|
|
|
Presidents' Day
Regarding the Picture (above): The picture (above) is fiction. President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln were not contemporaries. In fact, they were close to a hundred years apart. But, I imagine they met in heaven. And, boy! I would like to have witnessed that union! Regarding Presidents' Day: President's Day is a commemoration of the two most revered presidents in American history, namely George Washington, the first American president, and Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth American president. George Washington was a great general in the American Revolutionary War. His success brought him great respect. Abraham Lincoln was the man who kept our country in one piece, and then after the American Civil War, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which was an executive order to free all slaves. Parenthetically, many people think the Civil War was about slavery. It was not. It was about the right of a state to secede from the nation. First North Carolina seceded from the nation, then one by one the rest of the South seceded, forming a confederacy. The powers in the federal government decided that it was illegal for a state to secede, and war ensued. Slavery was a side issue, which became a motivating factor during the war (after the war had already begun). President's day is the second Monday in February.
Interesting Notes about Presidents' Day RE: The date of presidents' day When I was a child, we had two holidays: (a) Abraham Lincoln's birthday on February 12, and (b) George Washington's birthday on February 22. In 1971, the two holidays were combined by an act of congress into one holiday. RE: The wives: Martha and Mary From my research, George Washington's wife, Martha, was very dedicated to her husband, and very much in love with him. During the revolutionary war, she spent much of her time with her husband at the camps and helping the other soldiers and soldiers' wives. One of her daughters died of epilepsy at the age of 17. As first lady, she was very gracious in entertaining diplomats. Upon her death, she was euthanized in all the newspapers as "the worthy partner of the worthiest of men." (Source: mountvernon.org). As for Abraham Lincoln's wife, Mary, she gave up a very wealthy lifestyle to become this young middle-class lawyer's wife. This shows me that she really loved him. She was very supportive throughout his career. To support that statement it is necessary to note that it is recorded that upon learning that he had won the election for president of the United States, Abraham ran all the way home shouting, "Mary, mary! We are elected!" The keyword being "we". He didn't say, "I am elected." He said, "We are elected." That shows that Mary helped him get elected. She probably used all of her connections in the upper class society. (Source: mlthouse.org).
In her later years, Mary was plagued by mental instability, which is understandable, considering all that she had been through. Two of her four children died before reaching adulthood. One of them died shortly after his 18th birthday. And, her husband had been assassinated. Not may women could have handled all that she went through as well as she did. In conclusion, there is an old adage (and nobody knows who said it first), which goes like this: "Behind every great man is a great woman." While not 100% true, it certainly is worth noting that George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were greatly supported by their wives.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Leon's Planet dot com is an educational website with over 200 pages. © from 1997 to present time. Contact Webmaster "Love is all there is; Everything else is entropy." (Leon) Love gives you energy and healing. (Leon) |
