Who does Presidents Day honor?

Presidents Day, formally Washington's Birthday under federal law, was originally established to honor George Washington (1732 to 1799), the first President of the United States. Over time, popular usage and state law have expanded the holiday in many states to honor all U.S. presidents, particularly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays both fall in February. Federal law, however, still designates the third Monday in February as Washington's Birthday and specifically honors Washington.

Washington was commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from June 19, 1775 to December 23, 1783, presided over the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787, and served as the first president from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797. He set numerous lasting precedents: the two-term tradition (broken only by Franklin D. Roosevelt and now constitutionally fixed by the Twenty-Second Amendment of 1951), the cabinet system, the inaugural address, the assertion of executive privilege, and the peaceful transfer of power. He delivered his Farewell Address on September 19, 1796, warning against foreign entanglements, regional factionalism, and the spirit of party.

The state-level expansion of the holiday to include Lincoln (born February 12, 1809; sixteenth president, 1861 to 1865) reflects Lincoln's central role in preserving the Union and ending slavery. Some states (California, Florida, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington) call the day Presidents' Day or refer to it as a holiday for all presidents, while others (Virginia, Iowa, Tennessee) keep the federal Washington's Birthday name, and a few (Alabama, Arkansas) honor combinations of presidents alongside other historical figures. Some states observe Lincoln's Birthday (February 12) as a separate state holiday, including Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri.

The holiday's date was moved from February 22, Washington's actual birthday, to the third Monday in February by the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, effective January 1, 1971. Customary observances include the reading of Washington's Farewell Address in the U.S. Senate (a tradition begun in 1893), wreath-laying ceremonies at Mount Vernon (Washington's Virginia plantation) and at the Lincoln Memorial, schools teaching about presidential history, and major retail sales.