Learning About Presidents Day
Each year on the third Monday in February, the United States celebrates Presidents’ Day. This holiday’s history began in 1885. That’s when Congress established February 22 as a day off for all federal government workers to honor George Washington’s birthday. The Holiday’s History This was the first federal holiday created to honor an individual’s birth […]
Happy Juneteenth
President Abraham Lincoln declared an end to slavery in the United States with the Emancipation Proclamation in September 1862. Following the Union army’s success at the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln proclaimed “That on the 1st day of January . . . 1863, all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a […]
Remembering a Nation’s Mourning
The Sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of the Civil War has reached its final year. Commemorative events have been taking place across the country since 2011. These have included reenactments of major battles, tours of battle sites, lectures and other educational opportunities. Much of 1865 was made up of a series of surrenders and the eventual disbandment […]
A Turkey of a Day
Dedicated btw fans know that we have posted about the history of the presidential turkey pardon in the past. But this year, let’s switch it up a bit and examine a different Thanksgiving history angle. (And no, it’s NOT going to be about Pilgrims, Native Americans, and what they might or might not have agreed […]