National Maritime Day Proclamations 1933 to 1945 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt honor American Merchant Marine

National Maritime Day Proclamations 1933 to 1945 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt honor American Merchant Marine

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1933

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1934

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1935

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1936

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1937

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1938

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1939

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1940

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1941

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1942

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1943

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1944

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1945

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS in Public Resolution 7, approved May 20, 1933, it is stated that on May 22, 1819, the steamship The Savannah departed from Savannah, Georgia, on the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion, thus making a material contribution to the advancement of ocean transportation; and

WHEREAS by said Resolution the President of the United States is authorized and requested annually to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day;

Now, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me, do hereby issue my proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1933, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places, and I hereby direct that Government officials display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 20th day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and fifty-seventh.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS on May 22, 1819, the Steamship THE SAVANNAH sailed from Savannah, Georgia, on the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion, thus making a material contribution to the advancement of ocean transportation; and

WHEREAS the Congress by Joint Resolution of May 20, 1933, designated May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day and requested the President to issue annually a Proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such National Maritime Day;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do call upon and urge the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1934, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes and other suitable places, and I hereby direct that Government officials display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 4th day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and fifty-eighth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS Public Resolution 7, Seventy-third Congress, approved May 20, 1933, provides, in part

"That May 22 of each year shall hereafter be designated and known as National Maritime Day, and the President is authorized and requested annually to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and Government officials to display the flag on all Government buildings on May 22 of each year."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do call upon and urge the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1935, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes and other suitable places, and I hereby direct that Government officials display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 14th day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and fifty-ninth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1936 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS Public Resolution 7, Seventy-third Congress, approved May 20, 1933, provides, in part

"That May 22 of each year shall hereafter be designated and known as National Maritime Day, and the President is authorized and requested annually to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and Government officials to display the flag on all Government buildings on May 22 of each year."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do call upon and urge the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1936, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes and other suitable places, and I hereby direct that Government officials display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 18th day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixtieth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS May 22 of each year has been designated as National Maritime Day by Public Resolution 7, Seventy-third Congress, approved May 20, 1933, reading as follows:

"Whereas on May 22, 1819, the steamship The Savannah set sail from Savannah, Georgia, on the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion, thus making a material contribution to the advancement of ocean transportation: Therefore be it

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That May 22 of each year shall hereafter be designated and known as National Maritime Day, and the President is authorized and requested annually to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and Government officials to display the flag on all Government buildings on May 22 of each year."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do call upon and urge the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1937, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes and other suitable places, and I hereby direct that Government officials display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this 22nd day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-first.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS in commemoration of the first successful transoceanic voyage made under steam propulsion by the steamship The Savannah, which set sail from Savannah, Georgia, on May 22, 1819, Public Resolution 7, approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73), provides:

"That May 22 of each year shall hereafter be designated and known as National Maritime Day, and the President is authorized and requested annually to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and Government officials to display the flag on all Government buildings on May 22 of each year.";

AND WHEREAS May 22, 1938, falls on a Sunday:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do call upon and urge the people of the United States to observe Monday, May 23, 1938, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes and other suitable places, and I hereby direct that Government officials display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

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 25th day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-eight and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-second.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1939 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS on May 22, 1819, the steamship The Savannah sailed from Savannah, Georgia, on the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion, thus making a material contribution to the advancement of ocean transportation; and

WHEREAS the Congress by joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73), designated May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such National Maritime Day; and

WHEREAS it is fitting that the enterprise and achievements of the American merchant marine and the courage and patriotism of the officers and seamen of that merchant marine throughout our history be thus recognized;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1939, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and do direct Government officials to display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

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 4th day of May in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and thirty-nine and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-third.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1940 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion was made by the steamship The Savannah, which set sail from Savannah, Georgia, on May 22, 1819; and

WHEREAS, in commemoration of the material contribution thus made to the advancement of ocean transportation, the Congress by a joint resolution of May 20; 1933 (48 Stat. 73), designated May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling for the appropriate observance of the day; and

WHEREAS it is proper that public recognition should be given to the courage, vision, and achievements of the officers and seamen of the American merchant marine and to the eminence of American inventors and engineers in the science of navigation;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1940, as as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places, and do direct Government officials to display the flag on all Government buildings on that day.

