Every year on the third Monday in February, Americans celebrate President’s Day. Typically, the only recognition the day receives from most Americans is from retail businesses advertising lower prices and huge sales. President’s Day has a history, and most importantly, a purpose. President’s Day was first created to celebrate our first president’s birthday. President George Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732, and his birthday was unofficially celebrated every Feb. 22 for the first 80 years after his death until 1879, when it became a federal holiday. It continued to be celebrated on Feb. 22 every year until 1968, when attempts were made to combine Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays (Lincoln’s birthday is 10 days before Washington’s) into a single holiday. Congress ultimately rejected the idea and, instead, passed the Uniform Holiday Bill in 1968, which moved Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day and Veterans Day all to Mondays to give federal workers three-day weekends.
Officially, Presidents Day is still known as Washington’s Birthday, and for good reason. Washington was a great example of leadership and is rightfully ranked among our best and most influential presidents. His steady leadership and perseverance saw our country through the struggle of the American Revolution and to ultimate victory. He later presided over the Constitutional Convention, where our U.S. Constitution was debated and adopted. He was unanimously elected president in 1789 and then again in 1792 – the only president to ever receive every electoral vote. Perhaps his most lasting legacy, and for which we are most indebted to him, is his willful relinquishing of the presidency when he could have served longer and made himself a king or dictator. We owe the two-term presidency and the peaceful transfer of power to Washington and it is fitting that we designate a day to remember his contributions to our country and relearn the lessons his selfless and steady leadership taught us.
Washington’s Birthday has also come to be known, informally, as President’s Day, a day we celebrate all American presidents and the way each one of them shaped our country.
I hope every American takes time to think about the 45 individuals who have occupied the presidency and the tremendous and humbling responsibility of that office. It’s our duty to remember our history, to learn from it, and to try to make the world around us better. President’s Day is a good reminder of our civic duty as Americans.
As always, I encourage my constituents to contact me throughout the year with comments, questions or suggestions by calling my office at (573) 751-5713. To find more information about the bills I sponsor, visit www.senate.mo.gov/brown. Thank you for reading this and for your participation in state government.