As a kid, I went to Gettysburg, Anteitam, Monticello, Mt. Vernon, Ford's Theater, Independence Hall, as well as more historic sights than you can shake a stick at in DC, so I know exactly what you mean.

I bet your cousins called it "the war between the states" or even "the war of northern agression" too, didn't they?

:-)

-CW

Perhaps, but it is also a pretty nitpicky issue, you've got to admit. "Presidents' Day" is so ingrained in the American consciousness now that it is in widespread useage.

Here are a few examples.

Senate calendar:

http://senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/one_item_and_teasers/2011_schedule.htm

House calendar:

http://house.gov/house/House_Calendar.shtml

At least the Senate got the apostrophe right. Sigh.

But in any case, if I ever write about it again, I will surely include a side reference to the citations you have posted. Picking nits, I must confess, is a favorite hobby of mine, so you're in luck.

Heh.

-CW

It is an issue of correct vs incorrect. As a federal holiday, President's Day is incorrect and Washington's Birthday is correct.

Just a personal aside....

When I was in grade school...schoolchildren and many working adults had holidays for BOTH Lincoln's and Washington's birthday...

This seemed perfectly normal to me....since in Upstate N.Y. we were surrounded by Revolutionary War Battlefields, and were in the heart of the Abolitionist, and Women's sufferage movements "home turf"..... We were also one of the final stops on the "underground railroad" for slaves escaping to Canada.

(Go figure....I grew up to be a Liberal)

I remember being very surprised that cousins in Virgina did NOT celebrate Lincoln's birthday....and never had...
I was too young to understand that some of their parents had not even accepted the results of the Civil War!

Off to FTP

Hoping you are well
TM

Very good reads... :D Thanx

Michale.....

http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/2011.asp

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/5/usc_sec_05_00006103----000-.html

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/winter/gw-birthday-1.html

http://www.archives.gov/legislative/features/washington/

Happy Washington's Birthday!

Completely incorrect. There is no federal holiday called Presidents' Day. Please refer to federal law Title 5 US Code 6103(a).

Lincoln's birthday was never a federal holiday. Washington­'s birthday was a federal holiday which used to be observed on the 22nd. In 1968 a federal law, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, was passed moving several holidays to specific Mondays of the respective months in order to create three day weekends. This law took effect in 1971. This law is often mistakenly believe to have merged and renamed Washington­'s and Lincoln's borthdays, but it actually did not. That effort never made it out of committee. All the law ended up doing is moving the federal observance of Washington­'s Birthday to the 3rd Monday in Feb.

Glad ta hep out...

Michale.....

Whoops! Thanks for pointing that out, I've fixed it.

-CW

Michale.....

Michale.....

But I wanted to keep the whole "Constitutional Convention and post-1987/B>" part of it (to say nothing less of the "post-1989" history) out of this article;

Ahem....

I assume you mean "1789".... :D

Michale.....

Don't feel bad. I don't know about them, either. Heh. Heh heh.

dsws -

Yeah, yeah... well... picky, picky. The whole "begging for Congress to give him some damn money to fight the damn war with the damn British regulars and the goddamn Hessian mercenaries" part of the story, I thought I had adequately addressed (although I freely admit: "your mileage may vary"). But I wanted to keep the whole "Constitutional Convention and post-1987" part of it (to say nothing less of the "post-1989" history) out of this article; because it already had too much factoidal historical heaviness as it was, so I beg your forgiveness on that one.

Heh.

:-)

-CW

It's worth noting that he's "Father of our Country" not just for being the first president but for presiding at the constitutional convention and commanding the continental army during the war, as well as being involved in the patriot movement before independence.

Nonetheless, good post.