Abraham Lincoln |
George Washington |
Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. ― Abraham Lincoln
What do both these quotes have in common? Character. Lincoln said, "Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
What is Presidents Day? A day off work, sales and special events? Before we rush out for 10% off this or 30% off that, let's take a look at what Presidents Day really is. It all started with the death of George Washington, the first president of the United States, in 1799. The following year began the celebrations of his birthday on February 22. It was signed into law as a holiday in 1879 and was the first to honor an individual American's life.
Abraham Lincoln's birthday, February 12, is celebrated in some states as a state holiday, but the rest combine the celebration of both Washington and Lincoln on Presidents Day.
Today it is commonly accepted as a celebration of all U.S. presidents, although some lawmakers object to this. They feel that grouping Washington and Lincoln with less successful presidents minimizes their legacies.
Some presidential trivia:
- Washington's picture first appeared on the one dollar bill in 1869.
- Lincoln's picture was chosen for the five dollar bill in 1914.
- Washington was opposed to political parties, Lincoln was republican.
- Washington was inaugurated in two cities, New York and Philadelphia.
- Lincoln was Presbyterian, Washington was Episcopalian.
- Lincoln's picture is on both the penny and the five dollar bill.
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Well, I learned a thing or two after reading your post!
ReplyDeleteThere are some Presidents who left us with some really wise words and thoughts.
Yes, it's a holiday and we should remember.
Indeed there were a few who left us with words of wisdom. I usually analyze or interpret the quotes, but these just stand on their own.
DeleteWell, I'm late on this one, but did enjoy reading the post. I didn't know very much about President's Day, but feel much more informed now. I didn't realize it was such an old holiday. I know this sounds stupid, but it seems to come and go without very much fanfare and so, I appreciate this post. Personally, I think being the American President would be the hardest job in the world to have, even historically. Therefore, I'm all for including every single President in this day of celebration:~)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't find any old calendars but I seem to remember seeing Washington and Lincoln's birthdays on the calendar. I don't know if anyone got off work but we still went to school. The only thing we really have is it's a federal holiday which means government business is closed and there are a lot of sales.
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