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 30th day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-fourth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS in commemoration of the sailing of the steamship The Savannah on May 22, 1819 from Savannah, Georgia, on the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion, Public Resolution 7, approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73) provides:

"That May 22 of each year shall hereafter be designated and known as National Maritime Day, and the President is authorized and requested annually to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe such National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and Government officials to display the flag on all Government buildings on May 22 of each year.";

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1941, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and do direct that the flag be likewise displayed on all Government buildings on that day.

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 2nd day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-fifth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS on May 22, 1819, the steamship The Savannah sailed from Savannah, Georgia, on the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion, thus raking a material contribution to the advancement of ocean transportation; and

WHEREAS we of the United Nations are engaged in a war for the preservation of our liberties against the powers of aggression; and

WHEREAS it is fitting that; public recognition be given to the patriotism and courage of the officers and men of the cargo ships in the Victory Fleet, and to the men in the shipyards and factories whose labor and genius go into their construction:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN B. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1942, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places and do direct that the flag be displayed on all Government buildings on that day.

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 twenty-seventh 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

President Roosevelt Statement on Maritime Day

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1943 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS the sailing of the steamship The Savannah on May 22, 1819, from Savannah, Georgia, on the first successful transoceanic voyage under steam propulsion made a significant contribution to the advancement of transportation by sea; and

WHEREAS in commemoration of this achievement the Congress by joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73) designated May 22 of each year as "National Maritime Day" and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day; and

WHEREAS the support of our overseas forces and the rendering of aid to our allies depend upon the steady movement of cargo along the ocean tracks -- a movement now maintained by the courageous seamen of our merchant marine in resolute defiance of the enemy above, beneath and on the surface of the seas:

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 24th day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-three and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-seventh.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1944 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS the Congress by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 (48 Stat. 73), designated May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day, in commemoration of the sailing from Savannah, Georgia, on May 22, 1819, of The Savannah, the first steam-propelled vessel to cross the Atlantic, and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day; and

WHEREAS the Congress, in the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, approved June 29, 1936 (49 Stat. 1985), has declared it to be the policy of the United States to foster and encourage the development and maintenance of a merchant marine "(a) sufficient to carry its domestic water-borne commerce and a substantial portion of the water-borne export and import foreign commerce of the United States and to provide shipping service on all routes essential for maintaining the flow of such domestic and foreign water-borne commerce at all times, (b) capable of serving as a naval and military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency, (c) owned and operated under the United States flag by citizens of the United States insofar as may be practicable, and (d) composed of the best-equipped, safest, and most suitable types of vessels, constructed in the United States and manned with a trained and efficient citizen personnel"; and

WHEREAS many thousands of American men and women have toiled through long hours in shipyards and factories in order to construct in the shortest possible time the fleet of vessels needed to carry out not only the long-range program envisioned in the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 but also the emergency program necessitated by the global war in which we are involved; and

WHEREAS many men have already given their lives, and thousands of others are daily risking their lives, on our ships traversing dangerous seas to carry men and materials to the far-flung battlefields; and

WHEREAS it is fitting that the patriotism, courage, sacrifice, and labor of these men and women, ashore and afloat, be publicly recognized:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon the people of the United States to observe May 22, 1944, as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places, and I direct that the flag be displayed on all Government buildings on that day.

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 25th day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-eighth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

National Maritime Day Proclamation 1945 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the United States of America

A Proclamation

WHEREAS a notable contribution was made in the history of ocean transportation when the steamship The Savannah set sail from the United States on May 22, 1819 and made the first successful voyage across the Atlantic Ocean under steam propulsion; and

WHEREAS in commemoration of this achievement the Congress by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933 designated May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day; and

WHEREAS many thousands of patriotic men and. women are toiling through the long hours of the day and night in the construction of the great fleets of vessels that carry the goods of victory to the distant battlefronts of the United Nations; and

WHEREAS our ships, sailing every ocean, have been manned by courageous officers and seamen all of whom have left the security of their firesides and many of whom have given their lives for the land of their allegiance; and

WHEREAS the American people are looking forward to the days of lasting peace when the merchant fleets of the ration, wisely used and vigilantly maintained, shall sail the seas freed from the perils of war:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President of the United States of America, do I hereby call upon the people of the United. States to observe May 22, 1945 as National Maritime Day by displaying the flag at their homes or other suitable places, and I direct that the flag be displayed on all Government buildings on that day.

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 fourth day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty--five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and sixty-ninth.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Maritime Day Proclamations by President Truman
Maritime Day Proclamations and Celebrations
President Roosevelt Speeches and Statements
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Source: Statutes-at-Large of the United States of America, 1934-1945

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