On the third Monday of February, the
United States honors all of its presidents; but, originally President's Day
was set aside as a day to celebrate the birthdays of two great
American presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
George Washington, who was born on
February 22, 1732, was the first elected president of the United States.
As the "Father of His Country" Washington helped shape the United
States in several very important ways. First, he served as the Commander in
Chief of the Continental Army that fought for independence
from Great Britain for the 13 original colonies in the Revolutionary War. Secondly,
Washington served as president of the Constitutional Convention which wrote
the Constitution of the United States. Washington is the only president in
the history of the U.S. to be elected president by unanimous vote. He served
two terms and declined a third. George Washington died on December 14, 1799,
at the age of 67. One popular legend about Washington says, that as a
boy he chopped down his father's cherry tree. When his father questioned
him about it, he admitted to the wrongdoing and
said "I cannot tell a lie." Lincoln was the 16th President of the
United States and is credited with keeping the U.S. together as one country.
Lincoln was president during the difficult time in America's history known
as the Civil War. Just before Lincoln began his term as president,
seven southern states broke away from the United States and established their own
country. This new country was known as the Confederate States of America.
President Lincoln was able to end the conflict and reunite the country. Lincoln is also responsible for
ending slavery in the United States. In his famous speech,
The Gettysburg Address, Lincoln expressed his views about
equality and his belief that all men should be free. On January 1, 1863,
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which freed all
slaves in America. Two years later the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
ended slavery in all parts of the United States. President Lincoln was
assassinated on April 19th, 1865, while watching a play in
Ford's Theater in Washington D.C.
