The third Monday of February is the observed federal holiday known as Presidents' Day. Most Americans (including me!) simply enjoy it as a day off from school and work. But what is it, and why do we celebrate it?
How It Began
The story begins with George Washington, America's first president. In both life and death, Washington has been widely regarded as one of the finest leaders our country has ever known. Following his death in 1799, Washington's February 22nd birthday was a day of remembrance for many.
In the late 1800s, an Arkansas senator proposed a measure to make Washington's Birthday a federal holiday, and that measure was signed into law in 1879 by President Rutherford B. Hayes. Initially, the holiday was only celebrated in Washington D.C. but was expanded to the entire country in 1885.
At the time, the only other nationally recognized federal holidays were New Year's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
The Uniform Monday Holiday Act
Jump ahead to the late 1960s, when Congress proposed shifting the observance of several federal holidays to a predetermined Monday, in order to give more three-day weekends to our nation's workers. The measure was called the Uniform Monday Holiday Act.
A provision in the Uniform Monday Holiday Act aimed to also recognize Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday was February 12th. Lincoln's birthday was recognized as a state holiday in Illinois (Lincoln's home state), and many believed it was important to honor President Lincoln alongside President Washington.
DID YOU KNOW? Presidents' Day never falls on the birthday of any American president. Only four presidents — Washington, Lincoln, William Henry Harrison, and Ronald Reagan — were born in February, and their birthdays are either too early or too late to every fall on the third Monday of the month.
Due to opposition by several lawmakers from Virginia (Washington's home state), the final measure stopped short of renaming the holiday from "Washington's Birthday" to "Presidents' Day." By the mid-1980s, however, most Americans recognized the holiday as Presidents' Day, partly due to the promotion of three-day weekend sales and Presidents' Day bargains.
So... Who Does It Celebrate?
It depends on who you ask. While many Americans believe it is a day to recognize the achievements of all our presidents, others argue that honoring less successful presidents along with Washington and Lincoln diminishes their legacies.
The federal government's position is that the holiday is primarily a celebration of America's first president, and official federal calendars still label the third Monday in February as Washington's Birthday. Each state is free to call it what they want and celebrate it how they choose.
Presidential Fun Facts
- George Washington was the only president unanimously elected.
- John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day — July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the date that Congress approved the Declaration of Independence. James Monroe also died on July 4, five years later.
- Martin Van Buren was the first president born a citizen of the United States (his predecessors were all born as British subjects) but English was not his first language.
- Abraham Lincoln was the first president born in a state (Kentucky) that wasn't one of the 13 original colonies.
- At 5'4", James Madison was our nation's shortest president. Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon B. Johnson were both 6'4", making them our tallest.
- John F. Kennedy was the youngest person to be elected president; Joseph R. Biden was the oldest.
- The S in Harry S. Truman doesn't stand for anything.
- William Henry Harrison died 32 days after becoming president — from a cold he caught on Inauguration Day.
- Gerald Ford served as vice president and as president but he was not elected to either office. Ford was appointed to the vice presidency in 1973 by Richard Nixon after Spiro Agnew's resignation due to a scandal. He ascended to the presidency in the same manner in 1974 following Nixon's resignation.
- President Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer before stepping into politics.
- There are 35 national parks named after presidents and one that honors four of them. President Roosevelt has the most national parks named in his honor, followed by Lincoln.
Great Ways to Celebrate
- Watch The Presidents on the History Channel
- Reading a book about a president that you admire (Great selection at Johns Creek Books & Gifts)
- Learn to name all of the presidents in order (click HERE for list)
- Dream about becoming president yourself by reading SOFIA VALDEZ, FUTURE PREZ by Andrea Beaty.
For information about more holidays this month, click HERE.
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