profession, the press, and the radio, television, and media industries to promote and to participate in the observance of this day.
From President Eisenhower’s Proclamation 3221, dated February 3, 1958:
I urge the people of the United States to observe the designated day with appropriate ceremonies and activities; and I especially urge the legal profession, the press, and the radio, television, and motion-picture industries to promote and to participate in the observance of that day.
