George Washington was uneasy about the idea of commemorating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic — not a tyrant. And yet the nation will once…
Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington was uneasy about the idea of publicly celebrating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic — not a tyrant.
Historian Alexis Coe, author of “You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George of Washington,” said she thinks about Presidents Day in much the same way as the towering monument in D.C. that bears his name.“It's supposed to be about Washington, but can you really point to anything that looks or sounds like him?" she said. “Jefferson and Lincoln are presented as people with limbs and noses and words associated with their memorials. And he's just a giant, granite point.
The Library of Congress does note that a French military officer, the Comte de Rochambeau, threw a ball celebrating Washington’s 50th birthday in 1782.. He didn't want to be honored like a king, said Seth Bruggeman, a history professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. And only in 1879 was his birthday formally made into a legal holiday for federal employees in the District of Columbia.
Congress voted to move some of those to Mondays, following concerns that were in part about absenteeism among government workers when a holiday fell midweek. But lawmakers also noted clear benefits to the economy, including boosts in retail sales and travel on three-day weekends.
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