February 20th
Monday February 20th
Like most Americans, I know that the second to last Monday in February is the day we celebrate “President’s Day.” I know this because it is a national holiday, and we all have off. I always assumed that “President’s Day” was a generic holiday created to honor all 43 US Presidents, and that we celebrate it in February because both Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays fall in February (and used to be celebrated as their own national holidays.) According to the Urban Legend website Snopes.com, “The seeds of confusion were sown in 1968 with the passage of a piece of legislation known as Uniform Holidays Bill, intended to create more three-day weekends for federal employees by moving the observance of three federal holidays (Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day) from fixed calendar dates to designated Mondays, and by establishing Columbus Day (also to be observed on a Monday) as a new federal holiday.
Under this act, from 1971 onwards the observance date of Washington's Birthday would be relocated from February 22 to the third Monday in February. (Oddly enough, this change guaranteed that Washington's Birthday would never again be celebrated on his "actual" birthday of February 22, as the third Monday in February cannot fall any later than February 21.) Although early efforts to implement a Uniform Holidays Bill in 1968 also proposed moving the observance of Washington's Birthday to the third Monday in February and renaming the holiday "President's Day," the passed version of the bill provided only for the former. The official designation of the federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February is, and always has been, Washington's Birthday."
President Nixon is frequently identified as the party responsible for changing Washington's Birthday into President's Day and fostering the notion that it is a day for commemorating all U.S. Presidents, a feat he supposedly achieved by issuing a proclamation on 21 February 1971 which declared the third Monday in February to be a "holiday set aside to honor all presidents, even myself."
Interesting, the things one learns when doing research for writing letters. In any case, under the assumption that today honored all US Presidents, I had planned to write to the four living former Presidents and the current White House occupant. I am going to follow through with this plan. (Next year, I’ll know better.)
Gerald R. Ford
The Vice president of the US under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford took office in 1974 after Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal. His Presidency came at an uncertain time in American history, as the Vietnam War was coming to a close and the economy was in shambles. A former Congressional leader, Ford faced an uphill battle as President and lost his reelection bid in 1976. My memories of the Ford Presidency are linked to the spirited Bicentennial celebrations in July of 1976, as I was too young to remember any of the bad stuff. In later years, I came to know him through parodies on “Saturday Night Live” and “the Simpsons.” He is now in his 90’s, and has been in bad health lately.
Jimmy Carter
The first President I really remember, Jimmy Carter held office from 1977-1981. The former Governor of Georgia and a peanut farmer, he was a nice man whose presidency was also dragged down by economic problems and international strife. His daughter Amy was around my age, so I paid attention to the stories about her life growing up in the White House. Since his Presidency ended, Carter has become a goodwill ambassador and humanitarian, participating in many projects like Habitat for Humanity to help those in need.
George H.W. Bush
As I sat down to write this, recalling my memories of all the Presidents in my lifetime, I was stunned to realize that George H.W. Bush held either the Vice Presidency or Presidency for one third of my life! (If you add his son’s accomplishments, that’s quite a political dynasty.) VP under Ronald Reagan from 1981-1989 and President from 1989-1993, Bush Sr. (or “41”, as he’s known, to distinguish him from his son, the “43rd” President) saw a lot of changes in the world happen under his watch, from the end of the cold war to the rise of the information age. The election of 1988, where he won the Presidency with Dan Quayle as his VP, was the first one I was old enough to vote in, so he is the first President of my adult life.
Bill Clinton
In 1988, when Michael Dukakis was running against George H.W. Bush for President, he chose an obscure politician, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, to introduce him at the Democratic Convention. Clinton’s speech (though a little long winded) wowed the crowd. I was watching with my grandmother that night and she said to me, “forget Dukakis, this guy is going to be the next Democrat President.” I meant to write him a letter back then (and who knows what direction my life would have taken if I’d hopped onboard his nascient campaign in 1989) but I didn’t, so I’m writing now. A two term President (1993-2001) Clinton was at the helm during America’s greatest era of prosperity. Though he was marred by scandal at the end, he defined the 1990’s, and was a fitting President to close the 20th Century.
George W. Bush
Another “baby boomer” President, Bush (or “W” as he likes to be called) took office after one of the most unusual elections in American history. Shortly after he became President, he had to face one of the biggest challenges any President has ever had to face, the attacks of September 11, 2001. The resulting war on terrorism, and invasion of Iraq has defined his legacy. A former baseball owner, Bush is one of the most physically fit Presidents we’ve ever had, and still takes a keen interest in sports.
