Presidents’ Day: A Day for America

Most school children in America grow up knowing that Benjamin Franklin flew a kite in a thunderstorm, Abraham Lincoln went to the theater and George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and couldn’t tell a lie. Teachers commonly tell these stories about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln throughout February, which happens to be the birth month of these pivotal historical figures. It also happens to be the month that Americans observe Presidents’ Day on the third Monday in February.

While many use this occasion to enjoy a three-day weekend or a shopping spree with deep discounts, Presidents’ Day is a deeply significant holiday that gives us the opportunity to reflect on the Founding Fathers and how to best keep their dreams of democracy and liberty alive.

After the Revolutionary War, George Washington was one of the most respected men in the country. Following his death in 1799, his birthday on February 22nd became an unofficial day of remembrance, especially during the 100th anniversary of his birth in 1832. The official recognition of the holiday was first proposed in 1870 by Senator Dorsey from Arkansas and was signed into law by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1879. In a surprising twist, it was only a holiday within Washington D.C. It wasn’t until 1885 that it became an official federal bank holiday in keeping with Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and the Fourth of July.

At the time of passage, Presidents’ Day was called “Washington’s Birthday” and celebrated every February 22nd. It wasn’t until Congress proposed The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of the late 1960s that Washington’s Birthday underwent the slow transformation into what we now observe as Presidents’ Day. The Uniform Monday Act was an act of Congress that moved observations of Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day and Washington’s Birthday to a fixed Monday in the month.

Lawmakers wrote this bill for many reasons, and one motivation was to give the American worker more three-day weekends throughout the year. Many lawmakers and labor unions believed that this would cause less absenteeism surrounding the holiday while retailers recognized the opportunity for seasonal sales that regular holidays presented. It was a popular bill with few exceptions.

At this point, Washington’s Birthday was a federal holiday, but Lincoln’s birthday on February 12th was a regional observation mostly in his home state of Illinois. In an attempt to give Lincoln formal recognition, language was added to The Uniform Monday Holiday Act to combine the two birthday observations and rename the holiday President’s Day. Many native Virginians didn’t agree with mixing the two holidays. Ultimately the bill passed after President Nixon signed an executive order that still referred to the holiday as Washington’s Birthday.

With the third Monday of February commonly falling between President Lincoln’s birthday and President Washington’s birthday, many people believed the change was made to honor both men and their contributions to our country. As this belief grew, many started calling the holiday Presidents’ Day. However, it wasn’t until years later, in the early to mid-1980s that the holiday was commonly referred to as Presidents’ Day as inspired by retailers marketing sales during the three-day weekend. However, it wasn’t until years later, in the early to mid-1980s, that the holiday started to be commonly referred to as Presidents’ Day by retailers to market sales during the three-day weekend.

Now instead of taking a day to remember the contributions of George Washington, the third Monday in February is set aside to acknowledge all the founding fathers and the country they built.