Peter Hannaford: The Day That Isn't
[Mr. Hannaford is a former member of the Mount Vernon Advisory Committee.]
Next Monday, February 21, will be the Washington's Birthday Holiday. That is what it's been ever since an Act of Congress created it in 1880 to honor the nation's first president. Forty years ago, however, it metamorphosed into "Presidents' Day." How did this happen?
Beginning in 1951 a fellow named Harold Stonebridge Fischer created the Presidents' Day National Committee. He became its executive director. Over the next two decades he lobbied tirelessly to have such a day become law. He favored March 4, the original presidential inauguration day, as the date for his creation. Alas for Harold, it never happened, although it gave him twenty years of steady employment.
The bill stalled in the Senate Judiciary committee because its members were worried that a new holiday squeezed in on the heels of Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays would be too costly to the government. Nevertheless, during the years of the lobbying, a majority of state governors officially proclaimed March 4 as Presidents' Day. Not much came of this, however, because it wasn't a holiday.
Up through 1970 the Washington's Birthday Holiday was celebrated on the first president's birthday, February 22, regardless of the day of the week on which it fell. That year, Congress began to debate the relative virtue of moving several stand-alone holidays to nearby Mondays. Members reasoned it would be less disruptive for the government workforce, would cut down on overtime and would be equally beneficial to business workforces. It also promised the additional benefits of increased retail sales and happier citizens who would enjoy three-day weekends. It passed....
Read entire article at American Spectator
Next Monday, February 21, will be the Washington's Birthday Holiday. That is what it's been ever since an Act of Congress created it in 1880 to honor the nation's first president. Forty years ago, however, it metamorphosed into "Presidents' Day." How did this happen?
Beginning in 1951 a fellow named Harold Stonebridge Fischer created the Presidents' Day National Committee. He became its executive director. Over the next two decades he lobbied tirelessly to have such a day become law. He favored March 4, the original presidential inauguration day, as the date for his creation. Alas for Harold, it never happened, although it gave him twenty years of steady employment.
The bill stalled in the Senate Judiciary committee because its members were worried that a new holiday squeezed in on the heels of Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays would be too costly to the government. Nevertheless, during the years of the lobbying, a majority of state governors officially proclaimed March 4 as Presidents' Day. Not much came of this, however, because it wasn't a holiday.
Up through 1970 the Washington's Birthday Holiday was celebrated on the first president's birthday, February 22, regardless of the day of the week on which it fell. That year, Congress began to debate the relative virtue of moving several stand-alone holidays to nearby Mondays. Members reasoned it would be less disruptive for the government workforce, would cut down on overtime and would be equally beneficial to business workforces. It also promised the additional benefits of increased retail sales and happier citizens who would enjoy three-day weekends. It passed....