Every year since May 1, 1958, the United States has recognized Law Day.  Codified in 1961, it is “a special day of celebration” for Americans to reaffirm “their loyalty to the United States” and rededicate themselves “to the ideals of equality and justice under law in their relations with each other and with other countries.”  Its purpose is to “cultivat[e] . . . respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life.”   It tasks the President with issuing an annual proclamation calling for “public officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on Law Day” and for “the people of the United States” to observe the day with “appropriate ceremonies,” through “public entities and private organizations and in schools and other suitable places.”

This Essay discusses the history of Law Day and how its changing themes and proclamations showcase U.S. society’s evolving views about the rule of law and the United States’s system of government over the last sixty-five years.  Additionally, although the American Bar Association (ABA) website provides access to many of the Law Day proclamations, there has not been one central, publicly available, comprehensive repository of all of the Law Day proclamations since 1958.  This Essay includes an appendix with all of the presidential proclamations since Law Day’s inception.