American History: Presidents' Day

What would America be without George Washington? We may not be speaking like Doctor Who or using the Queen's currency but America's first president did a LOT for the founding of our nation. He had a big part in the drafting of the United States' Constitution in 1787 and served as the president from 1789 and 1797.

He was born on February 22nd, 1732 and to honor him, the day was celebrated even during his lifetime. It became a federal holiday in January 31, 1879 and was moved to the third Monday of the month with Congress' “Uniform Monday Holiday Act" of June of 1968  (the law took effect in '71). The name “Presidents’ Day” was proposed for this day as a way to show respect for all that held the office (Lincoln's birthday is the 12th) but the government never officially changed the name. It wasn't until 1980s advertising campaigns began to popularize the name and it became widely accepted.

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