Wes Vernon
President's Day: a meaningless holiday
By Wes Vernon
February 20th, being the third Monday of the month, was George Washington's Birthday.
February 22nd was George Washington's real birthday.
There is not — and should not — be any such thing as "Presidents' Day."
Can anyone with a straight face equate George Washington with Millard Fillmore, Martin Van Buren, Chester Arthur, Jimmy Carter, or Bill Clinton? Really? Tell me how. Within a couple of generations, the latter two will occupy the same sort of barely discernable blip on the radar screen as that occupied by the first three. Clinton may get an extra asterisk since he was the first elected president to be impeached.
No such thing as President's Day? Not legally, in fact. That designation came about as a result of a proclamation by President Nixon in his first term.
"Contrary to popular misconception, legislation has never been approved by Congress or signed into law changing the name of the federal holiday to President's Day," says Congressman Roscoe Bartlett. The Maryland Republican has introduced legislation — HR-43 — to direct all federal agencies to refer to the federal holiday on the third Monday in February by its legal name, George Washington's Birthday. The bill also calls on the president to issue a proclamation each year recognizing the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday falls on February 12.
Here is Congressman Bartlett's rationale:
"A generic Presidents' Day diminished the accomplishments of America's greatest presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, while rewarding the mediocrity of others. That is why I have introduced legislation to restore recognition of the federal holiday..... by its legal name, Washington's Birthday. There is not and never has been a Presidents' Day holiday."
As a matter of fact, 29 states and the District of Columbia celebrate only Washington's Birthday. Bartlett says 10 states have a separate holiday honoring Lincoln's birthday, and Massachusetts celebrates "Presidents' Day" honoring its four native-born presidents.
There would be no Declaration of Independence, no United States of America, no Constitution, and no presidency without George Washington, as Bartlett notes.
The Father of Our Country served as its first president from 1789 to 1797. For many years, it was customary (but not formally written into law) to close federal government offices in Washington, D.C. on George Washington's Birthday. In 1885, a bill passed by Congress designating Washington's Birthday as a holiday was signed into law by President Arthur. In 1968, Congress shifted designation of Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. Then a couple of years later, without any congressional approval, it became Presidents' Day. But "Presidents' Day" is not official.
The United States Code 1994 Edition, title 5, Subsection 6103, p.993, notes "The following are legal holidays: Washington's Birthday, the third Monday in February....."
Why did President Richard Nixon invent "Presidents Day" without the backing of Congress? Who knows?
Abe Lincoln said on February 22, 1842 (years before he himself became president) that "Washington is the mightiest name on earth — long since mightiest in the sense of civil liberty, still the mightiest in moral reformation."
Thomas Jefferson, the third president, said of Washington, "His name will triumph over time and in future ages assume its just station among the most celebrated worthies of the world."
So why do we have a "Presidents' Day?" And why should we not expect Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's legislation to zip through Congress with nary a whimper?
Sad to say, one suspects that beneath the surface, political correctness rears its ugly head. After all, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are "dead white males." That's the extent of respect the founders of this country get in prominent quarters, most especially in academia where hatred of America often runs rampant. If the Declaration of Independence were to be put to a vote today, the Looney Left would mount a horrific campaign against it. Never mind that Washington was instrumental in setting in motion the economic and political freedom that benefits many of the very tenured professors and Hollywood stars who denounce it, often in vile terms.
But as Harry Truman, our 33rd president put it, "If his [Washington's] administration had been a failure, there would have been no United States, but Washington was both a great administrator and a great leader."
So on this week of George Washington's 274th birthday, it is fitting that we as Americans heed these words from James Buchanan, our 15th president: "When the birthday of Washington shall be forgotten, liberty will have perished from the earth."
That is something to give us pause. Happy Washington's Birthday!
© Wes Vernon
February 20th, being the third Monday of the month, was George Washington's Birthday.
February 22nd was George Washington's real birthday.
There is not — and should not — be any such thing as "Presidents' Day."
Can anyone with a straight face equate George Washington with Millard Fillmore, Martin Van Buren, Chester Arthur, Jimmy Carter, or Bill Clinton? Really? Tell me how. Within a couple of generations, the latter two will occupy the same sort of barely discernable blip on the radar screen as that occupied by the first three. Clinton may get an extra asterisk since he was the first elected president to be impeached.
No such thing as President's Day? Not legally, in fact. That designation came about as a result of a proclamation by President Nixon in his first term.
"Contrary to popular misconception, legislation has never been approved by Congress or signed into law changing the name of the federal holiday to President's Day," says Congressman Roscoe Bartlett. The Maryland Republican has introduced legislation — HR-43 — to direct all federal agencies to refer to the federal holiday on the third Monday in February by its legal name, George Washington's Birthday. The bill also calls on the president to issue a proclamation each year recognizing the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln, whose birthday falls on February 12.
Here is Congressman Bartlett's rationale:
"A generic Presidents' Day diminished the accomplishments of America's greatest presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, while rewarding the mediocrity of others. That is why I have introduced legislation to restore recognition of the federal holiday..... by its legal name, Washington's Birthday. There is not and never has been a Presidents' Day holiday."
As a matter of fact, 29 states and the District of Columbia celebrate only Washington's Birthday. Bartlett says 10 states have a separate holiday honoring Lincoln's birthday, and Massachusetts celebrates "Presidents' Day" honoring its four native-born presidents.
There would be no Declaration of Independence, no United States of America, no Constitution, and no presidency without George Washington, as Bartlett notes.
The Father of Our Country served as its first president from 1789 to 1797. For many years, it was customary (but not formally written into law) to close federal government offices in Washington, D.C. on George Washington's Birthday. In 1885, a bill passed by Congress designating Washington's Birthday as a holiday was signed into law by President Arthur. In 1968, Congress shifted designation of Washington's Birthday from February 22 to the third Monday in February. Then a couple of years later, without any congressional approval, it became Presidents' Day. But "Presidents' Day" is not official.
The United States Code 1994 Edition, title 5, Subsection 6103, p.993, notes "The following are legal holidays: Washington's Birthday, the third Monday in February....."
Why did President Richard Nixon invent "Presidents Day" without the backing of Congress? Who knows?
Abe Lincoln said on February 22, 1842 (years before he himself became president) that "Washington is the mightiest name on earth — long since mightiest in the sense of civil liberty, still the mightiest in moral reformation."
Thomas Jefferson, the third president, said of Washington, "His name will triumph over time and in future ages assume its just station among the most celebrated worthies of the world."
So why do we have a "Presidents' Day?" And why should we not expect Congressman Roscoe Bartlett's legislation to zip through Congress with nary a whimper?
Sad to say, one suspects that beneath the surface, political correctness rears its ugly head. After all, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are "dead white males." That's the extent of respect the founders of this country get in prominent quarters, most especially in academia where hatred of America often runs rampant. If the Declaration of Independence were to be put to a vote today, the Looney Left would mount a horrific campaign against it. Never mind that Washington was instrumental in setting in motion the economic and political freedom that benefits many of the very tenured professors and Hollywood stars who denounce it, often in vile terms.
But as Harry Truman, our 33rd president put it, "If his [Washington's] administration had been a failure, there would have been no United States, but Washington was both a great administrator and a great leader."
So on this week of George Washington's 274th birthday, it is fitting that we as Americans heed these words from James Buchanan, our 15th president: "When the birthday of Washington shall be forgotten, liberty will have perished from the earth."
That is something to give us pause. Happy Washington's Birthday!
© Wes Vernon
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