One of the most anticipated days in February is the beloved Monday off, this year taking place on February 17. Some might think of this as any other three day weekend, and some might know that it’s actually President’s Day.
President’s Day is definitely an overlooked holiday, but arguably a very important one.
The special day celebrates the birthdays of two of the most famous presidents in American history, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
Washington was born on February 22, 1732, while Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809.
George Washington was the very first president of the US, brought into office on April 30, 1789. He served for eight years up until March 4,1797.
Besides becoming the first president of the United States, Washington also led the Continental Army. While he didn’t have much experience in the military field, his leadership and courage led to a great victory.
The Continental Army won not only the Revolutionary War, but freedom and independence for his country.
He also helped create the U.S. Constitution, which fought for a free government and to ensure peace as a national defense in a free nation.
An interesting fact about Washington is that he was self-educated through his entire life, teaching himself many things from agriculture to everything political.
He is celebrated on President’s Day because of his brave character and leadership which set the bar for all presidents following him.
On the other hand, Abraham Lincoln became an idol in the presidency region for very different reasons.
Lincoln was the sixteenth president, serving from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865.
Before Lincoln, political parties weren’t what was focused on when voting for the next U.S. President, but he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization.
This led to the opposing party, Democratic, to become a bigger deal as well.
Slavery was taking place throughout all of Lincoln’s life, and he was very against it. When he was elected, of course it went straight to the top of his priorities.
In order to ensure freedom for all, he had to create a document with all of his conditions to be approved by Congress, so Lincoln created the famous script known as the Emancipation Proclamation.
This declared that “…all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforth shall be free.”
In other words, he ended slavery across all states of America so everyone can have freedom.
As this is obviously a huge accomplishment, Lincoln has been an important part of history ever since his death.
He is honored every President’s Day as a tribute to what he did for our country.
Presidents Day was first made a federal holiday in the 1880’s, and was on February 22, only honoring George Washington.
However, in 1968 the law was altered to additionally honor the birth of Abraham Lincoln, and was moved to the third Monday of every February.
These two Presidents greatly impacted America and really made it the land of the free and the home of the brave.
So this President’s Day, take a moment to honor George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, who made our country what it is today.