Like most Americans, I know that the second to last Monday in February is the day we celebrate “President’s Day.” I know this because it is a national holiday, and we all have off. I always assumed that “President’s Day” was a generic holiday created to honor all 43 US Presidents, and that we celebrate it in February because both Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays fall in February (and used to be celebrated as their own national holidays.) According to the Urban Legend website Snopes.com, “The seeds of confusion were sown in 1968 with the passage of a piece of legislation known as Uniform Holidays Bill, intended to create more three-day weekends for federal employees by moving the observance of three federal holidays (Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day) from fixed calendar dates to designated Mondays, and by establishing Columbus Day (also to be observed on a Monday) as a new federal holiday.
Under this act, from 1971 onwards the observance date of Washington's Birthday would be relocated from February 22 to the third Monday in February. (Oddly enough, this change guaranteed that Washington's Birthday would never again be celebrated on his "actual" birthday of February 22, as the third Monday in February cannot fall any later than February 21.) Although early efforts to implement a Uniform Holidays Bill in 1968 also proposed moving the observance of Washington's Birthday to the third Monday in February and renaming the holiday "President's Day," the passed version of the bill provided only for the former. The official designation of the federal holiday observed on the third Monday of February is, and always has been, Washington's Birthday."
President Nixon is frequently identified as the party responsible for changing Washington's Birthday into President's Day and fostering the notion that it is a day for commemorating all U.S. Presidents, a feat he supposedly achieved by issuing a proclamation on 21 February 1971 which declared the third Monday in February to be a "holiday set aside to honor all presidents, even myself."
Interesting, the things one learns when doing research for writing letters. In any case, under the assumption that today honored all US Presidents, I had planned to write to the four living former Presidents and the current White House occupant. I am going to follow through with this plan. (Next year, I’ll know better.)
Gerald R. Ford
The Vice president of the US under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford took office in 1974 after Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate scandal. His Presidency came at an uncertain time in American history, as the Vietnam War was coming to a close and the economy was in shambles. A former Congressional leader, Ford faced an uphill battle as President and lost his reelection bid in 1976. My memories of the Ford Presidency are linked to the spirited Bicentennial celebrations in July of 1976, as I was too young to remember any of the bad stuff. In later years, I came to know him through parodies on “Saturday Night Live” and “the Simpsons.” He is now in his 90’s, and has been in bad health lately.
Jimmy Carter
The first President I really remember, Jimmy Carter held office from 1977-1981. The former Governor of Georgia and a peanut farmer, he was a nice man whose presidency was also dragged down by economic problems and international strife. His daughter Amy was around my age, so I paid attention to the stories about her life growing up in the White House. Since his Presidency ended, Carter has become a goodwill ambassador and humanitarian, participating in many projects like Habitat for Humanity to help those in need.
George H.W. Bush
As I sat down to write this, recalling my memories of all the Presidents in my lifetime, I was stunned to realize that George H.W. Bush held either the Vice Presidency or Presidency for one third of my life! (If you add his son’s accomplishments, that’s quite a political dynasty.) VP under Ronald Reagan from 1981-1989 and President from 1989-1993, Bush Sr. (or “41”, as he’s known, to distinguish him from his son, the “43rd” President) saw a lot of changes in the world happen under his watch, from the end of the cold war to the rise of the information age. The election of 1988, where he won the Presidency with Dan Quayle as his VP, was the first one I was old enough to vote in, so he is the first President of my adult life.
Bill Clinton
In 1988, when Michael Dukakis was running against George H.W. Bush for President, he chose an obscure politician, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, to introduce him at the Democratic Convention. Clinton’s speech (though a little long winded) wowed the crowd. I was watching with my grandmother that night and she said to me, “forget Dukakis, this guy is going to be the next Democrat President.” I meant to write him a letter back then (and who knows what direction my life would have taken if I’d hopped onboard his nascient campaign in 1989) but I didn’t, so I’m writing now. A two term President (1993-2001) Clinton was at the helm during America’s greatest era of prosperity. Though he was marred by scandal at the end, he defined the 1990’s, and was a fitting President to close the 20th Century.
George W. Bush
Another “baby boomer” President, Bush (or “W” as he likes to be called) took office after one of the most unusual elections in American history. Shortly after he became President, he had to face one of the biggest challenges any President has ever had to face, the attacks of September 11, 2001. The resulting war on terrorism, and invasion of Iraq has defined his legacy. A former baseball owner, Bush is one of the most physically fit Presidents we’ve ever had, and still takes a keen interest in sports.
posted by Chris Lucas | 11:23 PM
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