On President\u2019s Day weekend, it\u2019s nice to know there are some things we can all agree on. Y\u2019right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
George Washington was born on February 11. There\u2019s no doubt about it. The year was 1731. He was a member of a fairly influential Virginia family, so we have very good substantiation about the facts of his birth. However, there\u2019s still lingering discussion about his birth date, because in 1752, Wednesday the 2nd<\/sup> of September was immediately followed by Thursday the 14th<\/sup> of September, and the intervening 11 days simply disappeared! England and its colonies were finally making the jump from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, after having resisted it since the rest of Europe (and those evil papists in Rome) had first done it way back in 1582. And so, in Washington\u2019s generation, folks had to decide when to commemorate certain things; should they use the original date of an event, or add 11 days to bring it in line with the new reality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Washington, this meant that, as he got famous, he was asked whether he\u2019d like to be feted on the 11th<\/sup>, or the 22nd<\/sup>? Washington didn\u2019t have a strong preference for a long time. But then, in 1799, his step-granddaughter Nelly Custis married his nephew Lawrence Lewis (they were first cousins once removed, but not related by blood) and they honored Washington by holding the ceremony on the 22nd<\/sup>. That sealed the deal, Washington\u2019s birthday was celebrated on that date from that point onward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This eventually led to the creation of an official national holiday, Washington\u2019s Birthday, on February 22, beginning in 1879, as well as an annual tradition of reading Washington\u2019s famous Farewell Address on the floor of the Senate on that date, which began in 1896.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the meantime, Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th<\/sup>, 1809. We can all agree on that. What we have NEVER agreed on is what to do about it. That\u2019s because the end of the Civil War and Lincoln\u2019s assassination didn\u2019t bring the country together, it merely unleashed a century of sectional celebrational strife. In 1873, a druggist in Buffalo started advocating for a national holiday to celebrate Lincoln\u2019s birth. The idea was taken up by most of the northern states, but was roundly rejected by the former confederate states, who contemptuously countered with Lee-Jackson Day (honoring two treasonous generals both born in January) starting in 1889.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might think the passage of time would heal these sectional wounds. But you would be underestimating the power of repudiation. As the 1960\u2019s came around, the country finally lived up to Lincoln\u2019s promise \u201cthat this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom,\u201d by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But then, just 4 years later, Martin Luther King was slain in April, and in June, Congress approved a rather tortured bill called the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, in an attempt to codify lots of conflicting commemorations into one cogent calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in their wisdom, one full century after the close of the Civil War, Congress decided two things. First, thenceforth there would be a national holiday on the 3rd<\/sup> Monday in February, which is a date that can never fall on Washington\u2019s actual birthday – either one of them. And second, Abraham Lincoln, quite certainly the second-greatest American who ever lived, gets bupkis, absolutely no recognition on the federal calendar whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The name of the holiday is, officially speaking, \u201cWashington\u2019s Birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thankfully, repudiation works both ways, and we the people don\u2019t have to abide by federal decree. This weekend, whether you\u2019re test-driving a car, buying a mattress, or just taking Monday off, you can pay your respects by recognizing the man who created your country, as well as the man who saved it. Say it with me: \u201cHappy President\u2019s Day!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On President\u2019s Day weekend, it\u2019s nice to know there are some things we can all agree on. Y\u2019right. George Washington was born on February 11. There\u2019s no doubt about it. The year was 1731. 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