George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are arguably the two greatest leaders in the history of the United States. Two great Presidents. Two great Americans. For many years, we would come together as a nation and celebrate each of their respective birthdays.
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Washington’s on February 22nd. Lincoln’s on February 12th. Then, in 1968, Congress enacted a law establishing Presidents’ Day – combining the two birthdays, extending the celebration to include ‘all Presidents,’ and requiring the holiday be observed on a Monday in February as part of a three-day weekend.
Inevitably, in the course of this transition, something important has been lost. That is the sheer magnitude of what each of these two great men accomplished on behalf of our country and their enormously positive impact. Washington’s leadership through the Revolutionary War and serving as President for the first eight years of our nation. Lincoln’s shepherding the country through its most traumatic and perilous time – our Civil War. So, as we celebrate this Presidents’ Day and enjoy our three-day weekend with family and friends, let’s each pause for a moment to reflect on the character, courage, and sheer greatness of these two men and how their accomplishments have shaped this great nation and therefore our lives today.
Over the course of our nation’s 246-year history, there have been 46 Presidents of the United States, each one with their own influence and impact on the course of our history. Some have been good leaders, while others somewhat less so. Yet, there is only a handful whose legacies border on what could be considered almost mystical. These are individuals whose names are synonymous with the office of the presidency, because of their uniquely strong and resilient leadership feature on our currency and our monuments. Names like Jefferson, Roosevelt, or Reagan might come to mind. Yet as we celebrate Presidents’ Day this coming Monday, there are two individuals who stand above the rest. They’re individuals who not only led us during our nation’s most trying times but laid the foundations for the growth and evolution of our nation in ways that still impact us today. Those two are of course George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
But what sets these two men apart from the other 44 presidents, many of whom also led us through perilous moments just as they did? When we look at the history and legacy of these two men, it must be said that their leadership each came at a time during our fledgling history when we didn’t just face external threats, but internal and existential ones that threatened the continuation of this American experiment. In Washington’s case, it was declaring our freedom from the stranglehold of the British empire, guiding our nation through its earliest and most vulnerable period, and then relinquishing control of the presidency. In Lincoln, it was the emancipation of enslaved peoples and the preservation of the union. Each of these men demonstrated a moral character that came to not only set the standard for what is expected of a President to this day but how we as Americans define ourselves. It’s their legacies we use to compare the quality of both a presidential candidate and a sitting president. And when we’ve forgotten or neglected their legacies, we tend to find ourselves with leaders unsuited for the office.
In the immediate moments following the death of President Lincoln on April 15th, 1865, his friend and the country’s Secretary of War at the time Edwin Stanton eloquently stated, “He now belongs to the ages.” It was befitting of a president who himself is often considered the most eloquent of our 46 presidents. It’s also a statement that encapsulates the legacies of both men whose tremendous vision, fortitude, and guidance have continued to transcend generations, are whose legacies offer seemingly timeless lessons. And though Presidents’ Day is now meant to celebrate the legacy of all of our presidents, it’s the standard set by Washington and Lincoln that all have tried to emulate.
