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The presidents of the United States are world-renowned figures. None of them enjoy the full sympathy of the citizens, even so, Americans have one day a year to celebrate them. Presidents’ Day is celebrated every third Monday of February. This is the history and background of this date.
For much of the 19th century, many states celebrated George Washington’s birthday on February 22. The first president is a favorite of Americans. The man who refused to be king died in 1799, and since then, his birthday has been a reason to celebrate in many parts of the country.
The date began to be formalized in the 1870s when Senator Stephen Wallace Dorsey (R-AR) first pushed for the measure, which in 1879 would be signed into law by President Rutherford B. Hayes. Although it initially applied only to the District of Columbia, the holiday was extended to the entire country in 1895. Since then, Presidents’ Day has been celebrated every February 22.
Washington’s birthday was the first holiday to honor an individual citizen and had joined the four other national holidays of the time: Christmas, New Year’s Day, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.
Everything changed in the 20th century with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, championed by Rep. Robert McClory (R-IL). This legislation was enacted by Richard Nixon and changed the holiday schedule. It moved all of them to Mondays, which unfailingly affected the first president’s birthday. According to Britannica, “the change was designed to schedule certain holidays so that workers had a number of long weekends throughout the year.”
As Congress debated the bill, lawmakers proposed unifying Washington’s and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays (Feb. 12) into one holiday celebrating them both. McClory even floated the name Presidents’ Day. Although the change ultimately failed, the date was changed to the third Monday in February.
Why is the holiday known as Presidents’ Day?
It didn’t take long for McClory’s proposal to spread among Americans, mainly among tourism entrepreneurs. His marketing specialists wasted no time and promoted the three-day weekend as Presidents’ Day.
This timely marketing name was adopted by many states by 2000. By the new millennium, 25 of the 50 states had renamed the holiday Presidents’ Day. Some even took the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. For example, Arkansas celebrates both Washington and civil rights activist, Daisy Gatson Bates, while Alabama celebrates Thomas Jefferson, whose birthday is in April.
According to History, “Washington and Lincoln still remain the two most recognized leaders, but Presidents‘ Day is now popularly seen as a day to recognize the lives and achievements of all of America’s chief executives.”
In its modern form, it is used by citizens to organize celebrations and festivities throughout the United States. Some states do not forget the educational content and require their public schools to spend the days leading up to Presidents’ Day teaching students about the accomplishments of heads of state.
One by one, all U.S. presidents
By way of tribute, these are the 46 men who have held the office of president of the United States:
1. George Washington (1789-1797)
2. John Adams (1797–1801) Federalist
3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) Democrat-Republican
4. James Madison (1809-1817) Democrat-Republican
5. James Monroe (1817-1825) Democrat-Republican
6. John Quincy Adams (1825 -1829) Democrat-Republican
7. Andrew Jackson (1829-1837) Democrat
8. Martín Van Buren (1837-1841) Democrat
9. William Henry Harrison (1841) Whig
10. John Tyler (1841-1845) Whig
11. James K. Polk (1845-1849) Democrat
12. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) Whig
13. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) whig
14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) Democrat
15. James Buchanan (1857-1861) Democrat
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Republican
17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Democrat
18. Ulises S. Grant (1869-1877) Republican
19. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881) Republican
20. James A. Garfield (1881) Republican
21. Chester A. Artur (1881-1885) Republican
22. Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) Democrat
23. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) Republican
24. Grover Cleveland (1893-1897) Democrat
25. William McKinley (1897-1901) Republican
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) Republican
27. William H. Taft (1909-1913) Republican
28. Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) Democrat
29. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923) Republican
30. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929) Republican
31. Herbert C. Hoover (1929-1933) Republican
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) Democrat
33. Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) Democrat
34. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961) Republican
35. John F. Kennedy (1961-1963) Democrat
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969) Democrat
37. Richard M. Nixon (1969-1974) Republican
38. Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977) Republican
39. Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) Democrat
40. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) Republican
41. George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) Republican
42. Bill Clinton (1993-2001) Democrat
43. George W. Bush (2001-2009) Republican
44. Barack Obama (2009-2017) Democrat
45. Donald J. Trump (2017-2021) Republican
46. Joe Biden (2021-) Democrat
Joaquín Núñez es licenciado en comunicación periodística por la Universidad Católica Argentina. Se especializa en el escenario internacional y en la política nacional norteamericana. Confeso hincha de Racing Club de Avellaneda. Contacto: [email protected] // Joaquín Núñez has a degree in journalistic communication from the Universidad Católica Argentina. He specializes in the international scene and national American politics. Confessed fan of Racing Club of Avellaneda. Contact: [email protected]